M Cash Or C C Now Only Way To Pay At Avenue Movie Theatre

[forcebwithu 4,856]

Thought I'd take the teraak to a movie tonight at The Avenue Major Cineplex. Was surprised to learn you can no longer directly pay for the tickets with cash. Instead you must first top up their M Cash card with cash, then use the card to purchase tickets. This works fine for food courts where you can immediately receive a refund of the unused balance, but not so with M Cash. Once they have your cash they keep it until you use it, or you lose it if you don't renew the card after 1 year. Needless to say Major Cineplex won't be getting any more of my business.

[Geno 25]

Sounds like a scam so that they can make interest on your money. I would avoid that type of thing like the plague.

[LBJ 533]

I doubt that will last long, Central movie theaters aren't that far away.

[jacko 8,822]

Thought I'd take the teraak to a movie tonight at The Avenue Major Cineplex. Was surprised to learn you can no longer directly pay for the tickets with cash. Instead you must first top up their M Cash card with cash, then use the card to purchase tickets. This works fine for food courts where you can immediately receive a refund of the unused balance, but not so with M Cash. Once they have your cash they keep it until you use it, or you lose it if you don't renew the card after 1 year. Needless to say Major Cineplex won't be getting any more of my business.

I don't particularly like that approach in food courts!

Fine if you are a regular though, but making me queue up 3 times instead of once, or expect you to 'forget about the change' is BS.

Sometimes they even make a small charge for the card itself.

[js007 795]

Sure, they make money off of this. Still, if you go to the movies often enough, why not? What's the minimum top-up?

[atlas2 4,329]

Yes, in food courts I can see it stops the fiddling and the cooks handling the 'filthy lucre'….. but the cinema 'card' is a scam.

[Geno 25]

Sometimes they even make a small charge for the card itself.

 

I have never seen that.

[forcebwithu 4,856]

Sure, they make money off of this. Still, if you go to the movies often enough, why not? What's the minimum top-up?

 

No minimum top up, but if less than 1000B there's a 10B fee.

 

For those of us who don't go to movies with any degree of frequency, and potential holiday customers, this card has absolutely zero benefits.

[tallguy 1,479]

Yes, in food courts I can see it stops the fiddling and the cooks handling the 'filthy lucre'….. but the cinema 'card' is a scam.

You only need to top up the card with the cost of the tickets you buy on each occasion. Just tell the girl what type of seat you want an and how many tickets. The only additional cost is the initial 20 baht charge for the card. Not much of a scam is it?

[firth1974 2,659]

You only need to top up the card with the cost of the tickets you buy on each occasion. Just tell the girl what type of seat you want an and how many tickets. The only additional cost is the initial 20 baht charge for the card. Not much of a scam is it?

 

Depends how you long at it really.

 

Your on holiday, fancy seeing a movie so put on the card 200/300/400/500 baht, then proceed to see the film. You don't go back to see another movie on that trip, and your next trip is not for over another year, in which time the money on the card has expired(someone mentioned 1 year validity), and now all your remaining money has gone!!

 

But gone where? You can bet your ass that it's not been donated to some charity or other, but into the coffers on the cinema! Now, that's called a scam in any language in any part of the world!

[Trvlr 50]

You don't have to use their card. If you live for any length of time here then you will have a bank account and you can use your bank debit card. Or a regular credit card.

However the whole process has introduced more complication. The intent may have been to reduce staff by using ticket dispensing machines, but I think it takes more people now to get the whole thing done.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Trvlr

[ZARIS 20]

 

I have never seen that.

 

the strategy is they get you in with the "no fees", then after a while, when they have enough cards out there to make it worthwhile they introduce a xxx fee per month/per use/per whatever to strip out the accounts.

 

They already have your $$ on the non refundable card.

[atlas2 4,329]

You only need to top up the card with the cost of the tickets you buy on each occasion. Just tell the girl what type of seat you want an and how many tickets. The only additional cost is the initial 20 baht charge for the card. Not much of a scam is it?

 

It ties you in where you weren't tied in before……….Makes you loyal if you want to use up all your deposit. They charge a service fee for small deposits…….which encourages you to make a larger one. Some won't use up their deposit and the surplus, small or large ends up with them. If you lose your card?

