Midlands Arts Centre — Attraction in Birmingham

Dear Anthony Baker, (the author of the terrible review below)

I'm sorry that you find my tattoos to be offensive but that seems to be a comment made out of your personal prejudices. I have never been anything but friendly, polite and profession and have gone out of my way (as well as many other members of staff) to make sure you were personally well catered for.

I have a great love for art in all forms but especially body art, and my tattoos are an expression of that (Just as your singing is an expression of your love for your art form) And to only comment on my appearance (because I have never been rude or dismissive of you and have always greeted you with a smile and recognised you as being a regular customer) seems unjust and unfair. It's funny that you find my appearance so off putting when earlier in your review you seem to say that you don't feel that mac is bohemian and 'hippyish' anymore yet you have an issue with tattoos.... what is my appearance if not just another subculture? I would say mac is the perfect place, being a centre for the arts, to have artistic people working there.

For me mac is a vibrant and creative public space that shows a fantastic range of Free art for the public to enjoy. It is a great family venue and I have always felt lucky to have it on my doorstep for myself and my 2 children to enjoy the facilities (well before i started working there) I used to come to mac when I was a child (I was even a member of the mac the cat club) And It is now far superior to the old mac as a general centre for the arts. It is now light, airy and spacious, the free gallery spaces have tripled and show some fantastic touring art seen in other prestigious galleries such as the Tate. Its still holds an incredible amount of courses for old and young alike. as well as having 2 theatres and a cinema (which considering there is only the one screen manages to show nearly every current film as well as some great individual cinema and hosts films that are part of film festivals that most cinemas in birmingham don't show. As well as showing NT live screening) Which I would not say only tend to the extreme...

The cafe area Is a pleasant environment to eat in and I feel its very unfair to say the food isn't good (I eat there every time I work and think the food is very well made. They also have a fantastic selection of freshly baked cakes). It is fully accessible and caters well for young children. It holds food markets with delicious locally made food and supplies as well as having craft markets with locally made crafts!

mac may not be perfect but it constantly strives better itself. It sends its staff on numerous training courses and encourages them to learn everything they can about the arts.

I hope that we can make your future visits more enjoyable ones and look forward to welcoming you again...

In my opinion the Midlands arts centre has lost it's atmosphere it once had. They don't do the soundsintherounds gigs they used to do in the Summer. I remember going to see The Levellers there in the outdoor arena. It has lost it's bohemian atmosphere. It was always a bit hippiesh now it seems to be very pretentious. I over heard one of the receptionists saying she felt that it was too expensive for new artists to exhibit the work and that there should be a free space for them to do this. Okay the facilities are excellent but it has to be about more than that. I sometimes find the staff a bit miserable. The staff in the bar have a can't be bothered attitude. I thought the food would have improved. It used to be awful but it is not much better. I enjoy the courses I do here, but it really seems to have lost it's appeal. It doesn't seem to show the same variety of films it used to do either. And when it does show something different they are usually at the extreme and too obsure. It really needs new management in it's front of house. I do hope they will do the Summer bbq's in the Summer again. It used to be packed out but times I have been there it has been half full.

They probably could do with making the bar a bit cheaper and I don't think I should be charged 1.95 for a cup of coffee at the bar to be served it in a plastic cup. Also they could play music in the bar to keep it busy and the bar staff have told me they have asked the director if they could do this but every time they have asked she has said it doesn't keep in with the arts centre atmosphere. But there is no atmosphere? And no wonder when it's 9pm it is dead in there. I bought a round for 4 people once and it came to £16.00? Fine if you want to take it away. They should at least give you the choice. I am sorry I have to be honest but the place has really lost it's appeal which is ashame because the touring companies that go there and shows I have see have been excellent, just ashame it's staff and hospitality can't keep to this standard. Also I find people with tattoos plastered to their chest and piercings in her face at reception a bit off putting at least wear a blouse to...

Last weekend, I booked 2 tickets to watch Mogul Mowgli at the MAC. Felt it was necessary to support local cinemas after months of lockdown and restrictions.

A large section of the MAC including the old entrance was cordoned off due to maintenance work. Due to insufficient signage we spent a long time trying to find the entrance. Additionally, there was a match being played right opposite the MAC, at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, which caused a significant traffic jam. This caused us a delay in getting to our screen. We tried explaining all of this to the staff.

The staff refused to take into account the reason for delay, and kept insisting that latecomers would not be allowed into the cinema. We requested to watch a later screening of the movie. The staff refused. We requested to watch any other movie instead. The staff refused. We requested for a refund. The staff refused. Their response was rude, arrogant, pedantic, inflexible and unhelpful. Shocking customer service. Surely in a post pandemic world, there should be more empathy and flexibility from your staff?

Since this incident I have renewed by Amazon Prime and Netflix subscriptions, and I have purchased Mogul Mowgli from YouTube Movies. The total cost is far less than the price of 2 movie tickets at the MAC, and it gives me far greater flexibility.

You closed your doors on two paying customers who wanted to support your business after months of lockdown and restrictions. You asked us to leave without watching the movie, and refused to refund our money. We will be taking our business elsewhere, and we are certain that more people will do the same, unless the MAC updates its absurd ticketing policy and makes it...