My complaint:
On my visit to the cinema today The systems were down and I paid in cash. No problem.I asked the girl for two tickets to see Elvisand was told the cinema was 50 % full and that the manager would have to be consulted. The manager ed seats were available. I asked for two seats near the back (due to sight problems) and I was told that provided seats near the back were vacant we could sit on those. We found two seats near the back and sat on those. After approximately 15 mins three people came in and we were told we were in their seats. We explained that we were told that we could sit in any vacant seat and due to having been there for some time we did not move.The manager was sent for and came and told us to leave or security would be called. We then said if we move to other empty seats and other people come what would happen. We were told we would have to move again and again if the seats were pre booked,and at no time were we advised of this at the booking desk. We decided to leave and get a refund. At the desk I confronted the girl on the desk who told us we could sit in any vacant seat. She denied this and added that she told us that if someone came in who had pre booked we would have to move. That is untrue She also said that her colleague heard her tell us about pre- booked seats and that we would have to move if told to do so. That is also untrue. The manager asked me what could she do and I said that she could manage the situation better and assist us in obtaining seats that were not pre- booked. The manager was not at all helpfull and took an aggressive stance on this matter telling us to move and if we did not she would call security to eject us from the cinema.I understand that there was some difficulty with the computer systems being down but the overall handling of this situation is not what I would expect. I would have expected an apology from the girl on the desk instead I was made to feel that I was not telling the truth. There was no apology offered at all and this is the least that I would expect in the circumstances.
Suggested solution:
I would expect the manager to issue an apology, and to have handled the situation amicably.
Manager is not just a title. The situation was not managed at all.
