NPP Bar Blog

Manager Communication:  A pretty tame day overall, no major issues and no periods of extreme business one way or the other. Had a good bar crowd throughout the day, a few large groups drinking at tables and some standard service bar pushes but well paced with no issues taking care of guests or theatre drinks. We did have one guest vomit in both theatre 3 and the hallways during The Dead Don't Die. Her husband told us that she just got rapidly sick, all they had here was a Diet Coke. We checked on her and got her water, she declined further help. Had to clean it as the film was going, big time thank you to Henry, Renee Michelle and Tony for quietly and discreetly cleaning the theatre and then deep cleaning once they left. Luckily no guests were directly next to her and the disturbance was minimal. BAR Staff Observations:  Good work by everyone today, especially Antonio, Malka and Grace for pulling off a really tight close and some cleaning projects without a Lead on the c...

Manager Communication: Busy all the way through tonight with lots of ticket pick up due to weather and just generally strong business. We had some close show times in the theatres, specifically upstairs that gave us a constant rush of tickets for nearly 2 hours. Had to hop back only a couple of time to make sure that bar guests were taken care of, very strongly handled by Susan, Dylan and William. Cut Ryan downstairs after 2/3 of the last showtimes went in, had a lot of second beverage sales in the theatres and Antonio got a nice push as well, nothing he couldn't handle. Cut to 2 up at 10:00 pm as well, tight closes on both floors. Decent bar business throughout the day at HiRes. Customer Comments: Had a guest in theatre 3 take his phone out and when Kevin told him to put it away, he responded rather loudly "ok, whatever". Brought him his check early, got him to admit that he was rude and I told him that we would ask him to leave if there were further issues. I interc...

Manager Communication: I'm sure this is covered thouroughly in the FOH and projection blogs, but the 35 projector went down at the beginning of Magnolia. We played a DVD rip off of Michael's computer, it was pretty poor quality. We gave passes to everyone in the show. A few people asked if we would consider showing it again. I think it would be a good Idea. BAR Staff Observations: Swans last day and Jenn,s Birthday. Hiring/Training: Tevon had his second train today. He has one more on Wednesday and then will be Saturday brunch starting next week. Pay Outs: $5 for marmalade for the yesterday special. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: I ordered more pint glasses, they will be here in a few days. We will be pretty low until then. Filmbot Issues: I had a trancloud/printer error on kiosk

Manager Communication: Slow Friday night.  As summer goes it seems as we are getting a good uptick in later round, especially people coming back to the bar after the late shows.  First time in a little while that we got a few groups after the tens. Openers were out by 8:30, Malka was done around 10:30 so 1 up 1 down to finish out.  Batch and stock look very good heading into Saturday, with a full backup of lemonade.  Customer Comments: Had to turn away a woman and her daughter from the sevens Yesterday.  The daughter was 11, but I gave them an e-credit and they will hopefully come tomorrow. BAR Staff Observations: Solid crew and good communication and teamwork. 86ed / counts on items: Raspberry Blush

Manager Communication: Lot's of confusion with the "all ages" shows.  Parents thought they could just send their kids.  We need language about children under 13 must be accompanied by adults.  I had to kick out 4 eleven year olds and a 14 year old with her 5 year old sister. Slow night.  We got things batched with a solid prep list for tomorrow.  Should be good for the weekend.   Cut down to 1 up and 1 down at 8:30. Customer Comments: I had to deal with one angry mom on her daughter's cell phone, Gerard talked to another mom in person.  The confusion was from the "all ages" wording. Hiring/Training: Tevon got his onboarding materials.  He set up the bar with William, got to experience a bit of service, albeit slow, and saw a bit of batching.  He seems like a great fit.  Didn't have too many questions, but as he works more, he will. Ordering/Receiving:  Skurnik came today at 8:45.  It was short 1 keg of Rieslin...

Manager Communication: Good night tonight! Quite a few orders coming tomorrow. Jesse I would check on the status of the elevator when you get in, you guys will need to get some helpers putting things away if it is not running by the time the orders start coming in. Let me know if you have any issues. The bourbon cream we needed for spoons was not on our union order today. They also came late, after we opened, and we had to carry 8 kegs up the stairs due to the elevator being out. I let our rep know I was not thrilled. He found a local liquor store that carried the bourbon cream and I made a run there. They are going to come by and make up for the difference in price. Hiring/Training: Tavon is coming to train tomorrow. He has been sent all his info and is in schedulefly and Mobilebytes. Benjamin, I left his folder in the bar invoices folder in the MOD, can you make sure you get his I9 and data sheet to Mascha. He will be training in Hi Res for the duration of the opening shift...

