The Importance of Proactive Customer Relations: A Tale of Two CEOs

I have a deep admiration for CEOs and leaders who take a proactive approach to customer relationships.

During Melbourne’s lockdown, I placed a click-and-collect order at my local Bunnings, just a couple of blocks away. After 10 days of waiting and several unsuccessful attempts to contact the store, I decided to reach out directly to the CEO via LinkedIn.

To my surprise, he responded immediately, and my order was ready for collection within 30 minutes.

Fast forward to last week, my partner and I visited the Kino Cinema (Palace Cinemas) in Melbourne for a Sunday afternoon movie. The screening was in Cinema 8, which we quickly realized was in the Sofitel Hotel auditorium.

The seats were uncomfortable, the fold-out tables were impractical—causing food and drinks to slide off—and the sound quality was subpar, with audio only coming from the front rather than surround sound.

Needless to say, we were extremely disappointed with the experience, especially as I’ve been a Palace Movie Club Member for several years.

The following day, I searched LinkedIn and found the CEO, Benjamin Zeccola. I sent him a message, thinking he would be interested in hearing about our experience. Two days later, I received the following response:

---

Subject: Thank you for your feedback

Afternoon Clifton,

Thank you for your email.
I have passed your feedback onto the cinema site.
I hope you can enjoy your Palace experience going forward.

Kind regards,
Misha
Customer Experience Team | Palace Cinemas

---

I responded to Benjamin directly:

---

Subject: Disappointed with Your Response

Benjamin,

Are you serious? A customer personally reaches out to you, and this is how you respond? I guess you’re just too busy.

---

The following day, I received another response:

---

Subject: Apologies for the Previous Response

Hi Clifton,

Firstly, I’d like to apologize for the brief response you received regarding your feedback. Our team typically strives to provide more thorough and considerate replies, and the short response you received was an exception.

Thank you for your continued support over the years; we truly value having you as a member. Regarding your feedback on Cinema 8 at Kino, I will forward your concerns to our Operations team. Could you please provide more details on the following?

• What specifically was uncomfortable about the chairs?
• Why were the fold-down tables not suitable? Were you unable to place your items on them?
• Concerning the sound, was it off throughout the movie, or only during certain parts? Was the sound distorted? Any additional details will help us investigate this further.

Lastly, while our CEO would like to personally respond to every email, this isn’t always feasible. We apologize if the email you received fell short of our usual standards. Thank you for bringing these matters to our attention. We look forward to addressing them.

Best regards,
Stephanie
Loyalty and Corporate Sales Manager | Palace Cinemas

---

I responded to Stephanie’s questions, and she replied:

---

Subject: Kino Cinema 8 Feedback

Hi Clifton,

Thanks for your reply regarding your experience at Kino.

Cinema 8 at Kino is the Sofitel auditorium that we now use. It’s used frequently for screenings, including the Melbourne International Film Festival, which has just commenced. I understand it’s not for everyone.

Thanks for your feedback, and let me know if there’s anything I can do to assist you with having a better experience with Palace in the near future.

Kind regards,
Stephanie

---

My final response to Stephanie:

---

Subject: Final Thoughts

Stephanie,

I appreciate your reply. Your CEO should never have put you in this position simply because he’s too busy to respond to a customer.

There is nothing else you can assist me with, as I won’t be coming back. You’ve provided no reason for me to use Kino or Palace Cinemas again. What happens if I end up in Cinema 8 again? Do I send another email to CEO Benjamin, only for it to be delegated to the Loyalty and Corporate Sales Manager?

 

---

There were only 10 people in the cinema when we attended, and cinema attendance in Australia is still below pre-pandemic levels.

I never heard back from CEO Benjamin Zeccola. I guess he’s just too busy to deal with customers.

This experience has reinforced my belief that proactive customer engagement is crucial. The difference in responses from two CEOs highlights the significant impact that leadership can have on customer loyalty and satisfaction.