IPIC Theaters — Attraction in Houston

IPIC is interesting. It WANTS to give you a fancy theatre experience, but it also feels like it's confused how fancy to go while being held back by wanting to cater to the masses, if that makes sense. Basically there's things about it that have the characteristics of a fancy movie theatre experience, but there's also some things that really just tarnish that experience. It's like they want to make a fancy theatre but run it like a low budget one.

When IPIC first came to the River Oaks shopping district, it was marketed as this new fancy theatre & dining experience like none other, and honestly it felt that way. Place had almost a fancy steakhouse dinner vibe. Dimmed lights, quiet ambience, classy decorations, etc. It really up'd the movie dining experience to a whole new level. But as the years went on, things started to change. For example, fast forward to 2020-2021, you can see a lot of cost cutting happened at the expense of the fancy theatre experience.

They cut the movie ticket cost. This is a good thing, but unfortunately, it also made the experience going a lot less special because a lot of things started to suffer. They stopped offering free popcorn with the ticket. They said they removed the cost of the popcorn off the ticket to make it more attractive, but come on. If someone was worried about paying $7 more for popcorn, I HIGHLY doubt they'd pick IPIC to watch a movie when they can go to AMC and watch it for $10, because even with the popcorn removed, it's still 2x more than AMC for a ticket. If someone's going to IPIC, they aren't just going for a movie. They're going to have an experience they can't get any where else at a theatre. Small inconvenience, but they use to give pillows and a blanket per seat and I believe they still do, but now YOU have to go get it at some cubby area in the lobby, versus having it already rolled and placed for you at your seat like previously. Again, not a big deal, but when we're talking about a high end experience, it's all about the details that make you stand out from the rest and I didn't think this would be that much of a cost saving.

I do love the seats. The private booth setups are awesome. So perfect for ppl that want to feel connected to the movie as much as possible without distractions. The seats aren't cleaned well though any more, maybe from the cost cutting. I typically find sticky spots on the seats, a couple of popcorn that fell into the cracks, and the cup holders are usually sticky and the wood/paint is typically is chipped off around it. Just looks worn out and bad.

The staff/customer service is decent. No real complaints, but it isn't anything special. They don't do anything above and beyond for you, but they also haven't been rude.

Food is decent, especially for theatre food. I think the prices are kinda high for what you get. If you're going to charge as much as you do and give as little, at least make them so delicious that it makes up for it.

Their bathroom is pretty nice. The best bathroom I've seen at a theatre. It's been clean every time I use it, and paper towels have always been plenty. I know it's kinda weird to bring that up, but a lot of bathrooms seem to never have any.

One of the biggest things that reinforce my point that IPIC is a wannabe fancy theatre but suffers from weird cost cutting/low budget problems is that their escalator is ALWAYS out. I know that's sounds a little exaggerated but hear me out. I went to watch Wonder Woman in Dec. 2020 and it was out. The next time I went was in Sept. 2021 and it was out. Went back in Nov. 2021 and it still out. Their manager reached out to me because I made a comment about this on their survey, and he says they've fixed it and it's back up. Went back again Dec. 16, 2021 and guess what? It was out. Went back again Dec.24, 2021 and I kid you not--it was OUT. I wish I could remember that manager's name because I'd call you out on that bullsh*t because I know it was never fixed and it's been over a year. Dec. 2023 I no longer come here as it's gotten worse as an...

Horrible GM by the name of Robert. This location has the worst general manager I have ever encountered. My family and I went to this theater on June 8th and the food was horrible. Not the quality of food for this type of establishment or the price I was charged. I informed Robert of the awful food experience and his initial response was, as he just stood there looking very awkward and lost, “ok I’ll talk to the chef.” Nothing else. No apology, no trying to make up for the experience or anything. Later, unbeknownst to me, my mother informed a manager of our experience, who happened to be the same manager I spoke with, Robert, and told him about our issue with the food; his response then was “ok well your daughter didn’t say she wanted a refund, I’m no mind reader, if you want a refund just say that. Now was that hard?” in a very rude and disrespectful manner. I am not sure why he thought it was ok to speak to customers like that, who are also women, but his sarcastic and rude tone was completely unacceptable. Furthermore, one does not need to be a mind reader to know how to take care of customers and make their experience right. A customer should not have to ask for a refund when their experience was below what is expected. The fact that Robert holds the title of “GM”, shows that this company simply hands out titles. I also informed him of the short black girl, who works at the check in counter and had a half up half down hair style, that her attitude was not customer service friendly and she literally just stood at the counter when I approached and didn’t bother greeting nor acknowledging us, to the point where I had to walk over to another young man who ended up greeting and assisting us. Robert made the excuse that this was her first day and just shrugged my issue off. IPIC needs to do a better job training check in agents on customer service etiquette and for sure needs to remove people like Robert out of leadership positions. This experience and his attitude makes this high end location look negative and this was not the luxury experience my family and I expected to have. I am NOT pleased with Robert at all and he needs to be handled by senior management...

Westheimer/ Houston: The worst place you can go to watch a movie. First escalator and elevator not working today or a month ago when we first came. So not convenient if you have a stroller or wheel chair! You have to figure how to carry your loved one and their chair up! Had my kid with me and right as we walked in, a tall dark dude was just talking cold and nasty to us. Like real cold and mean. (Called himself the manager). Even as he took our order, he had this aloof attitude like ‘you’re not welcome here’, I matched his energy as I’m already used to racist people. This is black on black btw, I’m black African for context. Unfortunately, my toddler would make a sound based off of the cartoon he was watching (on the lowest volume), and he came and warned us that he was gonna have to ask us to leave cuz of my kids random smirk. He barely said that when my toddler made another sound, and Xavier (that’s the name he told me) asked us to leave. It wasn’t just about leaving cuz we don’t wanna bother nobody yea, it was more importantly the attitude about it. The meanness like ‘yea I finally get to kick you people out’. He was cold and plain mean. I told him he was sure gonna get people treating him like that too once he started having kids. Cuz I imagine nobody with kids would be so emotionless around them! Nobody complained to him at all as he stood right behind us for the few minutes we were ‘allowed’ to be there as we were barley on the 3rd scene of the movie. That’s the worst treatment I ever got at a business. The first time we went here too, the white guy at the tickets was just mean. At least, the guy at the ticket today was a sweet n professional black guy. That’s about the only reason for the one star. Omw to see my movie somewhere else! It’s one things to have a business, it’s another thing to give people good experience when they come. He could have been a little more accommodating, or worse still he could have shown empathy when he eventually felt he wanted us to leave. You charge people to come to your business, they pay, the only currency you give is kindness! Costs you absolutely zero dollar! So much for...