On September 23 Sherri Crespin, a friend of mine, purchased AMC Silver Experience discount tickets through Borders Rewards Perks. She did this because prices for movie tickets have risen to increasingly unaffordable levels.
On October 12, she invited me to see the new movie, Body of Lies, at the AMC 1000 Van Ness Theater in San Francisco. When we arrived at the theater, the woman at the ticket window said the tickets did not apply to any movie until it had been out for ten days.
Sherri stated that nowhere on the ticket is there any mention of this. The woman sent for the theater manager, whose name was Erica. The theater manager said this restriction was covered under the terms of special engagement as stated on the back of the ticket. But no such restriction is specifically cited anywhere on the ticket.
Nor is this restriction advertised on the Borders website through which the tickets are sold.instead, the website states:
Movie Tickets
Discount Movie Tickets - Save up to 35% off admission
Enjoy special savings at movie theatres nationwide:
AMC Theaters - Up to 25% off
Blockbuster Rentals - Up to $15 off
Cinemark - Save up to 37% off!
Regal Entertainment Group - Up to 35% off
Under the definition of "special engagement" being applied, this amounts to a blanket ban on the use of these tickets for more than a week after the release of any movie. Most consumers would not agree that a "special engagement" means the first ten days of every movie released. Such a restriction places an unwarranted and inexcusable burden on the ticket-holder to count off the days from the release of a movie before being able to see it via the Silver Experience tickets s/he has purchased. Many films have an extremely short run in theaters, and it's possible that a ticket-holder might not be able to see a movie because of this unadvertised restriction AMC Theaters has placed on the use of these tickets.
Ms. Crespin is requesting that AMC Entertainment issue instructions to immediately drop this ban so that these tickets can be used anytime by anyone who has paid almost $60 to receive them.
It is clearly within the best public relations interests of AMC Entertainment to do so. Movies are a unique business that thrives on retaining the goodwill of its consumers. And there is no quicker way to forfeit this than to engage in what amounts to deceptive advertising.
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