How I wanted to love you. How I wanted you to become my new theater.
But it didn’t happen.
Everything that I had heard was good. You were supposed to be an updated version of the Alamo in Austin, TX. You would serve food and beverages and be with in 5 minutes of my normal movie theater.
I see over 100 films a year in the theater and I was prepared to move so much of my money to your theater. The promise of you reached so far, and fell so short.
I have given you a fair shot. I have been there five or six times now, with other people, both having meals and skipping meals and can only leave with disappointment.
What follows are the things that bothered me, or where you fell short. I am leaving out problems with the clientele because that isn’t your fault. A new theater brings out the worst in the public.
You want to be the Alamo so bad. And if I am wrong and you don’t want to be the Alamo, I am sorry, but maybe you should try. With all of your locations in Texas I am sure you have been there at some point. Go check them out if you haven’t.
The kiosk where the servers handle orders is practically IN the theater. I was sitting in the first row when you walk into the theater and was less than 15 feet from the order station. WAY to close. Where this becomes a real problem is that your servers like to hang out and talk during the movie while they are working. So basically, the theater employees hang out and talk during the movie IN THE THEATER.
Next, I couldn’t identify wether or not it was a rat or a mouse, but on my first visit to the theater a rodent was running back and forth along the bottom of the movie screen, comically enlarged by the lighting. This is extra skeevy when I think that you are serving food and there is a working kitchen somewhere nearby. Is it your fault that rodents like kitchens, no, and I shouldn’t be surprised that they are nearby, but you need to realize that that was a first experience I won’t forget.
You need to change the way orders are taken and money is exchanged. At the Alamo Drafthouse it is a completely silent experience throughout the entire movie. There are even lowered walkways for the servers so that they don’t interfere with the viewing of the movie if you aren’t ordering.
Here at the Movie Tavern, I might not want anything, but if the person in front of me does, the server walks right down the aisle, stands in front of everyone and takes an order. There is no effort made for silence. My favorite part is near the end of the movie when the server will walk down the aisle asking everyone if they need anything else.
You will notice that all of these complaints are related to your food services. Well, that is the draw to the theater, isn’t it. The Regal Cinema 24 in Oaks is less than five minutes away and offers no food service, but a completely civilized movie experience.
If you are going to stand out and be different, make sure what you want me to notice is something worth noticing and for the right reasons. I am available for consultations if you need help.