The other day, Tim and I went to see a movie. The theater we go to is one of those full-service theaters, where there is a full menu and food/drinks/popcorn are brought to you by servers during the movie.
We’d been there before and had pretty good experiences. We choose that theater in particular because it doesn’t have the same restrictions on free tickets. (Most AMC theaters won’t let you use silver passes within the first two weeks a movie is out. Or, if they do, they charge you $3 per ticket for the “upgrade.”)
This time, though, the service was awful. It took them nearly 20 minutes to get me a refill. Tim had asked for his refill about five minutes after I did, so his took nearly 15.
He had actually flagged down our waitress a second time when the drinks finally came.
And so, when he tried to get a second refill (as our waitress dropped off the check), she tried to tell him it had already been taken care of. He had to gesture to the two empty glasses a couple of times before she understood that he actually wanted a second refill. The mere idea seemed to surprise her.
By the way, he had also asked her helper twice for that second refill. Even after our server finally understood his request — despite there being 15-20 minutes left in the movie — he never got that third drink.
But apparently we were lucky. While we waited for our check to be processed, after the movie was over, the guy in front of us said he had never gotten even one refill.
Best of all, the server did something funky when entering our free coupons at checkout and so we owed tax. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal, but the machine refused to process the bill for 28 cents or whatever. So Tim had to TIP HER to get it to go through.
When we got back from the theater, I wrote a note about how the service had really put a damper on our evening. I made sure to use specifics, but I also made sure that I stayed reasonable and polite.
I sent the note right around 10:30 p.m. By 2 p.m. the next day, I had a call from the manager of the theater. She thanked me for taking the time to give them feedback, and she apologized for the fact that they had fallen down on the job.
She then asked if she could send me some free tickets to let us give them a second chance. The next day, an envelope showed up with two free tickets, two drink coupons and a free entree (not just popcorn) voucher.
Score one for AMC’s customer relations, because I’m pleasantly surprised by how quickly and thoroughly the complaint was handled. But also score one for POLITE complaint.
What has polite complaint resulted in for you guys over the years?
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
A place that we like to frequent has an amazing happy hour. I called to find out when their happy hour was, and the hostess hung up on me. It felt a little odd, but I called back, said I thought we were disconnected, and I was calling to find out when the happy hour was. The hostess laughed and hung up again. I was PISSED. So I went on to the website and sent an email describing what happened, how often we visited the restaurant, and how little we'd be visiting in the future. I had a phone call by the next day from the General Manager with an apology (a slightly lame excuse about phone issues) and an offer of a gift certificate. It came in the mail within the week, although for an amount less than an entree.
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seattlegirluw Reply:
February 21st, 2012 at 1:15 am
Andi,
Sounds like the restaurant did at least try. But could have tried a little harder. At least, though, you got a GC without having an actual bad experience in the restaurant, when money had been spent. Small comfort, but there it is.
[Reply]
seattlegirluw Reply:
February 21st, 2012 at 1:15 am
Andi,
Sounds like the restaurant did at least try. But could have tried a little harder. At least, though, you got a GC without having an actual bad experience in the restaurant, when money had been spent. Small comfort, but there it is.
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Reading this makes me glad I just bought a discounted AMC gift card. Wanna go to the movies when I hit Phoenix?
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Refill on what exactly? And isn't it annoying to have people walking around so much in a movie theater?
[Reply]
seattlegirluw Reply:
February 21st, 2012 at 1:14 am
Pamela,
Sodas are refillable, as is the popcorn. The servers aren't as intrusive as you might think, since they've installed an aisle for every four seats. Also, once the initial entrees and whatnot are served, they really only come if you press the call button. (Yes, there's a call button.) I won't say it's a perfect system, but I've yet to be disturbed by people whispering to their servers or vice versa. And I'm sensitive to people talking around me.
[Reply]
seattlegirluw Reply:
February 21st, 2012 at 1:14 am
Pamela,
Sodas are refillable, as is the popcorn. The servers aren't as intrusive as you might think, since they've installed an aisle for every four seats. Also, once the initial entrees and whatnot are served, they really only come if you press the call button. (Yes, there's a call button.) I won't say it's a perfect system, but I've yet to be disturbed by people whispering to their servers or vice versa. And I'm sensitive to people talking around me.
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sounds like the new wave of dinner theater; i haven't been to a movie theater in years (the sound is always too loud for me) but if we had one around that did all that, I probably would go more often just for the novelty of it.
er… assuming the entrees aren't overpriced for what you get and taste could go either way. sounds like eating at the bowling alley but some of the best food I've ever had has been in some unassuming bowling alley.
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