Alamo Drafthouse Cinema La Vista

Been coming here off and on since it opened. Hadn't been here for a while since there hasn't been a decent movie released in ages. The franchise as a whole has been taking a slide ever since Covid, where they were one of the last businesses to reopen. Show up, no one at the ticket counter, and it took about 3 minutes to get someone. Then it comes to the QR code food ordering. I'm able to get the order in without any hang-ups. But during that I'm introduced to the 18% surcharge that will be applied to your bill....OK, fine, that's my tip, don't expect anything more! Get notified of the bill closeout on my phone (im not going to dive into the phone policy and how this contradicts it) and they default an additional 3% gratuity which i had to manually change. This chapped my you know what a bit as the sign explaining the QR system in the lobby stated that tipping was optional. But yet they default (trickster style) to the 3% hoping you'll blow through that part without paying attention. So in a nutshell they put out a "kiosk" style of ordering, but yet want a larger gratuity for less service than the old manual order days. What a country we live in! BTW: There are less servers than the old days which led to far slower service. i would have given less than 18% if it wasn't forced on me.

How the mighty have fallen. Alamo drafthouse is a scam. 18% “service charge” PLUS a gratuity added to the bill? When I send my order on the app, that’s it. I’m done. I shouldn’t have to finalize the check, especially if I don’t order anything else. I used to ONLY go to Alamo for movies. Haven’t been in a couple years, so I was enthusiastic about tonight. Never again. Trash.

We've always enjoyed the Alamo experience, up until now. Food prices are really high. We ordered a hot dog with fries, bacon cheeseburger with fries, double with fries, three sodas (which we could never figure out how to get refills on...) and two popcorn. The price with tip was almost $130. The app for ordering was okay, but again we couldn't figure out refills on soda that was nearly $10 a glass.

The parking is free, and the staff is nice. The movie was good, and the audience was calm. But whatever good the place did, the QR menu is a complete disaster, as was the cost of items. First, they tell you to scan the QR code for the menu, but it is on none of the marketing pamphlets, posters, or anything. It only exists on top of the table in the theater, where, as soon as it goes dark, many QR scanners cannot pick it up in the dark, because many phones do not let you turn on the light at the same time, or the QR app does not allow for it. Also, it is never quite clear how to submit the order, as no “Submit” button popped up. Next, the chips and queso cost over $10, so I was expecting a lot of chips, but I received a dozen chips, amounting to two ounces. Well, why order another item? Also, $7 for a beer requires details such as whether it is 12, 16, or 23 ounces, but smart pricing would recommend $6.50 or $6.75. Corporate management obviously needs to walk through the processes to ensure efficiency. Know this: the process can be punishing, so please do not punish customers with a dysfunctional process.

From the start it was a rough experience. Nobody was at the ticketing counter to purchase tickets, yes I know I could buy online but I prefer not to. Then to the theatre, no more menus, you have to scan a QR code, in a dark theatre, thats tricky! Then I placed order online for my husband and myself. 25 minutes later, still not even our drinks. Finally about 30 minutes later they bring is our drinks, then about 10 minutes later our pizzas, which I ordered with ranch sides. I noticed there was no ranch so I let the gentleman know that I was missing the 2 ranches . Waited 10 more minutes, nothing, put it in help request online where it said to, still nothing so once my pizza was cold I had to get up during the movie, go to the kitchen and find someone to grab the ranches. The response… oh sorry we are busy I forgot. Was much better when they had actual servers. It’s too bad because we used to love going there. Not anymore, rather stand in line to get my snacks then carry it myself to the theatre, more efficient, less expensive and at least I would have what I need.