The Groupon Regal cinemas deal is such a scam its ridiculous.
I tried emailing this message to the CEO but I got blocked lol and regal and groupon customer service was no help.
I purchased five tickets through Groupon, which advertised a 35% discount based on an original price of $21.00 per ticket. However, I found this pricing to be misleading, as standard tickets at my local theater typically range from $13.00 to $17.00.
Additionally, the fine print did not clearly state that additional fees would apply for in-person redemption. After paying $62.92 for the Groupon and an additional $7.50 in fees by redeeming at the theater, my total came to $70.42. Given that the standard price for our matinee showing would have been $74.45, the actual savings were negligible and far below the advertised 35%.
So after i bought the Groupon tickets I didnt want to pay online fees on the regal site so I drove to regals to redeem the tickets in person and to choose my seats to hopefully avoid the additional fees and the redemption process was also quite difficult. There was no one at the box office so i was directed to redeem them at the concession stand.
“Why in the Twilight Zone are we purchasing tickets at the long concession stand line?!!!”
Having to wait in a long concession line to redeem tickets was stressful with the uncertainty that your seats will get taken particularly as a parent with an anxiety disorder, and the outdated scanning equipment further delayed the process. I even watched an elderly man struggling to decide with the different ticket prices and viewing options. Honestly the line felt like it was forever. I finally redeemed my Groupon tickets only for the employee to charge me 7.50 in additional fees because apparently there’s surcharges. I decided to just pay it because it didnt want to be a pain to my family.
The employee that had helped me also mentioned that people who used a Groupon voucher and redeemed in person had complained about the additional fee as well. I also complained to someone who i think was the manager but they couldnt really do anything about it and Groupon site doesnt even have a live person to chat to. My overall experience is a negative.
In the end, Groupon and Regals has a lack of transparency regarding these fees and the discrepancy in the advertised original prices. I believe the current Groupon offer is misleading for customers attending matinee screenings and it honestly feels like a scam. The families that attend this location are generally low income families. Please do better. Please add a groupon deal for matinee hours.