Sortland has listened to the Løvemammaene!

Following tips from several of our members in several regions, the Løvemammaene have recently been working with companion tickets to the cinema. Most cinemas do not offer this on the internet or in the app, like the ordinary tickets. Løvemammaene's regional team North has sent an inquiry to several cinemas in the region - and Sortland is now number two out to listen to and comply with our request. Hurray!

Many cinemas practice solutions such as having to call or get in touch by e-mail to buy an accompanying ticket, in order to later redeem these over the counter. This does not fall under the ordinary solution that able-bodied people without the need for a companion can make use of. The Løvemammaenee believe this is discrimination, and it falls under the Act on Equality and the Prohibition of Discrimination. Among other things, the law states that people with illnesses and functional variations must have the right to the ordinary solution as long as it is practically possible to achieve it.

The lion mothers believe this is a simple matter to sort out, so that people with illnesses and functional variations also have the ordinary solution available.

We are therefore very happy that Blackland can now offer this!

Below you can read the inquiry the cinema in Sortland received:

Hello. I am the deputy leader of Løvemammaene Nord's regional team. We receive many inquiries from our members regarding their practice of purchasing a ticket for a companion. I have tried to read a bit on their website, but it was quite lacking regarding companion ticket and people with functional variation. However, I have heard that you do not practice selling companion tickets online/app (and checked that in your ticket system). I hope that together we can find a quick solution. 

If you want to order a ticket for a companion, you must therefore contact you directly at the counter. Already here, we discriminate against people with functional variation away from the ordinary solution. This is regulated by law, and must not happen. It is already described in Section 1 of the purpose of the Act, i Act on Equality and Prohibition of Discrimination - but it also falls under several other sections of the law. 

People with functional variation must have access to the ordinary solution as far as possible, and not another solution because one has a functional variation. In this case of buying a ticket for a companion, it is quite obvious that people with a variety of functions have a different solution than the ordinary one at their cinema. We at Løvemammaene believe that this is a simple matter to fix - and we have been in contact with several cinemas that have companion tickets available for purchase online and/or in the app. 

With you, physical or telephone contact must therefore be made. Nevertheless, you must later present a valid companion certificate over the counter. So, you have to first order - and then document. I expect that everyone who buys a regular ticket online or in the app must show a valid ticket at ticket control before they can enter the cinema hall? Therefore order an ordinary ticket and then document. We believe this is the solution for companion tickets as well. Companions must in any case present a valid companion certificate over the counter at you, in the same way that everyone with an ordinary ticket must present a ticket to gain access to the cinema hall. 

Suggested solution: Make an accompanying ticket available on the website so that you can order a ticket there. Check the accompanying certificate in the same way as a valid ordinary ticket is checked in ticket control to get into the cinema hall.

Hope for a quick response! 🙂

Below you can read the response Løvemammaene Nord received from the cinema:  

Hi Caroline!
Thanks for your valuable input! We do not receive negative feedback on the scheme to us, so it is important when they reach you! We are always looking to improve the offer, and of course want to follow the law, so now we are trying another solution.
We made companion tickets and wheelchair spaces available online. Since some wheelchairs are so wide that two ordinary seats are required, we have had to block every second seat in the online solution to ensure that there is physically space. Then it becomes a bit more complicated to buy a wheelchair space if you also want to bring a companion - this must be done in two purchases. Unfortunately, it is currently not possible to solve it in another way. The supplier is working on a new platform, so we hope this and a number of other things will be possible when it arrives. Customers lose some flexibility with the current online solution, and we probably lose some information.
However, we will keep the option of calling in and reserving a place for a while, for those customers who are happy with the old system.

With best regards
Elin Mathiassen
Marketing and communications consultant
Kulturfabrikken Sortland KF