Let me just say, I love the Oriental Theater. It's one of my favorite places in Milwaukee. It's a beautiful treasure on our East Side, and a wonderful place to watch a movie.

Just not tonight.

I attended the 7 p.m. showing of "Little Miss Sunshine," and within five minutes of the start of the film, I noticed something wasn't quite right. The audio was loud enough, but was completely devoid of bass. In fact, it sounded so tinny that I felt like I was listening to the movie through a cordless phone. Or perhaps under water.

For the first time in my movie-going experience, I got up to see what was going on, because frankly, the audio quality was miserable.

I politely asked the ticket taker if he knew if anything was wrong with the audio at tonight's showing. He said, "Uh, yeah, I think the Dolby sound is broken. You might want to talk to a manager." He pointed me to a woman behind the snack bar.

So I asked the manager if she knew what was fishy with the sound. She confirmed that the audio system had been broken, and yes, they knew about the problem.

As I listened to her explanation, another couple suggested we all ask for a refund. "I can give you a refund," the manager offered. "But not if you sit through the whole movie first."

Well, I said, I'm already here, so I'm not particularly interested in leaving and going to another theater. "No one else is really complaining," she said, getting back to making popcorn.

My last ditch attempt to reason with the manager seemed fair enough: "Couldn't you have told me when I was buying the tickets that your sound system was broken?" She just sort of shook her head.

So, giving up, I went back into the theater. I think the movie was really good, but it was hard to tell, since I could barely hear most of the good lines. And the worst part is that I had pondered going to see the movie at one of the Marcus chains, where the video and audio would have been top notch. But we picked the ambience, for the same steep price tag. And in doing so, we sacrified quality, and unfortunately, any semblance of customer service in a highly competitive industry. I hate to say it, but next time, I might think twice where to spend my cinema dollar.

9 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by OMCreader on Oct. 12, 2006 at 12:32 p.m. (report)

Nick T W said: Here is a good customer service experience from an Oriental competitor. I was at the Rosebud in Tosa a couple of weeks ago. I ordered a soda and after one sip spit it out as there was no carbonation. I took it back and the guy working behind the counter said that he would take a look at the machine and bring me a new soda. After about 30 mins. the guy finds us in the theater, says that the soda machine is broken, apologized, said we could have anything else we wanted from the beverage counter, and also gave us 2 free movie passes to come back whenever we wanted. I was stunned at that quality level of service and I didn't have to ask for any of it. I will be heading to the Rosebud on a more regular basis.

Posted by OMCreader on Sept. 12, 2006 at 10:48 a.m. (report)

Andy said: email Mark Cuban directly

Posted by OMCreader on Sept. 11, 2006 at 10:20 a.m. (report)

Cozen Beguile said: If I was in my 20's working toward a higher education by making $8 an hour. I have to think, you give the service you get payed for. Why would I even care? I could get a job for that money anywhere. I would hire a skilled manager at 40k a year, who cares about their job. If Oriental was serious about its nostalgia, then bring back the true customer service feeling of the past. When I was a child in the 60's. Going to the Oriental was like going to a fancy ball. Workers wore suits, held doors, and greeted people with a smile. The business then strived on its image. I guess this is what we lose when we go commercial. PEACE!

Posted by OMCreader on Sept. 11, 2006 at 9:39 a.m. (report)

to be expected said: The manager of that theatre is probably only getting paid a bit above minimum wage, and even a smaller amount more than the regular worker there. It doesnt surprise me that Andy had a customer no service experience.

Posted by OMCreader on Sept. 10, 2006 at 12:50 a.m. (report)

Jessica said: Goes to show you never know who you might cross-and get your bad actions plastered somewhere for others to read. I love the Oriental, but shame on them for not telling their customers ahead of time.

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