Finnkino’s website is criticized: a new application is coming during the spring

Movie theater chain Finnkino continues to receive criticism for its website reform. Criticism can be seen on social media, and it also comes directly to the company itself.

Many feel that it is still unnecessarily difficult to find the shows they want on the site.

The problems started in the fall, when Finnkino started renewing its online service by gradually moving its theaters from the old website to the new one. Initially, a beta version with limited features was used, but after all theaters in the chain moved to the new site, it has been officially put into use and the old site has been disabled.

Finnkino’s communications manager in the fall Irene Hernberg told HS that the old website had technically reached the end of the road and it was no longer possible to code all the desired things into it. “This new one is a more flexible platform, which enables different functions related to, for example, loyal customers or pricing,” Hernberg said at the end of October.

However, during the beta phase of the new website, many customers complained about the website’s problems and confusion, and the criticism has not subsided to this day.

What is the status of the site now? Is it ready now or will there still be changes, Hannele Wolf-Mannila, Finnkino’s commercial director?

“Websites are something that is constantly being developed, that is, they take shape and develop where technology and customer needs develop. In that sense, I don’t think they are ever ready. It is true that when [syksyllä] when our website was launched, there were some technical problems. Fortunately, they have all been resolved after the beginning. At the turn of the year, we have tested and asked for customer feedback. The user experience has been improved accordingly, and there will be more improvements to it this spring.”

What kind of things do you try to fix based on the feedback you receive?

“The fact that people find movies better in their own theater: we strive to make it easier to find the right movie and show time.”

What kind of criticism has come specifically in relation to finding films?

“For example, it’s like this, that we have movie theaters listed by name, and it hasn’t been entirely clear. We are now adding, for example, the name of the city to the beginning. And there will be various opportunities to suppress [lajitella] shows, the kind people are probably used to. We have put them in a different order, but the customers have previously gotten used to a certain way, which they want back. These types of things have been added there. The site’s functionality on different devices is definitely still to be optimized.”

In addition to the website, another way would be to use our own app on mobile devices, but at the moment there is no Finnkino mobile app in the app stores. Is there one coming?

“It’s coming this spring. We’ve had some technical challenges with it. We haven’t wanted to publish something where we know there are challenges. So we want to test and get everything in order before it’s published.”