Theaters' workers don't mess around

Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), July, 2003

Byline: Bob Welch / The Register-Guard

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in a six-part series about Bob Welch doing other people's jobs. Today, he works at the Cinemark 17 Theaters in Springfield.

I was standing near the "podium," the place where you get your ticket ripped, when it happened. A girl of about 12, seeing me in my "Charlie's Angels" promotional T-shirt, "Cinemark Bob" name tag and - ahem - walkie-talkie, rushed up to me.

"I, uh, spilled my drink!"

There it was, a jumbo wreckage of soda and ice strewn across the carpeted lobby as if to shout: lawsuit. If I didn't act fast, someone could slip on this cinematic Exxon Valdez.

While human resources manager Heather Hughes dealt with the victim - "I'll get you another...