Welcome to BigScreenBiz.com

OK new to the game, actually won't own the theatre until March 9th.
But plan on doing some remodeling and changing things up a bit.
It will just be my wife and I and our two very small boys running the place so to save time we plan on the self serv pop and self serv butter and nacho cheese.
So I guess my question is..... how do you charge for the butter if it is self serv? I'm guessing it's common sense but I seem to have lost that since I'm buying a one screen in a town of 600 people in the no mans land of Eastern Montana.
So any help from this group would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
onescreen

Don't charge for it. Offer it when you serve the corn. You can't control self serve. The two major chains I worked for never charged for butter.

The only theatre I have been to that charges for butter topping is when it is real butter vs. the topping. Self serve will be the topping so it is built into your popcorn price.

I do agree with most that self server butter uses less butter. I have it in my one theatre and it seams like I go through a lot less but it is hard to compare because of attendance differences.

There are points to be made for both styles. Self-serve does use less. That's because you can't layer it, like you can if you put the topping on while you fill the container. I like the layered presentation, and my customers frequently ask for it. As for the cost... figure that into your product price and don't worry about it.

They're right though. If you do self-serve, there's no way to charge separately for it... unless you find some way to put a coin slot at the butter dispenser.

My self serve customers use a straw to get the butter to the bottom of the large bags (170's). The stuff is so thin that it runs to the bottom of 46 85 or even 130 bag without layers. It needs to be spread around more on those bags to distribute it more than layers. I will layer it for people when asked but it is a waste of time.