Sarah had an unpleasant experience at her local movie theater, and sent a complaint e-mail to the company that runs it. We don’t know what response she expected, but it probably wasn’t a letter from a company vice president that began, “Drive to [a competing theater] and also go f*** yourself. If you dont have money for entertainment, get a better job, and don’t pay for everything on your credit or check card.”

My husband and I just went to your theater to see Shutter Island.
First off, the year is 2010 and your establishment does not accept cash cards or credit cards. We did not have enough cash on us and neither did your ATM. If you run out of cash by Saturday evening you should have a higher allotment of cash. Since most people expect to use their cash card, the ATM, I’m sure, is utilized frequently. Frankly, get with the time. I know you are charged for transactions on a card machine but frankly your customers would be better served. How many customers do you lose because they don’t have cash or check (since 90% of establishments don’t accept checks anymore).Thankfully, we had friends who had 1 check on them. We would have had to go to the bank to get cash to see a movie. Should we charge you for time and gas?
Secondly, after the first 10 minutes a staff member came in and announced that there were 8 people who should not be in that movie. She proceded to check tickets of paying customers trying to enjoy a movie. She also brought in the ticket clerk to see if she would recognize the 4 remaining people who did not leave after the announcement. This ruined the first 30 minutes of the movie. Frankly, we lost the first part of the plot and new characters. I did not pay 18.00 to have a distracted experience. Are 8 people worth a theater full of refunds? Why not wait until the movie is over and check people leaving? Why not pause the movie? I expect a refund, but only by check card. Oh wait, sorry, we are all out of check cards. Get the point yet? I would rather drive to White Bear Lake, where they obviously know how to run a theater than have this experience again.

Sarah

The theater company’s vice president sent Sarah a response. It was not what she had expected.

Sarah,

Drive to White Bear Lake and also go fuck yourself. If you dont have money for entertainment, get a better job, and don’t pay for everything on your credit or check card. You can also shove your time and gas up your fucking ass. Also, find better things to do with your time. This email is an absolute joke. We don’t care to have you as a customer. Let me know if you need directions to white bear lake.

Steven
Steven J. Payne – Vice President
Evergreen Entertainment
929 Old Highway 8 NW
Suite 200
New Brighton, MN 55112

A few hours later, Sarah received a follow-up email from the manager:

Dear Mrs. [Sarah’s last name],
I tried to contact you via a phone call to issue this apology personally
and was unable to reach you. I sincerely apologize for my inappropriate
response to your email yesterday. As vice president, I should never have
reacted that way, no matter how I felt about your email. At Evergreen
Entertainment, customer service is an important part of our business, and
that clearly was not reflected by my use of profane language.

Our St. Croix Falls theatre has gone through a management change and that
transition has not proven to be easy, although it is for the best. There
have been several issues lately, including some brought upon our operation
without our knowledge, that we have been working hard to address and it
appears that we are not quite there yet. We will continue to work towards
these improvements in the hope that it will allow our customers better
service and an overall improvement in the entertainment experience.

With that being said, if you would be willing to give our theatre another
chance, I welcome you to contact me personally.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for my actions, and I hope that this
misstep does not affect your experience with Evergreen Entertainment in
the future.

Sincerely,

Steven

Steven J. Payne – Vice President
Evergreen Entertainment
929 Old Highway 8
Suite 200
New Brighton, MN 55112

Establishments that don’t take credit or ATM cards is nothing new–in fact, my favorite independent theater doesn’t. But seriously, what movie theater management thinks it’s a good idea to check everyone’s tickets while the movie is playing?

BOYCOTT St. Croix Falls Cinema 8 (Evergreen Entertainment LLC) [Facebook] (Thanks, Michael!)
Woman Gets Profane E-mail from Theater Co.’s VP [WCCO]

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