When a Movie Theater / Arcade Decides to Play Pharmacist and Detective…read more
I never thought I would spend weeks working with law enforcement trying to recover my own legally prescribed medication from a movie theater, but here we are.
Three Saturdays ago, I accidentally left my daily medication container at RoadHouse Cinemas. I realized it almost immediately before I even got home and called the theater right away. I was told the auditorium had not even been cleaned yet. I explained exactly where the container was located and informed staff that I was already turning around and would be back within about 30 minutes.
At that point, this should have been one of the easiest lost-and-found situations imaginable.
What Should Have Happened
A staff member should have gone into the auditorium, retrieved the container, secured it in lost and found, and waited for the customer who had already called and was actively on the way back.
That's it.
Problem solved.
What Actually Happened
Instead, staff opened my medication container, inspected the contents, identified the medications themselves (via google per managment), determined on their own that I should not be carrying legally prescribed medication in a daily-use organizer, and contacted law enforcement.
Let's be absolutely clear: every medication in that container was legally prescribed to me. I'm disabled American prescribed medications not a criminal.
Like many people who take multiple medications each day, I use a daily pill organizer rather than carrying numerous prescription bottles everywhere. I intentionally carry only a day's supply so that if something gets lost, I don't lose all of my medication.
What makes this situation particularly outrageous is that the theater already knew exactly who the owner was. This was not abandoned property. I had already called, identified myself, and told them I was on my way back.
Yet instead of waiting 30 minutes for the owner to return, staff decided to play pharmacist, investigator, and law enforcement. Then they called the police.
The Real Consequences
What should have been resolved that same day has now dragged on for weeks.
I am currently running low on one of the medications that was inside that container because of decisions made by theater staff.
Think about that for a moment. A customer accidentally leaves behind a daily medication organizer, immediately calls, immediately turns around, and the theater has not even cleaned the auditorium yet. Somehow the result is weeks of police paperwork and a customer still trying to recover their own property.
This entire situation was completely avoidable.
To make matters worse, the container itself was a gift from my grandmother-in-law who recently passed away. The medication can eventually be replaced. That gift cannot.
Management's Response
After speaking with management, I was stunned to learn they completely stand behind what happened.
Their position appears to be that I was wrong for carrying legally prescribed medication in a daily-use organizer rather than transporting large prescription bottles everywhere I go.
I even asked a hypothetical question: If they found a wallet and already knew who it belonged to because the owner had called and was on the way back, would they go through every card, inspect the contents, make judgments, and potentially involve law enforcement before the owner arrived?
The answer was essentially yes.
The "Karen" Version of Customer Service
Of course, nobody is arguing against basic safety measures. But that is not what happened here.
The theater already knew who owned the container. They knew I was returning. They knew I was only 30 minutes away.
There was absolutely no reason to start handling, identifying, and investigating my medication.
The entire experience felt like the "Karen" version of customer service, where the first assumption is that a customer must be doing something wrong and the first response is to involve authorities rather than use common sense.
I am not accused of a crime. I am not in trouble. Every medication was legally prescribed to me. Yet I am the one dealing with the consequences.
RoadHouse Cinemas took what should have been a simple 30-minute lost-and-found situation and turned it into a weeks-long ordeal involving law enforcement, missing medication, wasted time, unnecessary stress, and the possible loss of an irreplaceable sentimental item.
I cannot recommend a business that treats customers this way.
We checked out the game side prior way to expensive for the offerings. Bowling down the street is far cheaper.
