Anyone else sick of movie theatres' attitudes towards paying patrons?

Forums › Off topic › Anyone else sick of movie theatres' attitudes towards paying patrons?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#1698161 4-Jan-2017 08:08

gzt: [snip]
Then the queue, only one deep, but the person in front was probably asking the price of everything and the cashier was trying to upsell. Ages.

sbiddle:

I find it's more fun once you've got to the front of the queue to ask the price of everything since they don't actually list the price of things like popcorn anywhere.

Well, we know who was standing in front of you

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1698165 4-Jan-2017 08:15

My only gripe with the movie theaters is the cost, an easy $80 - $100 for a family of 4. So it's a rare event reserved for special occasions or movies. Theaters in Hamilton are all quite easy to get to and have always been tidy and comfortable. Always buy tickets on-line and theaters either have electronic kiosks or special lines for on-line ticket holders. I have wondered why I still need to get a printed ticket though, surely a scanner system on entry would be far more efficient than the ole tearing a paper ticket in half.

Lux is definitely the way to go for a special treat.

Quality of the picture or sound has never been an issue for me, but then again all local cinemas are relatively new or have been refurbished.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

BlinkyBill

1443 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1698169 4-Jan-2017 08:25

Went to the Roxy in Miramar yesterday. Bought tickets online, $10 per person, and had to queue for two mins to collect. No food. Very nice screen, good sound, good seats, nice fellow patrons. Similar experience at Lighthouse, Empire, Brooklyn Penthouse, Embassy.

I never go to Reading or Event.

'Passengers' though ... fairly average movie with some very poor plot devices, for a space movie.

lagbort

263 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#1698180 4-Jan-2017 09:02

I used to always go to Reading Cinemas Courtenay in Wellington (close to work), but obviously that is not currently an option.

The Embassy has no leg room so gives me cramps halfway through the movie.

I never go to the lighthouse (despite their being one almost walking distance from home), the screen is just too small and the sound pretty average.

I have grown to accept the higher food costs at the cinemas as I realise that is such a major source of their income (in the first few weeks of a major movie run the distributor will take almost all of the ticket price for themselves).

Strangely the one thing that annoys me above all else are the stupid ads for cinema advertising before the movie, I just find it awfully grating to be told how effective the following ads are on me...

Dingbatt

6754 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1698191 4-Jan-2017 09:33

Dingbatt: Just off to an Event Cinema to watch Rogue One , so will reserve judgement at this stage.......

So here is my report.
Went to Westgate (Auckland). Cinema6 in the multiplex. My son, who goes there often, informs me that the further down the alcove you go, the 'less optimal' the experience, ie cinemas 1 and 8 are the best, 4 and 5 the worst. Being a Tuesday night, the cinema was only about 20% full, but everybody crowded into the best viewing seats (centre of the theatre, two thirds of the way back. Also being a Tuesday, it was cheaper, which surprised me a little as it was a public holiday.

The theatre was clean and really the were only two things to grumble about.
The screen had a defect that was caused either by dead pixels on the projector or a physical blemish on the screen. Not enough to affect the viewing experience but noticeable to someone as pedantic as me.
The biggy was that the air-conditioning didn't seem to be working. Last night in Auckland it was about 20 degrees with 100% humidity. Quite uncomfortable for a 2+ hour movie. Just as well the room wasn't full.

It is a sign of the times I think, that the complex looked a little tired. There are just too many ways to consume content these days, some of which are not infringing copyright. Unless it is something that must be seen on a big screen, I just wait for it to come out on iTunes and watch on my ATV, or for the price of a couple of cinema tickets, buy the Blu-ray.

I would love to see the recently suggested model where cinema releases could be rented for home viewing soon after they premiere, for a premium price. Since there would be up to 5 of us watching it, I would be happy to pay $40-50 for the privilege. I bear the infrastructure costs of the 'theatre' side of things. The distributor just needs to stump up for the server side of things. To me the businesses in this supply chain still get to clip the ticket on the way through. Works for music, can't see why it wouldn't for movies.

Edit: For a 7.30pm screening the feature started at 7.48. The prelim consisted of adverts and three trailers for The Great Wall, Logan and Gaurdians of the Galaxy 2.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

SaltyNZ

8218 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

2degrees

Lifetime subscriber

#1698194 4-Jan-2017 09:38

We just tend to assume there will be 15 minutes of ads before the movie starts. So, if the movie is listed as 7.30, we don't feel in any panic to walk in before 7.40, at least at the Event cinema in Albany, where seating is pre-allocated. And if you bought the tickets online before-hand, you can pick the seats you want.

However, we normally go to the movies at Matakana. Seats are not preallocated, but the pre-movie ads are also way less obnoxious and the times we go are generally not crowded so finding a decent seat is not too much of a mission.

iPad Pro 11" + iPhone 15 Pro Max + 2degrees 4tw!

These comments are my own and do not represent the opinions of 2degrees.

kickintheeye

112 posts

Master Geek

#1698214 4-Jan-2017 10:19

I quite don't get why people brings lots of food (fast food combos, for example) to the movies. It's beautiful when they drop fizzy drink on the floor. Not!

Good times when they didn't force you watching so many ads before the movies. Anyway, I always go to the movies on weekdays late at night to avoid the crowd and too many kids in the same theater room.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

logo

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#1698220 4-Jan-2017 10:38

scuwp:

My only gripe with the movie theaters is the cost, an easy $80 - $100 for a family of 4. So it's a rare event reserved for special occasions or movies. Theaters in Hamilton are all quite easy to get to and have always been tidy and comfortable. Always buy tickets on-line and theaters either have electronic kiosks or special lines for on-line ticket holders. I have wondered why I still need to get a printed ticket though, surely a scanner system on entry would be far more efficient than the ole tearing a paper ticket in half.

