Cineworld Leicester Square:

Cineworld cinemas are one of the worse places I visited in 2023 if not ever. I visited one branch in 2023 and when I entered I was treated horribly. Then to make matters worse the call centre staff mocked me and the manager that finally got on the phone was unbothered and blaiming everyone but the staff. I decided to visit the Leicester Square branch in September 2023 as part of what I had planned to be a bigger article on comparing the cinemas in Leicester Square and talking about the history of the area. Sadly the article had to be scrapped because of the behaviour of the on-site Cineworld manager or the staff on the phone.

Leicester Square:

The Leicester Square branch is located near the Lego store on the north side of the square. The building is called The Empire and was originally built in the 1884 as a variety theatre. It was then rebuilt into a cinema in the 1920s after the original theatre was demolished and rebuilt. In 1959 The Epire removed 1,200 seats and installed new projectors and a screen. The building was sold in 1962 and internal renovations were done including the removal of all but two small panels of the ornate plasterwork.

The branch layout:

The entrance as it is now days is split with the cinema and its nine screens on the left and a casino on the right. The entrance can be a little hard to miss but if you look at the The Empire logo you want to walk into the IMAX doors. the entrance beyond the doors is a very elegant and highly polished marble staircase (sadly no such grandeur for a wheelchair user their entrance is a dull and plain staff entrance with a staff escort) the entrance has lots of the modern technology including a ticket office and a self serve automatic ticket machine, and screens playing the latest trailers. There is also an easily missed ticket hostess stand at the top of the stairs that cannot be seen if crowded or if you don’t like standing at the top of staircases due to balance issues and tend to move away from them quickly.

The Cinema branch staff:

This branch is run by a manager with a lack of compassion and empathy. The manager is very rude and likes to make up stories like the fact you are holding a ticket in your hand is you trying to give it to her. Once she has the tickets she will then tell you she has your ticket and she has decided you are no longer welcome to get out of the building. The fact she has two guards standing in close proximity to her acting like bodyguards while she gives of a very strong ego of being a European queen who can scream off with their heads at a moments notice. The entrance process cannot be called very friendly or welcoming.

The call centre:

Over the course of two dayss I called the contact center to gain information and request for complaint contact details which were ignored. I did however discover that Cineworld employ a European call center where staff like to scream down the phone at you that your complaint is a joke and ‘we are all laughing at you’ the staff take no serious approach to the issues at hand and feel that a the only disability they have to accommodate are wheelchair users.

The Head Office manager:

The Monday after my visit I got a manager from head office on the phone who as I tried to explain my concerns for safety and disability awareness stated that the Cineworld company didn’t care unless the manager had broken my hand and even then he would have supported his manager because I deserved it. The manager also laughed at me telling me that Muscular Dystrophy (a condition where even a gentle pat to the muscle can damage the muscle or breakdown the nerves) doesn’t exist and I’m making up lies.

The social media team:

The social media team appears to be like the rest of this companies staff and will actively employ ignore and dismiss tactics to deal with the issue privately and publicly they will ask you to direct message them and try to put a we are supportive image up front.

Cineworld Comments:

We did send off an advance copy to the Cineworld cinemas and have received the following comments:

No response sent since 4th July despite checking they wish to make a comment and received the advance copy of the article.

Would I try and visit cineworld again?

Absolutely not when I go out I expect to be treated with dignity and respect. I also expect to be able to climb a flight of stairs easily and safely including not being interrogated at the top of crowded flight of stairs. When there is a need to complain I do expect those complaints to be taken seriously and with compassion not to be laughed at by a manager and a serious life limiting condition to be treated like a joke. I would not be able to feel safe in an environment like that and I wouldn’t like to see anyone else be treated so badly in that environment especially as most of the issues are a staffing issue and not a building issue.