Thailand's Major Cineplex Promises Action After Complaints About High Ticket Prices

[fractrain]

Went to Major in Future Park Rangsit with my wife. Paid 20 baht extra for supposedly special seats... yeah mine was really special with HALF the foam missing from the ass part and stuff with plastic bags unbelievable.... well not really as I do remember what country I'm in.

[KhunBJ]

I think the ticket prices are ok ... the cinemas are generally great with good seats etc. but the stuff they are selling is expensive...popcorn , coke etc ,,,, just like in any other country in the world...so why should it be any different here.

[harrry]

Such a deal...nearly every movie house in the US charges the higher price...and a higher price for everything as you know...I happen to be moving to Thailand this Sunday...and not coming back...Peace...:jap:

make up your mind mate, you are either moving to Thailand or Cambodia, it cant be both.

Moving to Cambodia but traveling to Thailand alot...So to me it feels like living in both places...Starting a boat building business in Cambodia...

Well if you are coming to CR welcome. And check out the Pot Luck thread on the ChiangRai Forum. Will we see you there on the 31st?

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed. Discussion of domestic airline tickets prices has nothing to do with this thread and would be another topic altogether.

[uptheos]

That allows them the ability to treat customers like as if they were nothing.

Try getting there movie schedule on line. Here in Chiang Mai I have seen it not get listed until after 6;00 at night. Phone calls are very seldom answered. They change the movie line up every week but they change the times every day. I could understand changing them for the weekend but why is Tuesday different than Monday?

Yes the prices for Thailand are high but compared to other countries they are low. But compared to Thai wages they are high here. I believe all show times should show what time the show starts not what time the advertisements start. All though I will admit if you hardly ever go to the show some of the advertisements are cute to watch.

Yes cut down the time it takes to get a ticket. This is not always the theater's fault. It seems that a Thai can wait patently in line to purchase a ticket and when he gets to the counter not know which show he wants or where they want to sit.

I was at the theater here in Chiang Mai last week with out the wife. She generally gets the ticket at the machine check in counter. They have about 6 of them and three of them were not working and the one that did told me I had to go to the counter. Why I will never know I still had over 1,000 baht on the card.

In short start to treat customers like customers not like cattle.

I use this link http://www.majorcineplex.com/showtimepage.php?searchmode=1&movie=--Select+Movie--&branch=CHM&showdate=25%2F07%2F2010&referer=showtimeadvance

I think at CM Airport Plaza they have something like a 'Special Tuesday', which is cheaper and the movies get moved around......I think.

Yep, you got it. Thai's 10 minutes lining up. 10 minutes deciding where to sit and 5 minutes getting their money out!

One plus about Cineplex CM - over 60.... 80 baht, except 3D or digital. Just show any ID.

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

Such a deal...nearly every movie house in the US charges the higher price...and a higher price for everything as you know...I happen to be moving to Thailand this Sunday...and not coming back...Peace...:jap:

make up your mind mate, you are either moving to Thailand or Cambodia, it cant be both.

Moving to Cambodia but traveling to Thailand alot...So to me it feels like living in both places...Starting a boat building business in Cambodia...

Well if you are coming to CR welcome. And check out the Pot Luck thread on the ChiangRai Forum. Will we see you there on the 31st?

I will try my best to be there...Will be taking care of some business things in Sihanoukville Cambodia first...Thanks for writing...Peace.:jap:

[ginjag]

I think the ticket prices are ok ... the cinemas are generally great with good seats etc. but the stuff they are selling is expensive...popcorn , coke etc ,,,, just like in any other country in the world...so why should it be any different here.

Because you are probably not Thai...........Brill for us westerners as you say but the complaints are from Thai in general, we really should not complain about the cinemas as it is dirt cheap to go whatever you don't like.

Nearly a days wage in Thailand to go..................in the U.K. one fifth of a low paid wage. do you get it ,??? it's the Thai that are suffering, as it's their cinema, so yes they have a grumble. my approx prices can vary in different Modern countries. Some people from the west that do reside here grumble about service and food and adverts-for what ??? The Thai have the grumble about food prices and tickets and service. Looking at the prices we cannot grumble at all

[Ta22]

i am a movie goer . well at least a long time ago . back in the days when i was young i can do 2-3 movie a days be it with group of 100+ friends or alone . the complex i stay in had a cineplex in it so i go for movie on a weekly basis . when i came to Thailand some 10 plus years ago this habit did not change . in the early years i spend most of my week at major airport or KSK the only two place i know which offer movie , at time i would even go to both the cineplex just to catch the late show .