Lux is definitely the way to go for a special treat.

Quality of the picture or sound has never been an issue for me, but then again all local cinemas are relatively new or have been refurbished.

If you have an Entertainment Book you can buy Event vouchers for $8.50 (child), $12 (adult) which can be used for new releases (3D is extra).

Hoyts is a bit more expensive - I use my airpoints ($150 for 10 adult, $100 for 10 child/senior - they use to be cheaper last year) and again can be used for new releases (XS and 3D incur a surcharge which is a pain as new releases aren't often on the standard screen).

Vodafone and Spark also do movie ticket deals and there's the cheap Tuesday offers as well as specials on specific movies at times however these all restrict what movies or what sessions you can go to.

As for food and drink - bring your own. The staff don't care as long as it's not too obvious and it's not something like KFC. With Event Chartwell you just shoot downstairs to Countdown. Having said that it's hard to beat movie theatre popcorn and choc topped icecreams.

nzkiwiman

2585 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1698357 4-Jan-2017 14:12

I am quite glad that Reading opening in Dunedin; $10 regular tickets are better than $16+ that Rialto charges and I am not sure what Hoyts was charging before they left.

Thankfully I work very close and so if I want a ticket I will walk down and use one of the 3 self serve machines they have - the only issue I had it was easy to resolve by talking to someone at the counter (there was no one else there).

Jedsdad

120 posts

Master Geek

#1698366 4-Jan-2017 14:40

While everyone is having a gripe about their experiences at the movies I want to add my 2 cents worth or as in the old days my tuppence worth.

There are no cartoons at the beginning like we used to have like Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse etc.

Generally no carpet on the floor either, jaffas used to make a great sound rolling down to the front!

Those were the days!

afe66

3181 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1698439 4-Jan-2017 15:35

nzkiwiman:
I am quite glad that Reading opening in Dunedin; $10 regular tickets are better than $16+ that Rialto charges and I am not sure what Hoyts was charging before they left.

Thankfully I work very close and so if I want a ticket I will walk down and use one of the 3 self serve machines they have - the only issue I had it was easy to resolve by talking to someone at the counter (there was no one else there).

Both good theatre's.

Given the choice I prefer the Rialto. I like how they developed/converted the old St James theatre and kept some of the old features..

Reading bit of a slab concrete barn but sound quality v. good.

A.

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1698447 4-Jan-2017 15:53

Complaining about adverts? Sadly while very young I do recall theatre patrons having to stand for the National Anthem before the movie started and having an intermission Where everyone would rush out and slam the kiosk for fear of missing the start of the second half. Ahhh the good old days.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

NzBeagle

961 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#1698449 4-Jan-2017 15:54

scuwp: Complaining about adverts? Sadly while very young I do recall theatre patrons having to stand for the National Anthem before the movie started and having an intermission Where everyone would rush out and slam the kiosk for fear of missing the start of the second half. Ahhh the good old days.

Bring back the intermission, a break to go to the bathroom and buy another couple of beers!

kiwirock

685 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1698459 4-Jan-2017 16:20

gzt:
dejadeadnz:

1. The theatres' ridiculous policy of requiring people who have ordered tickets, paid for them using credit card, and have been e-mailed confirmation to collect paper stubs to show their ushers. This resulted in me having to line up for about 20 minutes today. Dear Event Cinemas: great job on turning the online ticket collection queue into a general "Everyone come here" line today! Let's face it, we all know why they do this: they want to tempt you into getting their overpriced junk food. This brings me to....

The Reading Cinema's have advanced technology - online booking self service ticket printing machines. None were correctly operating on my recent visit.

For $10 + $1.50 online booking fee it was only a mild irritation.

Then the queue, only one deep, but the person in front was probably asking the price of everything and the cashier was trying to upsell. Ages.

Overall I like the Reading experience. Arrive early, buy tickets. For $10 a quick trip to the movies is a nice getaway.

I struck similar problems with Reading where I am. E-Tix scanner failed, staff were not up to scratch on being trained to make sure e-tix customers are to skip the queue etc... told to wait in a queue instead on one occasion.

However, instead of talking to the world or missing my movie, I spoke with the manager the following day. The shortcomings were addressed and staff were trained or re-trained on what their policy is with e-tix customers. While the scanner was also being fixed they made an e-tix area that led to a till in front of the existing queues until it was fixed and relocated away from the confect counter and general queues.

Sometimes managers are to busy doing book work, rosters, to realise staff haven't been trained by supervisors properly etc... and some managers value their customers, but only if they receive polite and constructive criticisms. In this instance it worked.

Sure you can email or use online feedback crap, however a polite face to face usually brings an element of ownership of problems.

dejadeadnz

2394 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1698471 4-Jan-2017 17:04

The trouble with your example is that it isn't all that relevant to the matter that I was complaining about. Event Cinemas, across l every cinema of theirs that I have been to, consistently enforce this ridiculous policy of requiring customers to pick up paper copies of tickets that they have already paid for. This has been going on for years.

If you somehow want to imagine that this is a training issue, you are welcome but I am not playing. Nor do I have so much spare time to go and provide free education on basic customer service to strangers by making a personal visit again. I would have thought it's obvious common sense to strictly enforce the online ticket order pickup lanes to provide only that, even if cinemas insist on people picking up a piece of paper when they have already ordered.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5