Summary

A woman shares her experience of mistakenly buying a movie ticket for the wrong showtime and the ensuing chaos, leading to valuable life lessons about attention to detail and trust in service providers.

Abstract

Dr. Preeti Singh narrates her ordeal of purchasing a movie ticket without verifying the timing, which resulted in a misunderstanding at the movie hall. She was escorted out by security under the assumption of ticket fraud, only to be later vindicated and compensated by the manager when the error was clarified. This incident underscores the importance of diligently checking one's tickets and the potential consequences of trusting salespeople without verification. Dr. Singh reflects on the embarrassment and accusations faced due to the mishap and advises readers to be cautious and self-reliant in similar situations, emphasizing the "buyer beware" principle.

Opinions

The author believes it is crucial to verify all details on tickets and other important documents to avoid inconvenience and misunderstandings.
Trust in service providers should be balanced with personal vigilance to prevent potential losses and complications.
The author suggests that even individuals with integrity may be subject to suspicion and judgment from others in such situations.
Counter salespeople may be polite and engaging but they may not take responsibility for their mistakes, leaving the customer to deal with any resulting issues.
The author advocates learning from others' experiences, stressing the importance of being wise and careful before making purchases or decisions, to avoid regrettable outcomes.

LIFE LESSONS

I Bought A Movie Ticket And This Is What Happened

Check Your Ticket Before You Leave

I merrily bought a movie ticket

The newspaper reported there was a four-star movie released in town. Wow! I haven't been to a movie hall for One and a half years because of the outbreak of Covid- 19. There have been lockdowns and social distancing and movies did not get released in movie halls.

I love to watch movies and was quite bored sitting at home and watching the OTT platform. There was a hall in the market right across the vicinity where I live and it was just within walking distance.

I walked over on a Sunday and the ticket seller on the counter told me that no English movies will be released in this hall as the customers here are mainly those who like Bollywood movies. That is fine I thought I don’t have to watch all movies here but I like Bollywood movies and I can watch those here now that the hall has reopened.

On the board, two or three movies running currently were listed. I chose the much-talked-about movie Chandigarh ki Ashiqui (Hindi) something to the effect of love in Chandigarh in English.

I found a convenient time slot of 1600 hours when I could easily slip by from home as my husband takes a nap then and I was not keen to tell him about my watching a movie. Maybe he gets upset that Omicron is also spreading so I should not be seeing it.

I conversed with the man at the counter and he told me that there was not much rush these days and the ticket to has been reduced. I was elated and I paid 50% of the normal fare. I asked him to give me one ticket for the show. He handed over the ticket to me assuring me that I was going to see a wonderful movie. He said that people like me who would watch a movie every week in that hall were certainly missed and were welcome in the hall.

After such heartwarming words, he took the money from me and handed over the ticket. I was not carrying my reading glasses and in full trust and confidence, I kept the cinema ticket in my pocket and went back home.

We had lunch and my husband went for his nap and I went on to read some posts on Medium.

I went to see the movie and this is what happened

At 1600 hours I reached the movie hall and I was so excited. I was checked at the entrance and then like the others I went up and asked the usher to show me my seat.

Two minutes later, the movie started and 5 security guards came running after me and escorted me, and said that I was wanted outside for some clarification. What a shock I got. I asked them what was the matter and no one would answer.

I was presented at the ticket counter and questions were asked. “When did you buy the ticket?” I said “around 1330Hours”. “Who was sitting at the counter?” “How do I know I said you find out!” Then one guy came and I said, “I do not know who was sitting here but he was at the counter and he gave me the ticket.”

Believe me, one thing lead to another and I was cursing myself for being there as a crowd began to collect there thinking I was a cheat, a criminal, or something of that sort. Then I shouted at them. “Why are you troubling a senior citizen? I have no idea what the problem is it is a legal ticket”.

The manager was called and he asked me again when did you buy the ticket and I said 1330 Hours. The ticket was for the show that started at 1300 hours and not 1600 hours. The manager apologized and gave me a premium place to sit and sent me coffee and treated me like a VIP and everyone in the interval again looked at me as to why I was being treated like a celebrity.

So my friends I have some takeaways for you

The takeaways

#1 Check your entry passes: Do remember that I made a mistake by not checking my ticket. Never make this mistake. If you are not wearing your glasses and you need to get someone around to check your ticket. This was only a movie ticket.

My friend was going to Dubai. She missed her plane because she did not read the pre and post 1200 hours. When she went for her flight she was told that her flight had already left. That was a very grave loss of money and also visa problems.

#2. Loss of face and integrity: There are many cheats in the world. You may be a person of integrity but you will be weighed just like the others because you think that you made a mistake. Others will judge you and say that it was deliberate and you wanted to cheat them.

#3. Never trust counter salesmen: Counter salespeople have duty timings. While they are sweet to you and talk to you really graciously but remember they have duty hours and You will not find them later. Moreover, if they make a mistake they usually do not own up and you are left high and dry. People may or may not believe you. Moreover, they may not recognize you as there are so many customers and they don’t remember the faces.

Conclusion

Be careful! It is the policy of buyer beware so when you buy something take extra care to look at it. It is good to trust people but considering that if something goes wrong, the loss is entirely your own be careful. It is better to be wise before the event rather than be sorry at the event.

Good luck to everyone. Hope you understood the lesson from my mistake and do not confront the kind of problem that I did.

Learn from other people’s experiences. Be wise and take care!

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Originally posted in Coffee Times Newsletter link here.