Welcome to BigScreenBiz.com

What are your ideas on a self-serve concession stand. Make sort of like a cafateria line with a couple cashiers like they used to do at the Drive-Ins. Would it be quicker or would something along that idea even be a viable?

Yes it is quicker and for a large volume theatre it may make sense for reducing staff costs and upping sales.

But we are in the customer service business. We are trying to offer a premium product at a grossly inflated price. We feel that we need leave as much of the people contact as we can. Don't you feel like you have had a better experience at a restaurant that has waiters than you had at your school cafeteria? And let me tell you that my school cafeteria had very good food, but I am not spending $15 bucks to eat there.

I have seen this done at General Cinemas and It looked to me like a large way to have things ripped off. I could have walked off with my corn and candy easily.

At our local theatres we are experimenting with two things, we already have a site that has self serve pop and corn included in the price of admission we are going to add self serve hot dogs and nachos at this site.

We are implementing kiosks at another site that will allow the customer to purchase both tickets and concessions bypass all the lines and pickup their concession items at a manned pickup station away from the concession counter. We'll see, you never know until you try.

Greg Borr
Ready Theatre Systems

How are you getting around the fact that some of the film companies maintain that anything charged at box office is subject to film Rental? I've gotten several letters about this over the years.

Linda I imagine the program separtes the money for concession items and tickets as it is rung up. there for making the purchase "separate". Some Theatres when they are not busy enough sell tickets at the concession stand. Does that make the stand now the Box office? I am sure that some film company lawyers could argue the point and win. But I don't imagine that they wish to mess with it as long as they are getting correctly paid for the tickets.
As far as the Kiosks I thing that that is a great idea for Concession, I assume the patron gets a coupon that they turn in to the person at the "redeem" counter. I don't know how much it will cut down on lines other than not having to handle money since all you have to do is hand over merchandise.
Lines for obtaining your purchase would then get long.

GT is right on with the explanation, I have not been involved with the companies, I do know about a year ago or so there were a few conflicts with Fox, but in the end everything worked out.

Our philosophy in attempting such changes are to lower our payroll costs through efficiencies, we have been very pleased with one stop ticketing and concessions and hopefully Kiosks and self serve concession will work out as well.

Greg Borr
Ready Theatre Systems

I'm with Large and since we have a smallish lobby we do service, service, service. Fast-fast-fat. If I had a big lobby ala multi-plexes I'd think about this and do a lot more than we can where we are.

As far as the distribs leaning on you I am glad to say as the Chinese do... I'm up in Maine by the way... "The land is wide and the emperor is far away!"

As with anything service and people make it all possible, we have 3 managers that have been with us for over 10 years, whom are all open to new ideas. I am a firm believer in if you take care of your employees they will take care of you.

Greg Borr
RTS