Moviegoers unhappy with Ster Kinekor
Long rows, cancellations
With the recent release of movies such as Barbie, Oppenheimer and the latest Mission Impossible, some movie lovers are dissatisfied with Ster Kinekor in Windhoek's service, long queues and cancellation of movies. However, Ster Kinekor's management gave the assurance that they are working on a solution.A resident of Windhoek told our sister publication Republikein that they wanted to see the popular Barbie movie two weeks ago, but due to long queues they missed the start of the movie.
"We were already there at 19:15 for the 20:00 show, by which time the queues was already almost down the stairs. The line did not move. At 19:55 I asked the manager if the movie was going to start later, because everyone was still standing outside.
"Her answer was the movie starts when it starts. I said it was unfair, because according to my friend sitting inside, there were only about 10 people in the theatre. She then said that it is not her problem and we are welcome to leave."
Other sources told Republikein they think the queues are long as there is only one counter for refreshments and ticket sales. In the past these were two separate counters.
"I go to the movies quite often. The most ridiculous thing is that you now have to buy your tickets and snacks at the same counter, which means that there is a very long line and means that sometimes you are not on time for your movie.
"Everyone must buy their tickets at the popcorn station. There was literally only one person. It was ridiculous," said another moviegoer.
According to Ster Kinekor's local manager, Jenni Beukes, the reduction to one counter is due to a problem with some of the equipment that "no longer performs adequately" after a system update.
"Rest assured that we are already considering solutions and negotiating with our franchise suppliers," she added.
Cancellations
Sunday evening's (19:00) screening of the movie Oppenheimer at Maerua Mall was unexpectedly cancelled after moviegoers had already waited almost 30 minutes in the venue. Their tickets were refunded and they were sent home.
"We encountered an unforeseen technical problem. Our team responded quickly, but unfortunately the issue could not be resolved immediately. As a result, moviegoers were informed about it and different options were presented to them."
According to another Windhoeker, this is not the first time something like this has happened at Maerua Mall's branch. "Earlier in the year we planned our whole weekend to go see Avatar at Maerua. When we got there, they said the movie wasn't going to show anymore, because something was wrong with the sound. The movie was cancelled without any notice on their social media platforms."
The Ster Kinekor branches in Windhoek have also been using brown paper bags to sell popcorn in the last few years and no longer the cardboard containers they used in the past.
"During the Covid-19 pandemic, we decided to switch to paper bags for our popcorn, without the brand name, to minimize costs," says Beukes.
Other moviegoers have commented on the lack of staff and are of the opinion that staff "do not seem keen".
"The whole experience is just different, as if they actually don't feel like it anymore." – [email protected]