NOW . i hardly go to the movie . the FOOD suck , the drink is just a large jug of ICE . i seen ticket going up from 70-80b and the last time i went i was surprise with a tix of as high as 180b few years ago when i went for harry porter. while the staff service depend on the venue i consider the service dropping in many area be it Bangkok or chiangmai . The one thing i DO not like or in fact hate it is the excuse for not allowing food in the cineplex . at one point there told me that food like hamburger and hotdog is now allow . there stop me with a large cup of drink got from MAC . while both sell over PRICE sugar water . the part which i do not Accept is how there skillfully try to stop you from or to the extent of making you pay for their snack and food .. the top managment really care less if you have a good movie experience all there see you is Herb of Sheep and cow which there can juice you out of every cent setting restriction . i am a sucker for Collectible , which i will buy a cup of drink with the cover being the Spiderman or Hulk . but thing at twice or 3 time the price is trying to tell me that i am stupid or i am their cow . so the simple answer is get your own movie theater set up and trust me there is no lack of source of latest movie in Thailand .

STOP going to the Movie . is a waste of money and time , stop being treated like Cow . why go to a movie to watch 20 - 30 min of COMMERCIAL . i go there to enjoy a Movie . and in my view the movie industry had forget how to run the business . cos there are in control and monopoly make them blind .

[BlueSmurf]

VPN, torrent, large flat screen, external HD, one of those DVD plug-and-play players and a handy local Seven for the beers and snacks is the way to go. Oh, and the babe.

Rock on.....External Hard Drive 1Trigabyte full..Sony 55". And not freezing to death waiting for the film to start.Also not having to listen to those Thais talking on their mobile phones...

[tropo]

I think someone needs to inform movie goers in Thailand that they should be lucky they are not paying twice that as we do here in the USA...Don't get me wrong...I find that to be ridiculous also...I would love to be able to pay only $6.50 for a film...or less...

I think if movie goer's in Thailand were on USA wages they would happily pay double.

Australians are not on US wages but still pay more than they do in the US to see a movie.

Isn't the Australian minimum wage at least double that of the US?

[softgeorge]

The cost of making a hollywood blockbuster does not come cheap and the cost of the rights to screen the movie does not come cheap either. The cost of the screening rights would be pretty much on par country to country. The admission fees then that would be up to how much profit the complex wants. They could always screen the thai soaps and that would drop the costs dramatically.

[rotary]

I think someone needs to inform movie goers in Thailand that they should be lucky they are not paying twice that as we do here in the USA...Don't get me wrong...I find that to be ridiculous also...I would love to be able to pay only $6.50 for a film...or less...

I thought movies were obsolete with all the DVDs and DTH stuff

[MaxYakov]

want to see a movie ? at good price ? wait few days and buy DVD on silom or sukhumvit ...100 baht and from your home enjoy ..

This is fine if you have little regard for picture and sound quality.

Not to mention the ethical issues (what could this possibly be?). There's a video store in Pantip Plaza that appears to be selling licensed stuff at what appear to be fairly good prices and 10% off price (off some videos, at least) if you join their club for 100 Baht. No, I'm not pushing them - never bought anything from them, actually.

[uptheos]

I think someone needs to inform movie goers in Thailand that they should be lucky they are not paying twice that as we do here in the USA...Don't get me wrong...I find that to be ridiculous also...I would love to be able to pay only $6.50 for a film...or less...

I thought movies were obsolete with all the DVDs and DTH stuff

There is no comparison between watching a movie in the cinema and at home, no matter what super duper TV you have.

[tropo]

I think someone needs to inform movie goers in Thailand that they should be lucky they are not paying twice that as we do here in the USA...Don't get me wrong...I find that to be ridiculous also...I would love to be able to pay only $6.50 for a film...or less...

I thought movies were obsolete with all the DVDs and DTH stuff

I thought it would be obvious that watching a movie at a theater is a different experience. Has take-out food made restaurant dining obsolete?

Edited July 14, 2011 by tropo

[MaxYakov]

I think someone needs to inform movie goers in Thailand that they should be lucky they are not paying twice that as we do here in the USA...Don't get me wrong...I find that to be ridiculous also...I would love to be able to pay only $6.50 for a film...or less...

I think if movie goer's in Thailand were on USA wages they would happily pay double.

Australians are not on US wages but still pay more than they do in the US to see a movie.

Isn't the Australian minimum wage at least double that of the US?

