During the Spring Festival this year, Mr. Bei, a citizen of Shanghai, and his relatives and friends came to the theater near his home to watch a number of movies. After checking their tickets and entering the venue, they found that massage cushions were installed in the central seating area of many theaters. Because the roller on the equipment is protruding, it is made of a relatively hard material, and the position happens to be facing the back when it is not running, and it is very "hard" after sitting, and the sitting feeling is not good. Mr. Pei believes that it is understandable that theaters want to increase revenue and services, but they cannot sacrifice consumers' experience and choice.
In recent years, massage chairs have blossomed all over the country's cinemas, how is the installation of Shanghai cinemas? Will theaters adjust their strategies in response to questions raised by consumers? Jiefang** Shangguan News reporters conducted many visits.
The seats of the massage chair are not marked, occupying 40%** of the viewing area
The reporter browsed on multiple ticketing platforms and found that all theaters did not distinguish between massage chair seats and ordinary seats on the network side, nor did they display any prompt information.
Mr. Pei told reporters that he went to the Yangtze River International Cinema in Baoshan District, which had recently been replaced with detachable massage equipment. During the movie, the older family members felt that the additional seats were "uncomfortable to sit". Since the audience was already sitting around him, it was inconvenient for him to change places. There is a *** code on the massage equipment to scan the code to show that the massage service needs to be paid. Such a seat does not activate the massage function, which is uncomfortable, so he believes that there may be a problem of "force" the audience to start the equipment and buy massage services in disguise. He also noticed that some audience members directly abandoned the massage chair position in the central viewing area and instead sat on the ordinary seats in the corner.
At noon on February 22, the reporter walked into several theaters of the Yangtze River International Cinema for a visit. There are 140 seats in Hall 6, and 20 seats in the center area after the fourth row are fitted with leather massage cushions. A small cotton cushion is designed above the back cushion to block the protruding neck rollers. The reporter experienced it in turn, and some of the protrusions of the massage rollers happened to be in a state of retraction, which had little impact. Some massage rollers stop in a protruding state, which is easy to push up to the back and feel uncomfortable. The reporter came to Hall 2 again, and the situation was similar.
The massage cushion brand has the words "scan code massage, free charging", and comes with *** scan code display, the minimum 15-minute massage service charges 1298 yuan, and the rest** is between 20 yuan and 37 yuan. The reporter noticed that in a theater of about 140 seats, there are about 50 viewing seats, and the seats of massage chairs are equivalent to occupying at least 40% of the viewing area.
In Mr. Pei's view, when the theater sets up massage seats, it should be clearly marked and reminded on the ticket purchase website to fulfill the obligation to inform. If conditions permit, it should also be flexibly adjusted, loaded and unloaded in accordance with the wishes of consumers.
Massage cushions installed in the theater.
Most theaters are reluctant to dismantle and consumers are advised to adjust their own seats
The theater staff told reporters that the massage cushion was introduced and installed a few years ago, and the cost is lower than replacing a complete set of massage seats, and the main purpose is to "make the customer's experience better". When asked whether the installation location and quantity were the conditions proposed by the franchisee, he denied it, and said that the attendance rate of the central viewing area is high and the frequency of use will be high, so this area will be chosen. If the consumer does not want to sit, they can choose another vacant seat.
Massage chair seats occupy most of the ** viewing area.
What about other theaters? The staff of Shanghai Peace Cinema (Raffles City Store) said that massage equipment has been installed in the middle of all the theaters and has been installed for many years. If consumers don't want to choose a massage chair seat, they can only choose a seat on the side or in the back, or they can call for consultation, and the staff will guide how to buy. "There are also consumers who have reported similar problems, and there is no other way at present. ”
The staff of Paragon Cinemas (Raffles City Changning) said that basically a certain number of massage chair seats are set up in the middle row and middle seats of each hall, which are distributed between 7 and 10 seats, and some are distributed between 10 and 15 seats. The staff believes that the massage chair has a free experience time, and many consumers are very willing to experience, so the function of the massage chair should continue to be retained.
In Huanying Cinema (Darongcheng store), the staff introduced that only one theater was not equipped with massage chairs, "If consumers really don't want to sit, we can disassemble it on the spot." The reporter noticed that when selecting seats on the official channel of the theater, the seats will prompt signs such as "couple seats", "disabled seats" and "seats to be repaired", which shows that it is not technically difficult to add the logo of "massage chair".
The official seat selection channel of Huanying Cinemas has multiple seat signs.
It is recommended to strengthen the identification and management of massage chair seats to ensure the right to know and the right to choose
Cinema massage chairs cater to popular trends such as mobile payment popularization and health consumption, unlocking new application scenarios. However, during the visit, the reporter learned that the criticism mainly focused on the deterioration of the recoil after the installation of the equipment, the crowding of the first viewing area, the noise of the equipment and the unguaranteed health status.
In view of the setting of massage chairs in cinema venues, some consumers proposed that the proportion of massage chairs in the cinema should be reasonable, and consumers should not be squeezed to choose the space for normal movie viewing, and consumers should not be faced with the dilemma of "either enjoying the torture of massage chairs in a better viewing position, or feeling the helplessness of ordinary seats in the edge position".
People in the legal profession also proposed that the selection of massage chair seats should be based on the premise of transparent information, fair trade and independent choice. If the massage chairs provided by cinemas and other places are obviously sold against the wishes of consumers, consumers can request movie theaters to refund tickets without reason, and they can also ask movie theaters to change the seats.
For massage seat manufacturers, it is necessary to strengthen the upgrading of product performance, optimize the use of operations, absorb consumer opinions in a timely manner, improve the quality and experience of service, and reduce the impact on movie viewing during use. Public places and massage chair businesses should jointly assume the responsibility of disinfection and cleaning and daily maintenance of massage chairs to ensure public health.
The original title was: "Many movie theaters in Shanghai have installed this kind of seat, and many fans are crying uncomfortable, should they be dismantled?" 》）
*: Che Jianan, Shangguan News.