my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » Academy 6 in Pasadena SUCKS!!! (and how to manage customer complaints) (Page 1)

This topic comprises 6 pages: 1  2  3  4  5  6

Author Topic: Academy 6 in Pasadena SUCKS!!! (and how to manage customer complaints) Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-04-2004 03:32 AM                     The Academy used to be a dollar house that charged something like $4 for a double-bill. The prints were scratched all to hell and the sound was mono. No frills. My uncle had just told me a few days ago that he would never go to that theatre because he had a bad experience there. (The film broke in the middle of the show.) Tonight he made an exception because his girlfriend wanted to see THE VILLAGE. I noticed that the cost of tickets had gone up and it now cost $6 for each feature. I asked what they had done to the place to justify the increase and the lady working the box office (turned out to be the manager) told me that she had shown the workers how to clean the butter pump. She tears our tickets and we head off to our auditorium. By our watches we are 15 minutes early. The show was advertised as a 9:45 start on moviefone.com. My uncle then examines the ticket and realizes that it says 9:50 so we're even earlier than we thought. But when we get into the auditorium, the movie is already in progress. So we head back to the box office and that's when I notice that the manager lady had punched up tickets for HAROLD AND SOMEBODY AND A CASTLE, which is clearly the wrong feature. She tells me that's the movie we asked for and I told her that was impossible because we had never even heard of that movie so there is no way we could ever have asked for tickets to see it. Then we learn that the showtimes on moviefone were all wrong and there are no evening shows of THE VILLAGE. Okay. Fine. No problem. We'll take a refund. They don't give refunds at the Academy theatres on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. She runs off and comes back with passes WHICH CANNOT BE USED ON SATURDAY. I told her she was full of shit. We just gave her cash. She punched up the wrong ticket by not paying attention and running off at the mouth about how good she can clean a butter warmer. If she's going to give us passes, they should at least be "good as cash" and hence valid for ANY day. Furthermore, these passes will expire in 30 days. NOW GET THIS: Some other dude comes back to the box office...It's 9:30pm and she had sold him a ticket for THE VILLAGE...for the12:30 matinee!  |  IP: Logged Rich Granata Film Handler Posts: 61 From: Bethlehem PA USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 09-04-2004 10:51 AM                     with awful customer service like that, i don't know if that place could stay in business long. I think its inappropriate for her to mention that they now clean the butter pumps. "Good, what do I care?". Either way, that raises a lot of questions in somebody's head. "What else DON't you clean?" there is always job related news/gossip. Employees should not burden customers with stuff like that. They just want to see a movie. Sorry to hear about that.  |  IP: Logged Scott D. Neff Theatre Dork Posts: 919 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Oct 1999 posted 09-04-2004 12:00 PM                        The Academy has been in business for quite some time, and will probably continue to be, as many of their customers don't seem to care, or at least they don't care enough to mention problems to the management. I think the $6 admission is a bit steep, but sadly in an area that charges $9-$9.75 for tickets, $6.00 is still a bargain. Perhaps they did raise their prices for one last hurrah before they close up shop. But I went there back when Face Off was in theatres, and they were showing that movie and I think 2 others with the wrong lense, and it wasn't just in the preview like somebody forgot, it was the middle of the feature, as though they either couldn't play scope in some auditoriums, or they just didn't notice the difference. Honestly I think the building itself is a wonderful testament to how multiplexing got out of hand at an old single screen. That place is hilariously funny and it might be worth the $6 for a good laugh.  |  IP: Logged Jason M Miller Master Film Handler Posts: 284 From: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 09-04-2004 12:19 PM                     wow.....man I will remember not to goto that theater if I am ever around that area.....or maybe I will just so I can complain to the management during the show on everything the projectionist is doing wrong  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 09-04-2004 12:37 PM                        The place is a dump. But they do get good use out of their prints. I've seen them play titles for months after they had been played out everywhere else. Projectionist? Ahem, the lady bragging about her butter pump is what passes for a film-putter-inner at that place. $6.00 for a single second-run now... That matches the new first-run matinee prices here.  |  IP: Logged Tony Bandiera Jr Film God Posts: 3067 From: Moreland Idaho Registered: Apr 2004 posted 09-04-2004 01:34 PM                     Indeed that place is a dump. I had the misfortune of being called in to service the total that tries to pretend to be projectors. Old CFS consoles (junk even when new) with panels off and K-mart box fans to cool the rectifiers, horrendous CFS mono sound, etc. Century? maybe Cinecita? heads (been a long time since I was there..) that were abused heavily. But the biggest joke of all was the alleged architect(?) who didn't understand the concepts of KEYSTONE (maybe he/she was thinking keystone cops ), projection angles and sightlines over seated patrons. That place has changed ownership several times and for good reason. The best thing that could happen to it would be a large earthquake and some insurance money.  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 09-04-2004 01:59 PM                     Its always been our policy to give cash refunds if the complaint/personal emergency/whatever happens less than halfway through the movie. Even then exceptions can be made for people who come out later in the feature. Whatever policy your theatre has it should be common sense to give a cash refund in the situation Manny describes. Ridiculous.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-04-2004 02:19 PM                     Of course, when my uncle finally does get around to using those passes, the distributor won't see a dime because those tickets will be generated as "free passes" when, in effect, they were actually paid-for in advance. I wonder...What are the odds that she gave us those awful passes and then later refunded our tickets, keeping the cash for herself? Also, I'm not up on the points of the exhibition agreement so I'll ask here: Is it kosher for tickets to be torn by the same person who sold the ticket? Oh. And about that popcorn. I bought a small bag -- waaaaay too much salt...and no less than three scorched pieces.  