Manager Communication:   A slow day, we got lots of organizing and cleaning done both in the walk in and behind the bars and made cuts real early. Went to 1 up, 1 down by 8:00 pm. Dylan had lobby ready to shut down fully by 11:00 pm and was done at 11:00 pm on the dot with all but running his back ups to the walk in. Very limited bar business as well. BAR Staff Observations:  Big thanks to Jeremy for doing a great job consolidating and cleaning the walk in. 86ed / counts on items:  Mikkeller Raspberry Prep List: Keeping batches tight for film specials. We were only able to make a half batch of bianco negroni, in need of more vermouth. Otherwise we are well batched. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping:  Baldor and Chef's Warehouse tomorrow. Maintenance:  The apple tv is now connected to the Admin network, but is not loading and seamlessly streaming movies; it will load for several minutes and then show just a few seconds of footage.

Manager Communication: Justin Lane Briggs came in with 3 friends to see Dead Don't Die. Really busy first round followed by a slow second round.  The first round was rough, as none of the tech was working properly.  I was stuck down on film bots from open until 9 PM while Gil and Gerard ran the building. Film Bots was not taking cards, so I printed passes for some disappointed folks, and made their days.  I told them to spend the extra money on Food and Drink and tip in the theater.  Grace was done quick, as the film bots had to stay open to 11:15, and she was done by 11:30. Customer Comments:  People were very understanding and patient with all the tech issues. BAR Staff Observations: Grace and Susan held it down loverly. FOH Staff Observations:  Everyone deserves all the praise, but especially Stephen and Emily who handled theater 2 with 101 tickets without needing management help!  And closed out tickets having to manually enter every...

Manager Communication:  A decent night with good sales for the middle and dinner rounds. Even the 9 o clock round films did comparatively well for a Sunday; the Sunday night movies seem to be selling steadily week to week. No issues, a good service tonight with easy to plan cuts. Went down to 2 up, 1 down at 9 pm and then down to 1 up at 10:00 pm with time for batching and cleaning. BAR Staff Observations: Malka was super efficient in closing duties, out by 11:15 pm. Same with Caleb and William upstairs. 86ed / counts on items: 86 Mikkeler Raspberry Prep List: Batched a 1/4 batch of Sun go Down, Lemonade, Cool Runnings and another Firewalk. Great shape for the week. Over/Short on Banks: Lobby bar bank was short $10. Malka and Susan were both still here when it was counted, nothing jumped out as a possible cause looking through their cash checks and lack of pay outs.

Manager Communication: So many children.  Had to turn away a few infants.  Other than that, nothing much to report. We will be losing the Rocket Man special, so keeping the batch very tight. BAR Staff Observations: Very solid.  We didn't need Antonio in so early, as 3 bartenders plus Rebecca serving could handle everything well.  Instead, I had Jay batch a bunch and sent him to enjoy the nice weather. Special Events:  Sarah O'Connor bridal shower for her sister Rachel.  It went very well, and they loved the food and loved Rebecca's service!  They had a great time and spent 200 or so more than the minimum.  They were all very nice.

Manager Communication:  Steady night with a few sold out small theatres. Nothing major to report, made smart cuts when ticket sales didn't jump for late rounds, cutting to 2 up and 1 down and cutting the bar runner around 9:30 pm. Well handled. Customer Comments:  Had to tell a couple in theatre 7 to leave due to having a baby with them. They were a bit upset as this was also their dinner. They had already gotten tacos, so I cancelled the rest of the order and credited their tickets as the movie had just started. They left disappointed but understanding. BAR Staff Observations:  Jenn rocks service bar on a different level. Prep List: In very good shape, batched up on Firewalk, Lemonade and Negroni. We are through what is left of Mae West in bottles, fully switched over to draft.

