Movie Theater Gets Revenge on Obnoxious Customer by Using Her Voicemail in a PSA

By Jen Doll Tue., Jun. 7 2011 at 9:10 AM

Categories: A Cautionary Tale, Awesomeness, Jen Doll, Radvertising, What Not to Do

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The Alamo Drafthouse, an Austin movie theater with a pretty strict no-texting/no-talking policy, recently kicked out a woman who wouldn't obey the rules. She got pissed, and probably drunk, called them, and left a ranty/bitchy voicemail. They used it to create a pre-movie warning which may be the best "don't talk in the theater" PSA we've ever seen. As Alamo writes on their YouTube channel, "This video is an actual voicemail from a woman that was kicked out of one of our Austin theaters. Thanks, anonymous woman, for being awesome."
[via Reddit] Update: Tim League, CEO of Theater That Made Obnoxious Texting Woman PSA, Speaks

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omfg thats priceless. "you're welcome" i nearly fell out my chair after seeing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i have a tapping sound on my smartphone. get one so you can know your facts! yay!
I disagree with you too, TextyStephen. Maybe it's easy for YOU to ignore, but it isn't for me, or most other movie theatre-goers, for that matter. The woman deserved to be kicked out after obnoxiously persisting to violate the Alamo Draft House no-texting rules more than once. I also might add that this rule was made because enough people really WERE annoyed that the owners of the theatre decided that a hard and fast no-texting rule was necessary.
If people don't act as childish as this woman who was warned more than once not to text, then they won't be humiliated. It's that simple.
I disagree with you, Jeremy M. The woman should not've had to be warned more than once to stop texting and distracting other moviegoers with the bright light of her cell phone screen. The "drama queen" deserved the treatment that she got.
It's like I tell my co-workers at the movie theater...if you can't go 90 minutes without checking your phone/texting, YOU ARE AN ADDICT!
I work at a movie theater, and this cracks me up. First people act like total retards, then they treat us like WE'RE total retards! The customer is hardly ever right.
My favorite part was "it was too f---- dark in that place..." like OMG, imagine it being dark in a movie theater! The nerve of them!
so how many times should people be warned about rules before the rules are enforced, Jeremy?
If your ass is late and it's dark in the movie, you wait your impatient ass in the back until your eyes adjust. THEN you walk to your seat. This is the way polite people walk to their seats. No need to shine your rude bright cell phone.
*ewe
The 19 people who liked my comment understood my mocking of the original comment. People like you using the word retarded are like 5 year olds with handguns.
Get there on time and it won't be dark. Some people like to be able to watch the movie, and, with a projector, its hard to do in a bright room. Are you and the 19 people who liked your comment as retarded as the girl in the voicemail or just trolling?
She got what she deserved. If she wanted to text, then she should have stayed in the lobby, the car or out of doors. If she came to watch a movie in the theater with other people who paid to watch the movie, she should not have been texting. You need to learn to read and comprehend what you read. It said she was removed from the theater for texting, not for using it as a flashlight, although that is rude as well. If I came to a theater early enough to get my seat without having to use a torch, then by all means she could have come before all lights were extinguished. But society has become selfish and an "all about me" society...this woman's rant proves it.
the theater and whomever posted this trash can all win darwin awards
I swear this is my sister in law...the voice is identical, and she lived in Texas for a while. Also the attitude is a perfect match.
Well thank you for insulting most girls in the U.S. and Canada by stereotyping us as air headed bimbos with irritating voices.
what a speshial girl.
Uh, are you kidding. Have you never been to a theater in which someone sat there in front of you blatantly pulling their cellphone out of their pocket, trying to be SO subtle, and yet they continually manage to blind you with the screen? Sometimes they're not even trying to be subtle. Sometimes they just whip the damn phone out like it's a lightsaber and go about their business with little regard for the people that came to watch a movie and not watch them text. There's a reason why most theaters now have on-screen ads that say TURN OFF YOUR DAMN PHONE. Texting is hella' distracting. It's right up there with people that bring their infants to the theater and expect people to be tolerant of the thing fussing and crying because somebody thought it'd be a great idea to make six month old junior sit through a two hour long movie with naught a boob to nibble to keep his mouth shut. I don't pay good money to go to a theater and have you ruin it for me by constantly igniting the beacon of unholy light that is your cellphone. And most people I know don't pay eight or ten bucks a ticket to go sit in a theater and text their friends when they can do that any time they want. Turn it off or leave the theater to continue your conversation.