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 09-04-2004 02:37 PM                     Usually its not a good idea to have the cashier act as ticket tearer also, only makes double selling that much easier. Unfortunately on many days-particularily during the school year-having a seperate ticket tearer can't really be justified cost wise. However, it is a policy with the company I work (not the same one that owns this theatre) that the manager is to never sell tickets.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 09-04-2004 02:46 PM                        We generally have a "no refund" policy. However, it does have certain thresholds that I think are legally arguable. If you've paid money to see a show and it either doesn't start or you change your mind before it does start... I think you'd have an argument for getting your money back. The only exception we apply to that is if you've grossly misbehaved to the point we've had to call in 'de law'... in which case you get nada. If Manny had called the cops, they'd have probably seen a case for fraud, whether the company has a 'no refund' policy or not.  |  IP: Logged Eric Hooper Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 532 From: Fort Worth, TX, USA Registered: May 2003 posted 09-04-2004 03:22 PM                     Oh hell no... If I pay cash for something and don't get what I paid for, I had better get a CASH REFUND or heads will roll and the sh*t's gonna hit the fan. Just wait to f*ck with me like that. Just wait.... Maybe it's an urban SF thing or something...but we don't put up with stuff like that. I remember a recent screening where the movie had to be stopped 20 minutes into the film and the management of the theatre wanted to just give passes to everybody, and they almost had a riot on their hands. Needless to say, they went and 'opened the safe' (their excuse) and gave everybody cash refunds AND free passes.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-04-2004 06:36 PM                     Our policy is passes first and refund second. The trick is, while offering passes treat the customer with the respect and dignity in which they are due. More often then not they will accept the pass if a staff member makes them feel like a human being. This has worked well over the years (especially among senior citizens who think they are getting something for nothing). Getting belligerent and demanding one's money back is ignorant at best and, in my opinion, downright asinine.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 09-04-2004 07:15 PM                     quote: Aaron Mehocic The trick is... First -- there's no "trick" to this. Business is business. You can't deliver the product? Give the money back. Why keep it? I hereby challenge you to give me a defensible position as to why the theatre or distributor is entitled to hold onto that person's cash. quote: Aaron Mehocic Getting belligerent and demanding one's money back is ignorant at best and, in my opinion, downright asinine. So let me see if I have this correct..? It's asinine for me to stand up for my rights as a consumer? And...the correct thing for me to do is to play dumb and act as though the pass is like getting something for nothing? If your default assumption is that I'm some kind of idiot then are you really "treating the customer with the respect and dignity in which they are due" ? That's lip-service and I have zero respect for anyone who speaks with a forked tongue. Anyone who treats customers like that is an ass. And anyone who could make such statements about the elderly is, in MY opinion, an insensitive asshole with fucked up ways. Slimeball theatres like that are part of the reason why people are staying home to watch DVDs.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 09-04-2004 07:24 PM                     quote: Aaron Mehocic Getting belligerent and demanding one's money back is ignorant at best and, in my opinion, downright asinine. Like hell it is. I recently picked up cable internet service from Cebridge Communications. These people are complete morons in every sense of the word. Not only is it IMPOSSIBLE to get through to their tech support lines, it is DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE to get through to a supervisor at the order center. My cable connection never worked properly from day one, yet they are trying to bill me for services, despite my estimated 4 hours on hold trying to get through to a human being and my estimated 1 hour explaining to a dozen different employees that the service was not working, to send a tech out. These morons even told me over the phone "oh yeah we can see your connection is down"...but did they do anything about it? Of course not. In fact, even my letter telling them to cancel the service didn't work. After 3 months, they finally "turned off the service" (that never existed) and turned it over to a bill collector...which turned out to be an automated service! That's right, I can't even get through to a human there either explaining that I refuse to pay for a service of which I never received. It's not the amount of money owed. In fact it would be far easier to just pay it, but it's the principle of the matter. Having a theater take money from a customer and then not provide the service purchased is the same thing. Now I am fine if passes are offered first and then cash refunds are CHEERFULLY given if a customer requests it. However for anyone who requests their money back, the theater OWES those customers a CASH refund. No ifs ands or butts...or it is the manager who is being assinine. Any manager who does that to his customers is STEALING from them. There is no reason to sugar coat it. That manager would be a criminal.  |  IP: Logged Jim Ziegler Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 753 From: West Hollywood, CA Registered: Jul 99 posted 09-04-2004 07:42 PM                     I have to take the middle ground here. If there is a minor interuption, a pass to another film typically will suffice to make the customers happy. Management should, IMHO, offer the passes first, before anyone has a chance to ask for them. If someone wants a cash refund, however, give it to them, and free passes.. Better to keep the customer than to keep their $10.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 6 pages: 1  2  3  4  5  6

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.