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202reddit t1_j5yksna wrote

Not just you. The service is very uneven. The waiters are always there at the beginning and very pleasant, but from there it is a crap shoot. I have waited 40 minutes for popcorn! How the f*** is there not popcorn ready to go??? Drinks take forever or just don't come. The thing with the checks not being delivered until after the credits is just not OK. At this point I don't wait; I just leave and keep an eye on the credit card charge to make sure they don't screw me. I am surprised to hear this is specific to DC. One would not think a corporate company that knows how things are supposed to work would tolerate this.

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10EtherealLane t1_j5z0fsg wrote

I’ve been to a few different locations (Austin and SF). The check has always come seconds after the movie ends (before credits start rolling). Bringing it out after the credits is just brutal

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ckelley87 t1_j5zkn7g wrote

That’s not normal, lived in Austin & went to many Drafthouse movies, check usually came with like 15-20 minutes left before movie ends, they pick up a few minutes later, then it’s returned before it ends so you can leave when it’s over.

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jkoch2 t1_j5zqkcy wrote

In the DC area(they do this in Crystal City too) they take the credit card at the beginning so there isn't back and forth at the end. In the past they usually brought out the receipt as you said, 15-20 minutes before the end. I feel like when I went last week they did this, maybe it was closer to the end, but before credits. However I was there a few weeks ago and they waited forever, and then one of the servers/people tasked with cleaning the theater was audibly mad that people were still there, like it was our fault for the checks not being delivered. Service still sucks, waiting 15 minutes for a drink refill or popcorn is nuts.

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ckelley87 t1_j60g6f9 wrote

You know, I may have been thinking of the process before the pandemic. I hadn't gone to an Alamo, let alone any other theater, since 2019 when I still lived in Austin.

When I went to see Top Gun: Maverick at Bryant Street I do remember giving my card at the beginning, maybe that step about the back and forth was removed as a precaution after theaters started reopening and I just mentally threw it back in there, haha.

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CJL13 t1_j5zj83w wrote

Ashburn they do it towards the end.

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