This is absolutely glorious!
actually, no, if you enter an establishment or leave a message on their machine on your own accord, they can use your likeness and your actions how, when, and where they see fit if it is for no monitary gain and for use by only that business. How do you think radio stations are able to use messages callers leave in the short promotions for the station durig the course of a program.
From the Alamo Drafthouse web site: "we had a situation where a customer persisted in texting in the theater despite two warnings to stop. Our policy at that point is to eject the customer without a refund, which is exactly what went down that night."
It's a good concept for a PSA before a movie, but why throw someone out for texting? talking on their phone I could see,sure, but texting is really not that distracting unless you're the type who sits around looking for reasons to be pissed off at other people. But then again it is Texas, they probably don't like people with fancy cellphones doing their fancy texting. (Just kidding you hicks, relax)
I like how she said she was just using her phone as a flashlight. and then turned around an apologize for texting.
Use a phone in a dark room and tell me the light doesn't extend beyond the 3x3 boundary of the screen. Bollocks. And if it's not your phone then it's in the periphery of your vision which is distracting when you're trying to watch something else. I'm sick of apologists trying to make excuses for assholes like this woman. If you want to watch a movie then watch a movie; if you want to fucking text then DON'T go to a movie.
hahahaha yes death to all who text and talk in a movie god bless alamo drafthouse
I think she's right. Wait, did I just write that?
Sounds like she's a founding member of The Dumbing Down Of America Society
You*
Austin is too serious...
Hahahaha.. love it!
Ah agree with the Lay-D . Sounds like the Obama Dickhouse should have refunded her ticket price -- to neglect to do so was ever bit as slee-zee as anything she did. I must say I also prefer her "magnited" states to the more prosaic "united" fiction we've paid lip service to for too darn long. You never will manage to get the "eck" out of Tex-ass after all. Ahm shore glad ah don't have that Obama Dickhouse's nerve in mah tooth !
MAGNITED states of america! hahahahaha
"If she wasn't bothering anybody" then how did the management know? Obviously, people complained about her.
I think I want to go to that theatre...to actually get away from Obnoxious cell phone users who don't respect others.
Sweet! Thanks, I always wanted one!
They gave her two warnings. The third time she texted they threw her out. They should have thrown her out immediately. In fact all theaters should be equipped with cell phone jamming technology so they don't have to rely on the "honor system" given no one has any honor anymore .
This theater sounds pretty terrible. I'd have to side with the girl, they should have atleast gave her a warning.
Clearly you have never been to any one of the many alamo drafthouses. Seat kicking is a feat in that theater when there's a counter top in front of every row for food/drinks; not to mention the pathways in front of those counters for the waitstaff to pass through. I don't understand why people insist on talking when they don't know what they're talking about.
anybody know what song that is?
You get a gold fucking star for pointing that out!!! Dipshit!
From these comments, most people find the light of cell phones to be distracting. Just because YOU are not bothered with it, why should the majority have to suffer?
I have a touch screen and it makes tappin noises when i text. I know I can turn it off, but I dont feel like it. This woman, sounds too stupid to be able to get that in depth with an electronic... BEsides, it's fairly obvious she was drunk and obnoxious. She was probably reading texts and laughing aloud, which is also annoying when u want silence.
It seems like there's a pretty big divide on the issue of how others texting effects a movie. I know I was guilty of texting in movies until the August of 2010. I never minded if people texted around me, so I figured other people didn't mind. I realized how much it effected other people when my current girlfriend punched me and told me to stop texting during Tangled. That said, I've never enjoyed watching movies, I usually go because a group of friends is going as well. For a lot of people, texting just doesn't seem like a big deal. Apparently, it can ruin a movie experience for others. Now that I know that other really hate the practice I have stopped. Also, I hope that texting in a movie theater doesn't qualify me as a self centered person who think the world revolves around them, I would hate to think an action I thought didn't bother people is the basis on which people judge my moral character. It sounds like the drafthouse is pretty adamant about their no texting policy though, I rarely go to a theater with a no texting psa at the beginning, most of them are strictly about talking (they also have a picture of a Nokia 1620 on the PSA if that helps identify how they are). If the woman didn't obey the rules of the establishment she was asking to get kicked out. If a customer breaks the rules of a private establishment they deserve to get kicked out. If a customer drunkenly complains later for "being treated like shit," because she didn't follow the rules, the customer is asking for trouble.
Good for the Alamo Draft House.
