You have been patiently (and I mean, desperately!) waiting for your pari mutuel tickets to be ready. You’ve checked the website, called the office, and left multiple messages with customer service. Finally, you decide to give up and go to the movies – a completely routine and often necessary (if you want to see your favorite films) activity. As you’re walking out of the theater, you feel a sharp stab of disappointment and look down at your phone to see that your pari mutuel tickets are not yet available. After all that waiting, you might feel cheated or even angry. Is it really fair to deprive you of what you think is your due just because an organization (pari mutuel) is running a little bit behind?
The short answer is no. It is never, ever acceptable to keep someone waiting like this. Especially if they’re expecting/hoping to see their favorite film. So, what should you do? You should go home, log on to the pari mutuel website or call them directly and demand to talk to a manager – preferably one who cares about your feelings. Maybe they can’t help, but they’ll certainly listen and consider your point of view. Even if they can’t resolve your problem, they at least know that you were both thinking and feeling and that you weren’t just a number. Which is more than you can say for the way many organizations operate these days.
Even if you do manage to get your pari mutuel tickets in time for the film, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. You might get lucky and the tickets might be counterfeit or just from a different lot. So, it’s always good to be safe rather than sorry. Plus, you can decide whether or not to walk ahead of the rest of the audience and get a better view. There’s no rush to fill in the last few seats at the movie theater. The film isn’t going to start for another ten minutes anyway. You might as well go ahead and sit down and enjoy the show. The lights will flash, the screen will go up, and you’ll be presented with the movie of your choice. All without having to worry about whether or not you’ll make it to the bathroom in time.