One Night Movie Event
Theater experiences technical difficulties– so who is responsible for the refund?
Let me start by saying that we do not go to the movies. It’s just not something we do. But, last Thursday night was different. 
It was a ‘One Night Event’ in movie theaters across the nation, featuring the debut of “Race Across the Sky” – a documentary covering the 2009 Leadville Trail 100 bike race. As cyclists, we want to support movies of this kind coming to the Bay Area, but also we were out to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
Movie Night
It was to be a birthday celebration in Redwood City – dinner at 6, movie at 8. Since we live a fair distance from Redwood City, we purchased our tickets online at Fandango. And, since this was not just any movie, tickets were $12.50 each, plus a $4 service fee (for the convenience of Fandango). We were a group of 12, so we hurried through dinner to get to the theater by 7:30 for good seats. Upon entering the theater, there was a good sized line forming just to present your ticket. We waited, handed over our bar-coded paper from Fandango and in exchange, received 2 Century 20 Theater tickets. Up the escalator we went and into the theater to find the theater filling up fast. We found a row of seats and got settled in quickly….as it was now 7:45.
Bad News
Within minutes, a young guy, dressed in a suit, carrying a walkie-talkie, enters the theater and fairly soft spoken, tries to get the crowd’s attention. My first thought is he is going to tell us it’s a full house and ask people to move over one seat towards the middle so they can accommodate everyone. After his 4 or 5 callouts, “can I have your attention please”, he finally rallies the crowd and says, “Unfortunately, we are having a technical difficulty and will not be able to show the movie tonight.” He goes on to tell us that the theater will offer a refund, or try to play the movie at a different time. He then says, “You can go to the Mountain View or the San Mateo locations to see it.” Really? At 10 minutes to 8, does he really think there is a chance of getting tickets and getting into another theater? Not to mention we need to get these tickets refunded first. The crowd is in a state of shock. Some people exit the theater right away, while many are left pondering what to do next.
As we head to guest services for a refund, the lobby is full of chaos and confusion. There are lots of people, crowding around the poor guy who took our tickets earlier, trying to get their Fandango receipt back. It’s not clear to anyone, even the ticket taker, whether we actually need the Fandango receipt to get a refund, but I grab one of the receipts, just in case.
As we stand in a long line to get our refund, I’m thinking they will refund me the price of the tickets and I will have to eat the $4 service charge from Fandango (it’s not their fault the movie theater couldn’t deliver). The people in front of us are turning in their Fandango receipt and movie tickets and the Century employee is handing out complimentary movie passes. The offer is 3 movie passes for their 2 tickets (I believe the thinking is the extra movie pass will make up for the $12.50 admission price, plus the service fee?). The guy in front of me says, “Can we have another ticket to even out the number?” The employee hands him a fourth movie pass. We get to the counter and I ask, “Why can I not get a refund?” She goes on to tell me that it is Fandango’s policy not to refund money. She says, “Once you hit the purchase button, it is part of their terms and conditions.” She offers me 3 movie tickets. I don’t ask for a fourth.
I walked away more than disappointed– I don’t want another movie pass (did I mention we don’t go to the movies?). I wanted to see this movie.
I return to my group of friends, only to find out that everyone has received a different refund. One friend got his money back (because he purchased his ticket there at the theater) and 4 free movie passes. Another friend, whose ticket was purchased by someone else, almost didn’t get anything for a refund. They finally gave her one free movie pass.
Who’s Responsible?
As we drove home, we had an interesting discussion about a refund. I wasn’t aware of Fandango’s policy when I purchased tickets, so I had no leg to stand on when the movie theater employee told me about the policy. So, with my curiosity peaked, I went to the Fandango website to check out its terms and use and found this:
“In accordance with our Terms of Use, Fandango does not offer refunds or exchanges of tickets purchased on the Fandango Web site or via our mobile site or phone (1-800-FANDANGO). In addition, tickets purchased through Fandango may be subject to a per-ticket Convenience Charge, which is non-refundable except in extraordinary circumstances where a theater was unable to honor your tickets purchased through Fandango (i.e., if a show time is cancelled, no seat was available in the theater, etc.). Before purchasing your tickets we urge you to confirm the title, time and location of the movie you wish to see.”
It goes on to say:
“Any refund or exchange is at the discretion of theater management and can only be conducted at the theater box office where the movie is playing. If a refund is available, the theater box office may only refund to you the ticket price, in which event you should contact Fandango’s customer service if you also wish to request a refund of our Convenience Charge in the extraordinary circumstances described above (otherwise, the Convenience Charge is non-refundable, as stated above).”
Good News
After reading this, I decided to call the Century 20 Theater in Redwood City. All the numbers listed for the theater are for a fax machine, so I went directly to the Cinemark Corporate offices in Plano, Texas. 
I left a message at the customer service desk and within 1 hour I had a call back. The woman left a voicemail message saying that a refund could not be issued at the theater level (not sure why this is) and if I gave her my electronic confirmation number and my email address, she would issue me a refund.
Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised with this response. It’s not very often we take the time to read the fine print, or the terms and conditions of using popular web sites to make purchases. In today’s economy, with more and more people unemployed (including myself), it is important to understand where your money is going and if something goes wrong, how to get it back. Now, I can say that I understand Fandango’s policy and will be more aware of where I make my purchases in the future.