Regal West Tower — Local services in Glen Allen

A group of 5 decided to go catch equalizer 2 today for the 1:15 show. After getting popcorn, drinks, and getting settled in our seats..at 12:45 the sound came on as if we were watching what would have been different advertisements, with a BLANK screen. After about 15 minutes of this, one person in our party went to information them that something appeared to be wrong that the screen was blank with sound only, he was told that this was normal and that it was "pre ads" and that it would be fine at 1:15 when the movie was to start, but no one checked it. Soo, another 15 minutes later, the ads that had been playing on the blank screen stopped and the sound said the movie was about to begin, great..well not so fast, nothing happened, so again..back to tell them the movie didn't start along with a few others that went to tell them, so now we are 15 minutes past the start time and they said "we are working on it"..another 10 minutes later one of the staff announced that there were technical difficulties and that the movie would not be seen and everyone needed to come to the lobby for a refund. Ok so let's all go stand in line in the lobby for a refund and listen to the staff talk about 2 of the other theaters that aren't working properly either, but they were still selling tickets to those movies-guess they wanted popcorn and drink sales instead of telling people! Ok, I get that things happen that can't be helped sometimes, but maybe if it was checked when it was first reported we wouldn't have been sitting there and hour for nothing and that's not counting the drinks and popcorn that were purchased for a fortune. I think what really told me a lot was while I was standing in line for a refund or voucher, and asked one of the worker's if the voucher was good at other regal theaters..the response said it all.."Hmm I don't know, maybe short pump". I asked what about Va Center? " I don't think so, cause that's not in the county" I asked what county? ”Henrico". I said Yes, that's Henrico county too.."Oh, I don't know cause I don't go over that way" was the response as he walked away. Wow, you work for regal theaters and don't have a clue if the vouchers are good at other regal theaters and where they are even located, way to be informed young man and he could of cared less. I guess I shouldn't have expected too much considering two of the workers parked in the front row parking instead of letting the guests park there to be considerate. So, yes we did get our money back for the movie, but the whole situation could have been handled better by some ten years olds. Definitely won't go back...

Took the kids to see The Incredibles 2 tonight. Was great as it was the last showing for the evening (10 pm.) So we ended up having the theatre to ourselves which my son and daughter found to be novel and exciting. For a older theatre (I recall seeing movies here all the way back in H.S. class of 89) they have kept up with a modern projector, Sound system and seats so nothing to complain about there. The carpets were clean as were there bathrooms. The staff consisting of the standard teenage brigade were friendly and helpful. Gave us free refills on our popcorn and sodas which I generally never buy at the theatre but broke down and did shell out for tonight. The only thing that I can really take issue with was the price of popcorn, drinks and candy. But if you are smart like most people these days you simply stop by one of the Dollar stores and stock up on those items and simply cough, cough, "bring" them in with you. Theatre chain owners have cried for years about declining attendance but when it costs 35 dollars or more if you were to buy all of those things at the theatre that coupled with the price of tickets may push many lower income families out of the ability to be able to go and enjoy a night out with their children. I am not trying to hear the theatre chains cry of "were broke". From what I understand the theatres make very little off of the cost of admission and make the lions share of their revenue off of the concessions inside. If that is the case then they need to address their admission prices etc. directly with Hollywood and not try and rape the consumer to try and eek out a profit. In the day and age of 24 hour entertainment via cable, the net, redbox, Hulu, Amazon video and all the rest in order to stay relevant this needs to be addressed. Unless they do then the days of "going to the movies" make go the way of ToysRUs, Circuit City, Ukrops and the rest. Apples and Oranges I know but you get my point. That would be a sad day as even though I have a nice 4K 65 inch surround sound behemoth at home there is still a little magic in "going to the movies" and it would be a shame to have to relegate this tradition to the dust...

I've been regularly attending this theatre for almost sixteen years since 2002. The Manager is cool but the location has lost its luster over the year. I had over four occasions of the projector not being on (video) Though I could hear audio. For my $$$ I don't even want to miss a preview. The new staff (past couple of years) does not seem interested in their jobs. They seem to ne more interested in conversing with each other and gossiping and become visibly irritated when having to do tasks for customers. The staff as a whole seems to be ill-informed as well. I had a staff member tell me I didn't have enough points on my regal card for the free movie so i had to just get off line and add the movie myself. I was actually told (in an abrasive manner") " you only have 15,000 points thats not enough for a free movie" when 15,000 points is the exact amount needed for a free movie. The staff also seems to think that using your regal card in multiple transactions in the same day that there is an issue with that. I"m assuming in their ignorance they think I'm going to get more points and thus multiple transactions are believed to be against policy. Ive since started adding my points manually instead of presenting the regal card at purchase. There is also a hyperactive individual in the box office. Im not sure id he has special needs. If he does he is doing an excellent job. If not, he needs to calm down and study his manual as he also has quoted incorrect information. This location would also benefit from a ticketing kiosk so we may avoid incompetent staff. If it was me I would scrap all of the current staff less the manager...