Manager Communication: Good day today, we were pretty steady all day. Nothinng really out of the ordinary to report. Customer Comments: Quite a few kids for Toy story today. We had to turn away a few due to not meeting our age guidelines

Manager Communication: Good Friday.  Toy Story is doing very well.  The only issue was having to turn away  5 large families from the 8:45 showing.  It would be good in the future to push the late shows of kids shows until later.  This would help prevent people from bringing their children a bit.  There were no children that tried to come to the 10:45 Pets. Mae West Negroni is attached by keg and labeled on all towers.  Let's move through the little we have left in store and pours, and then switch over. US Foods did not show up today so we had to buy milk. Customer Comments: In the first round of Toy Story, Gerard had a guest ask him to speak to another manager.  I went in and spoke to him.  He claimed his clearly infant child was 3 and said she didn't have any ID.  I made him buy her a ticket, and told him if there was any noise he would be asked to step out.  It was not an issue afterwards, but I would only have escalate...

Manager Communication: It was a busy night tonight. Even without the event in theater 1, the 7 oclock round was well attended. The bar was hustling, but they were able to handle it. The bar filled up after the event let out, and stayed pretty busy for a few hours. It seems like the new music system is quieter. Let's pay attention to music levels, we might have to turn everything up a notch or two. Customer notes: A woman came to the bar around 8 and said that her husband was having an allergic reaction. They were rushing out so I could not get much info from them. He had a burger. I asked if he was allergic to anything and she said yes, but she did not say what. They did not want an ambulance or any help. They had dine and dash so there was no tab to settle. We did not hear any follow up from them tonight, but we might still. Special Events? We had the Brownsville born event today. It was very busy in the theater. Service was a little difficult because the hosts asked to ...

Manager Communication: Very busy first round like yesterday with lots of children.  They were lined up outside before opening.  The hvac panel in theater 4 was not working, so I was trying to fix that while Ryan held down theater service.  I couldn't fix it and Palco was called.  They said there was a short that we would not have been able to fix.  Gil talked to them after it was fixed. If it is rainy or too humid, we have to take the outdoor route to the upper roof.  I went through theater 2's latch and in just 5 minutes, too much humidity got the lens to the projector foggy.  When Palco came, we had them take the outdoor route from the lower roof. Really strong Wednesday with good bar business before the sevens, both from folks going into theaters and going to the Celebrate Brooklyn concert.  A trickle of business from folks leaving the concert. BAR Staff Observations: Antonio held down downstairs, Rebecca and Susan killed upstairs....

Manager Communication:  A very busy day, we were thin staffed for the early rounds with a server split between 1 & 2 and heavy walk ins to the lil hawk friendly films resulting in high sales in some theatres with only 1 server. Gil and I jumped in where needed and got everyone through the rush. Bar was solid through the early rounds; managed to get some batching done. Then trivia was super busy, gave us a huge push to the bar amidst a decent dinner round. Business tapered off for the late rounds, bar maintained a good crowd post trivia. Customer Comments: Some trivia first timers were a bit upset they had to sit at the bar and were surprised by how crowded we get early. Ryan and I explained best practices for getting a table at trivia and they had an otherwise great time. BAR Staff Observations:  Malka did an awesome job serving trivia. Everyone held their own tonight. Antonio is proving to be a really reliable presence wherever stationed, but he's very good in lobby...

Manager Communication: Decent night.  The last rounds are picking up on week days with a really strong showing from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  They were a decent bar crowd before the show.  Got nice and prepped up, and Susan mopped the walk in while we were low on kegs. Customer Comments: Had to turn away a couple with a kid and a dad with a kid after seven.  They were understanding. BAR Staff Observations: Dylan and Susan got us nice and prepped.  Great job all around. FOH Staff Observations: Natasha was a rockstar today!  Flipped her theater solo in no time, and had a super smooth dinner round, then went upstairs to help with Texas! Special Events: Texas Chainsaw Massacre Staff Meeting Agenda notes: Cue Sheets 86ed / counts on items: Sherry, count on Mikeller Raspberry Blush Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: posted in kitchen Maintenance: Dyson hand dryer in downstairs men's room is not functioning.  I had to re-hang one soap disp...

