Like an evil blight spreading across the land from the spires of Mordor, Alamo’s new phone-based service model began to roll out in February as part of a hilariously misguided effort to “reduce distractions and, in the long term, make the experience even better.” Or maybe I’m looking at it from the wrong POV, and the Drafthouse’s initiative is part of a ruthlessly calculated effort to reduce distractions and make the experience even better for them (by “distractions” they mean “employees,” and by “make the experience better” they mean “lol go fuck yourselves”).
The chain’s website goes on to claim that “Putting ordering control directly in our guests’ hands allows us to move faster and more efficiently, creating a smoother, more responsive experience without added distraction.” Based on my limited experience with this new system, however, pivoting to QR codes will only allow the Drafthouse to move faster and more efficiently into going out of business forever.
Pardon the histrionics of the blog post title, but I’ve long been a booster of the Drafthouse here for as long as I’ve been blogging, possibly longer than that. It seems, sadly, that the quality of the moviegoing experience has gone through the floor.
We can’t have good things, can we?