AMC White Marsh 16 — Attraction in White Marsh

Completely changed my opinion about this theater as far as the movie itself in a good way, and changed my opinion about the movie theater food in a very negative way.

I had stopped going to movies right after the switch to reserved seating. At the time, they still had the old seats, and so you would end up jammed in next to some stranger and having to share an armrest with them. Given the price of movie tickets, no way was I going to pay so much money for that type of misery.

Now, the theater has new seats - real recliners! Much more room is alloted per seat, and they are arranged in sets of 2, so if you go with a friend that is the only person you'd have to share an armrest with as long as you reserve seats online ahead of time. It made the experience so much better.

Here is why I took 2 stars - Staffing was poor, and I think they gave us food intended for the dumpster. The whole popcorn thing is a big part of the experience, and it was sheer rudeness and dumpster popcorn with zero f's given, and that is worth 2 stars.

While there were a couple of super nice staff, such as the 2 people we spoke with scanning tickets as you entered the hall headed to your specific theater, other staff were pretty awful or non-existant. No one was at the front, despite at least one other movie starting after ours.

We went for the add-on of a large popcorn and soda when we ordered our tickets and were supposed to be able to pick them up at a set time. We were at the last set of viewings on a Sunday, so it wasn't crowded. There was no clear sign indicating where we should go and staff behind the concession counter seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact when they were forced to come out of the back. There are a number of counters around a sort-of circle with a couple of approaches at each counter, so it took a minute, but we figured it out.

The experience went downhill from there, as we then watched the young women working (this was just this past Sunday, roughly 8/6/2023) wandering around in an aimless-looking fashion in the back room. Another woman was walking around in the same manner right in front of us. She glanced at us for a split second, then looked away quickly but didn't say a word. She also then did her best to avoid eye contact. We stood and politely waited, and waited, and waited. If movies started on time, we would have missed the first part of the show.

Just as I was about to say, "excuse me," because the order promised our food should have been ready 10 minutes prior at that point, a woman walked up and cut in front of us, asking the employee for her food. I said, "Hold on, I've been waiting for my food all of this time." The employee, who the entire time we were there had worn an expression like she resented the fact that customers existed, just glanced at me, but only after I said this 3 times. Then she looked quickly away and went in the back. She and another woman who'd been very slowly walking around in the back then began walking back and forth past the open door to the back at a less somnolent pace.

I did not want to embarass my teen daughter, or have them tamper with my food, so I waited calmly. She actually managed to retrieve the other woman's order rather quickly, given how exhausted they looked. It took maybe 2 or 3 minutes, and she'd handed the lady her popcorn and empty cups.

The employee began walking away again! But I repeated that I was waiting for my order, and she went in the back after taking my name. More walking back and forth. And it took a while. She eventually handed us our 1 large popcorn and 1 empty drink cup, then disappeared before I could ask her where we went to fill the soda. She'd been almost pleasant to the rude woman and very rude to us. I hate to think this, but I wonder if it's because they were the same race.

The popcorn was almost cold, some of it tasted burned, and a lot of it tasted stale. I think they gave the last popcorn to that woman and gave us some old, stale stuff that was on its way to the dumpster. I've never had popcorn like that...

I bought a ticket to the 12:15 Aquaman show on Tuesday, 12/26/23. My seat, G5, was broken. Turns out, both G4 and G5, which were a set, were broken. When it was reported, the first employee came, told us to stand on the steps, while he tried to fix both seats. So, we stood, looking at him flip the seats back and forth, blocking others' views of the previews, as he tinkers and we stand uncomfortably. A manager was requested, but she did not come. Instead, she sent another employee, employee #2, who told us that we must remain standing on the steps, until he too, attempts to fix the chairs. Now, the previews are nearly done. I am annoyed at having to stand and missing all of the previews, as the good seats fill up, so I ask again, to speak to the manager. The employee #2 kept over talking me, and making all the decisions. The family of 4 was getting anxious and now the father, who was in seat G1, gets angry, abruptly interjects as I am trying to negotiate with employee #2, stating that he did not care about me, waving his hand in a motion to show my unimportance, all he cares about is the woman he came with! I told him that I was not talking to him and let me finish my conversation. The woman he was with asked him not to start anything and tapped him on the shoulder. The woman, then agrees to separate from her family because the movie was beginning. Employee #2 was still insisting that he could have both seats fixed in 5 more minutes, and said G4 was fixed. I told employee #2 that part of the experience is being able to sit comfortably in a seat of my choice, and that I was not going to stand on the stairs anymore and miss the movie. I continued by stating that all of the good seats were taken. Therefore, we should be compensated for our inconvenience: free movie tickets, partial refund, free food, something. Again, I asked for the manager. He said that he would get her. The manager NEVER came. Both seats were still broken, and I sat uncomfortably, thinking about how rude the other customer was, the entire movie! After the movie, I told employee #1 that his manager was rude. He claimed she was busy and offered to go get her. I declined. She ignored us and our concerns, and offered no relief outside of sit in one of the available seats. Absolutely NO customer service was provided. Shame on you AMC. I will have to look for another favorite...

I recently visited the AMC in White Marsh, and unfortunately, it was far from the cinema experience one would expect or hope for. While I understand that establishments can have off days, the string of negative experiences on this particular day was more than enough to warrant a review.

Firstly, the automatic ticket machine malfunctioned when we tried to print our tickets, causing the receipt to jam. We looked around for someone to assist us, but sadly, no staff members were in sight. Luckily the ticket portion had printed, so after a few minutes of trying to clear the malfunction we moved on.

The issues didn't stop there unfortunately. We then placed, what we thought was a simple order at the concession stand (2 large popcorns and 2 large sodas). 25+ minutes later, and now having missed the start of our movie, we finally received our order.

To add insult to injury, when we finally received our popcorn, it was noticeably stale, a first for us in any movie theater. It's one thing to wait for your refreshments, it's another to then receive them in sub-par quality especially after spending almost $40.

Next came the soda machine debacle. We were shocked to discover that every single flavor was out, except for root beer. When we informed the associate about the issue, we were met with a nonchalant "yea, we know". No apology, no explanation, no offer of a refund for our overpriced sodas. Their casual attitude towards a clear inconvenience to customers was the last straw for us.

This experience left a bitter taste in our mouths. AMC in White Marsh fell considerably short of providing a decent movie-going experience on this occasion. The lack of available staff, substandard concession items, and disinterested customer service were all glaring issues that need addressing. While everyone can have an off day, this was a severe letdown for us, and not one we'll soon forget. We certainly hope that the AMC management takes note of these issues and does something to improve the customer experience. Because right now, we are hesitant to return.

In short, this AMC visit was a masterclass in how not to run a cinema. Better...