Cinemark Studios Annoys a Patron

I was asked by a regular reader via email to post his letter of complaint to theatre company Cinemark.

To Whom It May Concern:

I took my children to see "I Am Legend" this evening at the Movies 14 in Mishawaka, IN, something we do a couple of times a month, every month.

We typically purchase a large popcorn and soda, today was no different - we dropped $9.75 for the two items. When one of my kids went to get a refill on the popcorn, he was told it would cost $0.50. He didn't have any money on hand since it has never been the practice of Cinemark to charge for refills on the largest size. He returned back to the theater with an empty popcorn bag and explained it to me.

I went up front and asked for a refill, the gentleman who sold me the popcorn originally said it would be $0.50. I asked what was going on. He told me of the new CORPORATE policy. I told him why was I not informed at the time of the purchase. He directed me to the sign taped to the front of the cash register, the one BEHIND the straw dispenser. I moved the straw dispenser to read the small print as the sign was fully obstructed by the appliance. In fact all of the signs were obstructed by the straw dispensers at each and every register. I told him the policy should be easily readable and in the clear, like on the price marquee and since it is a change as of 12/14/07, customers should be informed since you aren't proud enough to openly display the information. He refilled the popcorn and didn't charge me.

After the movie, I when up front to ask for a phone number for the corporate office so I may register my complaint. I asked why the straw dispensers were set directly in front of the signs? I also mentioned that I had moved the one out of the way to read it earlier and someone returned it to maximally obstruct the sign.

I said you should be proud of your business policies and show them openly, to which one of the employees responded, "we are not proud of this policy, it is from corporate." Just the kind of representatives you want in the field.

For a product with an 80+% incremental profit margin, why are you trying to make that extra dig into my wallet? The ill will generated has put me in the position of only purchasing movie tickets from you in the future, not food. Now you have 100% of $0.00 concession business going forward from me until this changes. I will also be writing our local newspaper to raise awareness of your greed and hit few blog sites to vent to the world.

In the world of home theaters, large screen TV's, on demand and pay per view first runs on TV and larger and larger home bandwidth...you should be doing things to welcome people into the theaters, not drive them away.

My other option is to only see movies with my wife so I can smuggle in my own food to enjoy via the friendly and private confines of her purse. It may be your policy to not allow this, but the market will adjust accordingly when it feels it is not getting value. If you should ever move to searching women's purses for contraband tidbits...well... I don't see you folks doing that anytime soon and still cling to hopes of staying in business.

At the end of the day, it is your business and you are absolutely free to run it the way you want. That is your right. I can only vote with my wallet and raise awareness with my voice and on the Internet. Those are my rights.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this new business practice and I will let you know how someone who spends over $1,000 a year at your place of business feels as a result (isn't Quicken grand at keeping track of these things).

Sincerely,

[name and phone number redacted]

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