Manager Communication: Daytime business was far stronger today than yesterday and we carried through a similar PM flow of business to Saturday. The last round was the exception, tapering off. The early rounds more than made up for it, and we beat Saturday's ticket and F&B sales. Well handled and busy at the bars, with Rebecca and Caleb handling the back half of the dinner round with 2 behind HiRes without the need for manager support. Flow of showtimes kept service bar consistently busy but never overwhelming. Great business after the 7s to the bar, then slows down to just a few guests and tables by 11:00 pm. Cut Lobby at appropriate times, cut to one at HiRes at 11:30 pm after a batching and stocking blitz by Caleb. Customer Comments:  Had a few ladies come to HiRes that have been here twice this weekend. They live nearby but hadn't been in yet; loved it so much that they came back two days in a row. Also had a guest order the chicken sandwich and complain that it wa...

Manager Communication: So many kids in Secret life of pets today.  Everyone is doing their best to manage, but it is tough. Otherwise it was a good morning. Customer Comments: Had a dificult couple in the first show in theater three with a toddler. It has been addressed in the FOH blog and via email.

Manager Communication:  A really slow start to the day but then we 180'd, picking up really nice walk in and late ticket sale business for the 7s and late round. Several sell outs when we started the day with none. Bars also got a really good crowd after the 7s that endured through the late rounds. We were able to concentrate staffing where needed; cut Ryan and Eliel after 7s and had them batching some syrups and cocktails, then got them out. Stayed at 1 down, 2 up through close to do so efficiently and got Lobby bar shut down fully by 11:05 pm. Customer Comments:  Had some guests upset by us only having front row seats asking for refunds, saying this was also where they were having dinner. Explained policy, got them a gift card and took them to HiRes where they ordered a full dinner and helped pay for it with their gift card "refund". BAR Staff Observations:  Susan killed it tonight on service bar/generally running HiRes. Felt a real sense of leadership happening. ...

Manager Communication: Moderate ticket sales for a Friday, but good bar business, with lots of people upstairs and downstairs after the Celebrate.  Everyone handled it well.  Still a solid bar crowd.   Customer Comments: Had one customer complain that our seats were too small.   BAR Staff Observations: I was diligent about having people have their attention to the bar.  This is one of the areas we need to focus on the most.  I was making sure people's attention was on empty glasses, bussing, and people coming and going.   Staff Meeting Agenda notes: make sure before the openers leave to ask for everything you need Prep List: Ginger syrup R&D comp checks: Rum drink for summer Maintenance: Key to liquor room broke off in lock.  I could not get it out.  We can get the door open, but it is only seemingly locked.  We may need a locksmith out here tomorrow.

Manager Communication: Strong, busy afternoon business to theatres and then slow ticket sales for the late round. Bars were steady all day, with good crowds after dinner showtimes staying out of the run and a nice push after the National Concert as well. Only had to hop behind occasionally in Lobby to support Eliel when he got drink rushes alongside a crowded lobby. Also helped a bit when Ryan got slammed with guests and a few late service tickets, but overall well handled on both floors tonight. Caught some scammers today with Alexis and Conor. They telegraphed pretty obviously that they were dishonest, asking about when we charge a card for DnD etc. We tried it before ringing any of their food and the card was declined. We told them they would need alternate forms of payment for any food and they left. BAR Staff Observations: Eliel was good tonight but a litter erratic, broke a few glasses and was a little loud as a default in his interactions. As the night went on, he seemed t...

Manager Communication: Between the park traffic and game night, upstairs and downstairs bars combined to be the second highest revenue center on a slow night. We need to send out an email to all managers clarifying the exact new closing procedures. We had a decent amount of people grabbing a quick drink downstairs before the concert, and some people come in upstairs afterwards.  Bar business til after 11 Also, can we clarify if 13 plus can go to R rated films with a parent or guardian or not? Customer Comments: A customer in theater 1 during the dinner round of Booksmart was on her phone, and very rude to Tommy when he asked her to get off it.  He notified us immediately and I told her that if she was on her phone again she would be asked to leave.  She said she was leaving anyways as it was a garbage movie.  I followed her out to make sure she left. Alexis dealt with a tough situation in theater 6.  It is in her blog. BAR Staff Observations: Un...

