Regal reviews

Well.... Where can I start? I started this job years ago when I was just a high school student looking for some extra cash. I loved it. I met some of my very best friends at this company during my tenure here. I started as just a Part Time Floor Staff and made my way up all the way to what is now called "deputy general manager", which is a joke in itself. Regal, I can honestly say was a good company to work for before we were bought out by Cineworld. It was a great part time gig, or even full time gig, for someone who is in high school or college, but even before company acquisition, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who wants a normal, stable, life with a family. BUT it was a good job, as i said, before the company acquisition. I got paid well, the benefits were good, and life i said before, i made some of my best friends. Fast forward to after the transition.... I wouldn't recommend this job even to a teenager trying to make gas money. This is an AWFUL company to work for. I repeat AN AWFUL COMPANY TO WORK FOR. Lets begin with one of the very first changes; Cleanliness Expectations. They're absolutely freaking ridiculous. They want 16 year olds who only make minimum wage to be on their hands and knees ANYTIME they're not helping a customer scrubbing and cleaning things that have already been clean probably 6 times that day, already. They see one spec of dust... OH WELL HERE IS A COUNSELING. You can dust something at 10 AM that morning and by 3 PM, I promise there is going to already be a bit of dust on that same surface. It doesn't matter how you clean it. They are holding GM’s and DGMs accountable if; let's say any corporate personal decides to stop by, without giving ya a heads up.... They see one dirty thing or see your employees standing in the concession stand not cleaning or helping a customer for 30 seconds, you're written up, you're fussed at, and you're told "THIS IS JUST RIDICULOUS". I'm sorry, but I don't care how the kid was raised, where they were raised, or who they are; they're not going to spend an 5-10 hour shift on their hands and knees scrubbing and cleaning something when they can go right across the street to Target, Starbucks, or any fast food joint and get paid $10-$15 opposed to their $7.25-$8.50. It just isn't happening and I don't blame them one bit. I'd do the same thing. They want us scrubbing under the urinals in the men's restrooms, wheels on the popcorn machine, and under the drink towers. I can promise you're not making Regal the "best place to watch a movie" by making us scrub these absurd things. The customer cares about basic cleanliness, sure. But at least my main concern when I dine out or heck, even go to a movie, is the customer service. They want the managers office, stock rooms, and booth area SPOTLESS. THE CUSTOMER NEVER SEE'S THIS AREA. I understand wanting it to be clean, as in, not absolutely revolting. But they want it organized To a T and SPOTLESS. They want us to buy plastic bins to put paperwork in, they want everything in the offie covered. Oh, there's a stapler out on the desk that you used a few minutes ago to staple some paperwork together? Nope, that's clutter and you're failing as a manager if tape dispensers, staplers, EVEN A FREAKING PEN is out. Let's move on to stock rooms. Obviously, even if you don't work at a movie theatre, you know we sell ALOT. Cups, tubs, bags, alcohol, some of us even sell restaurant food now. That's ALOT of crap to store already. But they want it NEAT AND PULLED TO THE FRONT LIFE A FREAKING GROCERY STORE. NEWSFLASH, THIS ISN'T A GROCERY STORE. No one sees these rooms except the managers and "team leads" (oh, we'll get into that later)... EVEN OUR EMPLOYEES VERY VERY VERY RARELY see these rooms. I understand cleanliness and organization of a stock room to an extent, but they want is so specific, it is absolutely LUDICROUS. I got yelled at just a few weeks ago by a DM because a box wasn't PERFECTLY ALIGNED WITH THE BOX IT WAS SITTING ON. Oh, and God help you if there is a single popcorn kernel on the floor of a movie theatre. Please, tell me, no one else thinks this is reasonable? Okay, I'll wrap up this part. Second; Benefits. Honestly, this change literally couldn't affect me less because Regal has ruined my love for movies and with my 50 hours a week because i get the luxury of being salary, I don't really have time to watch movies anymore, but i think the change is still ridiculous. So, as a part time regal employee before January 3rd 2019, you were allowed two free movie passes a day. You can come with your friend, your mom, your boyfriend, or you could even watch two movies that day, if that's your thing. As a Full Time or Salary employee, you were given four free movie tickets a day. Same goes for that, you can watch four movies that day, you could bring your mom in the morning and your brother at night, or you could bring three friends/family members to the movies with you that day. Well, as of January 3rd 2019, Part Time is allowed two a week and Full Time is allowed four a week. Like I said before, this change really doesn't affect me because I now HATE stepping foot in a movie theatre (thanks regal). I couldn't tell ya the last time I went and seen a movie in theatres, and they're free for me. If that doesn't tell you how much I hate my job, I don't even know if this review will :p. Anyway, I think this makes it abundantly clear that Regal or Cineworld, whoever, doesn't give a CRAP about their employees. I have several employees and managers who don't drive and they would watch movies while waiting for their shift to start or waiting for their parents/friend/spouse to pick them up. I feel so bad for those people. Or people who still have a love for movies. Life, you expect us to get on our hands a knees and practically be your slaves and yet, we don't even hardly get free movies anymore? LOL. What a joke. Third, Restructuring of Management. Let me start of by saying, this doesn't really affect me, but i see the mayhem and hurt that it is bringing dear friends and managers lives. It's honestly so saddening. So, before this change i'm about to start talking about, regal had a General Manager, Lead Assistant, Full Time managers and Part Time managers. GM obviously runs the building and handles almost of the office work. Lead Assistant is pretty much the Generals Managers "Assistant". They help w/ a lot of the office work, make sure other managers are doing their job, and they are in charge anytime they're in the building and the GM is not. Full and Part Time managers can open and close he building, they make sure employees are doing their