Silverbird Cinemas - Strongly worded letter

Silverbird Cinemas

Silverbird Entertainment Center

Plot 1161 Memorial Drive

Central Area, Abuja, Nigeria.

Letter to Silverbird Cinemas Management

Dear Silverbird Cinemas Management,

This is a strongly worded letter to address a significantly troubling issue about the service you provide as a movie theater. I should inform you that this letter is being made available to the public through the internet; primarily for the purpose of empowering other consumers.

  

The inconsistent audio quality of the movies you show are not only an insult to your customers, but should also in my opinion bear ramifications that go as far as indignation from movie makers and studios whose films you show.

On Thursday, July 25^th, 2013, about three quarters of the way through the showing of Star Trek: Into the Darkness in auditorium number 10 at the Silverbird Cinemas, Abuja, the audio quality suddenly became poor. It became very difficult to hear the dialogue in the movie, while the film score (which by the way is a significant part of the theatrical experience in a movie like Star Trek) also sounded odd and disoriented. At the time, I remember thanking God that it happened during JJ Abrams' average execution of what should have been a movie at least as great as its first part, and not during a movie like Man of Steel, in which case I would have been beyond upset to discover that I was being denied Hans Zimmer’s amazing music. That being said, despite the fact that I wasn’t upset because Star Trek failed to impress me in and of itself, Michael Giacchino did a good enough job with the movie’s score that I still felt like I lost out by getting poor audio quality while watching the movie. I thought it may have been a slight issue with the speakers on that particular day and simply let it slide.

The reason I have included my analysis of the movie's quality as well as that of the film score is that I want you to understand the gravity of ruining a moviegoer like mine’s experience. In case your employees have told you of “that one guy who stays behind after the main part of the movie is done” so that he can watch the credits and listen to the soundtrack after the movie, I am that guy. I wait until the very end of every movie to find out where the movie was shot, who the moviemakers decided to give “special thanks” to, which music was used for the soundtrack (or alternatively who wrote the film score for the original music used), and even which smaller production companies were involved in the film-making. Watching a movie in a theater for me is an experience not an activity. I do not pay the premium for the overpriced 900% marked up popcorn because I am hungry, but rather because popcorn is indeed part of my movie watching experience. And so, when on Friday, July 26^th, 2013, I walked into auditorium 4 to watch the 6pm showing of The Wolverine at Silverbird Cinemas in Abuja, I was beyond disappointed, but rather felt like I was being directly insulted to find out that the audio quality was so bad that I literally could not hear the dialogue in the movie. Let me reiterate: I COULD NOT HEAR ANY WORDS BEING SAID BY CHARACTERS OR ANY CLEAR PART OF THE DIALOGUE IN THE WHOLE MOVIE BECAUSE THE AUDIO QUALITY IN YOUR THETAER WAS THAT BAD. Now, many other people in the theater literally got up and walked out of the movie before the first act of the film was over. Initially, I wanted to walk out too but stayed because I thought, surely, someone who works for the theater will walk in and stop the movie, apologize to us all, and say we should come and get our money refunded. It did not happen. It is clear to me that Silverbird Cinemas has decided that due to the monopoly it enjoys, there is no need to ensure that it provides quality movies on a consistent basis. I mean, bad customer service is one thing, but what you did by allowing, no FORCING (since we had paid and committed) us to watch a movie in a theater where the sound was so poor that we couldn’t hear the dialogue goes beyond poor customer service and rises to the level of disrespectful customer service. If my disdain for poor customer service causes me to write strongly worded letters to businesses, then you would have to understand why this outright show of disrespect by you is…..I’m lost for words. I hardly ever am.

At any rate, I am a practical person. I realize that an apology from you would not change the fact that I have wasted money, time, and energy as a result of your disrespect for customers. Do I think that this review will suddenly cause people to stop patronizing your establishment? No I do not. What this review will do however is let you realize that although I have only had about 3,000 total views on this blog as of the date of this review, there is one empowered consumer out there…me…who is calling you out on your crap and letting you know that it is not in any way form or shape alright to let a movie in your theater run without the audio quality being anywhere from good to great. The best I can hope for is that whichever movie theater begins to compete with you in the near future, and I suspect it will happen soon, can stumble on this review and add to its own theater’s tag-line quality movies in quality theaters. In fact, better yet, despite not knowing the details of international tort law myself, a man can dream that perhaps one of the movie studios whose movies you show will stumble on this review online and recheck that part of your contract that states that you will not misrepresent the movies they make and in so doing take it upon themselves to either sue you or find a way to audit some of your movie screenings, thus adding to your business costs. And, if all I do end up getting by writing this letter is one online reader who nods their head in agreement, then I have achieved what I wanted because one extra human being out there has been able to note the type of disrespect you are willing to show consumers in the name of monopoly. As the story of Wal-Mart has shown us; there is nothing wrong with a big player or monopoly in an industry…as long as the business doesn’t use its position in the market to take advantage of consumers or employees. You are taking advantage of consumers. Shame on you.

Please feel free to contact AkanmuAbuja@gmail.com if you represent Silverbird Theaters and would like to respond.

Warm Regards,

Akanmu