Event Cinemas
Amalgamated Holdings Limited
GPO Box 1609
Sydney NSW 2001
Australia
To whom it may concern,
Re: Event Cinemas failure to respond to online media and website enquiry form.
I’m publishing this letter on my website in the hope that someone will bring it to your attention and I’ll get a response from you.
I know no business is perfect and we all slip up sometimes. So please, think of this as a bit of helpful customer feedback rather than a complaint. You're welcome to give me your side of the story in return.
Last week, on December 28 to be precise, I set about the process of using two Gold Class Vouchers to buy tickets for a movie at your Megaplex Cinema in Innaloo, Perth.
I started by dialling the Innaloo Megaplex Gold Class phone number advertised on your website.
You left me on hold for a long time. A very long time. I was in front of my computer, so after 30 minutes I tried using your Facebook page to get your attention. As you can see in this screen shot, I added a comment after 50 minutes and another at one hour and seven minutes. You might find it instructive to read what other people said too. Readers who are logged into Facebook can see the original post and comments.
I also tried talking to you via Twitter after 37 minutes and 50 minutes of being on hold. All I really wanted was for you to acknowledge my existence. An apology would have been a bonus. But you said nothing. No conversation. No attempt to engage with a customer. Nothing.
At some point I also sent you a message by using the online form in the Help/FAQs section of the Event Cinemas website, thinking optimistically that someone in your head office might contact the people at Gold Class Innaloo and suggest they answer their telephone. I’m sure you can find a record of my enquiry in your system.
After giving up on the telephone, I used the voucher redemption facility on the Event Cinemas website to buy my two tickets. The reason I didn't do so in the first place is your website is difficult to use. As some of my associates in the web industry would say, it has user experience issues.
Over a week has gone by and still you haven’t responded to my Facebook post, tweets or the enquiry I submitted via your website.
I wonder if you’re really serious about communicating with your customers. If you are, please employ sufficient staff and give them the training and authority to respond promptly and appropriately.
There’s nothing magic about online communication in general or social media in particular. When all’s said and done, it’s just people talking to people.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
James Bull
Independent Web Consultant
Update 10 January 2012 - I received an email from someone in the operations area of Event Cinemas on Friday 6 January, within 24 hours of publishing this. It included a "thank you" for the feedback and expressions of a commitment to providing better service in future. I waited until now before adding this update because I thought that Event Cinemas might provide an additional response in the form of a public comment here. While they haven't done so yet, they are always welcome to do so.