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Saved Seat Flag
Is that seat taken, is that seat taken, is that seat taken... | |
This idea would keep you from having to ask that question over and over again in a crowded theater when you're looking for an available seat, and also keep you from having to answer it over and over again when you're saving a seat for someone. The way it is now, people usually put a jacket, pocketbook,
ticket stub or something along those lines in the seat they want to save. The problem with these things is that you have to get pretty close before you see them (if you see them at all), wasting your time when you're trying to find a seat.
The 'saved seat flag' would fix that. Each seat would have a small, thin vertical tube attached to the front of its armrest. When you pulled a tab on its top a pole about 18" high would come up out of it. Once free from the confining tube a hinged flag would drop down, displaying a flag that clearly said 'RESERVED'. To put the pole back into its tube you'd just press in a tab at the bottom that was resting on the lip of tube (this would also make it easy for ushers to put them back in place in between shows too if kids had pulled them a bunch of them up on their way out as a prank).
spiked pay seat
http://wearcam.org/seatsale/
here's the solution. [jaksplat, Jan 20 2005]
[link]
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It could also work in the theatre washrooms. |
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Creative {+}. To help prevent abuse you could have a timer that made them go down after X minutes and if the timer expired disable them temporarily. Cost would be an issue though. |
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I must be going to the wrong shows. Don't have the problem. |
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Wouldn't it be more useful to have the flags say 'VACANT' and go down when the seat is occupied? People coming in are looking for somewhere to sit and this would be the easiest way of guiding them there. |
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What about blocking other people's view? Dozens of little poles kind of get in the way of the screen. |
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Aq-Bi - The movie theater I go to has stadium seating so the pole would have to be about 4 feet high to get in my way. Even in theaters where the seats are set on a shallower incline an 18" pole with flag on it would be shorter than an average person sitting in the same seat. The pole would be pushed back down as soon as the person the seat was reserved was sat down in it too. |
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wagster - Having them say "VACANT' would require all of the flags to be pulled up between shows in order for the idea to work, which would be prohibitive from both a time and labor perspective. |
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You always seem to have an answer for everything. It's like you think about your ideas before you post them or something... |
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Instead of a flag, it could be a low-light "lamp", with a very tiny lightbulb. This way, nobody has to pull the flags up or down in between shows. |
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Or a light that says "Vacant." Could repurpose the light fixtures from the tops of old taxicabs. |
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Pericles, robinism - Lamps or lights would both work but they'd also require either batteries or wiring, something which in turn would require a maintenance cost or installation cost. I'm shooting for a low-tech, low-cost solution to increase the odds that it would be implemented. |
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wagster - Thanks. Couldn't help smiling when I read that. |
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//I'm shooting for a low-tech, low-cost solution to increase the odds that it would be implemented// |
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Well, if you want to implement it, the best shot is to make it functional. Having the theatre's staff push the flags down in between shows will reduce their productivity, increasing the costs. If you consider the big incomes these theatres make, I don't think it will hurt their economy to give their patrons this advantage. |
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I like it. Plus, it lets me go get popcorn. I like popcorn. And breathing. |
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I like the light solution. It could be bright before the show starts, then dim way down once the lights dim. |
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A glow-in-the-dark flag would be helpful for after the movie starts. With the outrageous ticket prices these days I'm sure they can afford a little luxury like this. (I paid $12.50 a couple of weeks ago for ONE ticket.) |
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