Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Online reviews of your theater

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-22-2010, 11:29 AM:

Has anyone really read the online reviews of your theater such as those on yelp or google maps, city search, etc...

Has anyone ever responded to these comments with passes or anything? I'm trying to decide if I made the right decision, one commenter particularly hated their visit, yet they gave really constructive criticism instead of saying "THIS THEATER SUCKS" he described the issue. I can't help but feel as if I had to reach out and ask for another shot to satisfy him, though some of my friends in the industry are saying "don't bother".

Was just wondering if anyone else has used the internet to reach out to customers who have left less than desirable reviews.

*Note*
I did not ask him to remove or edit his review, simply to just give us another shot and let us know if we improved over the past visit.

Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 03-22-2010, 12:50 PM:

I think that is a great course of action. Whenever I've had a customer come to me and give me negative feedback, but do so constructively, I've fallen over myself to get them to give us another chance, including giving out passes. Granted, the much more common sort of criticism is people trying to shout you down, which is much harder to feel empathetic with. I don't see why this sort of engaged feedback should be handled any differently when it occurs online. After all, people live as much of their lives on their computers as off these days.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-22-2010, 01:25 PM:

I try to follow the reviews just to see what people are saying. Most of the negatives are just bitching about us not playing a certain movie or complaining about prices. We did have one comment about a scratched print we had this past summer, but the person didn't include any contact info.

We recently had a discount ($5.00) theatre open about 30 minutes away. Several recent comments have been about how we should lower our prices so people don't have to drive to this discount theatre.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 03-22-2010, 01:42 PM:

Manny,

I think you did the absolute right thing by the customer. Not only did you run a good chance of saving that customer, but you showed by example that you're concerned with customer service.

We opened up a Reader Comments section on The BigScreen Cinema Guide, and one theater in particular was the subject of quite a few complaints:

http://www.bigscreen.com/Marquee.php?theater=HartfordTheaters&view=comments

I was contacted by the theater and we worked together to make sure that the comments were not coming as a result of abuse, and then the owner crafted a response that I think was perfect in addressing the complaints raised to that point. A subsequent message shows the impact that his response had, and there haven't been any complaints since.

We're working on a system whereby theaters can respond officially, so that people can be assured that the responses are coming from an official representative from the theater. Hopefully, that will make the system even more valuable to both customers and theaters.

To your question, though, I think it's very important to respond to concerns directly. Why ignore a customer who has reached out to provide valuable feedback? Obviously, the senseless complaints can't be satisfied (movie wasn't very good), but anything that is under your control is something that you should be interested in improving if possible. That feedback is worth its weight in gold!

Posted by Connor Kirkwood (Member # 5371) on 03-22-2010, 06:17 PM:

I think reaching out to the kind of dissatisfied patrons you described is a great idea, but I would be careful about advertising your gesture on these sites. You don't want people posting nitpicking reviews in hopes of getting free passes for themselves.

I learned early on that if you offer passes to one patron in full view of others, you'll soon find a line of customers behind them who wouldn't have otherwise complained.

Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-24-2010, 03:55 AM:

I figure here is the only place I'd post because of exactly what you said, don't want people trying to game the system.

I actually got a reply today with an apology, he apologized for using some questionable language and said that he only did it because "he didn't think most people listened to complaints" he also politely declined my offer but said that our customer service was great and he was going to tell all of his friends about how great our service is.

So I'd say it went really well, turned a negative visit into a positive one, and retained a customer.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 03-24-2010, 11:28 AM:

All the customer wants is to feel they are respected. Manny, you've made yourself a walking advertisment. Believe me, that guy will praise your theatre and the way he was treated long after this incident.

I don't know of those sites like Google maps lets people edit their comments once they are posted, but he could add an additional comment saying he was treated well after the fact.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-24-2010, 11:35 AM:

I saw the following review of my current theater over at Cinema treasures:

quote:
I visited this theater in late 2008 to see "The Women" and was very nicely surprised. It is very comfortable, attractive and contemporary. It also featured the best quality projection I have seen in a multiplex.

I swear I did not write that!

Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 03-24-2010, 12:01 PM:

I tried looking for reviews of my theatre, and there wasn't very much, mostly stuff from when we were a subrun, but I just found out we have a Wikipedia page which is pretty cool I guess.

Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-24-2010, 12:54 PM:

Yeah, a lot of people for my theater admit
"The theater is dingy, but the staff is great and the movies are awesome"

and thats all I really want out of my reviews, its not even close to the best place to see a movie in town (personally my opinion), though most people don't notice all the dirty, scratched films with bad splices galore at the other chains in town, all they notice is OOOOH neon and stadium seating

Its a 42 year old theater that isn't built like an old majestic theater, I don't even know who designed the building, but it was originally a single, then split to a twin, then they added 3 more auditoriums to where we are at now.

Posted by Laurie Higgins (Member # 4843) on 04-07-2010, 03:50 PM:

Some online reviews matter because it gives you at least a small idea of how the public feels about you. I recently read a review of our theater that said there was something wrong with our theater and we sucked because we had changed hands 5 times in the last 4 years.

Actually we got bought out once and then that company merged with another company and then after about a year they decided to change the name to be more inline with the merged companies parent company chain. But to the public it looks like we have a revolving door of owners and thus the public thinks something fishy is going on. When in fact it's been the same people and for the last 4 years the same management and ownership. The only thing about the theater that has actually changed is the Signage and the popcorn bags and drink cups.

But like I said, if I hadn't read this review online then I wouldn't have even thought about this being something our customers would think and pass judgment on us about because it took 5 years to transpire.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 04-11-2010, 05:39 PM:

Did you send him a couple of passes to come back - and to thank him for bringing up the issue so correction can be instigated?

Called "Guest satisfaction"

-Monte