As many people have mentioned in previous reviews, the staff of this theater need a serious reeducation in how to not be a prick to paying customers. I don't have specific names because the experience was so chaotic and crowded I could not tell you so don't ask me to email a more detailed review about them. This is already probably too detailed I don't think it matters anyway--most if not all of the staff are just incredibly unpleasant and unhelpful.
I went to see the Outsiders. I have no complaints about the show itself. It was very well done and the set was very impressive and creative in my opinion. What I will say is I have never been treated so badly in a theater, and I have literally never left a negative review before. I'm not that kind of person. I'm 21 for fucks sake.
That being said, this shit is ridiculous. I understand being harsh on enforcing theater etiquette (ie. no phone usage during the show, no getting up and going back to your seat in the middle of a scene) but my experience was during intermission.
For starters, we were ushered in like we were doing a fire drill. Keeping things quick and efficient and barking orders are not the same. One of the guys scanning tickets quite literally yanked a woman by the shoulders out of the line because she ended up in the middle of another group, which did not seem like a problem for them and could have easily been resolved by asking her to step aside. Putting your hands on someone who is simply waiting in a very confusing and disorganized line is completely uncalled for. I don't care if she cuts in front of everyone, why is your first reponse manhandling her? Then you walk inside and are immediately greeted by someone barking at you to keep moving and walk faster before you can really figure out where you're supposed to move to. Right off the bat, very disorienting and jarring. The usher who showed us to our seats was probably the only helpful employee I interacted with.
During intermission, the chaos was probably tenfold. I was flat out ignored or turned away by four staff members for asking where the nearest exit was. One of them literally rolled her eyes and walked away before I was even done talking. After getting turned around and yelled at by an angry bartender who thought I was trying to cut in line for the bar (I was walking on the side in the opposite direction like everyone else who needed to cross, there's just NO FUCKING ROOM and no other way for me to get across), I decided to just try the exits that were lining each side of the theater. Keep in mind these doors are not blocked off or indicated as off-limits in any way. There were about three or four on each side. This is apparently the worst thing I could do, as a female staff member came out of nowhere and berated me for it. I apologized and tried to ask where the exit was one more time, only for her to turn around and walk away. When I finally did find the exit, it was time to go back to my seat. Instead of simply being pointed in the direction of the exit, I ran around like a headless chicken for the entire intermission because every employee I encountered decided I wasn't worth their time.
All in all, their attitude towards patrons is flippant and annoyed. I get that New Yorkers are typically very blunt and value efficiency, but not a single business or employee has made me feel like I was intruding or inconveniencing them just for asking where the exit was.
I will not be sending an email or corresponding with management about this, because according to some of these reviews they aren't any better and again, I don't have specific staff member names and I wouldn't want to give them over even if I did because this is a widespread issue. While not every employee was rude to me specifically, none of them were approachable or pleasant. I'm writing this to tell you if you value good customer service and pleasant, helpful employees, this theater is not for you. I can't imagine having to navigate this hellhole with a disability or needing some kind of accessibility or accommodation because they don't even wanna point in the direction of an exit much less clear a path.
It's a beautiful theater despite being cramped and I really wish you guys would listen to the people telling you to do better. Firing select staff won't fix this issue--these people literally need to be taught human decency. It's a theater, not a jailhouse. Do your job and stop treating paying customers like they took a shit in your car when they ask for help. read more