This morning, I placed a call to Regal Entertainment Group. They own one of the largest movie theater chains in the country. I spoke with a very friendly woman, Maureeen I think, who worked in customer relations.
The call went as follows (I literally read her the following as I wanted to keep my facts together):
"Yesterday afternoon at around 6:30PM, I pulled into the Westboro, MA. Regal Cinemas 12. As I was early and the parking lot was not busy, I decided to read a magazine in my car for a little while, waiting for the 7:10PM screening of "Public Enemies." At about five minutes to seven, I made my way into the theater. The place was pretty slow, but as a few movies were starting up around that time, there was a small line going. After a few people purchased their tickets, I came to the desk and handed the ticket seller an official Hollywood MovieMoney pass for $7.50 off admission for "Public Enemies." I had printed the movie money that day from my computer. I visited Hollywoodmoviemoney.com to see if you were one of the theaters
that accepted Hollywood MovieMoney, and you were listed. I actually used movie money at this theater just the week before to see "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." So I handed the clerk my movie money, and she tried to put it through, and then said the computer would not take the code as it was only good for $7.50 off admission, not the whole evening admission price of $10.50. I had a credit card in hand, and said I was already prepared to pay the $3.00 difference on my card. She told me she couldn't ring in anything manually, and the only way I would be able to see the movie is if I had $3 in cash - which I did not. I asked to speak to a manager, and a large, I would guess around 60 year-old man came over and asked what the problem was. He said that the MovieMoney was a quote "pain in the @ss" and that if Regal's computer system wouldn't take it I would have to find another theater to see the movie. I told him that I use Movie Money there all the time, and that I see movies there all the time, and this has never been a problem before. He gruffly said "Fine, we'll try it one more time!" The movie money did not take, and the original clerk said "It's because he wants to pay the difference on a card, not in cash" and the manager said angrily, "Well, he's going to step out of line and go somewhere else." I was embarrassed thoroughly as there were other people around and the two employees were making it seem like it was my problem not theirs. Basically, because your computer system could not charge me $3.00, my night was ruined. I work nights and have other evening commitments, but Monday is my free evening and I had been planning on seeing the movie for quite some time. The customer service at the theater was horrible, and I was left feeling embarrassed, sad, and without seeing the movie I had gone to see. And the fact that I didn't even go on a busy night. If the theater was close to selling out, yeah, the customer service would still have been bad, but I could have realized they were stressed 'cause of the busy night. But no - it was a dead Monday and one guy who is a loyal moviegoer cannot get in when he is TRYING to pay using legal means. I literally see over 70 movies a year in theaters, and at least 25 of those are at Regal Cinemas. I have never theater-hopped in my life, and never snuck in outside food or drinks. I always turn off my cellphone, and never talk during movies. I am the type of moviegoer you want in your theaters, but now I feel like I cannot go back as I was treated so poorly. I cannot believe that these two individuals are what you as a corporate office want representing Regal Cinemas as a whole. I believe that I am owed something now, as I wasted time and gas, and was embarrassed in front of people. ((I almost used the following line, but decided to keep it out unless I needed further ammunition)) When I go to the movies I go to be entertained, not to be the entertainment. I felt like I was two-feet tall walking out of your establishment, and something should be done."
The woman was gracious and forwarded my complaint on to a regional manager and a district manager (whatever that difference is) - and she told me she is sending me two passes to see any movie of my choosing.
Take that Regal Westboro 12!
Don't cross Dan. He will cross you back.
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