On many occasions, I’ve talked here about the free AMC movie vouchers care of MyCokeRewards: two silver tickets, a large popcorn and two large drinks.
We started visiting a dine-in theater because, baffingly, it was the only one in the area that let us use vouchers in the first two weeks. It didn’t even charge $3 for the privilege.
The couple of times we had problems — other disruptive patrons, bad service during the movie — customer service quickly stepped in and took care of us. I’ve done nothing but sing that theater’s praises, including here on this blog.
Things have changed.
First of all, the $3 charge applies only on weekends. Great for weeknight outings, but there doesn’t appear to be a time limit on the weekend charge. No matter how long the movie has been out, you’ll pay to use the vouchers.
Second, we were charged to upgrade to Cinema Suites (21+). That had always been covered before.
Third, we were charged $5, not $3. Even though the screens behind the ticket seller’s heads stated $3 for gold and silver vouchers.
We brought this to a manager’s attention. He politely explained there was a different charge for silver vs gold. He didn’t seem too concerned about charging customers something other than the price displayed in the lobby.
We should have just gone home. But we’d already driven the 12 miles. Plus, we were starved for entertainment. (Our wireless router was dead, so no beloved Netflix.)
By the way, I should point out that the regular tickets at the theater are $10. So on the weekends you’ll pay half the cost of a ticket for a “free” movie.
Then, near the end of the movie, we found out the free large drink and popcorn got us $3 credits each.
You can’t even get a small for $3!
The excuse was that there’s only one size. In which case, I think the one size should be considered large. At the very least, we should’ve gotten credit for the cost of a large drink and popcorn at a normal AMC theater.
Tim immediately went to find a manager. Thereby missing important points in the movie. Yeah, he should’ve waited, but we were fed up. We were looking at paying $24 for a night that, six months ago, would have been free.
This new manager was compliant but not exactly apologetic about this frustrating experience. He did, at least, let us exchange for new tickets.
Tim had to then get a new pair of tickets for the movie. At least they did that, but again not exactly radiating concern over our happiness or lack thereof.
I know that “free” isn’t a great business model. I was willing to accept that some fees had to be instituted. But this? This is ridiculous.
Moreover, we got a terrible reaction to our concerns. Maybe they just don’t care about people using freebies. They don’t exactly make a lot of money off us. At this rate, though, they’re definitely generating some bad word of mouth.
I sent of a polite email about our frustration/disappointment last night. No word back yet, which is unusual. I’ll keep you posted.
jestjack says
How frustrating…$24…for something that used to be free! Yikes…. I had a similiar experience with folks at the movies when DW and I used a gift card. First the gal says there is nothing on the card…to which I reply that there has to be as I just got it from my "rewards" program with my credit card…she tries again…SURPRISE…it goes thru. Then she processes the sale and hands me the tickets without the card. I ask her for the card …she replies it's "used up"….I reply …"How can it be ….The tickets were $16 and the card was for $25…are you kidding me?" She gives me the card ….without so much as an apology. I share your pain……it seems it's an epidemic!
Abigail says
Eesh, you have to love the dedication of teens making minimum wage!
Catseye says
How do you go from free to $24?!? Sorry that happened to you and Tim, especially since it came out of nowhere. As for Jestjack, I don't think that movie cashier was lazy or incompetent, I think she was trying to rip off your gift card. Every once in a while, I'll come across a cashier who tries to play me and cheat me. I usually catch them right then, but last year, I got burned. It was only $10, but it won't happen again with that business. They lost a customer that day.
Abigail says
Catseye: Seriously? I guess I continually underestimate people's duplicity. Oh and in case you were literally asking how we got to $24: $3 (x2) to upgrade to Cinema Suites, $5 (x2) to use the vouchers, $7.66 for the food after the vouchers. Blech.
Catseye says
Yes, seriously. ;o) Also, thanks for the breakdown of expenses. Blech, for sure!
Humbug says
Well you can't really blame them for not giving customer service for free. I love getting things for free too but I don't like to throw a fit if the people working there are compliant but not very helpful. You didn't complain when they didn't charge the $3 initially. It's because of people who complain about freebies that we don't get many of those
Abigail says
No, I don't blame them for not giving us the world on a platter. But I do expect "free" to be honored. Based on the wording for the silver vouchers, I accept that we may have to pay a $3 fee to see new movies. Mainly the compilation of fees was just a bit of sticker shock.
I do think it's a little weird to make a free movie voucher worth $5. I don't know of anywhere but a cheap house that $5 covers an admission. And I think it's weird to only credit vouchers for large sizes of food at $3 each.
To me, the main issue is that they're charging a price other than the one stated in the lobby, where the tickets are sold. And that they were more or less indifferent to customer frustration about that fact.
in the past, customer service there has been amazing, which is why their lack of reaction this time was a little bit of a shock. And the second manager said that the other manager had mentioned our frustration. He said it in a way that implied we'd been labeled problem customers. For pointing out that they were charging something other than the stated rate. I didn't even ask for a refund of the $2. I simply said (politely) that it would be nice if the displayed prices correctly reflected charges because it was a little disconcerting.
Kat says
Okay, 1. These were not free rewards. They were earned by purchasing coke products, and AMC gets money from Coke when those vouchers are turned in.
2. Trying to say that there's a different cost than the one listed to use vouchers means they're pocketing the difference.
3. If the voucher specifies a large, they are again pocketing a difference.
My suggestion would be contact MyCokeRewards, and AMC corporate.
Abigail says
Excellent summation! I did use the AMC "Contact Us" on Sunday, haven't yet heard back. So I also put a note on the Facebook page just 'cuz. But you're right about contacting MyCokeRewards if this isn't resolved satisfactorily. And, of course, clearly we just have to go to a different theater.
jestjack says
Got a prediction….Coke will make this right, Every time I've had an issue with them either as a store owner or a customer their customer service has been top notch and more than fair, As for AMC..Not so much……don't be surprised if you don't hear a word….their customer service…shall we say…leaves a bit to desired….
Abigail says
In the past, they've actually been pretty on the ball. This time… meh. I left a message on Facebook and someone contacted me from there and had me email her directly. I did and she found my report, said she'd make sure someone gets back to me. That was yesterday afternoon so I guess we'll see.
carrie says
Just reading this now (as a related post to your most recent one) – do you remember if there was any resolution from AMC or MCR? Just curious.
Abigail says
Yeah, there’s an update in a later post: https://ipickuppennies.net/2013/03/update-apalooza/
Essentially, we got an apology. The drink and popcorn thing was a server/manager error. We got some free passes and drink/popcorn tickets. But apparently the changes to the passes policy were correct. Blech.