A West Island mother is speaking out after her six-month-old child was charged for a movie ticket.
Andrea Riti, a mother of two, took her children to see a matinee film at Cinema Guzzo on Sources Boulevard.
But the infant wasn’t allowed in for free – the agent at the counter charged the $7 admission fee for a ticket before letting the mother and children in.
“I asked for a general admission for myself and my eldest daughter and he pointed to the stroller and said ‘she has to pay too,’” Riti explained.
Riti said paying for a baby doesn’t make sense – babies can fly for free or get free admission at Disney theme parks, she explained, so why pay to see a Disney movie?
The owner of Guzzo Sources, Vince Guzzo, said the fee is meant to make parents think about whether or not they should bring their child to the movies.
In the past, he said he’s received complaints about children crying, prompting him to enforce the charge.
“We had to think hard and say look, what do we do?” Guzzo said. “Do we try and respect point zero one per cent of our business – the under three years old – or do we respect the other 99 per cent of people?”
The theatre, however, does offer some free showings for kids under three on certain morning, but Guzzo said he also has to give viewers the experience they expect.
“I need to make people feel that they can go to the movies, pay $12, and at least have a half-decent chance of having to watch a movie without something happening.
As for Riti, the incident had an impact on the outing.
“It tainted the afternoon,” she said. “It definitely tainted the afternoon.”
She said she won’t be going back to Guzzo Theatres ever again.
