HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE MANAGER...RAFAEL
Upon arriving at the ticket podium, I was informed the movie I'd purchased tickets for was not showing due to theater issues. The ticket taker radioed over to the manager. I was directed to the customer service counter in the lobby to receive a refund. I was disappointed but not upset at this point. Being in the customer service industry myself, I understand issues arise from unforeseen circumstances. This was not the theaters fault. I walk over to the unattended service counter and a concession stand attendee comes over. She informs me I'd been misinformed and I'd have to go to the front box office for a refund. I return to the ticket podium. After radioing someone again for clarification, she tells me I will indeed have to go to the front box office for a refund. I inform her of the long line and how I felt I'd been inconvenienced enough already. I'd purchased my tickets online, planned my entire morning around a 12:10 show time and drove across town to make it there. I did not feel it fair to have to stand in line for a refund. She follows me to the front. I walk out front and notice there is ONE box office clerk. There was ONE person distributing tickets to a long line of people. The ticket taker knocks on the door to the box office. After briefing the clerk, the ticket taker pokes her head out the glass door and tells me the clerk will be right with me. At this point, I'm beginning to wonder where the manager is in all of this because these two associates seemed pretty intent on resolving a minor issue at this point. Finally an older male appears. It's the manager, Rafael. He motions to me and addresses me, "Are you the one waiting on a refund?" " Yes," I replied, assuming he was there to resolve the issue. He turns inside so I follow him in. Once inside, his intent was clear and it was NOT to spare me any further inconvenience. He had an intense look and HE seemed upset. He proceeded to point me to the back of the line because there were other customers waiting to purchase tickets. He was confrontational and unapologetic. He even said if I was unhappy with his resolution, he would have to ask me to leave. The movie not showing was not his fault. The misinformation from the ticket taker of where to direct me (that was provided through the radio from the manager), the unattended Customer Service counter in the front (which provided no such thing), the long line due to understaffing in the front office box, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, his attitude and decision on how to "confront" an inconvenienced customer is ALL Rafael's fault. He was already at the box office. There were several other empty box office stations. He could have simply signed into one of them. He could have exchanged tickets for an alternate movie time (as I really did want to watch the movie rather than have my $12 back) or simply issue me a refund himself. Unless he felt it was "beneath" a person of his stature, too busy or just too stupid to perform such a task, it was a simple solution. On that note, there were so MANY other ways he could have resolved a very minor issue with an understanding customer. He instead chose to pound his chest, show his muscle and run me off of his territory...HORRIBLE CHOICE.
I have been a manager in the customer service industry for over 20 years and I engage with numerous customers on a daily basis. Some encounters are pleasant, and others are not so pleasant. In either case, a consumer has selected my place of business. As a supervisor and representative of our business it is my responsibility to ensure our consumers have the most pleasant customer experience we can provide. I am positive AMC Theaters has a similar expectation of all of their personnel, most especially their managers.
Recently, this place had become my theater of choice (despite it being further across town) because they have been playing movies not available at other local theaters. I'm sure I am not the only one. For that, AMC deserves some credit. It's a shame the manager is not appreciative of or prepared to accommodate this new flow of business.
The 1-star is for the associates who seemed to care more than the manager did.
This is not about a refund. Fandango refunded me via their app shortly after leaving. The manager's customer service is horrible and uninformed. Fandango offers a simple refund feature on their app if you are unable to make your show. I was unaware because I'd never used it until today. read more