ON 11/20/17 I drove several miles to the Westpark Theatre in anticipation of seeing the movie called “THE SQUARE” . First I stopped at the nearby grocery store to buy some Thanksgiving food items to be delivered to a family member after the movie. Then I drove to the theatre. I bought my ticket. The people at the ticket windows are never exceedingly gracious but they “do their job” at least a perfunctory level.
There are plenty of other theatres in the Irvine-CostaMesa-Newport area , some with better seating, but Westpark is a little unique in that they offer more “alternative” films rather than the same ol’ mainstream films, for better or worse, showing at most other theatres (although Edwards University near UCI sometimes offers a few good alts, and also Tustin’s biggest theatre sometimes as well).
Nonetheless, I noticed “The Square” had pretty good ratings, and so I thought I would go see it. It was a BIT COLD that evening around 630pm, so I grabbed my extra cold-weather-jacket (dark blue with down filling) to put around my spring jacket. As I sat down in the very back of the theatre on the left hand side I was a bit warm so I took the jacket off and sat on top of it, more or less.
There were only 2 or 3 others in the theatre and they were on the other side. At the end of the film I picked up my stuff and left, on my way to drop off the Thanksgiving items for some family members about 15 miles away. I did NOT realize I left my winter jacket there until much later that evening, around midnight. But I figured one of the employees would see it and bring it to the “lost and found” and I would be able to get it back the next day.
The NEXT DAY I took an alternative route back to the Westpark Theatre to check on my WINTER JACKET…; it was about 1pm when I arrived. I went to the ticket window and inquired with the young man wearing glasses behind the glass. I asked politely if my jacket was there. He reached below the desk he was sitting at and pulled a few things out, and then said, as if this was kind of a big effort for him, with a big sigh, “NO , THERE’S ONLY SWEATERS HERE…”
…I asked if maybe it was still in the seat where I left it. He said something about it having been “swept”. I persisted and asked if somebody could just take a quick look to make sure. He ACTED IRRITATED as if this was a huge request, and resisted at first, then said “OK SIR” and called somebody on the radio and told me to go inside to the lobby,.
I entered into the lobby and as I did so I noticed a young man walking toward me sort of PUFFED UP as if the thought he was going to have to physically restrain me from going into the theatre on my own to look for my jacket. At this point I was STILL THINKING that they were going to be HOSPITABLE and do what seemed to be the ‘NORMAL & RIGHT THING TO DO” for a customer.
He sort of agressively said “How can I help you…” and I repeated that I left my jacket there. His NAMETAG said “CHAD SNYDER” . He repeated that the theatre has been “swept” …and I asked if he could just take a quick peek and I told him that I was sitting in the back…and he said STERNLY, “NO, I CANNOT INTERRUPT the MOVIE-GOERS” …
I wondered aloud if there were MANY IF ANY PEOPLE in this particular film at this time of day…there were NOT many cars in the parking lot, and repeated that it was IN THE BACK , probably nobody sitting there ( i often sit in the way back because I sometimes check my phone for news during the movie and do not want to disrupt people. Normally people do NOT sit in these back seats unless they have no other choice). If there were any people in the theatre they were probably further up front, and going in with a tiny light aimed at the floor would be MINIMALLY DISRUPTIVE if at all.
CHAD SNYDER continued to refuse to do anything to help me further, other than say he would check AFTER the movie.. ; I told him that if he did find it, then I would have to drive several miles again to come back and get it; when if he found it now, it would SOLVE everything and we could all be happy. He didn’t seem to think this made ANY SENSE AT ALL because going into the theatre MIGHT DISRUPT the guests. I was just a “GUEST” last night but I guess “former guests” don’t deserve the same sort of CARE & CONCERN.
SO I ASKED to speak to “his boss” and he said the “general manager” isn’t here right now. I kept persisting, even pleading a little bit because it SEEMED LIKE such a mundane request…it was only 50 feet or so away and to be REALISTIC wouldn’t likely bother a single person. He SEEMED to be making this MORE OF A MATTER of “WHO’S THE BOSS” rather than accommodating a “guest” or “former guest” .
I didn’t know what else to do. It was DISHEARTENING. i don’t mean to be MELODRAMATIC but it really was disheartening to be treated like this, it seemed SO UNREASONABLE of him. The best he could offer was to take MY NAME & NUMBER and call me if he found it. I did NOT GET the feeling he was the LEAST BIT CONCERNED ABOUT ME at all, but SIMPLY BOTHERED by my presence and my simple request taking him out of his routine.
And so i LEFT, without MUCH HOPE at all of getting my jacket back. I wonder if he even actually went and checked at the end of the movie. I never got a call back from him. He couldn’t even make a “COURTESY CALL” and say, with sincerity (or at least ACT sincere) “I’m sorry Sir, but we didn’t find your jacket…”
And this LEADS me to wonder , DID AN EMPLOYEE OF WESTPARK THEATRE STEAL MY JACKET ? It wasn’t worth that much, it’s several years old, but it was a GOOD JACKET for cold weather (down jackets aren’t so cheap) . There’s NO OTHER EXPLANATION… the other guests in the theatre would NOT have even seen my jacket …they would have left out the other side of the theatre. Then an employee would have “swept” the theatre and would have (or should have) returned the jacket to the LOST & FOUND.
SO I FEEL VIOLATED in more than one way. That somebody STOLE MY JACKET (possibly an employee) and that CHAD SNYDER couldn’t even use a little CUSTOMER RELATIONS to try to make me FEEL LESS BAD about it… ; instead he made me feel like a JERK for bothering him about my lost jacket. , SHAME ON CHAD SNYDER…you don’t deserve to be in your position. You have a pretty nice & easy job from what I can tell. It does NOT require a lot from you. At least you could BE A REAL MAN and treat others with respect. SHAME ON YOU CHAD SNYDER.
SHAME SHAME SHAME.
I have not yet spoken with the GENERAL MANAGER…i hope to do so and report this interaction and will find out what kind of person the BOSS is at this theatre. Does he CARE ?
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