The Grand Pier Park by Santikos — Attraction in Panama City Beach

STORY TIME!!

My husband and I watched a show (Thor Ragnarok) 6:30pm (11/09/17). We had lost one of our phones and thought that perhaps we had dropped it in the theater where we were sitting (handicapped seats on the far right side). We just got home when we noticed the phone was missing then called the theater immediately. First call no answer. Second call a man answers and says “...nothing has been turned in...a cleaning crew does a final cleaning for the night, try calling in the morning”. My husband then asks if he can have someone check for us. He says “...no because we don’t want to disrupt the current show that’s on, try calling in the morning.” My husband says, “Ok, thank you.” And hangs up.

We felt like the guy was just being lazy and didn’t want to check so we end up driving the 25-30 min back to the theater. I go to the ticket person and tell him I might have left a phone in the theater and he says, “No problem, you can go ahead and check.” I ducked across the theater, turned on the flashlight to my phone as discretely and quietly as possible and found the phone quickly. Literally like 10 seconds.

As I’m walking out of the theater and approaching the ticket person I looked towards the customer service desk and noticed an older man slouched in his chair, hand under his chin, looking bored. He makes eye contact with me then turns around. I then ask the ticket person if that’s Scott (same guy on the phone) he says yes. Me thinking that perhaps the theater would value their customers input, I proceed to let him know about our experience.

Me: Hi my husband just called about a lost cell phone. Him: Did you find it? Me: Yes I did. It was right where we were sitting. I just wanted to let you know that it would have been nice if someone could have ran in there real quick and checked for us. It would have been a big relief to know that it was found and safe and would have saved us the second trip down here tonight since we live 25-30 mins away. Him: Well we don’t do that here. We can’t go in and disrupt the theater. (YET, THEY LET ME GO IN AND....“DISRUPT THE THEATER”)

He then gets petty with me and says: “I hope you don’t think that it’s our fault that you lost your phone...”

I couldn’t believe this guy just said that. Wow!

Me: “Of course not. I’m responsible for my belongings. (I’m an adult)

I could sense he was getting all in his feelings and kept saying petty stuff like:

“How would you feel if someone disrupted your show and turned on all the lights just to look for a phone” What I wanted to say ( but didn’t): REALLY?That’s not what I asked for. Stop being dramatic.

Me: There were like 10 people in there and no one was sitting in that whole row where we sat. Him: it doesn’t matter. Me: Is that a policy here? Him: Yes!

Me: You have a customer behind you. (Probably wants to buy a ticket) Him: Yea, and I’m standing here talking to you. Me: I don’t mind waiting. Him:......(silence....proceeds justifying himself)

Since I noticed his pettiness, I was not going to argue with this grown petty man who definitively should NOT be working in customer service. I’m not one to argue or make a scene.

Me: Look, I don’t want to make this a bigger deal then it is. I just wanted to let you know my input as a customer that’s all.

Him: (rolls his eyes) and turns around to the customer behind him. (No “sorry for the inconvenience” or “thanks for the input we value our customers” NOTHING! Just a petty eye roll. Me: Have a good night.

I find out later that this guy is a “red shirt” kinda like a supervisor or something.

They DEFINITELY need to do some retraining if this is how your higher up employees conduct themselves.

This experience really sucked because we enjoy going to this theater. And all because one employee with EXTREMELY POOR customer service.

If you can’t handle your emotions and be professional...DON’T WORK IN CUSTOMER...