I live near this theater, and its clean, well run, BS free theater. no wonder they are still thriving
Way to go, Nonya! Same should go for all the inconsiderate juvenile delinquents who use our chairs as footrests.....and bounce our seats for the fun of it. I usually play with the jerks shoelaces til they stop, but I am SO tempted to accidentally spill my drink over my shoulder. \More theaters should stand up for us! Of course I'll go to management, since if I try to handle it myself, I'll just get rude and threatening backtalk, anyway!
Hey, ***I*** like the fact that they got a free commercial out of that airhead! She's not getting a dime from them.....maybe they should've charged her a fine, besides not refunding her money......is she KIDDING???
NO> it's really sad that you can't even go to a movie for a couple of hours, and ENJOY what you went for.....your friends can't do without you for that long??? how very sad.....and sick
Wait!!! Could you maybe sit BEHIND some of these dumb jerks, and maybe prop your dirty feet all over the back of their seat, and bounce it and stuff?? Could you?? :) --Actually, people try that with me, I start playing with their shoe laces until they stop. Also been tempted to...oops....spill my drink over my shoulder, but that may be a bit much....morons.
" or as I have done if it's quick, is to get low in the chair so the light cannot be seen and I cannot be heard at all. I have never received a look or a complaint" How is this any different from what she did? You had it right with the "However, it is polite to leave," comment.
yes it is distracting. when you are engrossed in a film and this pinprick of light pops up from out of nowhere 6 ft in front of you it draws your attention away from the screen. It may be easy to ignore once you've been drawn to it, but you're attention is ALWAYS drawn to it initially. It ruins what is referred to as "the suspension of disbelief"
Well Said!!...I find texting extremely distracting at the theater, but even if I wasn't bothered by it at all I understand that any place of business has the right to refuse or withdraw services from a patron for not abiding by any aforementioned rules and restrictions... It is their right as an establishment... Sometimes I am ashamed to admit what generation I am from and the ones that have come after me just seem to be getting ruder and ruder
just saw this psa in a regal cinemas in FL... and if I'm ever in TX I am going to this theater!!!!! Wish all theaters did this to the texters and talkers.... Inconsiderate bast#rds lol
ummmm because you cant text to a landline? what business do you know of that has a cell phone as their store phone.... DUH!!!!!
Geez, Mike, you sound like my self-proclaimed boss there "SHIT COMPLETE BRIX IF THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE YOU WERE AT OR WHAT YOU WERE DOING!" Texters/cell phone addicts truly need to get over themselves!
What song is that at the end of the video, that's a good tune!
"THe fact that they are continually harassing this woman by uploading this to the internet, just means they do have crappy customer service." "Customers have the right to vent after being thrown out, regardless if its their fault or not." Weird.. I was just thinking how private businesses have the right to handle a no-longer-wanted-patron however they please. But it's not okay for them to do it in your eyes? How have they harassed this woman? No identifying information, nothing is said about her except the own things that came out of her (drunken) mouth. It's okay, I doubt Alamo Drafthouse cares for your business anyways. You sound too sensitive to watch PG-13+ movies, and too uptight to have a drink.
This is a two birds, one stone PSA: 1) don't talk/text at Alamo Drafthouse, and 2) don't drunk-dial Alamo Drafthouse to tell them you think they suck and proceed to leave a lengthy, rambling voicemail.
I sat in the front row of a legitimate theatre (that means NOT a movie house) and two people next to me were texting throughout the whole thing.....to EACH OTHER. Everything around us was dark except these two bright screens.....Very discourteous.....and if you, the texters, are reading this.....it was at the Boal Barn Playhouse in State College, PA!
Olivia, mixing toilet usage with toilet talk is a bit disconcerting. Texting has nothing to do with toilet choice. This whole thing would never have happened had she had the good sense to go home and pass out. Nope. She, in her astounding lack of wisdom, decided to call the theater and leave a vulgar message, making threats and proving yet again that the theater was proper and correct in removing her. And, I also agree with the video's purpose. Venting is one thing, the phone message she left is absurd. Wait a minute! If she is so "addicted" to texting, why didn't she text the theater her complaints! Ah, inquiring minds may never know.
No longer live in Austin, but this the-A-tre ROCKS! And this PSA reminds me of how much I miss it. Hey Alamo! Why don't you take your policies to Atlanta?