Did someone say 'happily pay double'? Yeah, right ... happily! Anyway would those US wages be referring to the millions on part-time pay and unemployment, SS handouts? Just asking who-appear-to-be US pay experts on this forum.

[uptheos]

Geez two weeks of every cinema taken up with Transformers and now I guess it's 2 weeks of Harry Potter.

[Wiggy]

"However, theatres are on average only 25percent full, which is not enough to freeze the ticket price."

Again, the owner of a mega-company fails to understand Economics 101. Maybe the reason it's only 25% full is because the price is too high. Duh.

[hellodolly]

That allows them the ability to treat customers like as if they were nothing.

Try getting there movie schedule on line. Here in Chiang Mai I have seen it not get listed until after 6;00 at night. Phone calls are very seldom answered. They change the movie line up every week but they change the times every day. I could understand changing them for the weekend but why is Tuesday different than Monday?

Yes the prices for Thailand are high but compared to other countries they are low. But compared to Thai wages they are high here. I believe all show times should show what time the show starts not what time the advertisements start. All though I will admit if you hardly ever go to the show some of the advertisements are cute to watch.

Yes cut down the time it takes to get a ticket. This is not always the theater's fault. It seems that a Thai can wait patently in line to purchase a ticket and when he gets to the counter not know which show he wants or where they want to sit.

I was at the theater here in Chiang Mai last week with out the wife. She generally gets the ticket at the machine check in counter. They have about 6 of them and three of them were not working and the one that did told me I had to go to the counter. Why I will never know I still had over 1,000 baht on the card.

In short start to treat customers like customers not like cattle.

I use this link http://www.majorcine...showtimeadvance

I think at CM Airport Plaza they have something like a 'Special Tuesday', which is cheaper and the movies get moved around......I think.

Yep, you got it. Thai's 10 minutes lining up. 10 minutes deciding where to sit and 5 minutes getting their money out!

One plus about Cineplex CM - over 60.... 80 baht, except 3D or digital. Just show any ID.

I tried your link but I can't speak Thai much less read it.

I just checked www.movieseer.com and all it shows is three showings of transformers starting at 12:40.

There is no reason in the world that all the proper times and what movies are to be shown can not be on the various sources by 10:00 in the morning. Each manager knows ahead of the night before and there is no good reason they can not post it as the last thing they do for the day.

It is just pure lack of concern for their customers.

Yes I agree the prices are ridiculously high for Thai's and cheap for foreigners.

[TeddyFlyfisherDavis]

I think someone needs to inform movie goers in Thailand that they should be lucky they are not paying twice that as we do here in the USA...Don't get me wrong...I find that to be ridiculous also...I would love to be able to pay only $6.50 for a film...or less...

I thought movies were obsolete with all the DVDs and DTH stuff

There is no comparison between watching a movie in the cinema and at home, no matter what super duper TV you have.

The "silver screen" will never be obsolete...Movie companies make a lot of money from them even at the prices that are charged...

[MaxYakov]

VPN, torrent, large flat screen, external HD, one of those DVD plug-and-play players and a handy local Seven for the beers and snacks is the way to go. Oh, and the babe.

Rock on.....External Hard Drive 1Trigabyte full..Sony 55". And not freezing to death waiting for the film to start.Also not having to listen to those Thais talking on their mobile phones...

Where can I buy a '1 Trigabyte' drive (heh, heh)? I'll take a decent DVD over an AVI/MP4 file video any day (babe or no babe). Then again there is a lot greater freedom of selection and activities at home, no?

[BlueSmurf]

VPN, torrent, large flat screen, external HD, one of those DVD plug-and-play players and a handy local Seven for the beers and snacks is the way to go. Oh, and the babe.

Rock on.....External Hard Drive 1Trigabyte full..Sony 55". And not freezing to death. waiting for the film to start.Also not having to listen to those Thais talking on their mobile phones...

Where can I buy a '1 Trigabyte' drive (heh, heh)? I'll take a decent DVD over an AVI/MP4 file video any day (babe or no babe). Then again there is a lot greater freedom of selection and activities at home, no?

I have a HP external hard drive which can be bkught in any reasonable computer shop!!!!! You can now get uo to 2 Trigabyte and yes I can watch in full HD if I want to download a film which has been uploaded ii full HD...So you your eyes and feet not just play on here....

[ericthai]

Something that drastically reduces my cinema experience are some viewers inability to not use their mobile phones and the chatterers. A mobile/cell phone signal blocker would improve service and also a tourch pointed in a chatterer's direction.

