Entertainment Book - Universal Meal/Deal Coupon

[Hockeymommy]

O.k. someone (or multiple someones) over at Universal are full of s@&t!!! I spoke to Tammy this a.m. @ 7:30 pst and she admitted that it was not a misprint. She stated that it had not been proofed well. She said when the book first came out they posted a sign stating that it was a misprint and they would not be accepting them. It became a "security issue" according to Tammy. People were getting verbally abusive with the staff and yelling, I'm sure causing a scene. Sooo they decided to start accepting them even though they STILL claimed it was a misprint. Now they have figured out that it's costing $ so they have decided to give only 20% off. I informed her that they were going to loose a lot more than a few dollars of food with this kind of customer service. Isn't this called the old bait and switch or something? If they think people were nasty before I can only imagine what they are going to be getting now. People have known they can use these coupons for the last seven months, won't they be happy when they get there with their coupons and family in tow only to find out that Universal won't accept them now. If I call back and speak to someone else tomorrow I wonder if I can get yet another story (lie) out of them!

 

[BonnieA]

Does anyone have an email address for Universal Customer Relations? I would rather send my sentiments in an email.

 

[phamton]

Does anyone have an email address for Universal Customer Relations? I would rather send my sentiments in an email.

GuestServices@universalorlando.com

 

[ines248]

For me I got a refund for my online ticket purchase (the rep was very understanding) because of the meal and movie debacle.!

jmpellet I want to know more info about ticket refund. I have mail in tickets. Which tickets are the easiest to get the refund kiosk pick up or mail in? With mail in I do have to go there and return then to guest services? Right?
Thanks



________________________________________________________________

It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay. Ecclesiastes 5:5 (movie and meal)

 

[macraven]

i have been out of town and in canada and looks like i have missed a lot of what has been happening.

comments about the ent book coupon started before i left. i am amazed it has become a hot topic.

it is hard for me to understand why families would cancel a trip due to not getting one free meal and a movie. i don't plan my trips around the thought of saving $18 on m & m. in fact, i never plan on catching a flick at the cineplex when i am at UO. i enjoy the parks too much to put 3 hours inside a theatre.

and getting refunds............wow is all i have to say.



i have found that the guest service at universal in the 14 years i have been going have been helpful, knowledgable and accomodating. no bad experiences for me, no issues, no axes to grind.

when i did have a problem one year, i was compensated.
at hhn, someone had a nose bleed and on that ride sat my family. it was over an hour before the incident was over. stop the ride, clean up the ride, etc. we blew away an hour and a half and then we were not allowed to use our epp for that ride when it reopened. guest services gave us a statement that we could return to the express line for that ride.
they didn't have to but they did and we really appreciated their help. they didn't argue with us, they knew the incident on that ride and understood that all we wanted was to repeat the ride as it had been stopped while we were on it due to the medical issue.



my point after that rambling..........don't let one situation sour you on a fun family vacation site. any theme park can have glitches.


and the entertainment book.......it is stated that coupons and deals can be changed at any time. remember a few years back when the on site hotels pulled out of the promo discounts, but ent. book did not take the coupon out?
ent book coupons were not honored that year and people were irrate over it. things like that happen. no matter how many people complained to ent.com about the change, it stayed the way it was, no ent discounts.


that was a bummer for a lot of us.


if a company pulls out of the entertainment company and the book has already gone to print, their ad will still appear in the new book. i preorder so i receive my book late aug/early sept even though the deals start in the fall.

i think that is why the disclaimer is listed in the books.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

it is hard for me to understand why families would cancel a trip due to not getting one free meal and a movie. i don't plan my trips around the thought of saving $18 on m & m. in fact, i never plan on catching a flick at the cineplex when i am at UO. i enjoy the parks too much to put 3 hours inside a theatre.

and getting refunds............wow is all i have to say.

I've had the same thought, & must admit to being totally puzzled by it as well. This is definitely not the 1st time a company has changed policies midstream. There's another themepark just Southwest of UO that's famous for it too. I can totally understand being upset initially, but I can't see my family not getting over it quickly, then going & having a fabulous time on our trip.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

That was a great post macraven. I totally agree and am also WOWED that anyone would plan a trip based on a coupon for a free meal/movie. OK, maybe didnt plan a trip but were just so ticked off cause it was pulled that they would cancel their trip. Thats just beyond my grasp of thinking.

I dont believe Universal planned on people collecting these coupons to use for famlies that would allow EACH member a free meal/movie. I think it would be reasonable for them to offer this coupon one per family. I guess its too late to to change it and it was just easier to limit the $ off.

