Church of the Customer Blog
« Kicking out unwanted customers | Main | Advertising without advertising »
October 30, 2009
Kicking out unwanted customers
"Don't talk during the movie or we will take your ass out."
If you've been to an Alamo Drafthouse, the movie theater chain in Austin, Texas, then you've seen that semi-serious warning couched in a fun "public service announcement" before a movie showing. Theater founder Tim League knows that talkers mar the movie-watching experience for everyone else, and he does not tolerate them -- even if they punch the windshield of his car.
See, Tim was a customer recently at one of his theaters. A nearby loud-talker was asked by a theater waiter to keep it down. The customer protested, loudly, demanding to know who was offended by his talking. The waiter pointed to Tim.
Then it gets better... OK, worse.
After the the movie, the incensed customer followed Tim to his car, badgering him with anger. It climaxed with the customer punching the windshield of Tim's car, vowing never to return to an Alamo theater again.
To which Tim wrote on his blog:
"Fabulous.You sir are exactly the type of patron that I never want to see at an Alamo Drafthouse ever again. People who continue to talk when the movie has started are impolite, self-absorbed losers who were never taught common decency by their parents. WE DON’T EVER WANT YOU AT THE ALAMO. Please take your business elsewhere for the rest of your life....To our friendly customers, stay vigilant, report talkers and keep our theater safe from the raging hemorrhoids of cinematic society."
This happens all the time inside stores, movie theaters, sporting events, airline flights; an obnoxious customer makes everyone uncomfortable, and everyone in charge is oblivious.
Commenters on Tim's blog post love that he is standing up for them. If you stand with your best customers at the expense of the bad ones, you'll win bigger. The customer is always right -- if it's the right customer.
BONUS: Here's a years-ago example of an Alamo no talking "public service" video. This one stars the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards.
Other blogs that reference Kicking out unwanted customers:
Bravo, please move to my town! Too often the slightest correction of a rude jerk like often this make them even more obnoxious! bravo
david
nice entry! happy halloween to all readers of this blog
I really enjoyed this post! One, I am from Texas and this story made me homesick. Two, I have been in the customer service industry for 16 years and this was an excellent example of a business owner being truly authentic. I could not agree more with your comment that if you stand up for your good customers at the expense of the bad ones you will truly reap the benefits. People are tired of other people ruining their experience. If you are strong enough to create a positive experience regardless of the cost you will be positively rewarded in the end. Thanks for the article. ~Christine
A movie theatre chain that doesn't indulge it chatty patrons? A brand that stands up for its values even in the face of disagreement from paying customers? I love it! I wish one of our local chains would follow suit.
"The customer is always right -- if it's the right customer." Nicely put.
Thank you so much for writing this one! I don't know how many times I've been somewhere or in some situation where an unruly person has been treated politely and fairly for whatever offense they may have caused, only to turn around and start preaching to an unlikely employee that the customer is always right.
I'm glad that Tim thinks more like me on this subject and kudos to him for standing up for it. It makes your other patrons uncomfortable and it can make a manager/owner seem like a pushover if they give in. The customer is USUALLY right should be the new slogan. Don't let one rude person challenge the foundation of your business. And while I'm on this nice, long, rant...don't let them abuse your employees either. :)
Interesting post, really the company always should take care of the best clients though it is going against the worst clients. But let's not forget that these needs basically of two things: sensibility on the part of the company to detect these situations and courage to confront them.
I think that there aren't a lot of companies and their personnel ready to confront this challenge.
It's amazing how much obnoxious behavior the public is willing to tolerate sometimes! I think I love Tim.
Thank you, Jackie for providing the perfect example of how businesses shouldn't want all customers, just the right customers. If more businesses spent time really defining their customer experience, and the market they want to target we'd have more business owners like Tim standing up for their good customers and ousting their bad ones.
thanks for sharing your blog.
Just.awesome. It's always been my experience that the customers that cause the most trouble are the ones that (1) are the biggest time sink for a business,(2)are the most unrealistically demanding, and (3) are generally the sandbox bullies you avoided in school. If you can rid your business of this type of customer, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much easier it becomes to run your business and take care of the customers that you really want to have - and the ones that really appreciate you.
Thank you, Jackie for providing the perfect example of how businesses shouldn't want all customers, just the right customers. If more businesses spent time really defining their customer experience, and the market they want to target we'd have more business owners like Tim standing up for their good customers and ousting their bad ones.
Oh Tim, where were you when I was a hapless retail service rep at a national chain store? Our "customer is always right" policy bred the worst kinds of ill behavior from people who acted like animals. I've seen cashiers slapped and grown adults throwing tantrums in the aisles. I've also seen customers return Christmas trees after New Years (and get their money back) and people get tens of thousands of dollars because we installed product they chose but no longer liked. Hourly employees had to suck it up or get reprimanded.
It wasn't good for morale, and customers learned how to abuse the system. It cost us a lot of money and compromised true customer service for those who really deserved it.
Great example of "pruning" customers, which I think is necessary. In some cases, those that should be "fired" are obvious, but in others it may not be so easy. Regardless, I applaud Tim for standing up not only for his business but also the best interests of his customers.
I almost cried laughing at the video, thanks for sharing.
-ian
This is such a funny video!
