Actually my story has a kinda happy ending for me. A sympathetic usher came over to me after the “Coke Coupon” incident and asked me if I wanted the phone number to the regional director of LOEWS to complain. I said ‘sure’ and he writes the number on the back of a business card. Here comes the cool part. The business card read: ‘Would you like to be a Loew’s Mystery Shopper’ with an e-mail address! Long story short, I was a Mystery Shopper for two years which gave me a pair of tickets every two months and $10 in coupons to use at the candy stand! And I got to pick the theatre! (No I didn’t choose the Palisades but the 42nd Street E-Walk!) So I guess complaing can sometimes pay off.
I no longer go to this theatre. You need to be a mountain climber to get to the seats it is raked so steeply, which also makes the screens seem like they are right on top of you. But worse of all is that if you are handicapped you are really in trouble. I’ve taken my Dad there a few times and wheelchair seating is at the bottom of the screens. He had to crank his head almost 80 degress to see the film. (After a screening of “The Queen” there happened to be a manager in the auditorium and asked him to sit in the front seat to see if he could see a film that way. He refused.) Even better, a few years back my Mom tried to climb a few rows up and did so with a lot of help. But after the film she fell down the stairs trying to leave. There was no usher to be found. I finally gor her going and went to the customer service to complain to the manager. His reply? “The theatres are built up to code”!!! And gave me a Coke coupon. Unbelievable! And now they’ve raised the price to $12 ($9 matinees!) Just not worth the trouble! Avoid it!
I worked at the Fordham for two years while I was in college. Best job ever! It was single screen then. But it was the early 1970’s and we had some pretty crappy films. While the gorgeous Paradise had “The Godfather” and the Valentine had “The French Connection” we showed (honest to God) “A Town Called Bastard” with Lee Van Cleef. I did get to roam around the catwalks and the old dressing rooms. WOW! So much memorabilia just collecting dust. There was a large three sided marquee, the center part jutted out onto busy Fordham Road. It took a good two hours to change. RKO would send a graph paper telling us exactly what it should read. One time we were showing “Child’s Play” (not the Chucky movie). Two hours of ladders, wooden planks and, as I recall, it was raining. The manager checked all three sides after all the work was done, gave the ok and all the equipment was put away. That’s when I pointed out that the film starred Robert Preston and not Preston Foster. Someone got two hours of OT to do the marquee over again. Good times!
Actually my story has a kinda happy ending for me. A sympathetic usher came over to me after the “Coke Coupon” incident and asked me if I wanted the phone number to the regional director of LOEWS to complain. I said ‘sure’ and he writes the number on the back of a business card. Here comes the cool part. The business card read: ‘Would you like to be a Loew’s Mystery Shopper’ with an e-mail address! Long story short, I was a Mystery Shopper for two years which gave me a pair of tickets every two months and $10 in coupons to use at the candy stand! And I got to pick the theatre! (No I didn’t choose the Palisades but the 42nd Street E-Walk!) So I guess complaing can sometimes pay off.
I no longer go to this theatre. You need to be a mountain climber to get to the seats it is raked so steeply, which also makes the screens seem like they are right on top of you. But worse of all is that if you are handicapped you are really in trouble. I’ve taken my Dad there a few times and wheelchair seating is at the bottom of the screens. He had to crank his head almost 80 degress to see the film. (After a screening of “The Queen” there happened to be a manager in the auditorium and asked him to sit in the front seat to see if he could see a film that way. He refused.) Even better, a few years back my Mom tried to climb a few rows up and did so with a lot of help. But after the film she fell down the stairs trying to leave. There was no usher to be found. I finally gor her going and went to the customer service to complain to the manager. His reply? “The theatres are built up to code”!!! And gave me a Coke coupon. Unbelievable! And now they’ve raised the price to $12 ($9 matinees!) Just not worth the trouble! Avoid it!
I worked at the Fordham for two years while I was in college. Best job ever! It was single screen then. But it was the early 1970’s and we had some pretty crappy films. While the gorgeous Paradise had “The Godfather” and the Valentine had “The French Connection” we showed (honest to God) “A Town Called Bastard” with Lee Van Cleef. I did get to roam around the catwalks and the old dressing rooms. WOW! So much memorabilia just collecting dust. There was a large three sided marquee, the center part jutted out onto busy Fordham Road. It took a good two hours to change. RKO would send a graph paper telling us exactly what it should read. One time we were showing “Child’s Play” (not the Chucky movie). Two hours of ladders, wooden planks and, as I recall, it was raining. The manager checked all three sides after all the work was done, gave the ok and all the equipment was put away. That’s when I pointed out that the film starred Robert Preston and not Preston Foster. Someone got two hours of OT to do the marquee over again. Good times!