Confusing entry policy raises eyebrows and questions*.
Heather and her husband wanted to round off a pleasant weekend in Sussex with an entertaining film. They chose The Secret Life of Pets they’d heard about from friends. Heather bought tickets online to be picked up later at the box-office of Cineworld in Eastbourne.
It was then their day took an unexpected and unwelcome turn.
The attendant asked about their children. Heather said they didn’t have children and had bought just the two tickets. To her surprise, she was told they couldn’t see the film because they weren’t a “family of two adults and two children”. Heather explained this hadn’t been stated anywhere and her online order had gone through without a hitch. The attendant wouldn’t budge however and continued to refuse entry.
The couple asked to speak to the manager who insisted on a repeat of all the details. Eventually he agreed to let them in but they were stopped again by another usher as they tried to take their seats.
Heather’s story raises questions we shouldn’t need to ask a respected family entertainment company.
1 | Were the staff in this case following a formal customer entry policy? |
2 | Does your staff training cover customer entry policy? |
3 | What is your definition of “a family”? |
4 | Would it include a single parent with a child or children? |
5 | Would your staff question the entry of two women without children? |
Comments.
This leads us to hope and think that Heather’s story is the result of confusion on the part of staff at the cinema in question, not general policy. Cineworld however needs to take care. A case involving what looks like a similar confusion recently led to national headlines including: Furious mum refused Cineworld ‘family meal deal’ because she’s a single parent Mirror 09/08/16.
* First hand report to a member of our team, December 2016.