Movie theaters have days called bargain days. Bargain days are just like any other day, except during bargain day, one can purchase bargain tickets, which are just like any other tickets except they are usually cheaper. Dipson Theatres has its bargain day every Tuesday.

The catch, if there is a catch, with bargain day is that one cannot purchase bargain tickets for all movies. Those durn theaters, keepin’ us down by not selling the cheap tickets for the good movies, right? Well, that’s not how it works. Theaters would gladly offer bargain tickets for all movies, but certain distibutors do not allow theaters to sell bargain tickets. That’s right, it’s the distributor that hates you, not the movie theater.

This past Tuesday I was the only concessionist/box office representative/usher working at my local Dipson Theatres. During the first round of movies on my shift, one nice, cheery lady came in and demanded, in the generic nasty old lady tone, that I sell her three tickets at the bargain price for Nancy Drew because Dipson Theatres engages in false advertising and does not let customers know that [this week] Nancy Drew and Surf’s Up are exempt from bargain tickets.

Well, it is true that one cannot purchase bargain tickets for Nancy Drew and Surf’s Up. However, this is printed in the local newspaper immediately following movie showtimes for each movie. I told the woman I would have to ask my manager and then I checked the paper, proving the woman wrong. I showed her the paper and she threw it back down. She then asked for three tickets for the movie and commented, in the same nasty tone, on how not selling bargain tickets on bargain day is an unfair practice. I tried to tell her that it was not the decision of any person at the theater, but she did not want to hear it.

Obviously, there were a few problems with the woman’s argument. First, if you have a problem with a policy of a business, the person behind the sales counter wearing the cheap polo shirt with a sewn-on corporate logo is not the person to take up your complaint with. Ask to speak to a manager, the person wearing clothes suitable for an office environment. The manager is paid greater than minimum wage because [s]he the person you bring your complaints to. They also are somewhat affiliated with setting up policies, unlike the lowest level employee you cannot wait to scream at.

The second problem was that the first words out of the woman’s mouth upon entering the business premises were a complaint and in a nasty tone. Our country is not one of martial law and vigilante justice. Argue out your complaint like a calm person who knows what’s going on and the manager you’re speaking to might actually take you seriously.

The final issue with the woman’s complaint is that it was wrong. As previously mentioned, movie distributors are accountable for the availability of bargain tickets for movies. Thus, if you don’t even know that you have a valid complaint, try to avoid the first two problems and find a manager and don’t get overly excited. The entry level employees will thank you by not spitting on your food.