 

All in all it might not be 'much of a scam'…….. But it doesn't seem to me to have been introduced for the benefit of the customer.

[jacko 8,822]

 

I have never seen that.

I know the banks do it!

You only need to top up the card with the cost of the tickets you buy on each occasion. Just tell the girl what type of seat you want an and how many tickets. The only additional cost is the initial 20 baht charge for the card. Not much of a scam is it?

And here.....

Edited June 15, 2014 by jacko

[Geno 25]

I know the banks do it!

And here.....

 

Yes I know banks charge for their cards but you were on about food courts.

[jacko 8,822]

 

Yes I know banks charge for their cards but you were on about food courts.

BTS does too........

[Grandpollo 366]

The M Card gets 100 Baht off a pair of the nice loveseats at the back of most of the screens in Major so that's an advantage. The TG I used to see offered the M card each time and 500 vs. 600 Baht.

 

For some of the movies she liked it was a good deal because they are really comfortable to snooze in and you get a blanket because despite being 30C on arrival they cool down to about 4C by the time the first reel is shown.

[tallguy 1,479]

Firth your post is based on a hypothetical scenario, my post is based on the real life experience of using The Avenue cinema an average of 2-3 times a month.

 

There is no pressure to deposit more cash on the card than is needed to purchase your current ticket(s).

 

As trvlr indicated the main purpose of this move appears to be to reduce staff costs, they have introduced self service ticket machines where you purchase your tickets after topping up the card. However, at The Avenue they have relatively few customers and normally the staff member who has topped up your card will normally come around to the other side of the counter to assist the customer with the 'self service' machine.

 

If Major Cinemas who operate the cinema at The Avenue intended this as a way of 'scamming' the occasional tourist whose deposit may expire then they need to let their staff in on scheme as they don't seem to be aware that they should be encouraging customers to deposit additional funds. In addition they have installed four ticket machines at the Avenue which look to be substantial pieces of kit and probably cost several hundred thousand baht. They would need a large number of tourists to leave a couple of hundred baht on their cards to justify the costs of their 'scam'.

 

With regard to Atlas's post. There is currently no charge for making small deposits on the card at The Avenue so there is no need to make a larger deposit on the card which could lead to the scenarios highlighted in your post.

TG

[forcebwithu 4,856]

With regard to Atlas's post. There is currently no charge for making small deposits on the card at The Avenue so there is no need to make a larger deposit on the card which could lead to the scenarios highlighted in your post.

TG

 

Are you sure about that? Per the terms and conditions:

Fees

4.1 Customers will have to pay a 10 baht fee in order to activate the Card if the first top-up is less than 1,000 baht.

4.2 When activating and topping up the Card for the first time, customers must top-up the Card with at least 20 baht.

 

Regardless, I can't be arsed with remembering to bring a cash card to see a movie, especially if it might be a spur of the moment decision to go. That's what cash is for.

[BeerBelly 1,026]

Thought I'd take the teraak to a movie tonight at The Avenue Major Cineplex. Was surprised to learn you can no longer directly pay for the tickets with cash. Instead you must first top up their M Cash card with cash, then use the card to purchase tickets. This works fine for food courts where you can immediately receive a refund of the unused balance, but not so with M Cash. Once they have your cash they keep it until you use it, or you lose it if you don't renew the card after 1 year. Needless to say Major Cineplex won't be getting any more of my business.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I won't be returning there either. This is a bad move on their part. Why are people in the service industry making it harder, not easier, for me to give them my money? It's unlikely they will revert the policy though. I'm sure that would cause a loss of face for someone.

[jacko 8,822]

 

Thanks for the heads up. I won't be returning there either. This is a bad move on their part. Why are people in the service industry making it harder, not easier, for me to give them my money? It's unlikely they will revert the policy though. I'm sure that would cause a loss of face for someone.

I guess they make more money that way, but it would put me on the defensive as I always feel there is a scam behind things like that. Countries have their fiat currencies for a reason and to restrict their use seems unpatriotic!

These things should be getting easier, a quick scan of your smart-phone, a beep, and it is done with via pay-pal or bit-coin, or whatever. .

 

I still get stuck behind people at check-outs, messing with their 'cards, getting cash back and struggling with their PIN code, it used to be old ladies looking for coins or their purse.