Why is it so hard to see what was taking place with these coupons and ultimately the reason of its demise was abuse of the promotion.

 

[sweet tooth]

I purchased an extra Entertainment Book for this! Well, I put my two-cents in via an e-mail to Universal customer service... can't hurt! It's not like people won't make up the difference in what Universal is losing with that extra money in their pocket being spent elsewhere in the parks!

 

[happypooh]

Just got back from Orlando and was really upset that the coupon had changed to only the 20% off - 15.95 per person..I had 6 coupons (I have 5 books and one was given to me) and had planned three dinners there. In the end we only ate once at Citywalk the first night as we couldn't be bothered to go try and find another restaurant. I decided to spend my money at a disney restaurant even though I knew it would cost more than 32 bucks for my husband and I...but it was just the annoyance and dishonesty from Universal that made me not want to spend my money there. And looks like I'll be back in september for Free dining with Disney. I did file a complaint at the guest relations office at citywalk...but I'll be honest with you..I doubt I'll get a response...that's just the way they are..they have zero concept of customer service. From my observation the parking lot was sooo empty....you'd think they'd be trying harder to get more people to the parks.

 

[phamton]

they have zero concept of customer service.

Ouch!

 

[macraven]

like I'll be back in september for Free dining with Disney.


I did file a complaint at the guest relations office at citywalk...but I'll be honest with you..I doubt I'll get a response...that's just the way they are..they have zero concept of customer service.

i have had just the opposite experience with guest services at universal.
they bend over backwards to make the customers happy

i'm not even going to give my opinion on the guest services at disney.
since this is the universal thread, i'll ignore your statement on getting free food at disney.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Just got back from Orlando and was really upset that the coupon had changed to only the 20% off - 15.95 per person..I had 6 coupons (I have 5 books and one was given to me) and had planned three dinners there. In the end we only ate once at Citywalk the first night as we couldn't be bothered to go try and find another restaurant. I decided to spend my money at a disney restaurant even though I knew it would cost more than 32 bucks for my husband and I...but it was just the annoyance and dishonesty from Universal that made me not want to spend my money there. And looks like I'll be back in september for Free dining with Disney. I did file a complaint at the guest relations office at citywalk...but I'll be honest with you..I doubt I'll get a response...that's just the way they are..they have zero concept of customer service. From my observation the parking lot was sooo empty....you'd think they'd be trying harder to get more people to the parks.

Did you spend the day in the Universal Parks? Did you just come over for the free meal? I dont think its fair that you have already judged their customer service before giving them a chance to respond to your complaint.

 

[macraven]

Did you spend the day in the Universal Parks? Did you just come over for the free meal? I dont think its fair that you have already judged their customer service before giving them a chance to respond to your complaint.

that's an excellent point !!

if you just filed a complaint, you need to give them time to make a response.


being this an universal board, i take offense when someone unfairly is blasting the UO employees in general.

 

[DMRick]

I can't believe that none of you have run into this with the Entertainment Book before. In our area, they have had typo's and the places have honored them for awhile. But when Entertainment runs them again, the next year, knowing the first was a mistake, the places have to draw the line somewhere. I think the blame prob falls with Entertainment. Based on what I have seen working with them, once they get you in the book, it takes an act of congress to get yourself out..with mistake or without.
So many times people try to do the right thing and honor it anyway..but really, what makes anyone think the mistake is Universal's, and not Entertainments (and no offense to the die hard Universal people, but I don't even care for Universal for us, because neither of likes the fast rides, and that's a good part of Universal)? So surely, in this case, you would think I would be the first to blame Universal, but I know how Entertainment Books work.
Why on earth, would someone continue to give food and a movie away..what possible benefit to them would their be, especially when people are trading and giving them away and selling them on eBay? Usually only a percentage of any one coupon is used, but the way these have been bantered about, it prob really started to cost Universal. I know if they were still doing it, hubby and I would go over to eat (we have two books and two cards), but they wouldn't be making it up with us. I wouldn't go til the parking was free, and I would eat, go to a movie and then leave.

 

[CarolA]

IBut,If I have to pay 10.00 for parking and 8.00 for a movie, I will see two movies instead of one because fair is fair.(This is in case I hear rumors about fotl changes and I have to stay off site and pay parking.)
A movie does not cost 18.00 dollars!
.

And dishonest is dishonest....

