Unruly cinema patrons

With regard to Mr Franco Farrugia's visit to the Eden Century cinemas during a showing of The Day after Tomorrow (The Sunday Times, July 4), I must say at the outset that our mission is to provide the best service to our patrons and when incidents like the one mentioned by Mr Farrugia happen, we cannot but apologise sincerely.

There is no doubt that our task, like that of every exhibitor on the island, is not easy when a handful of disruptive people come to the cinema.

I have thoroughly investigated the night in question and can verify that the only two ushers still on duty at the time are in their late 30s. I could not indentify the "19-year-old" usher Mr Farrugia referred to.

While customers are perfectly entitled to use newspapers to air complaints, may I respectfully suggest that in a similar situation, the duty manager is contacted in the first place so that immediate action can be taken to stop any inconvenience being caused. I will be very happy to discuss the matter further with Mr Farrugia if he wishes to call me.

I will, however, assure him that we will continue striving to provide the best environment and comfort possible to our patrons. We might not always be successful, but customer service, at the Eden Century cinemas comes first, and that's not just 'the day after tomorrow, but every day, seven days a week.