Manager Communication: A very concentrated push of business tonight from Stop Making Sense, gave us a great bar draw and a sell out in theatre 1. Outside of that, some walk ins for early shows gave us an ok first round and the late round fizzled out very hard. Cut Susan at 10:30 pm, Cut Lobby bar at our scheduled times and Jeremy was done within 15 minutes of shut down with lots of pre-close cleaning. Customer Comments: Had to reimburse a family of 4 at Stop Making Sense for having children below 13 at the screening. The parents were cordial but disappointed, the kids took it pretty hard. Had a woman confuse Hawks with Babies with Little Hawks and bring her 6 month old to a 5:05 pm Secret Life of Pets along with her 5 year old. Told her that she could only bring the baby for specific screenings, she also took it in stride. Instructed Kevin to slow service to a woman ordering 2 at once glasses of wine in theatre 3. Despite telling her we would bring one at a time for the duratio...

Manager Communication: Dead Don't Die Cocktail is in doc as well as the recipe.  I have updated the formatting on all the other cocktails, and will print them and update the bar binders on Thursday. Great walkin business for each round.  Ticket sales started at 1600 ended the day at over 5 thousand. F and B sales are very low for even high sales of Pets. Decent bar crowd for a Monday. The can opener went missing, and I searched everywhere for it.  We may need a new one. Customer Comments: I had to turn away a family from the late showing of Pets, and they mentioned that they had been in at 9 before.  I informed them that we changed the policy recently and they were welcome to come to any of our early shows before 7.  They were a bit disappointed.   BAR Staff Observations: Antonio sold tickets to the late Aladdin to a family with a 6 year old.  They made it to the theater and Gerard had to refund them and ask them to leave.  I talk...

Manager Communication: Really good night tonight. Theaters were pretty busy and the bar filled up for a bit. The schedule worked really well with one fewer bartender, but having them come in later. Customer Comments: We had some policy issues as normal but FOH did a great job enforcing tonight. We had to turn away several kids for the later alladin and secret life shows. Props to Gerard Prep List: Everything is batched up tonight, but we should all put eyes on it and make sure we are overbatched for tomorrow night, it could be a very busy bar night. Mobilebytes Issues: The ethernet on the lobby terminal was cutting in and out all night. Gil switched it to WIFI for now, he thinks it is probably the cord.

Manager Communication: I know it is new for all of us, but we have to be consistent on our policies that we discussed.  Make sure we are all on the same page.  The first warning from a manager is the last, and after that the guest is asked to leave.  Ask for assistance if needed.  This is for all our policies, as by the time the manager gives warning one, the guest has usually been told policy by the server. Also, consistency on stroller parking.  For theater 1 it is in the front of the theater.  For theater 2 the parking is in the rear.  For 4 and 6 it is in the hallway by the elevator.  For 3,5,7 it is on the staff only stairway halfway up.  And the child must be 3 and over as we discussed.  I know it is week 1 of this, but let's be consistent to create the space we want to create! Customer Comments: A man in theater 4 was vaping and warned multiple times to stop.  He should have been asked to leave earlier, but at the end...

Manager Communication: Good pickup on initial ticket sales today. Bars got a nice push to both the front and service bars. Good team on today, no issues with handling volume. Still got some batching and stocking done and went down to 2 bartender by 10:30 pm and closed lobby at 10:45 pm. Had a few troublesome guests in theatre 7 event, overall the event went off without issue so I'll note that here rather than in the event section. There was one guest in particular who was unacceptably rude. He at one point physically snapped at a server and kept waving staff down and giving an attitude when the servers told him he needed to write his orders on flags. I dropped his soda water and told him that he needed to utilize the system and act respectfully to our staff. He raised his hand in my face and shushed me and I said "excuse me, do you want to talk right now about this?" and he said "I'll talk to you after in the lobby". I told the servers that if he ordere...

Manager Communication: The tv shelves behind Hi-Res were built today. They made quite a mess so I had to pull everything and wash it. They are going to finish the job Friday morning, so lets pull all the glassware around those shelves tomorrow night so we dont have to rewash everything again on Friday. We re-organized the lowboy behind Hi-Res today. I am going to do the lobby tomorrow. I would like to make sure they stay this way so let's all get on the same page. Customer Comments: We had a couple tickets purchased today by someone with a flagged email from our chargebacks. We were all ready to bust them but they no showed. BAR Staff Observations: FOH Staff Observations: We had several issues with servers today. Alexis will elaborate in her blog but a major topic for the service email needs to be if you see something say something. Managers need to know if anything out of the ordinary is going on in theaters. Kaela had customers flagging about talking customers in the ...

