What the hell buys concessions in 2017? I don't know a single person throughout my entire life who doesn't just bringing something in from outside.
But while we're sharing anecdotes, I've never heard of someone sneaking in a large-gulp Coke and a bucket of popcorn, for one. -- The two things people seem to unanimously be holding in their arms as they enter the movie.
Except he had overcooked it and it smelled terrible.
Now, I simply don't buy anything at the concession stand at all. Years of eating poorly have taken their toll and I'm paying the price.
Why do you need to sneak anything in though? Do cinemas care about people taking in their own food and drinks? Is it in their terms and conditions of sale that you cannot do that? If it is then it isn't enforced.
I don't think I even see let alone talk to any members of staff when I go to the cinema these days - it's all automated ticket machines and then you just go into the theatre for your film. There's nobody to enforce it even if they were going to.
People talk online like they're master criminals for sneaking in a packet of sweets but really I don't think anyone even remotely cares.
Do you really want to risk the embarrassment of being asked to throw your sneaked in candy away? There's sort of a societal status-pressure to stop doing this sort of small rule-breaking once you reach a certain age.
Well I personally just buy a cup of tea and don't eat during movies anyway, but I wasn't talking about myself, rather people in general.
Ask me to throw away my outside food or beverage, and I will ask you to either leave me alone and give me what I paid for, or refund my ticket price in cash, so that I can walk myself to a theater willing to do that without angling for additional passes at my wallet. It is not my responsibility to support any captive-audience business model, nor do I have any desire to put up with non-negotiable, one-sided adhesion contracts.
The societal pressure should be for theaters to stop doing this sort of small, self-serving rule-making.
The business is selling tickets to shows. That can't be the loss-leader for some other profitable business that goes on once people walk in the door. If I buy a ticket, I expect the theater to leave me in peace to enjoy the show. I don't want it fleecing me coming and going, like a bunch of carnival operators.
The only rules I implicitly agree to are those that ensure that no customer will detract from the other customers' enjoyment. Silence your phones. Silence yourselves. Keep your shoes on. If you must make out with your companion, do it quietly and non-obviously. Deposit trash in the designated receptacles. These are just ordinary rules for not being an ass in public.
I go to a movie theater to see movies. I don't go to an concession stand that happens to also show movies to buy candy, liquid candy, and popcorn at grossly overinflated prices. I can get all of those things at better price, selection, and quality from businesses that don't have theaters attached. Those businesses have no problems covering their overhead and operating costs without showing the movies. And I can't help noticing that they always have plenty of employees manning the popcorn machines, but whenever I have to find someone to fix the sound or picture on the movie, there are tumbleweeds blowing through the corridors.
It's the same reason I don't go into the secure area of an airport to buy sandwiches and coffee. I go to an airport to board a plane and go somewhere else. If I consider buying sandwiches on the way, they had better be the same price and quality as those found in a mall food court, where people are free to come and go, or those businesses are not getting my money. They never are, so I bring food through security if I can't just wait to eat until reaching my destination.
It is one thing to charge more because you are offering a convenience. It is another thing entirely to charge more because you are compensating for an artificially imposed inconvenience. The former is acceptable, and the latter is deplorable.
I've had conversations with them about coffee as they don't sell it there but they have been adamant about preventing me from bringing it in.
Most of the time the employees had no idea what the cards were, confused as to why I needed to run 2 tickets as individual transactions on separate cards. Maybe this was before it really became an issue for them? Are the policies about not giving rewards official?
Honestly, even if they had what I wanted, I'd still be dismayed to pay their price for it. It's such an extreme price hike that it feels like I'm being taken advantage of. Especially on top of the $20-30 that I'm paying simply to see a movie with a bunch of people talking and being annoying. The whole thing makes me quite price sensitive, I guess.
Another thing is that I don't often care about eating tons of things. A small bag of nuts is plenty for me. I don't need the massive American sized popcorn. If they offered human sized portions of things I'd be more tempted - but then again, it's all sweets anyway.
0: https://www.amctheatres.com/food-and-drink/dine-in/full-serv... 1: https://www.showcasecinemas.com/dining