job, and assist the GM and Lead with anything they may need help on that week. It was a very good flow of how things worked. Cineworld, thought it would be a bright idea to implement the manager structure they use in the UK over here in the good ole US. Well, it is not, lol. Now there is a General Manager, Deputy General Manager (just sounds stupid), Assistant Managers, and Team Leads. Where do I even start? Well, like i said, before this change there were just full time and part time managers. Well, now, every single position i listed above is Full Time. (GM & DGM are salary). So, if you were a college student who was a PT manager, trying to get some good experience and something good to have on your resume, but you cannot commit to full time because you are a full time student and focused on your school work (AS YOU SHOULD BE), goodbye to you. You are demoted or fired. That demotion obviously comes with a pay cut. Which is TERRIBLE. People have bills to pay, some have kids to feed. Like, I can honestly say i'm appalled at some of the things this company has done. The situation above is just an example. They're also lowering the number of managers one location can have, DRASTICALLY. So, what does that mean? Full time managers are being cut down to Full Time Team Leads. Sure, they get to keep Full Time status and their benefits but they get the pay cut, as well. Which in some cases i've seen/heard is anywhere from $2-$10 an hour. That's RIDICULOUS. Like I said, some of these people have families, they have bills, they have their own issues at home and now they have to worry about how they're going to afford to keep their family up or keep a roof over their own head. It just saddens me, so much. The part time managers that are going to full time team leads are recieving full time benefits, such as, health insurance, vaca time, and sick time. But again, that comes with a pay cut in some cases, and now insurance is being taken out of your check, which is even less money for you. There are now also, "pay caps". For example, I will NEVER get another raise again because they think i make too much money... Unless I were to accept a GM position, which will NEVER happen for as long as i live, lol. They're also lowering the GM pay. These are the people who run your freaking building, you idiots. You want them, again, on their hands and knees scrubbing absurd things, you want them worried about whats going on every single minute of their lives, you want them making sure 16 year olds don't stand around doing nothing for more than 30 seconds, along with all of their own responsibilities. AND YOU'RE CUTTING THEIR PAY? They now want to start General Managers at $40,000... That's what I make, as a Lead Assistant and I am telling you right now, if you accept a general manager job for this company lower than $55,000, you are stupid. The expectations are preposterous and you want to pay them $40,000.... LOL WHAT A FREAKING JOKE. I know many many many GMs on a very personable level and honestly, I'm worried about their health. The stress, anxiety, and not to mention strain it does to their bodies after having to be on their hands and knees being a janitor and fixing things and being a maintenance person. Like another review under me said, Regal should be providing therapists and doctors for this kind of abuse from a company. Anyway, I got a little off topic there. Back to the restructuring. The "Team Leads" will now have pretty much the same exact duties of a manager but get paid significantly less that an actual manager. They are considered the "floor manager" now. So they handle all the rudecustomers we have on a daily basis, all the employees complaining about, you guessed it, absurd expectations, and they're the ones keeping the floor stocked and clean. AND THEY'RE GETTING A FREAKING PAY CUT. Let's move on, shall we? Last but not least, PROMOTIONS. Regal now has the right to force you into a promotion. Yup, that's right. If you are a DGM and lets say a theatre an hour away loses their General Manager, they can call me up and tell me its mine and if i decline, i'm demoted or even terminated. WHAT? Yep, you read it right. Sorry, Regal. I will NEVER be a GM. I'll be jobless before I take another promotion from this joke of a company. If you are already a General Manager, lets say in a town an hour away from NYC, and a position opens up in NYC, your DM can tell you that you have to be there in two weeks. Got a spouse with a job in that town, oh well. Got kids in that school district and don't wanna move them to another? Oh well. Either leave them in that town by themselves, commute, or be demoted with a pay cut, or hey, even termination. Awful, right? Overall, this is an awful company to work for. There is no work-life balance. You'll kill yourself working for this company and they wont give two craps about it, but hey, at least they'll pay for $5,000 of your funeral. LOL. Frankly, my opinion, as well as many others I know, is that they're trying to clear out all staff. I think they're trying to get all General Managers to quit or firing them (which is really easy to get fired when you get second stepped for a spec of dust in your building, third stepped for one bad audit score, even if it is your first one on the new, stupid audit system, second stepped for forgetting to put a dated sticker on a box of cups. It's pretty easy to get fired from Regal, nowadays) to get DGMs to take the previous general managers position for EXTREMELY less money. Like, i stated above, they're starting them at what I get paid now and if that isn't a load of bull, i don't know what is. So, they're trying to save some money while getting rid of their experienced and good-at-their job GM's. They literally said "I don't care if you've been here 10, 20, 40 years, if you aren't on the train with these changes, exit to the station now, before it's too late". Real encouraging, right? Anytime any of us have questions about these new policies and expectations, the line is always "Change is always hard in the beginning" and they never give us a straight answer. Probably, because they WANT us to do the wrong thing so it is one more strike against us, closer to getting us out the door, so they can pay someone a fraction of the salary we make. They also never answer questions in writing. We will email and ask a quick question we need to know and the DM or corporate employee will respond with "call me" or just call us themselves. Which is pretty suspicious, if you ask me. Don't work here. It'll be one of the biggest mistakes in your life. If you're still here, get out while you can. I know, me and everyone i know are trying.