Me and the Movies -- We're Done

Dear Regal Cinemas People,

I have been a fairly loyal Regal Cinemas attendee over the past 12 years. Aside from a few instances I have generally watched most movies I've seen in theaters at the Regal Continental 10 in Denver, CO. I am also a Regal Crown Card holder and frequent user.

I ran into a predicament recently, one I've ran in to before, but this time I was really annoyed by the situation.

Due to frequent usage I have a Free Pass from my Regal Card. It expires tomorrow, July 30, 2011. I jumped online at Fandango.com and looked within 30 miles of where I live in the southeast Denver area for a theater with either (1) a movie I want to see that is older than your corporate 10 day policy for using the free pass, or (2) for one I've already seen that is 10 days or older that I would be willing to see again for free.

Either way, Regal Cinema wins with drink and popcorn purchases.

Unfortunately, there were none. Not at Regal Continental 10, not at United Artist Colorado Center, not at UA Greenwood Plaza, nor United Artists Meadows 12 the Regal Riverpoint 14 nor the Denver Pavilions.

Not one of these theaters had a movie I wanted to see that I haven't seen that also meets the 10 day requirement for my free pass, nor a newer movie I wanted to see.

So I called my local (Regal) Continental theater which lists as Now Showing:

Cowboys and Aliens no passes

Crazy, Stupid Love I don't have any desire to see

The Smurfs I have no desire to see

The Smurfs 3D I have no desire to see especially in 3D

Captain America already saw it, opening day, no passes

Captain America 3D no desire to see it in 3D, no passes

Friends with Benefits no desire to see it

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2 already saw it, opening day

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2 3D no desire to see it in 3D

Horrible Bosses no desire to see it

Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D no desire to see it in 3D, already saw it in 2D opening day and didn't like it

First I dialed the number on the Google Places page because the one listed on Fandango was an 800 number. Instead of giving me options or just having someone local answer, I had to sit through about 5 minutes of someone reading the show listings. Only after the voice was finished reading did it give me the option to dial another number for further questions.

I then dial the other number: 303 758 7736. A woman answers. She doesn't give me her name and I let her know I have two things I would like to talk about: one my free pass and the other, their local number.

I begin with explaining my situation: I have a free pass, it expires soon, I would like to use it before it expires, which is only good for Regal as any popcorn, drinks or friends I bring are extras for Regal itself. Unfortunately, that theater and the others in the area don't have anything I want to see or want to see again in which I can also use my free pass. She tells me, “Yeah, that's too bad. We have a 10 day policy, but if you want to see this, this or this you can use your pass.”

At this point I reiterated how I didn't want to see this, this or this but would rather see a handful of other movies, even if it's again. I then asked if I could use my free pass to offset the cost of buying a ticket to a movie that does not qualify for the free pass.

I am told, “No.”

This struck me as odd as it's only beneficial to Regal Cinemas in that I still spend money on a ticket, I was planning on buying at least a drink and I would have brought a friend who would have had to buy a full priced ticket and possibly a drink and popcorn as well.

Instead Regal Cinemas lost all of that potential income.

Why?

Because Regal Cinemas failed to have a movie I wanted to see or one I wanted to see again that met the 10 day after release requirement. And Regal Cinemas failed to meet me halfway by offering a discounted ticket of a “first run” movie.

And that's not all.

As I was explaining to the woman on the phone how the only reason I tend to see movies at Regal theaters is because of my Regal Card and the possibility of points, free tickets, popcorn and drinks when I come to their theaters.

That's changed. I only see a few movies a year in theaters as it is, usually in the summer “blockbuster” months. Three-D movies don't really matter to me as a viewer so I'm less likely to spend the extra fees for 3D and I'm not even sure what RPX is and why I would want to spend another $3 per ticket for that feature.

I guess she had enough of listening to me at that point because she hung up one me. There was no warning, no offer to be transferred to someone else, no nothing. One minute I'm talking to her about your corporate policy and the next she's gone from the call.

Naturally I dialed back. This time I got the name of the girl who answered the phone, Elizabeth. I asked for the manager and she put me on hold. She came back a few minutes later and let me know the manager was busy and would grab the call as soon as she was free. I thanked her for letting me know about the wait.

A few minutes later the manager, Cheryl-Lynn, answered. I explained to her how I didn't appreciate being hung up on and that it was very unprofessional and Regal Continental probably lost a customer over it. Not just me, but my friends and any dates or group outings as I'm usually the organizer for movie nights.

She told me that was sad and then asked what my initial problem was. I explained to her Regal Cinema's 10 day policy and that there was nothing I wanted to see or wanted to see again that fit into the criteria for using my free pass. She apologized and said that was corporate policy. Either it is “corporate policy” and the managers don't have the authority to let me into a movie showtime that was not going to be full anyway, thus not wasting any full price paying seats, or she was using that as an excuse to not allow me to either use the pass on a movie I wanted to see or use the pass as a discounted ticket for a movie I would like to see for a first time.

Either way, Regal Cinemas lost a customer. Not just the Continental in Denver, but Regal and United Artists across Colorado and anywhere else I have a choice. Your competitor, AMC, also has a rewards program for frequent movie-goers that I can sign up for just as easily as I did the Regal Card. Not to mention the numerous other theater chains in the area.

Regal Entertainment Group lost a customer. Not just one customer, but anyone I ever want to see a movie with, again. I used to be adamant about seeing movies at Regal or United Artists theaters for my club card points, but due to your policies I can no longer see the benefit to me, the consumer. I mean, most mainstream/pop movies are terrible anyway, but at least I went and saw them. Now when I see them I won't be seeing them in REG theaters.

On a side note, I asked the manager, Cheryl-Lynn, to have a talk with her employees about customer service and etiquette. She said she would like to but since I didn't provide her a name she didn't know whom to speak with. I asked her how many female employees she has working today at that time answering the phones. She said quite a few (which I seriously doubt). I then told her maybe it was a good time to have an all-hands meeting and discuss consumer experience.

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If anyone has an email address for anyone at Regal Movies so that I can get the email username format (ie: firstname first, lastname first, first 6 digits of first name, etc) that would be great. Thanks.