soda jerks
12-10-24
So, I've been working at a cinema for about 2 months now and for my first ever retail job, it could've been much worse. Granted, the pay is awful, the place is dirty, and the management is all over the place but from what I've heard that's to be expected at most joints like this. It sure as hell beats staying home and the free movie tickets are a plus. You may have noticed an uptick in film reviews on the site just from all the free tickets I've taken advantage of.
But I must say, working there can really make you misanthropic. I don't want to overexaggerate since most customers are fine, but goddamn. So many of the customers have made me lose faith in humanity every time I come in to work.
In my observation, I noticed that the older people are way meaner and more unreasonable than the younger folks. Yeah, you'll get some obnoxious teen every once in a while but for the most part the younger crowd have much more courtesy. The older they get, however, the more likely they are to be total pricks.
A major indicator of a problem customer was definitely Trump merchandise. Both before the election and now, you can not go 2 hours without seeing someone with a shirt of Trump's mugshot, Trump's assassination photo, a Punisher skull somewhere, or a "thin blue line" flag. These guys are almost always super rude. It would not be uncommon for these people to throw in random comments like "You're gonna start getting paid a lot more with Trump in office!" All I can really say in response to that is "I guess we'll see."
At the risk of sounding pretentious, it does somewhat sadden me to see a lot of moviegoers buy giant orders of food and alcohol to go see some generic Disney or Marvel movie. Often customers will just come in wanting As a lover of the medium, it's kind of sobering to remember for a lot of people it's just something to turn their brain off to.
Am I a snob for thinking this way about other people? Maybe. Maybe, I'm also just biased because whenever I see a large family go watch a blockbuster like Venom or Moana with 4 extra large popcorns, 6 hot dogs, and 10 giant sodas, I know I'll have to clean it off the floor when it's over.
(￣□￣」)
Pro tip for going to the movies btw: EAT BEFORE YOU GO! PLEASE DON'T GET A MASSIVE OVERPRICED OVERSIZED ORDER OF FOOD AND LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR FOR THE USHERS TO CLEAN UP! JUST GET A DRINK AND SOMETHING TO CHEW ON AT MOST! YOU CAN ENJOY THE MOVIE WITHOUT A FOUR-COURSE MEAL DURING IT, I PROMISE!
(」°ロ°)」
Anyway, it's not all bad. I met some nice co-workers and even had some nice interactions with customers. Though I appreciate it, I don't want to be here too long. I hope this can be a detour on my way to a job that's more stable (and helps me relocate out of my VERY deep red state). I've recently taken a cut in hours to focus more on the job search again, with an emphasis on something out-of-state. The dream of moving out is all I can think about these days. At work, at home, even with family, I just keep thinking "I need to get out of here."
I don't see myself having a future here. In truth, the idea of being stuck in this place for another year makes me sick. I wanna move somewhere more secure where I can really set up shop and work towards a future for myself and be part of a community. I just need the damn job to get there.
Until then though, hey free movies are pretty nice.
