by Dennise
Myers
It’s seven o’clock on a Saturday and
I’m spending an evening with my husband of twenty-three years. Our favorite
past time is going out to dinner and watching a movie. We mostly entertain
ourselves by watching action movies and suspense thrillers but we enjoy other
genres as well. We have a new favorite theater, Regal Cinema in Bolingbrook. It
has to be the most comfortable cinema we have ever been in. Today I have decide
to compare the three most recent movie theaters my husband and I have attended.
The three theaters are the AMC Showplace New Lenox 14, Cinemark Louis Joliet
Mall, and Regal Bolingbrook Stadium 12.
Cleanliness
As
you enter the venue the ticketing area is well lit and the Flexi
Barriers are well organized to accommodate many patrons, directing them to
the ticket agents in an orderly fashion. There are waste receptacles placed
throughout. The restrooms are well maintained. The theater auditorium is fairly
clean with little or no mess left behind from the previous
viewers. 
This venue is located inside the
Louis Joliet Mall which I believe changes the aspect of cleanliness due to the
sheer volume of patrons. The Flexi Barriers are also used to funnel patrons to
the ticket booth. You will see popcorn spills on the floor throughout the
lobby and inside the auditoriums. The restrooms seem to be manned at all times
to ensure a clean friendly environment. I think every time I have been there an
attendant was in the bathroom keeping everything clean.
As you enter
this cinema you may notice the slightly older décor. The ticket booth is in the
main lobby which is not very well lit. The restroom facilities are dated
but overall are kept clean. The auditoriums are spotless.
Concession
The concession stand is
brightly lit up enticing patrons to spend their money on refreshing beverages
and snack food. They have hot dogs, chicken tenders, pizza and the more common
popcorn and nachos. I enjoy the Coca-Cola
freestyle machine which allows the customer to mix and match the perfect
beverage.
Cinemark Louis Joliet Mall
The concession area is compacted
into a small space. There are two soda fountain machines to accommodate
customers that want a beverage. There are usually one or two people behind the
counter to dish out the popcorn. There is also a separate counter where patrons
can get more specific food choices, such as ultimate nachos and Starbucks
coffee drinks. The specialty items are more costly than the regular nachos and
pretzel bites that are available.
Regal Bolingbrook Stadium 12
The
concession area is displayed in typical movie theater style. There are
plenty of snacks to be had at Regal Bolingbrook. Popcorn, pretzels, candy, ice
cream and they even have Popcornopolis
(specialty gourmet popcorn).
Courtesy and Customer Service and Comfort
AMC Showplace New
Lenox14
There are a number of smiling faces to greet you at the ticket desk. I found AMC Showplace to be extremely friendly. On a past visit we were given movie passes when the film we were watching had issues with scenes being spliced (it cut from one scene to the next with no transition). There are usually two or three employees that are working the concession area. The stadium seating is adequate. Yelp can help you decide.
Cinemark Louis Joliet
Mall
Most visits find two or three employees
working the ticket counter. I
find the concession area at Cinemark to be very frustrating. Customers are
squeezed into a narrow chute in which they must wait to receive popcorn from
teenage employees that are indifferent about your quest to see a movie on time.
Service tends to be slow. They have only two soda fountain machines to
accommodate the hundreds of customers trying in vain to see the movie they paid
for. There is usually an armed police officer there on weekends to keep all the
riffraff in line. Cinemark also has stadium seating which I found to be quite
comfortable. Check out other reviews on Yelp.
Regal Bolingbrook Stadium 12
When you enter the theater, you
find one or two employees working the ticket counter. The ticket taker is
always courteous. I have bought tickets online, and I have always had a
pleasant interaction with. Were they seem to fall short, is in manning the
concession stand. The last time we attended a movie showing, which was two
weeks ago, the only attendant behind the counter completely ignored a patron that
waited in line patiently to get a refill on her popcorn. I believe she missed
at least fifteen minutes of her movie. That is the worst customer service I have
ever encountered at a movie theater. As far as seating is concerned, this is
the most comfortable in the immediate vicinity of Joliet Community College.
This theater has recently installed over-sized recliners in all of their
auditoriums. Reserved seating is a nice touch and the snack trays make eating a
breeze. I love this theater and have made it my first choice in cinema viewing,
but not everyone feels the same way
about Regal so please check out what others have to say and on Yelp.
This is a very good post. I enjoyed how you broke the criteria up throughout and then explained each theater. This was a good choice. The images are also spaced nicely. My one suggestion would be to think about the amount of spacing between sections (sometimes there is too much). Also, consider making each section uniform with the amount of text you put. Some parts didn't have much when others had quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good post. I enjoyed how you broke the criteria up throughout and then explained each theater. This was a good choice. The images are also spaced nicely. My one suggestion would be to think about the amount of spacing between sections (sometimes there is too much). Also, consider making each section uniform with the amount of text you put. Some parts didn't have much when others had quite a bit.
ReplyDelete