Please read my review first before you read the bad ones!!! I was reading all of the recent reviews about The Grand and I am very saddened. I am a REAL local who has been going to this theater for 7 years. To start I have notice that SOME of the seats are pretty worn out or starting to wear. Again this theater is old keep that in mind. My solution to this problem move seats literally every time I go to The Grand there are plenty of seats open, which leads me to my next topic. I have notice over the 7 years the steady decline in people coming to The Grand, some can say it’s because of streaming services, others would say it’s the Regal the other movie theater in town (Panama City). I get to those points soon hear me out. Although I love the fact that I can walk in The Grand and not have to deal with a long line at the concessions or people sitting right next to me, that tells me The Grand is dying. To add I remember buying a ticket at the ticket counter outside the theater and you talk to that person to obviously buy a ticket. Now it’s empty and not in use anymore that’s a persons job gone and a good part of the movie theater experience. Then you would walk into the lobby and be greeted by a employee that tells you where your theater is and what direction. The employee that does it now is there every once in a while, how saddening. After that you would walk to the concession stand where they’re 4 lines that used to be packed and plenty of runners to go get your popcorn and stuff. Now there is 1 line 1 cashier that does everything no other employees back there anymore. A lot of jobs being taken away and again showing that The Grand is dying. You used to walk in the theater and it either be packed or moderately packed. Now today me and my girlfriend watched the movie The Strangers Chapter 2 and their was me and my girlfriend and 3 other people in the theater, again how sad. I have notice every once in a while there might be some popcorn still on the ground or in my seat but that’s very inconsistent. My solution I normally brush it on the ground and pick them up after the movie and put the popcorn in my popcorn bag and throw it away. Again you have to understand there used to be a lot of cleaning employees, now there is 1 cut them some slack and again more jobs being taken away. I have never noticed the trash cans every being overflowing so that must be another inconsistent thing. Continuing on I understand the theater is dated for sure and definitely could use an update, again like I said before it’s an old theater. In conclusion I have some many great memories at The Grand and that’s why I keep coming back. Me and my girlfriend had our first date here, I have seen plenty of awesome there, and I love the reclining chairs and the movie theater environment at The Grand. The problem is The Grand is loosing money having theater open that’s why I have seen a lot less employees, that’s why the seats are worn out because can’t afford to upgrade them, and that’s why the theater is out dated. So please don’t let this theater die off it’s got a lot of potential but they just need more customers. Also if you have read through this whole review please leave a ❤️ to show the owners of The Grand that we care about this theater and want it to stay open for generations to come. Thank you to The Grand for all these years of great...

My review is about the management team ONLY! The theater itself is very nice, clean, and I have not had any technical problems with the movie the numerous times I have been there. I had an incident this past Saturday were I was treated very unfairly and I was completely humiliated and embarrassed by the General Manager of this establishment. My fiancé and I had purchased tickets to see a movie and we were distracted and were joking with the cashier and when she told me the total was 15.50 (two tickets), I gave her two twenty dollar bills. I received 4.50 back. It wasn't until we got in the theater that I realized I had given the lady $20 extra. I went out immediately and informed the manager on duty; she said she will audit the till to see if it is over. She came in the theater before the movie started and said her employee’s till was perfect. My fiancé then asked if they had cameras and to pull the tape because we had mistakenly given her too much money. The manager on duty said she would and we went on to see the film. After the movie, I didn't think too much of it just that we would go speak to someone about it. As we were walking out there was an older gentlemen with a security guard standing where they take the tickets and looked directly at us and asked how could help us. It turns out he was the general manager, and before we could get this full story out, he pulled out a blurry camera pic and said “this is you, this is your money, you walked away, and we don’t owe you anything.” I told him that we see the money but can he tell if it is one twenty dollar bill, or two. He said “I can’t see that, but we don’t owe you anything.” Then I told him that I know I gave her the money, but it was the wrong amount. He then yelled and pointed, “Why did you walk away? Why did you walk away from the money?!” I told him I was an imperfect human being and made a mistake. I had walked away because I thought I gave her one twenty dollar bill. This general manger is having this conversation with me in the middle of his establishment while he is taking tickets. I started to get emotional because of the rude things he was telling me. I was shocked that he was unprofessional and didn't care at all about our side of the story. Every time I would open my mouth, he would tell me to “hush, be quiet” and he would point his finger at me like I was a kid! I thought I was being pranked this was so surreal. When we asked if there was a chance she could have pocketed the $20, he said how we dare question the integrity of his employee if her till came up perfect. This manager already had in his head we were wrong and was very confrontational when we tried to talk to him. There was a lot more said between the two of us but I was just appalled at how he talked to me! I never wanted to cause a scene I just wanted something to be done about it. This “general manger” handled the situation very unprofessionally, and he brought me to tears because I have NEVER had anyone in my adult life humiliate me like he had. As long as you use a card at this theater, you’re fine, if you use cash and give too much money, don’t expect to...