Poor Training On ADA Matters Can Precipitate
Civil Action
Cut Down On Your
Risk Of Being Sued
by Steven John Fellman
NATO Washington Counsel
Last year, approximately 1.5 billion
movie tickets were sold in the United States. This means
that every day, 365
days per year, U.S. exhibitors sold an average of 4 million
tickets. Now let’s make an assumption. Remember the
old advertisement that told us Ivory soap was 99.44% pure?
Let’s assume that our exhibitors are so good and
the movie experience of our patrons is so positive that
99.50% of all theatregoers walk away happy. That means
that every day 3,980,000 moviegoers walk out of their theatres
with a big smile on their face. But at the same time, it
means that every day at least 20,000 people walk away mad.
Every month, it means that over 600,000 moviegoers are
unhappy. 600,000 unhappy patrons is a universe that must
be addressed.
Some customer complaints will be based on
circumstances that are beyond the control of the exhibitors.
More than
a few customers will complain that their favorite seats
were no longer available by the time they got to the
theatre. Others will be unhappy with the movie itself.
There is
little that can be done about these types of complaints.
Obviously there is information available
about the nature of the various films that we show in our
theatres. Consumers
doing a little research can determine the nature of
the film and get a good idea whether the film is one that
they would enjoy. However, many consumers will not
do
this type
of research. This is something that exhibitors cannot
control.
“The last time I went to a theatre to ask for
a headset, the ticket taker didn’t even know
they existed”
–
a heaing-impaired letter-writer |
However, there are certain things that exhibitors
can control. As an example, NATO recently received a letter
from a frustrated
theatre patron. Here is a summary of what he wrote:
Dear NATO:
I am real hard of hearing and like first run movies but
I’ve had some real runarounds at the theatres in
my area regarding the availability and maintenance of
assistive listening devices. I have never had a successful
time getting a headset without some type of a fiasco
such as the ticket taker never having heard of such a
device. I find myself where I am in a position where
I’m holding up the line at the ticket booth and
people are looking at me like they would look at a slow
check writer in a grocery store with a long line at the
cashier counter.
If the headset is finally
found and if I get it, I then find that when the movie
starts either the
batteries are
dead or that someone forgot to turn on the transmitter.
But the time the transmitter is turned on or the batteries
are replaced, the movie has run for 20 or 30 minutes and
I have missed the entire important part of the plot. Not
only am I upset, but my friends who are with me are also
upset. They don’t understand why I always have these
problems. Sometimes the theatre will offer to give me a
pass or return my money. But this is not a good option
for me because I don’t like going to the movies by
myself.
If I try to call in advance
and reserve a headset, I can’t
get through because that option is not on the automatic
phone menu. The last time I went to a theatre to ask for
a headset, the ticket taker didn’t even know they
existed, and when I insisted on getting a headset, she
called a big bouncer-type of a guy who intimidated me in
front of the ticket taker and all the other patrons waiting
on line. I was told to get out of the line and wait and
they could see what they could do. It was raining and I
had to wait outside in the rain. They didn’t even
invite me to step into the theatre out of the bad weather.
The individual who wrote this letter
asked NATO if it was possible that he could buy his own
headset that he
could use whenever he went to the movies and thus avoid
the hassle that he had experienced in several of his local
theatres.
Over the years, we have written columns
emphasizing the need for exhibitors to train their staffs
about the Americans
With Disabilities Act-mandated features that are built
into today’s theatres. We have emphasized the need
to maintain equipment such as assistive listening devices
so that when someone asks for the equipment, it is available
and it functions properly.
Exhibitors spend millions and millions
of dollars on ensuring that their theatres and the theatre
equipment
are fully
accessible. Starting with the handicapped parking spaces
in the parking lot, the curb cuts at the theater entrances,
the lowered box office windows, and accessible theatre
doorways – and moving into the lowered height of
the concession counter, accessible restrooms, lowered drinking
fountains, wheelchair seating, companion seating, and assistive
listening devices – today’s theatres are
designed to accommodate disabled patrons.
But what good is an assistive listening
device if it sits in a drawer and the theatre staff can’t
locate it? What good is the lower counter on a concession
stand if
that counter position is not staffed? What good is
a companion seat if it is not clearly marked and theatre
personnel
regularly permit patrons who are not attending the
theatre with a wheelchair patron to use the companion
seat well
in advance of the start of any movie? What good is
an accessible restroom stall if the theatre staff uses
this stall to
store cleaning equipment?
Let us go back to the letter. Some
disabled cinema patrons encountering that kind of treatment
might
seek out an
attorney. The next day the theatre would receive
a demand letter
asking for damages, for attorney’s fees,
and that the situation be corrected. These kinds
of litigations
can be avoided with proper staff training.
The number of dissatisfied patrons
in general can be reduced substantially by training theatre
staff – not only
on Americans With Disabilities Act issues, but also on
simple things like curtailing patron cell-phone use while
the movie is playing, keeping the theatre clean, and offering
assistance to patrons who look like they need some.
If our assumption is correct and movie patrons
are currently happy 99.50 percent of the time,
this means
we have 600,000
unhappy patrons every month. Can we live with
that number? 
