Even if only a few tickets are sold for a certain movie, a single person cannot buy tickets for the core viewing area? Recently, the experience of a spectator in Shanghai became a hot topic and sparked heated discussions. The theater responded that this was a move to optimize seat utilization and improve the economic benefits of the theater. Audiences can adjust their seats according to the actual situation after arriving. Another person in the industry said that it is a business rule to "separate pairs but not singles". The
incident aroused heated discussion, mainly because it played on the self-deprecating point on the Internet of "singles get violently attacked again". Putting this aside, the "restrictions on ticket purchase for single-person viewing" is questionable.
This approach deprives single consumers of their right to make independent choices.
The "Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law" stipulates that consumers have the right to independently choose goods or services.
When buying a ticket to watch a movie, the same ticket has the same price and the same rights. According to the common practice of first come, first served, consumers obviously have the right to choose their seats independently, which is the proper meaning of consumers' legitimate rights and interests. Cinemas and ticket sales platforms cannot deprive consumers of this right.
As for whether consumers adjust their seats based on adult beauty or their own viewing experience after entering the venue, that is also the consumer's right to choose. However, the right to choose after entering the venue cannot be confused with the right to choose when purchasing tickets.
This approach ignores the reality of vacancy rates for some movie screenings.
This spectator in Shanghai said that only two tickets for the movie he chose were actually sold. But even so, he was unable to select seats in the core viewing area when purchasing tickets.
The reason for this situation is obviously due to the seat selection rules set in advance by the theater or the ticket purchasing platform. As a theater or ticket purchase platform,
sets so-called voting rules. Although it is suspected of violating the Consumer Rights Protection Act, it is understandable from the perspective of "improving economic benefits." However, in movie theaters with high vacancy rates, such a "one-size-fits-all" voting rule seems to be disregarding reality and even absurd.
In short, it is understandable for theaters or ticket purchase platforms to pursue greater economic benefits, but they must be based on a legal and reasonable basis. In terms of legality, it cannot be at the expense of the legitimate rights and interests of some consumers. In terms of rationality, a "one-size-fits-all" mechanism that seems to maximize benefits cannot be applied to complex and diverse realities. Otherwise, those seemingly “smart” approaches may end up being “fakely smart”.
