Marquee Cinema - New Hartford, NY — Attraction in Town of New Hartford

If you’re seeking an evening where the prelude to your anticipated film includes confusion, frustration, and a sheer lack of basic customer service, look no further than Marquee theaters in Orchard 14. My experience on 10/27/2023 during the 7:25 PM showing of "Five Nights at Freddy’s" was nothing short of a debacle, a perfect script for how not to run a movie theater.

Firstly, let’s discuss the concept of “reserved seating,” a system that Marquee theaters in Orchard 14 ostensibly offers to ensure a smooth, organized, and comfortable viewing experience. Imagine our surprise when we arrived to find our seats warmer than expected, occupied by others. A simple mistake, one would think, easily rectifiable by staff. We thought as much, but the theater had a different, less customer-friendly plot in mind.

When we sought assistance from the theater staff, expecting a modicum of the usual “let’s sort this out” spirit, we were met instead with an unprofessional and utterly disinterested response. The climax of this was the manager’s refusal to perform the most elementary of tasks in cinema operation: verifying patrons' tickets and guiding them to the correct seats. Instead, their go-to solution was to shrug off responsibility and offer a refund, as if returning our money was a suitable stand-in for the experience, time, and excitement we had invested in our evening.

But the issues don’t end there. Beyond the seating fiasco, the manager’s attitude was dismissive, emblematic of a cinema that appears to have lost touch with the very essence of what customer service should be. At no point did we feel heard, valued, or even welcomed. It was as though our enjoyment was a mere subplot in the theater’s business, unworthy of attention.

Moreover, this ordeal raises serious questions about the theater's operational integrity. If management cannot enforce something as fundamental as a seating plan, what does this suggest about the broader standards at play? How can patrons trust in advertised benefits when their implementation is so flawed?

The grand takeaway from our misadventure is this: Marquee theaters in Orchard 14 failed spectacularly at what should be its raison d'être — providing a seamless, enjoyable movie-going experience to its patrons. Instead, it offered a front-row seat to an unscripted farce devoid of any semblance of customer appreciation.

For those considering a visit to Marquee theaters in Orchard 14, perhaps look elsewhere. A theater that treats its paying customers with such nonchalance, and that lacks basic organizational skills, doesn’t deserve an audience.

Rating: 1 Star (for turning disillusionment into...

I first want to prefence this with the staff did the best with the options they had available to them and we were issued a refund.

We came to see the 9:35 showing of blue beetle on Sunday August 28th.

Our movie was unfortunately unwatchable due to a large number of theater jumping kids. I had complained a few times and the issue was unfortunately unresolvable. We were informed They tried speaking with the police and the police were unable to resolve the issue due to their age.

When I mean unwatchable, I mean: 20 or so kids running with out parents in and out of the theater , across isles, standing in front of people who are trying to watch the film, singing, playing music on their phones, throwing popcorn, changing seats, yelling, calling people names, vaping, etc.

The reason I'm leaving this review is less for the staff and more for the owners. There needs to be systems in place to prevent this. Your policies should be enforced and if you have lacking policies for these things... Then you need to put them in place. We are regulars here and it's unfortunately not the first time this has happened but this was the absolute worst experience we had.

Perhaps bouncers? Provide I.d. or have an adult that can and will be held accountable for them? At the end of the day, we all pay good money to see a movie. If the movie is unable to be enjoyed due to short comings of the theater owners, then there's not really a point of going.

Your staff is on the younger side and they probably lack the experience for handling difficult situations. You need to hire people who do for this very reason. We will obviously come back with the hopes that this will not be an issue in the future, understand however... that grace can only be offered...

Updates: The theater continues to be the top place to watch movies. They have continuously showing new upcoming movies and have quality setups that never fail.

Positive: This place has to be one of the most top quality movie theaters I've been to. Everytime I've come to watch a movie I'm greeted with a spotless, clean seating area with comfortable leather chairs that can be adjusted with buttons on the seating to incline forward and backwards. Not only that, you can even control the chair's cooling and heating system as well to ensure maximum comfort.

Negative: Though the theater offers topnotch quality, the pricing may be a little uncomfortable for some people's budget, especially if you're traveling with a group. For adult tickets you may be expected to pay up to $15 (not including tax) and you should consider bringing an additional $10-20 per person if you're also purchasing foods and drinks.

Overall: The Marquee Cinema has left some great memories in my mind and so far has to be one of the best cinemas in the area. The quality and pricing balance out each other and so far I've had exceptional employee service who are always there to greet you with a smile. I would say that it's definitely worth of receiving a 5-star rating and I look forward to seeing many more future movies...