Single Mum refused family deal at Cineworld
Like many other parents across the country, Emma Wallen was looking for something to do with her children to keep them occupied over the school holidays.
Emma decided to take her two young children to her local Cineworld in Wandsworth to see BFG.
Once Emma had purchased her tickets to view the film, the family then headed over to the food counter to stock up on sweet treats for the film.
They decided on the £9.99 meal deal which comes with two drinks, a sharing popcorn and two munch boxes for children.
However the cashier told Emma she didn’t qualify for the meal deal as she wasn’t with a second parent.
When Emma questioned the decision the cashier told her that this meal deal was aimed at families and because she didn’t have a second parent with her then she didn’t qualify for the family meal deal.
In the end Emma bought the same items in the meal deal – for an extra £15 resulting in a £52 trip out rather than £37 if she had bought the meal deal.
Emma said ”It was a horrible thing to hear. I felt like I was being discriminated for being a single parent with kids. It felt like someone was saying I wasn’t accepted in society as a family. How can a policy be in place where it clearly discriminates single parents? In this day and age there are countless single parents both male and female. The fact that I was told that I am not in a family is disgraceful and a matter that I could not allow to be silent on. Am I less of a parent because my children’s father can not be with us? What if my children’s father was dead – would I still not be classed as a family? It’s appalling.”
Cineworld said ”We are aware of the customer’s complaint and will be in touch with her directly to discuss her feedback. Family Special Combo Deals are available to customers with a Family Ticket. Just like our Family Tickets, the meal deal is designed for a group of four as it includes two drinks, a sharing popcorn and two munch boxes. Our Family Tickets are sold on the basis that there will be four people within the group which could be a combination of two adults and two children or one adult and three children. We regularly review our offers to make sure they meet the needs of our customers and provide the best possible value. We welcome customer feedback and we take this on board.”
Maybe the cashier could have made this clearer rather than tell Emma that she wasn’t entitled to the deal because there ”wasn’t a second parent”?
