If You're Not Happy, Tell Someone

A month or so ago, our family went to see the movie Thor. The kids and I had been looking forward to it for some time since I often played Thor in our PS3 game Ultimate Alliance 2, and he was, as the kids say, "a beast." For those of you who don't know, that's a good thing.

We researched the film to make sure it was appropriate for the kids. The reviews we read said that the movie was action-packed (which we wanted), but overall good (no scantily clad -- or no clad -- women and Thor was a decent guy, as opposed to Tony "Iron Man" Stark who is of questionable moral character.) So we decided to go and headed off to the theater on a rainy afternoon.

We were sure the movie would be ok for us all. However, there was one problem we hadn't considered. The previews.

Of the seven or so movie trailers we watched, almost all of them had some sort of image or language that we didn't approve of. In particular there was one of a woman who must have been naked most of the movie because the scenes they showed were way over the top (in our opinion.) It was brutal. Those 15 minutes seemed like an hour. Ugh.

Once the movie started, all was well. As we had read, there was action, but Thor turned out to be a guy we admired (in the end) and the movie was free of sex and very little (if any) bad language. It was a great movie and I can't wait for the sequel.

As we walked out my wife said she wanted to mention the previews to someone and asked who I thought she should talk to. I told her the best person was the manager, but that saying something probably wouldn't make a difference (my thinking was that the previews were set by "corporate" or the movie studios and one theater couldn't do anything about them.) She said she still wanted to say something, so off she went. I went out to the car with the kids and we drove home (we had come in separate cars -- from different locations and met at the theater.)

My wife arrived home a few minutes after we did. She said the manager was very nice, heard her concerns, and said the theater would remove the preview for the one especially offensive movie. The manager thanked my wife for making her concerns known and gave her four free movie passes for us to come back and watch a movie in the next 30 days. As you might imagine, we were thrilled with the outcome -- and especially the free movies!!!!!

So the moral of the story is this: if you're not happy with a product or service from a company, tell someone. The worst that can happen is that they will ignore you and you'll have to decide whether or not you want to do business with them again. But they just might surprise you, respond the way you would hope they would, to try and keep a customer happy. That's what this theater did and we certainly appreciated it. We'll be going back there for sure and will be telling our friends to do the same.

Comments

[Jenna]

I completely agree that companies with great customer service will want to make it right. I purchased a used laptop last year and after I got it home, I was somewhat disappointed that the condition wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. It wasn't enough that I wanted to call the manager, but I did fill out the post-purchase survey they sent to me and commented there. Their customer service manager called me a couple days later and offered to do a swap for one in better condition. I was very impressed with their dedication to customer satisfaction.

[Jess]

I love that game!!! Curious as to which movie the objectionable preview was for, though.

[Linda]

I also make it a point to compliment excellent service and have occasionally gotten freebies that way as well.

[Squirrelers]

Though I personally think the freebies from businesses can sometimes be a bit unnecssary, I do like when they take the complaints seriously and make the next customer's experience better. I think it's great that she spoke up, and great that they genuinely listened and took action. Nice to see that they seemed to get that there are certain things that shouldn't be shown with kids watching. Good story.

By the way, I'm with you in being surprised at their ability to change/alter what previews are shown. I too would have thought that would have been more of a corporate decision.

[mysticaltyger]

That's a great story! I think the other thing that's important is that how you say it matters. If you go into attack mode, they may feel like you're complaining just trying to get free stuff, they can smell that a mile away. But if you just state your concerns without attacking the theater or employees personally, you'll get a lot further.

[Matt]

Agreed with the last post by mysticaltyger. My wife has the art of being able to complain and get something out of it. ( sounds like FMF wife) While I do not have that art and come off as someone who is grinding an ax.

[Ryan]

For future reference, the MPAA changed how they rate trailers a couple of years ago. Before 2009 or so, a green band trailer meant that the trailer met MPAA limitations on language, graphic sex/violence, etc and was approved "for all audiences".

Now, a green band trailer means that the previews will be appropriate based on the movie you're about to watch. That's a pretty big difference.

[Nicole]

Glad to hear the outcome was positive. I am curious what movie theatre chain?

[FMF]

Nicole --

Celebration Cinemas.

[ParatrooperJJ]

Happen to know what the movie preview was for? I want to be sure and see it.

[FMF]

ParatrooperJJ --

No, I don't recall what movie it was for.

[Nicole]

Thanks, that is good press for Celebration Cinemas.

[Ryan]

ParatrooperJJ--

I could be wrong, but I saw Bad Teacher this weekend and I'm betting it was that.