Thailand's multiplex giant promises action after complaints about high ticket prices, poor service and too many commercials before the show
It's been 16 years since the first multiplex cinema opened in Thailand offering tickets at Bt80. That was considered expensive back in 1995 but going to the movies was still considered value for money. Today, with ticket prices starting at Bt160 to Bt200, regardless of promotions and location, film fans have had enough.When multiplex market leader Major Cineplex increased prices in May, moviegoers flew into a rage and voiced their anger on the Internet. A Facebook account was set up to counter Major's price increase. Followers didn't just limit their posts to the ticket prices but took the opportunity to comment on the poor service they'd suffered for years and about which they'd never received any response from the cinema's owner.
"All these are chronic problems we put up with whenever we go to Major Cineplex. It's everything from the long commercial screening time to the service from the multiplex staff at the ticket counters," says Ek, who initiated the Facebook uprising.
"But I still go to Major Cineplex because it is close to home. I complain through Facebook but I don't want them to close down. I just want them to care more about their clients."
And where complaints have failed in the past, the power of the social network appears to have worked. For the first time, Major Cineplex is responding to what its customers are saying.
"Thank you for all your comments. I read them already and we are concerned about the problems and working to solve them," says the president of the Major Cineplex Group, Vicha Poolvoralak.
So far, the movie tickets at Major Cineplex are selling for Bt160 to Bt200 for regular seats though prices differ depending on multiplex location and the screening days.
On Wednesday, movie tickets are discounted to Bt60 or Bt80. However, for some blockbuster movies, the promotion is withheld.
Every year, Major sells about 26 million tickets out of the total market sale of 32 million tickets.
On average, Major's price is about Bt20 per seat higher than other multiplex chains like SF Cinema.
Major has around 370 cinemas nationwide and the figure is set to increase to 385 by the end of this year.
"Many blockbuster films come in the digital format so we have to go that way. We have to invest in all the equipment, not the film distributor," he says.
Most of the multiplexes are located in shopping centres and that means annual rent increases, Vicha continues. Changing movie trends forces the cinema business to not just invest more in digital cinema but also in 3D and 4D technologies. However, theatres are on average only 25percent full, which is not enough to freeze the ticket price.
Vicha adds that the price increases are not across the board but only in some locations and points out that Major gives options for lowerpriced tickets. Among the schemes is Major's MGen card. Certain credit cards like KBank allows ticket purchases for Bt88. There's also deals for AIS members (Bt80) and various options with sponsor partners.
Major is also planning a new chain of lowcost cinemas.
"We are working with the land owner and will open next year on Srinakarin Road and in the Samrong area. The ticket price could be around Bt100 or Bt120," says Vicha.
The cinema tycoon believes that the real dissatisfaction comes from moviegoers being forced to watch a series of commercials before the film screening. Some audience members say the commercials and movie trailers can run for as long as 40 minutes and that kills their appetite for the main celluloid dish before it even arrives.
"I admit that's quite true and I've told the relevant department to fix it," says Vicha, explaining that the commercials don't actually run for longer than 10 minutes but when combined with the preview trailers and the King's Anthem, the elapsed time can sometimes reach to 30 to 40 minutes.
In the past, he says, only six trailers were shown but nowadays the number can be as many as nine or 10. Each may run for up to three minutes, increasing the premovie time noticeably.
"The income from the product commercials is necessary for us but it is less important than the ticket income. I understand that it's annoying for the audience. It's not good for our business either because if it is longer than 40 minutes, we will lose the showtime. And we want more showtimes, not fewer," says Vicha.
Sales promotions in front of the cinema can also be a headache for audiences. Full information on the cinema type, seats and service is rarely provided, so moviergoers are confused when they finally get to the ticket counter.
Staff also use tactics to convince customers to pay as much as possible, such as only highlighting the expensive seats on the selection screen.
Perhaps the most common complaint is that the queues for tickets are simply too long. That's because the cinemas will usually open just one or two counters for customers paying cash. There are dedicated queues for MGen cardholders and credit cards, pushing many customers to buy an MGen card just to get faster service.
"It's certainly not my policy. I accept all complaints and assign every cinema to fix the problems," Vicha says.
The cinema magnate admits that it's the toughest situation he has faced since opening. He seems to be taking it seriously though and is in the process of setting up the M Care unit to get feedback from customers.
In future, comments to this section can be made at MajorCineplex.com as well as at Facebook
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