Capitol Theatre — Attraction in Cleveland

Please note this is an email that I sent to the Theatre on Nov 20th and did not receive a response. It pains me to now post it publicly, but as I indicated in the email, if I did not receive a response, I planned to post this for others to be aware.

To Whomever It May Concern:

My experience at the Capitol Theatre this evening was one of the worst movie going experiences I have ever had. Most notably, there was not a single member of the staff available for me to lodge a complaint with, so the issue could be rectified in the moment and so I am forced to write to y'all now, after the fact.

I was at the 7:20 showing of the new Marvel movie. Given my interest in the film I was literally the first person in the theatre at around 6:45 or 6:50pm, nearly a half hour early to ensure I had the right seats and could enjoy the experience. To my dismay there was another couple that later joined the showing and incessantly spoke disruptively throughout the entire movie. Another patron asked them to be quiet and stop talking on a number of occasions.

At one point I was so frustrated, I left the movie to try to see if I could find a single attendant at the ticket or concession stand or anywhere really as an authority figure to go speak to and potentially kick out the couple. Absolutely no one was available anywhere. There were just signs on how to exit. Had there been an emergency somewhere in the theatre, it appears there wouldn't have been a single employee or representative around to assist anyone.

I later came to find out that this disappearance of all staff happened even earlier, as my friends who had paid online arrived at 7:18 and there was no one to check them in or ensure they had even paid for a ticket. There was also no one to vend any refreshments to them.

The negligence of your staff not only allowed disruption of my experience with the show, as I missed the movie by having to leave to seek someone who wasn't even there to enforce the basic rules of decorum, but also the fact that I had to listen to these rude people forced me to miss dialogue.

Moreover, I can only imagine the amount of money you as a theatre are losing when people can just wait long enough to sneak in and/or no one is selling any refreshments. I hope you can find a way to remedy this situation, not only for me, but for everyone who attended the show last night and didn't really get to enjoy it.

If I see no action, I'm happy to share this review of my personal experience as a google review. It's really a shame, because the theatre is within walking distance of my home and I often like bringing friends here, but if this is the experience I can expect in the future, I suspect I will have to find another place to go.

While I recognize there was a Holiday weekend in between, It has now been close to 10 days with no response. I truly would like to support a local/historic business, but I will not be back...

I’ve loved and supported this location ever since the renovation (great memory of taking my sons to see a 70mm digital version of Lawrence of Arabia) but I have to speak out when I see a business or nonprofit ignoring a blatant safety hazard. Outside theater #3, the men’s restroom has a sign inside the door warning about the step down outside the door. A man exiting the restroom was surprised by my presence when I opened the door, and in his movement to pass me, missed the sign and fell HARD when he missed the step out the door. He twisted his ankle badly, and his impact with the floor left him groaning in pain.

It is unconscionable for a business to know a hazard exists, and then think a warning sign is adequate to prevent recurring injuries. I wrote to Cleveland Cinemas about the incident, my email was ignored or never read. There was no response.

At a minimum, the step outside the restroom should be marked clearly with black and yellow reflective tape so your eye can see the difference between the two levels of dingy brown carpeting, and placing strips of the same tape above and below the sign inside the door would draw attention to the hazard as you open the door.

The safety lighting inside the theater is pretty bad, too. A woman was allowed to enter the theater during the last 30 minutes of Stop Making Sense. Her stupidity was legendary. Rather than wait for her eyes to adjust on the lower level out of respect for seated patrons, she blundered up the steep stairs, juggling popcorn, soda and her lit up phone, then brazenly stood five feet from me and turned her phone flashlight on. Only the calming presence of my girlfriend kept me from telling that ignorant, self centered numbskull to stop her mouth breathing display of blatant public insensitivity.

And shame on the staff for letting her enter a performance of a film that late without assistance.

Fix your bathroom exit, people, before you get a patron seriously injured. It’s a legitimate lawsuit...

12/23/16: I approached the ticket booth with my wife; we intended on seeing the Manchester movie with our son. I asked for three tickets for the 7:15 show; the gentlemen behind the glass was incredibly disrespectful! He said, in a VERY loud voice, WE DO NOT ACCEPT $100.00 bills...they are the EASIEST to pass as COUNTERFEIT. Your employee insinuated that I was trying to enter your theater with a fake $100.00 bill.

NOTE: Nothing on your website speaks to this issue; nothing at the ticket booth speaks to this issue.

I showed the gentlemen my 'movie card' and he was nothing but extremely rude.

Your employee was amazingly disrespectful; he was absolutely ignorant of a few simple facts - it's quite easy to check US currency with the color wand; it's quite easy to check the currency in the light.

I told your employee that I will NEVER, EVER enter your theater again; further, I will encourage all of my friends to find a different place to spend their $$ on movies.

Rest assured, your employee ruined my night; a night out with my adult son and my wife. Beyond that, his disrespect for me was totally without cause.

I'm not sure what kind of business you are trying to run there; if you are trying to remain open in the face of increasing competition, your might want to hire employees that know how to treat the honest people entering your establishment.

Very truly...