For the longest time now I’ve been going to Nu-Metro cinemas to watch movies – mostly because they’re in the places that I choose to frequent (like Bedford Centre, Montecasino and Clearwater Mall).
One thing I’ve constantly noticed with Nu-Metro cinemas is that the quality of service at most of the cinemas has been less than adequate on so many levels and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Twitter and Facebook are constantly filled with comments on how Nu-Metro’s staff have ruined the cinema experience of so many people – particularly if they are attending a huge movie that they have been dying to see – and cannot be enjoyed on anything but a big screen.
Complaints range from bad popcorn, to rude staff, massive queues for concessions and movies either being out of focus, sounds problems, in-cinema advertising and even projectionists that forget to change the aspect ratio of the movie when the ads have finished and the main attraction begins.
I’ve even been turned away by cinema staff because I was not allowed to bring the left-overs (doggie bag) from my pre-movies dinner into the cinema “because it wasn’t purchased here”.
I’ve also personally had it on numerous occasions where the picture has been out of focus or the surround sound has not been turned on and nothing was done even despite reporting it to cinema management.
It’s just not good enough and I think Nu-Metro is suffering because of these issues, which, let’s face it, amount to incompetence and laziness at all levels – from ticket staff right up to cinema management.
But what a breath of fresh air it has been, my last two visits to Ster Kinekor cinemas (Crest and Fourways Mall).
Both visits were for fairly epic movies (Transformers 2 and Terminator Salvation) and my experiences at both movies were just what I would have expected to have had at any cinema.
The sound was perfect, the picture was in-focus, the ticket staff were happy, there were very short queues for concessions and the popcorn was fresh and tasty. (although it has to be said that the prices of concessions are ridiculously high).
What I found even cooler at Fourways Ster Kinekor was the self-service ticket kiosks. Touch-screen kiosks don’t only allow you to pick up pre-booked tickets, but you can buy tickets from then, select your seats and even do other stuff like buy airtime – which again put Ster Kinekor miles ahead of Nu-Metro in my eyes.
Look, the downside to all of this is that Ster Kinekor cinemas aren’t in the places I usually go so I would end up having to go to places that I don’t particularly like in order to attend a movie at a Ster Kinekor cinema (like Westgate, Cresta or Fourways) – but I’d do it for the movie experience that is way ahead of the blunders that keep pissing a lot of people off at Nu-Metro.
In my eyes, Ster Kinekor is the way to go and Nu-Metro could seriously learn a few lessons from its number one competitor on how even the smallest changes can make a huge difference.
