The Elephant and the Complaint Letter
A letter of complaint, sent to Southpoint Cinemas manager Robb Gannotta.
(Did I convey the college student perspective accurately? How would you suggest theaters solve their pricing problem?)
Mr. Robb Gannotta
Southpoint Cinemas
8030 Renaissance Parkway, Suite 975
Durham, NC 27713
To the manager:
I have been a frequent patron of your theater from the time Southpoint Cinemas opened in 2002. Your theater’s well-maintained atmosphere, high-quality projection system, and broad selection of first-run films have repeatedly attracted me over the years, yet after a recent visit, I do not see how I can continue.
My father and I were both shocked at the steep ticket price of an evening film as we selected the 9:55 showing of “Michael Clayton” this past Saturday night. You seem to have raised your prices to an unprecedented $9.00 for the regular adult ticket, a level threatening to equal the infamously expensive theaters of midtown Manhattan despite your squarely Triangle location.
This recent change jeopardizes for me what has until recently been a convenient, affordable form of entertainment. I am a college student, you see, and operate on a limited income that often precludes obvious luxuries like fine restaurant meals and exotic vacations. At $9.00 a ticket, however, I fear I must now put the standard Hollywood movie alongside these other luxuries as temptations beyond my wallet’s reach, even with the student discount.
Among my friends, the sentiment is virtually the same. They, too, live on a shoestring, and they, too, are avoiding Southpoint Cinemas come Saturday night. “I don’t have that kind of money to spend,” is a phrase that has ended many potential trips to your theater. One of your strongest customer bases — young adults — is leaving you.
I do sympathize with the position you must be in as a theater owner: I am fully aware of the economics of theater management and know that you are squeezed for every penny by your distributors. Perhaps the time has come, then, for you to renegotiate the arrangements you have with these companies that have forced you to resort to constant ticket price hikes. Do you meet their pressures with any protests of your own? What has been their response?
These things having been said, I regret to inform you that, until some more stable price level is reached, a Southpoint ticket is now an exorbitance I cannot conscientiously take part in. I have, however, thoroughly enjoyed my long experience as a patron of your theater, and as such, look forward eagerly to your return to more sensible, responsible ticket pricing.
Thank you for your time and your consideration.
Jonathan Hill
Tags: Correspondence, Media, Movies, North Carolina