‘Mystery shopping’ and on-line surveys for mobile devices – which generate over 400 responses from customers daily – have helped Cineworld Cinemas’ expansion programme, with the number of cinemas increasing to 82 from 71 when the programme started in 2005.
Cineworld Cinemas is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with over 800 screens and 51.5 million admissions annually, with revenue of £406 million.
“React helps us measure each cinema’s performance and identify areas for further improvement. It’s very useful in managing the business; we can focus on areas where we need to improve, whether it’s an issue of compliance, an operational process or a specific area of customer skills for cinema staff,”
For the mystery shopping programme, Reacts’ ‘undercover’ team visit cinemas as members of the public and test the customer experience, from arrival at the venue, to purchasing a ticket and refreshments, then watching a film and departing. All interactions with staff are measured and scored; the scores form part of an assessment and incentive programme for the cinema staff.
In 2014 React added the on-line customer satisfaction programme: when customers buy a cinema ticket, they receive an automated email three days later asking them to complete a survey. The results appear in real time in a secure online portal. Authorised Cineworld managers log in and check the results, whilst summary reports are sent to relevant departments on a monthly basis for any required action.
“Cineworld gets feedback from over 12,000 customers monthly and React’s on-line dashboard summaries and graphs give us instant feedback so we can respond fast in reviewing performance. We have also added questions on brand tracking to assess our overall reputation and opportunities to extend our offer,”