Agree, I heard last year that this paint company came out with a paint you can paint on the walls inside a room and then you put a small electrical charge to it and it blocks all cell service. so with a flip of a switch all service is cut off. Would be nice to get this installed. Not sure when this will be available, maybe need to let them know about this.

[uptheos]

I tried your link but I can't speak Thai much less read it.

I just checked www.movieseer.com and all it shows is three showings of transformers starting at 12:40.

There is no reason in the world that all the proper times and what movies are to be shown can not be on the various sources by 10:00 in the morning. Each manager knows ahead of the night before and there is no good reason they can not post it as the last thing they do for the day.

It is just pure lack of concern for their customers.

Yes I agree the prices are ridiculously high for Thai's and cheap for foreigners.

Sorry about that HD, but mines in English. Therte is a way of changing it, but I can't for the life of me remember.

I know I signed up and that page def translates to English, but not sure if that's why I get the movie schedule is in English....maybe I did a google translate at some point? Anyway at least it shows all the cinemas 1-7 at Airport Plaza (all bloody Harry Potter)

Try this and play around with it. http://www.majorcineplex.com

Click showtime then a blue page appears

On the drop down menu on the left where it says showtime and a clock, there's a drop down menu 'select all theatre' choose Major Chiangmai (don't bother with the find movie part) click GO and the movies will appear (I just did it). The movies and times are in English - Cheers.

[BigRick]

I like the Thai movie experience you can call up reserve your seats then go pick them up at your leisure the 30 minute late start is like clockwork so just show up 25 minutes late. The cinemas at Century, Siam and Centra are all top rate. I will take 160baht any day over 12$ in the US regardless of the wage issue (apples and oranges). Some people make less than that running a noodle cart slaving away in some dingy soi without the benefit of even a fan in the heat. Be happy that the country offers an affordable entertainment option by western standards, minus the sub titles and the occasional retarded Thai loud mouth talking on the phone its a positive experience.

[FOODLOVER]

VPN, torrent, large flat screen, external HD, one of those DVD plug-and-play players and a handy local Seven for the beers and snacks is the way to go. Oh, and the babe.

Rock on.....External Hard Drive 1Trigabyte full..Sony 55". And not freezing to death waiting for the film to start.Also not having to listen to those Thais talking on their mobile phones...

I have a similar set up thus minimizing my movie expenditure but why would you need a VPN? All things can be gotten via the Pirate or Kick Ass unless you are trying to get Hulu. I would also like to file a formal complaint about the pricing of Ferraris.

[Thailand]

Have been to the CM MC 5 times in the last 6 weeks, and with a nice little discount because I am old!

Major/Cineplex- complaint, the last 2 weeks, they had no idea how to manage the q's with 3 counters serving a relatively small number of MGen customers, 2 serving the cc counter and the last 2 weeks 1 cash counter serving q's that were probably over 200 strong!

Did manage to get the young lady who seemed to sort of be in charge to add 1 extra counter each week but simply amazing they had to be told-and by a farang! As a previous poster pointed out the Thai's will simply stand in the q and not say a word.

Come on you locals- rise up and point the finger!

[timberboy]

I think someone needs to inform movie goers in Thailand that they should be lucky they are not paying twice that as we do here in the USA...Don't get me wrong...I find that to be ridiculous also...I would love to be able to pay only $6.50 for a film...or less...

I think if movie goer's in Thailand were on USA wages they would happily pay double.

Australians are not on US wages but still pay more than they do in the US to see a movie.

Yes, i know several people working in Australia and they get better wages than in the USA, so i would say that pay and costs are relative. However the admission fees for the cinema has gotten out of control in the past 20 years.

A percentage of the population would rather wait to buy the dvd which in most cases in less expensive than a movie ticket.

[timberboy]

Typical Thai economics.

Got plenty of advertisers so allow more advertising.

Only have 25% occupancy in the theater so raise prices.

DOH!

Here's a novel idea. Raise the prices on the party that is in plentiful supply (advertisers) and lower it on the one in short supply (movie goers).

Or just continue on the same track and show a ton of cheap ads to....NO-ONE!

They probably overcharge the advertisers and the movie going public. But without the ads, the price for a movie ticket would be out of reach for most Thais.

Lets face it, going to the movies is considered a luxury item, not a staple need like food and clothing, so they can charge whatever they want, or go out of business if they dont satisfy the owners desire for the profit percentage.

[Tokay]

I think it's great. Anything where a Thai can be charged extra or double priced, I am in favor of and will gladly play whatever price is asked for a good movie.

If they don't like it, they can go to the USA and pay $8 - $15 a movie.