First, there will always be 2 types of people.1) those 'actually polite' who would never text or use a cell phone to disrupt the Theater experience for anyone else2) those who are selfish and think the world revolves around them and as long as their happy, everyone else should be too.Personally, if I lived anywhere near this theater, it would NOW be my place to go for a movie.
SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE THE ONE THEY THREW OUT!!!!!!!!!LOL
why buy a ticket if all your going to do is play with your phone ...dumb a** kick her out
drives me crazy when people text in the the movies. wish our theater enforced that rule. it's like consideration for others has just gone....great job, Drafthouse!
intelligent people got the gist if what the Drafthouse was saying.......YOU missed the boat...so sad!!!!!!
Awesome!
THe fact that they are continually harassing this woman by uploading this to the internet, just means they do have crappy customer service. Customers have the right to vent after being thrown out, regardless if its their fault or not. I would never go to that theatre, what if I did something wrong that does not merit being thrown out, say use the toilet cubicle for disabled, because it was the only empty one at that time, would they forever harass me on a simple task like that.
Yes. It does. Please keep that in mind next time you're thinking of doing it.
That is Brilliant!!!!!
I'm sure all the guys are now lusting after this vixen. What a sweet, adorable girl to have for a wife or girlfriend. Could you imagine? Trash gets thrown out and taken to the curb where it belongs. Good going Drafthouse.
you can't hear tapping on touch screens, so you can't use that excuse with smartphones. can i text in the theater now if no one is behind me?
I know "torch" is another word for flashlight, but every time I hear it used, I always picture someone lighting a flashlight on fire. And it's great picturing someone stumbling through a theater with a burning cell phone.
Yay, overly-repeated environmental slogans! Oh, didn't know that's what that saying is? Yep, it was a 1986 anti-littering campaign.
Then don't go to the drafthouse. Go somewhere where they allow it and don't clearly spell out/enforce the rules for you. Vote with your dollars, and we'll see how the poor drafthouse suffers from your absence.
Either you've never been to the drafthouse before, or you have and have been kicked out. Most people (who aren't disrespectful stunted adult children) here in Austin PREFER the very reasonable prices and awesome atmosphere and programming, for an experience that will not be interrupted by obnoxious patrons who talk, text, and disregard common courtesy. Any of the (very strange) behaviors you mentioned above would get you kicked out. My wife and I are very close with two of the managers in one of these theaters, who gave the scoop that this drunk a-hole had her phone out the entire time while the movie played, was warned twice, then kicked out. This is after the prescreen warning (which can't be missed) and all of the other disclaimers all around your face and on your ticket that tell you that this behavior is not allowed at the drafthouse. Bottom line is if you can't stay off your phone for 2 hours, don't go to the movies, or at least don't bother those of us who paid to go to the drafthouse. Take your phone and go down the street to the gateway.
You know, I think everyone is getting their panties in a twist over nothing here. Seriously, the LIGHT from the 2 inch by 2 inch phone screen DISTRACTS YOU FROM THE 1000 SQUARE FOOT SCREEN THE MOVIE IS ON? COME ON...
This is the best thing I have seen in a long time - the Alamo Drafthouse are absolutely awesome for how they handled this (all the way around).
If she didn't give consent, she can probably sue.
Don't they serve liquor & have waiters taking orders (during movie showing)?
Too funny!
What are you brats doing siding with her? It's a private business, with clearly posted and strict rules. Alamo Drafthouse is famous for it... you go in.. you eat.. you watch a movie... and you do not use your phone. Everyone in Austin knows this, it's not anyone's fault but her own that she disregarded the famous, visible, repeated rules. And to the debate over whether she was warned.... does it matter? There is a warning on every screen before every movie... It's not a polite Cinemark suggestion, it's a "If you use your phone, you get a warning, then we tell you to leave" blunt statement. So even if an employee came up to her once before having her removed that'd be 2 warnings. I took my 13 year old sister there and strangely she had no problems keeping her phone in her pocket. This entitled sense of "customer service" a lot of you seem to believe in is getting a little ridiculous. You're a customer, not a king. Basic social manners still apply to everyone, regardless whether or not you spent your money.