Manager Communication : Steady night and a slower than usual but good night of trivia sales as well. We got some walk in business to build on a decent starting ticket sales count; gave us good pushes in most theatres and with thin but well handled staffing, we rocked it out. Ryan W. was sick so I sent him home at 8:30 pm and Dylan and Malka held down trivia. Dylan stuck around a bit after trivia in case we got walk ins from the Concert Series but we did not pick up much business. Had Eliel shut down at the new closing times and then out by 11:15 pm with a strong pre-closing breakdown from him. Dylan was done at 11:15 pm as well, just one bartender on after that. Kept a small post-trivia crew at the bar. No issues. Had one group in theatre 2 tonight seem problematic. They tried to order booze, Maddy asked for ID and they asked if they could show their phone pictures. He said no and they got defensive. The second guests also ordered and when asked for ID, gave a blatant fake. Maddy t...

Manager Communication: Numbers jumped well for a Monday with no events.  We ended up having a strong dinner and late rounds, with a lot of Nitehawk folks coming to see movies and drink at the bar on their days off. Susan got us nice and batched, and then I cut her and ran with 1 up and 1 down. I think I am locked in on the spec for the Zombie.  Will have all of you try it tomorrow.   BAR Staff Observations: Antonio rocked downstairs for a solid but not crazy dinner round, and Rebecca killed it on a pretty busy upstairs dinner round. 86ed / counts on items: Low on Aperol Prep List: Vanilla Aperol when it comes in. Over/Short on Banks:  3 cents short downstairs rounding for a kitchen payout. Pay Outs: 2.97 for cilantro Maintenance: Mobilebytes Issues: Filmbot Issues: Every single Kiosk froze at slightly different times during the dinner round and had to be reset

Manager Communication: Strong 4s and dinner round, but a slower late round tapered things off nicely. We were able to keep staffing tight while also batching fully and setting up the week. No real issues to report, closing procedures used fully and effectively tonight. Customer Comments:  A guest and their date got the Cool Runnings and Firewalk and wanted to see which they liked more. They ended up split, so the debate rages on. BAR Staff Observations: Antonio really opened up tonight and got confident with guest interactions, well handled rushes on both floors. FOH Staff Observations: Brett and Kaela were the all star drink runners and communicators with the bar tonight, keeping glassware on a sustainable cycle for us as well. 86ed / counts on items: Down to a count on Glenlivet of 2 pours. Prep List: Really healthy going in to the week, we will need to make Firewalk tomorrow when the puree comes in and I Am the Throne in small batches as needed. Ordering/Receiving...

Manager Communication: Much stronger early rounds than yesterday, hitting full force for the 4's.  Susan was able to jump off bar and get us batched up during the 2's and we should be rolling well. Had six large men order confusingly at lobby bar and talked to Antonio about taking a bit more control of the situation and leading people instead of being lead.  They went up to the theater, and Gerard and Alexis kept an eye on them.  They asked Jesse the runner if we would know if their card was declined, and Alexis came over and asked if they had an issue with payment (all at the beginning of the show).  They are still in theater 6 as of now, and all management is aware of the situation. Customer Comments: Had a lovely man in theater 7 voluntarily move without being asked to the front row.  I sent out a comp popcorn and thanked him profusely. We have lots of kid friendly shows right now and lots of kids, so we have to be diligent about our age policies an...

Manager Communication: A slow morning gave way to a very busy night. Sold out 7s almost entirely, huge walk in pushes bumped the late rounds up as well. The flow of showtimes downstairs was rough, with 3 & 5's simultaneous seatings giving us huge ticket/guest facing and drink pushes all at once. Gil and myself were behind the bar on several occasions to handle guests while Jenn held down a serious drink rush. Upstairs was a bit more evenly staggered but still very busy for the 7s and late rounds. Got a nice bar crowd through midnight as well that kept 3 bartenders busy. Cut down to 1 down at 10:30 pm, Susan got lots of batching done before leaving. Will was needed behind the bar until his cut at 11:30 pm. Cut the bar runner after the rush of the 7s, MODs did a great job designating servers to drink run and they held it down. Customer Comments: Had a guest show up at 8:00 pm for the 8:00 pm Detective Pikachu. He and his friend could not find seats together. He kept repeating...