Letter: Cinema service

Fri, 09/05/2008 11:27 AM | Reader's Forum

On Aug. 2, my kids and I went to watch the 11:30 a.m. screening of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor at Pondok Indah Mall. Like many others, we arrived early, at about 10.45 a.m., to buy tickets.

The cinema doors were open but the counters were closed. Meanwhile, there were about 30 people queuing up and the number grew as time passed. Unfortunately, the staff did not open the box office until 11 a.m., though the place was getting crowded.

Then on Aug. 16, the same scenario, albeit a worse one, was repeated at Pondok Indah Mall 2. We were going to watch the 12.45 p.m. screening of Wall-E.

There were about 50 or more people this time forming four queues when the doors opened at about 11.15. However, the box office had not yet opened and kids were getting impatient, including mine as we had been waiting a long time.

We thought we could buy the tickets early so we could enjoy a nice lunch before the movie started. We waited close to 30 minutes just to get our tickets and then had to rush through lunch so we didn't miss the show.

Now, my questions are these:

Why can't the staff of both cinemas show some initiative and open the counters earlier to cater for the big crowd? After all, it was Saturday and crowds were to be expected.

Whatever happened to service? Don't the patrons deserve to be served as quickly as possible? Isn't the customer "king"?, or do cinemas simply not believe in customer service?

I could understand if the box office had to open at 11 a.m. or later on week days when there are fewer people, but surely some times "rules are meant to be broken" to suit the situation at hand? We can't follow the book blindly.

I think it is high time that the management of the cinema looks into ways to improve customer service at the box office if it wants to continue to lure regular patrons as well as new ones.

If the management begs to differ, I suggest they try to turn up on the weekend to see the situation for themselves as seeing is believing.

If not for my children's sakes, I would have walked off and not watched the movie altogether as it was a sheer waste of time to be kept waiting unnecessarily when time is all too precious.

ZAITON MOHAMMED
Jakarta

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