Alamo Drafthouse is amazing. One of the best theaters I've ever been to. I remember going to a movie, not at the Alamo, and these two teenagers a few seats down had their phones out the. entire. movie. I couldn't even focus on the movie, the bottom of my gaze kept flicking down to those stupid pinpoints of light. The Alamo will discipline any disruptive behavior for you at all, not just texting. If you have a noisy or obnoxious neighbor (given, they're usually drunk), you can just prop your little paper up on the table and they'll come right over and hear your complaint. Then they'll warn the person or, if they're deemed too rowdy for the theater, they'll be escorted out. They play about ten PSAs before the movie saying 'Hey, guys, shut up and don't text, you will NOT get a refund if you get kicked out.' so I don't really know how this girl was oblivious to the no texting rule. It was perfectly alright that she was kicked out. But, it's just a 2 minute YouTube video, there are much better things out there on the internet to spend your time arguing over. :)
Good riddance, cunt.
This is great advertising for the Alamo Drafthouse......I would send her movie tickets.....to another theater chain............Thanks Alamo, for having the corporate stones to air this piece !
Thank you, dzeldaz. :)
Mike AND Texty: We once received a call during a very serious movie. My husband hung up on it. His phone vibrated again. It was an emergency. Of course, he gave me the phone as he did not want to miss the movie. I immediately LEFT THE THEATRE because I am a thoughtful adult who thinks of other people besides myself. It turns out there had been a flood from our house that was already in our neighbor's basement and we were four hours away. It was close to affecting electical equipment and action had to be taken. Thank goodness for wonderful neighbors that called back and I was able to take care of everything WITHOUT DISTURBING other moviegoers. I could see the movie again if I wanted (didn't need to, I got the gist of what I missed easily). Calls can be important, and yes, as a parent, doctor on call, etc... one might need to take a call "this minute". However, it is polite to leave, or as I have done if it's quick, is to get low in the chair so the light cannot be seen and I cannot be heard at all. I have never received a look or a complaint. And if I must text my children, I only do so during noisy scenes low where the light is not seen and tapping cannot be heard. If a rule says no, I would leave to use the phone in any way. A phone can absolutely ruin a movie, no doubt about it. The idea of a movie is to immerse oneself into the story. A phone can take one out ot that immersion and the only word for that is rude.
mplo - I'll go to the movies with you anytime. I like your style!
Nmatt - thank you for not going to this theatre. I am sure they don't want a cent from a person such as you who resorts to language such as you did. Tap, tap, tap, tap... please, may I do that in your ear, just for an hour - I promise, I will keep my phone on silent and just be texting. Surely, that won't bother or distract you at all. And if you are focusing on something and I wave my phone around so the light gets in the way of what you are doing, I am sure that won't be a disturbance at all. Neither will my speaking to my friend next to me about the texts I am sending or receiving. Oh, the tangled web she weaved when first that Alamo customer began to deceive....
Antivirus...Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tao tap tap tap tap tap tap... I would love to sit next to you, in front of you or behind you with my phone on silent and do that in your ear for an hour. I'm sure it wouldn't bother you at all.
Cecil - Did you read and listen? She was texting!!! She was lying!!! She could not even speak well when she called!!! Please, oh, please, allow me to sit in front of you in a movie and text so the light from my phone shines in your eyes in a dark theatre and the glare makes it difficult for you to see the screen. I want to make sure I wave the phone around while I show my friends what I am texting and receiving. I also want you to hear the tap, tap, tapping during the quietest, most important part of the movie!!! Then, you can hear my friends and I talk about the texts while you try to hear the movie. Can I, can I, please??? You go for it Alamo Drafthouse!
U are a fuckin' idiot.
Right-the-fuck-ON!!!
Why you'd pay 12 bucks to go see a movie and then text the whole time is beyond me, but if it's on silent is it really disturbing anyone else? I doubt you'd notice unless the movie was really bad, which may be the case at the Alamo Drafthouse.
I had someone that was sitting in front of me once, I kept kicking his chair every time he was doing it. He then turned around and asked me to stop and I just said I will when he stops texting. He then got up and went and got the manager, manager came in and pulled me out of the movie, so I told him what was going on and they refunded me my money for the movie, gave me a free movie pass and told the other jerk to leave the theater and never come back. I agree with the theater for doing this. If the movie is that boring that you have to sit there and text your friends then why the heck are you still at the movie? You paid a bunch of money to sit around and text? Why not just wait for the movie to come out on Netflix and sit at home with your friends. No need to text now.
the alamo drafthouse should allow any or all theaters in America to use this PSA ........thumbs up on the no texting phone policy
she says she was also texting as well.....they won't kick you out for using your phone as a flashlight.......in the begining she said she was texting ........DUH
Her bimbo voice and valley girl speak is so irritating..and most girls in the u.s. and canada sound the same...and they think they are not sheepish in their actions.Youth is wasted on the young!