I read about this on another part of the board and came over to see what the fuss was about...And what do I find, a "the rules don't apply to me" post.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I can't believe that none of you have run into this with the Entertainment Book before. In our area, they have had typo's and the places have honored them for awhile. But when Entertainment runs them again, the next year, knowing the first was a mistake, the places have to draw the line somewhere. I think the blame prob falls with Entertainment. Based on what I have seen working with them, once they get you in the book, it takes an act of congress to get yourself out..with mistake or without.
So many times people try to do the right thing and honor it anyway..but really, what makes anyone think the mistake is Universal's, and not Entertainments (and no offense to the die hard Universal people, but I don't even care for Universal for us, because neither of likes the fast rides, and that's a good part of Universal)? So surely, in this case, you would think I would be the first to blame Universal, but I know how Entertainment Books work.
Why on earth, would someone continue to give food and a movie away..what possible benefit to them would their be, especially when people are trading and giving them away and selling them on eBay? Usually only a percentage of any one coupon is used, but the way these have been bantered about, it prob really started to cost Universal. I know if they were still doing it, hubby and I would go over to eat (we have two books and two cards), but they wouldn't be making it up with us. I wouldn't go til the parking was free, and I would eat, go to a movie and then leave.

I agree! As my 1st post on this thread mentioned, it makes perfect sense to me that Universal finally said enough is enough. The coupons were obviously being abused. For the people who were able to get in on it, great for you! For those who couldn't, IMHO, you shouldn't be so surprised. If they were meant to be free in the 1st place, it's obvious that they (or any other company) expect a family to buy 1 book. Under normal circumstances, why would anyone need more than one? With that book, a family of 4 would get one free meal/ movie deal & pay for 3. Even if people buy more than one book for an area, the most they could usually expect to get would be buy 1 get 1 free. I'm confused by how people could be so irate, because Universal finally stopped this when so many were using multiple coupons to not only get one meal each for their entire family, but were actually using enough to get multiple meals free. No company can continue giving things away for free, with the possiblity of not making anything in return. If it were your business would you? I also don't think Entertainment is blameless. The longer Universal continued to honor this coupon, the more books they sold. Of course, they're not going to admit they knew there was an error in this coupon.

As for WDW, I'll start by saying I love both parks & have been to WDW many more times than UO. However, WDW doesn't give anything away for free. Yes, they give you free dining with a special promotion. They also charge a ridiculous amount of money for the tickets & rack rate for their hotel rooms for that privilege. The promotion is during a slow period & this fills those hotel rooms as well as selling those tickets. Not to mention the amount of souvenirs they will sell during this time. They've set it up so you can't get free food w/o staying & playing there. To compare WDW's offer of free dining to the meal/ movie coupons, WDW would have to allow you to stay off property, & dine at DTD or at the resorts where park admission isn't required. Although they allow you to dine wherever you choose, they don't give you the option of not buying any tickets at all. BTW, Universal is also running a promotion where kids can stay & play free, if dad & mom are paying. FWIW, WDW is famous for revamping policies to their advantage. Does anyone remember the Q&C vouchers that started out allowing you to purchase anything on the menu? These same vouchers were soon restricted as to what you were allowed to order. This is just one example. There's many more. Also, I've never been able to go to WDW for a day trip & get a movie & meal for $15.95 much less for free. While so many are upset at UO now, it's easy for them to see WDW as the good guy. Believe me, WDW has & will do the same thing. The only difference would be that they probably wouldn't have been willing to honor it for as long as UO did.

 

[macraven]

in reference to the above poster, i go to both parks also. i know exactly what you mean.


i don't have issues with the movie and meal coupon being changed from free to a discount. i have the ent book and if i want to do the m & m, i will. i will only be at UO for 4 nights and i prefer to spend my time at the parks and HHN.

i don't understand why posters are up in arms over a change in this system with the ent book. i never expect anything for free. i think it is great that a discount is being offered. 20% off is still a great savings.

what i feel is unfair is the attack of UO employees in general. they don't make the rules. don't group them all as being inept employees.
that is just not nice at all.

 

[phamton]

What I find amazing is the amount of people who have come onto this board to only complain about the movie deal. I have not seen them post trip advice or any helpful tips about Universal. They just jump on here to complain. Many of us have been on this board helping others with advice and answering questions about Universal for a long time. To show up only on one thread and accuse Universal of dishonesty and trash the employees is just hurtful and really serves no purpose other than to alienate us. Make your opinion known to Universal but don't trash the guest service people at Citywalk who have no say in the policy.

The movie meal deal was abused and we know that. You might not be abusing it but others have. A few people ruin it for the others. If a newspaper runs a coupon for a free meal at a restaurant. The restaurant doesn't expect you to collect 30 or more coupons to eat free for a month.

 

[macraven]

 

[tarheelmjfan]

FYI, I edited my post above to include a comparison of UO's coupon & WDW's free dining.