Buffalo Grove Theater

Reviews 3

JO

Josh Settles

The HASSLE is NOT WORTH ANY slight discount. Once in a great while I have the incling that my experience w/a place is worthy of writing a review. And sadly Ive universally neglected that (mostly positive) urge until now. Maybe it took an overwhelmingly bad experience to finally drive me to it...& this was it. I went to this place nearly 2 WEEKS ago, & the nagging sense I should say something keeps coming up like a bad after-taste. Someone elses comment (probably the owners in disguise) "Im not sure where the negative comments are coming from." ME...& no doubt from thousands like me whove not bothered & simply taken their $$$ elsewhere, because a slight discount on tix is NOT WORTH THE HASSLE! The experience u can expect: Its been YRS since Ive visited this moldy old theater of over-worn seats because of our previous experience w/mgmt. BUT since they had the right movie (Zootopia) at the right time (matinee during my daughters spring break), I figured...why not? My girl & her friend had been waiting until break to see it & this was the time I had. BUT upon arrival, I remembered WHY itd been YRS since wed been here--& never will return: ~When we got there, the entrance was so dark that I thought maybe they had finally folded up & went bankrupt. (One dingy overhead light for security I thought?) They were still open...despite appearances. ~I brought my EMPTY large cup from which to drink--standard practice elsewhere. I avoid pop (& indeed most things theaters serve) like the plague & just drink water for healths sake. Even though airport TSA, 6 Flags, & all other theater chains will allow an empty cup to be filled w/water (instead of the dixie cup they give you when you ask here), this lady INSISTED it was Regals rules & theyre not allowed in--in contrast to the Regal theaters elsewhere in the are that dont mention it. [NOTE: The BG value theater is NOT part of the EXCELLENT Regal theater chain & Regals GOOD NAME shouldnt suffer because of this ladys lies.] ~So I bought my popcorn & tickets & 4 dixie cups of water & waited. ~We were waiting for our Ariannas request to buy candy to be acknowledged (cash waiving in hand) when the BGVT Nazi asks for us to wait because she INSISTS on going through my wifes purse. This may not be an issue for some who enjoy the idea of being frisked at a theater like youre entering a maximum security lockup, but my wife is a private person (a librarian) & was NOT game. ~They had words...ending w/my wife deciding to put her purse in our car. This put us in an unnecessary lose-lose situation. Either we lose our privacy to this prying busy-body of an owner (who INSISTS that shes doing it for security reasons [Lie #2 detected], not because shes trying to keep unscrupulous people from sneaking something as nefarious as an unpaid snickers bar) OR my wife has to make the walk to our locked car. We were not about to let this transparently-lying, control-freak have any satisfaction. (Note: at this point I was lobbying my frazzled wife to get our money back & leave, but we had already gotten our popcorn, & she indicated it would not be refundable!) ~Against my better judgement, we decided for the kids sake to stay. ~While my wife is putting her purse in our car, I take the kids in. The neighbor girl asks where her candy is. So I end up getting her candy because frisky-owner ignored the girls money for the sake of what...wringing more $$$ from adults? Or because this liar was hoping to win friends & influence people? Ridiculous. ~Had to ask for napkins...purposefully not out--to save $$$. ~Lady was now too busy on the phone to serve me so I reach to the roll of paper towels within reach & she gives me grief for serving myself. Unbelievable. ~My wife re-enters at this point & a shouting match w/profanity ensues...great. Just what I need on Good Friday of all days. Summation: Theres a limit of words to what can be written here, but suffice to say that I wish this was a sliding scale from (+ to --) so I could put this place at (--5) stars! #NeverAgainBGVT

NI

Nia Powell

I dont write reviews on places very often. Im a college student and Im busy so unless the experience is life changing ... I wont be writing a review. After visiting this theater, however, I felt that I would be doing myself and future guests to this theater a disservice if I didnt share my horrible experience. Let me start by saying that I work at a movie theater, a really nice AMC theater, so obviously I prefer to go to AMC theaters when I go see movies. However, when my friends wanted to see a movie that was sold out at my theater and full at the neighboring theaters we decided that we would try something new. The buffalo grove theater was cheap, close by, and had a movie time that fit nicely into our schedule so we went there. From the moment that I walked into the theater I wanted to walk out (and to be completely honest had I not carpooled with my friends I would have). The manager/box office worker/concession worker was incredibly rude and demeaning. I completely understand checking IDs for R Rated movies (I do it daily at work) but there is a way to do it that isnt accusatory. Next, she noticed that I had a bag with me. Im one of those movie guests that brings a blanket with and that along with a water bottle and snack is all that was in my bag. However, when I told the women that I had a blanket in my bag she responded with "I dont care about your blanket, give me your bag". Ive never felt so violated in my life. This women ran her hand through every inch of my bag and confiscated everything in it. She looked through my stuff more closely than Six Flags and the TSA together. If this wasnt bad enough, when we got into theater my friend left to get food from the concession stand and when she came back she was in tears. Ive known her for a while and Ive never seen her cry before. The same women at the front, was so mean to her that she was in tears. I dont know about you, but to me, the movies should be a fun experience that is filled with smiles and laughs. Thats what we strive for at AMC and thats what I expect as a customer and guest but that is the furthest thing from what happened at the buffalo grove theater. If you respect your time and your money, dont waste it at this theater. Id rather pay the extra few dollars and go to a nice theater with nice staff than ever go back to Buffalo Grove.

BR

Brian K

I would give the theater a better rating if it were not for the extremely rude teenage woman (maybe early 20s) that works there. I think it might be the daughter of the lady who runs the place - they look like they could be related. The lady who runs the place is nice. And the tickets are very cheap compared to AMC, etc. Its an older theater but thats the trade off for the lower ticket prices. Ill take the older theater with a $4 matinee ticket vs AMCs $12.50 matinee. I can live without reclining chairs to save $8.50. I can take both of my kids here for the price of 1 AMC ticket. With all that said, the young woman that works there is very rude and I let her know it. And the problem is, the lady who runs the place witnessed our entire interaction and did nothing to reprimand the employee/relative. Thats what annoyed me more than the rude employee. Also, dont be so damn cheap. I buy the largest popcorn to get the free refills. My kids and I finished off the bucket and I went for a refill. The lady tells me "you finished it that quick?" And she asked it in a way as if I was up to no good. I told her, we ate the popcorn. Its free refills so stop asking me questions and refill the popcorn. They also check womens purses for drinks. They claim its for safety, but thats complete bulls#%t. The couple of times I went there with my girlfriend she was checked because she had a purse, but I was not checked at all and I had a coat on. I could easily of had a weapon. Just tell the truth. You check because you dont want people sneaking in food. Which is a fair request considering the low ticket prices. Just dont use the guise of safety. Its pretty clear thats not the reason as you check womens purses but not men. If you need to take a bunch of kids to a movie and you dont want to take out a second mortgage, go here. If youre going out on a date, spend the money and take her to AMC. I go back and forth with this place. The last movie I saw (Guardians 2), I paid up for AMC because I didnt want to deal with the service.

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