Today’s post comes from one reader who currently works in the customer service industry and knows what it takes to give good customer service. The following is his opinion on why Regal Entertainment Group is one of the worst companies for customer service. Take a look and see if you agree:
My first job was at the concession stand of an 18-screen Regal theater
during high school and college. It was one of the most dehumanizing
experiences of my entire life. The customers are the rudest I’ve ever
encountered. I currently work at Target, where I may have to deal with
one or two rude people each week. At Regal, I had maybe a half dozen people
bite my head off every day. At first I thought it was their fault. But
what you must realize is that my Target and Regal are directly across the
street from one another, so both locations have basically the same
customers. My service certainly wasn’t any different; in fact, I’ve been
recognized by several Target customers as a former Regal employee, and
wasn’t treated rudely at all. That’s when I realized that the people to
whom I’d served popcorn in the past weren’t jerks; the fault was with
Regal.
The number of sales pitches the average customer receives at Regal borders
on harassment. Imagine walking into a theater, and immediately being
offered a Crown Card (Regal’s rewards program). In order to get this
card, you must fill out a page of paperwork. Then when you get to the box
office, you find out that the matinee now ends at 3 pm instead of 5, and you have
to pay an extra two dollars for your ticket. Then you’re asked to donate a
dollar to Stars of Hope, and asked a second time if you will be using a
Crown Card. Once you actually get to the lobby, it’s over, right? You
wish. You’re then approached and asked to donate to Stars of Hope
*again*, and when you finally get to the counter, you realize that everything costs
fifty cents more than it did six months ago *and* you’re nagged to buy a
combo that doesn’t actually save you any money unless you buy candy with
it. I bet you’d be pretty cranky. And all that crankiness gets directed
squarely at the folks behind the concession counter.
And that’s not all. While many companies seek to increase revenue through
great service, Regal’s policy seems to be, “Just make sure the teenagers
don’t screw up.” Consequently, the cash registers are set up in a way
that offers no flexibility to those operating them. Need a larger drink with
your kids’ meal? Sorry. Your popcorn was stale? We can’t give discounts
here. Want to exchange your unopened candy? Wait five minutes while I
get a manager to approve the transaction. And God help you if the poor kid’s
register freezes up, because there’s no way to sign on to another one.
You’ll have to wait for it to reboot or get in another line.
All this is obviously detrimental to customer service. Regal’s policies
make the customers miserable, and they in turn make the employees
miserable. I think you can see how this cycle goes.
To read more about Jim’s musing on life in general, visit his blog at Jimboroni.com Do you agree that Regal has bad customer service? Have you ever had a bad customer experience at Regal? Tell us about it, or any other bad customer service you’ve received.
