This is topic Theater Handouts / Sampling in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000455
Posted by Jim Casterioto (Member # 1155) on 02-18-2002, 12:58 PM:
Here at Cinemark theaters, we are forced to handout various items ranging from Cologne, Breath-Mints, Antacid Tablets, Gum, Power-bars, and soon Skittles. I realize these items bring revenue to the theater, however it is also harmful to hand them out. Many customers complain, think about it, how would you feel if someone forced you to take a breath mint, or a stick of gum? Or how about cologne....one could get the wrong impression, and several customers have gotten very angry. Items such as skittles, take away from concession sales. I was wondering how everyone feels on this issue, and if other chains hand out items such as these?
Jim
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-18-2002, 01:38 PM:
The only thing we hand out are a few candy canes at Christmas. Every day I thank God we're not part of a chain. The stuff you guys have to put up with...
Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 02-18-2002, 03:10 PM:
I could see that some people would find the handing out of breath mints, antacid tablets, or cologne an insult. In a drug store, such handouts may be appropriate, but not in a theatre. You don't want to be telling your customers, "You have bad breath" or "You look like you're having digestive problems or have a lot of gas" or "You don't smell good."I use an after shave lotion called "Halitosis"!
-- from one of the Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes.
------------------
Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 02-18-2002, 08:06 PM:
Yea we had to hand out some Kleenex Hand wipes. It wouldn't have been too bad if we had been allowed to hand them out at the concession stand espically if customers were eating buttered popcorn or nachos. But we were required to only hand them out at the Box Office for Monsters Inc. or Harry Potter tickets.
I can't imagine a movie theater actually handing out a food item that may take away from the concession stand. I am somewhat reculant to allow the Girl Scouts to come in to sell cookies a couple of times a year.
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 02-18-2002, 11:38 PM:
If you handle things correctly, the sampling will not take away from your concession sales. As corporate instructed, the power bars are to be handed out to customers as they exit. Gum is typically handed out as people are exiting as well. The skittles are not large enough to detract from sales either. Yes, it is a pain to pass all this stuff out. However, if the choice is pass this stuff out, or have requsitions denied due to lack of funds, well, I would rather pass stuff out...
Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 02-19-2002, 02:05 AM:
I agree with Jim. (see jim we agree!) How about Shampoo? Thats our new sampling product at Loews, but most people at my theatre like to get anything for nothing. It adds a LOT of revenue.------------------
--Sean McKinnon
Manager
Loews Cineplex Entertainment
Liberty Tree Mall 20
Danvers, Mass
www.enjoytheshow.com
Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-19-2002, 10:01 AM:
Might a free sample "mini bag" of fresh popcorn actually HELP popcorn and drink per-caps? Of course, it better taste good! 
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 585-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-19-2002, 10:27 AM:
Actually that does work quite well, of course like you said though, assuming it tastes good! Most theaters I go to can't make good popcorn though. The oil/corn mix is off, or the kids let it sit too long in the popper or under/over salt it and so forth. Making good popcorn is like making good sodas. There ARE variables to the mix that can be controlled by a caring manager/concessionist and will increase taste and overall sales substantially. (Any manager who does not have a "brixing kit" for their soda fountains really needs to request one from their vendor along with training the next time the "Coke guys" come out.)Of course things like popping at the start of a rush to get the smell in the air and offering a courtesy cup of popcorn to anyone walking by who even glances at the popper works wonders too.
Around Dallas the best popcorn *consistently* from theater to theater is at Loews and AMC. The best sodas *consistently* from theater to theater are at AMC and NEWER Cinemarks. (The older Cinemarks have those stupid "mix in the cup" soda dispensers that are pretty bad.) UA used to have everyone beat hands down with popcorn, but something has changed and it's not very good anymore. (I have no idea why this has changed because I don't have anything to do with floor operations.) UA's sodas have never been very good because they are too hung up on "turbo nozzles" to see just how fast they can pour a drink. (Those super fast dispensers always lose their brixing VERY quickly and a "top off" of a drink further screws up the brix.) Want a quality soda? Get a regular speed Lancer dispenser! You can actually pour drinks faster on a regular speed Lancer than any "turbo" type of nozzle because it doesn't foam as much. (And don't get me started on those idiots who scrape off the foam to try and hurry up the order!)
I should note that *consistently* means that there ARE exceptions, good and bad from theater to theater, manager to manager and from concessionist to concessionist.
Regarding sampling, I've always hated dealing with it...mostly the MESS people make with them! However Jim has the best argument for it here, so count me in with him and Sean.
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 02-19-2002, 11:22 AM:
I would like to know why Popcorn in the Northeast tastes better than Popocorn from any other part of the Country? Or the World for that matter. 
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-19-2002, 11:28 AM:
Cinemark's "buttery-flavor popcorn topping" is yummy. Much better than whatever Regal uses.However, the local Regal has something for popcorn that is quite unique: Yeast! It's some kind of pale yellow powdered yeast in a shaker like salt or popcorn seasoning. I tried it and it's actually good, gives the popcorn a unique flavor. May not be for everyone's taste though.
------------------
- dave
Look at this! His chin strap has been cut!
Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 02-19-2002, 01:24 PM:
Yeast? Odd... Never would have thought about that. SO far wiht sampling, all we have done is food. I would be kinda scared to pass out shampoo to my crowd, at least at the box office, for fear of where I would find it.
Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 02-19-2002, 01:48 PM:
quote:
However, the local Regal has something for popcorn that is quite unique: Yeast! It's some kind of pale yellow powdered yeast in a shaker like salt or popcorn seasoning. I tried it and it's actually good, gives the popcorn a unique flavor. May not be for everyone's taste though.
Can this type of seasoning cause severe headaches or nausea? I had popcorn at Regal Green Hills 16 in Nashville and by the end of the movie, I had a very severe headache and was so nauseous on the way home I had to pull over. I ate nothing else unusual, and tend to blame the popcorn, but I've had popcorn many times at other Regal theatres with no ill effect. I don't know if that seasoning was put on there.
------------------
Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 02-19-2002, 01:58 PM:
The substance in question is either brewer's yeast or nutritional yeast, and they are very similar to one another. It is really tasty on popcorn for some reason, but i can't really describe the flavor. If you see a shaker of it next time you buy a tub of popcorn, give it a try. It's also really good for you. I usually see it only in the arthouse theaters (Ian, do you guys have some?), but I wish it would catch on at the multiplex. Evans, if it was the yeast that made you ill, you would have had to put it on your own popcorn. I doubt that the concessionaires would have put it on all of the popcorn. If you did put it on, I suppose you could have had an allergic reaction to the yeast. However, I've determined that some theaters just make bad popcorn. There is one theater here whose popcorn made me quite ill everytime I've had some.
Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-19-2002, 02:36 PM:
Brewers yeast can cause allergic reactions:
http://allergies.about.com/library/weekly/aa043001a.htm
http://users.bigpond.net.au/allergydietitian/fa/FA_yeast.html Or it could just be a bad batch of popcorn (rancid oil?), or your body's reaction to too much fat in one sitting?
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 585-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-19-2002, 03:13 PM:
It first showed up there about 6 months ago. I saw a shaker sitting on the concession counter next to the regular salt and seasoned salt shakers, labeled "YEAST", so I asked them about it. They said there were requests from customers for yeast to put on the popcorn. Beats me. Maybe the Bijou Art Cinemas in Eugene started this "fad" here. I never heard of it before I saw it at Regal. Anyway, now I always put some on my popcorn whenever I go there, and I have actually grown to like it. Haven't noticed any ill effects whatsoever, and I put it on pretty heavily.
------------------
- dave
Look at this! His chin strap has been cut!
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 02-19-2002, 03:24 PM:
Evans, like many others, I can't eat yeast. Yeast is a common food allergen. If you eat breads without problems, I would suspect you might have reacted to something else, like the oil. I had similar reactions to popcorn cooked in canola oil, which led me to do my research into the various oils used to make popcorn. The canola processors deny that the oil has anything in it that people will react to, but I've found I'm sensitive to slight traces of the component that was supposedly bred out of the rapeseed plants.However, I think the Regal theatres down here have switched back to coconut oil, so I'd suggest asking what oil and seasoning are used the next time you go to that theatre.
This all should be a word of warning to managers that many customers have to choose very carefully what they eat. Switching to peanut oil without notifying customers could cause problems in people with peanut allergies. Adding things like yeast or celery salt to popcorn to "improve the flavor" isn't a good idea.
JP, the link you included isn't up to your normal standards. It has lay people suggesting they have yeast allergy which is triggered by drinking alcohol. The rashes they describe are the common symptom of alcohol vasodilation. Chronic drinkers get a tell-tale permanent rosey flush to cheeks and nose from the same process. If even one of the posters had mentioned not being able to eat breads or certain food products, I would have taken the link a little more seriously.
Yeast allergies and yeast infections (which can occur in many parts of the body) are entirely different issues. Often the person with a yeast allergy has yeast (candida) growing in the gut, and the allergy is an immune system response. Sugar and alcohol can make it worse, and a tell-tale test can be to eat a couple of cloves of fresh garlic, which can quickly provoke a hexemer reaction (yeast die off and released toxins). People who don't have a yeast problem can usually eat garlic without an adverse effect. A person with yeast who eats garlic may get sick, sleepy, or zonked immediately after eating it, and yet feel mysteriously great a couple of days later.
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-19-2002, 03:52 PM:
Galic is an excellent cure all
Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 02-19-2002, 04:12 PM:
For the record, the night I went to that theatre and got sick afterwards was November 13, 1999. I dug up the record of that visit:
quote:
st431-r16,1,1999/11/13,"Dogma",19:25,2,-1,"G1","Shutter ghosting at very top of image . (-1)","Dolby Digital. Excellent.","Auditorium width: 58 feet. Screen width 32 feet (flat mode), 41 feet (scope mode). Scope print (probably filmed Super35). All rows stadium style seating. Screen had cylindrical curvature."
I know that any number of things could have made me sick. I had a rather large cup of a pink lemonade type of drink along with the bag of popcorn. The headache and nausea that I experienced was very similar to the "MSG headaches" I used to get after eating Chinese food or too many Doritos, except this was more acute since it made me vomit. I'm not blaming the Regal Green Hills 16, since it could have been a virus I picked up, or something I ate a couple of hours earlier (I had a Chicken Strip basket at Dairy Queen). Since I've never had this sort of reaction from popcorn at any other time, it's hard to think that it was the popcorn. After that, the next time I went to the Regal River Oaks Cinema 8, since I know the manager quite well, I told him about the sickness episode and asked him questions about the popcorn and he explained everything that was used at his theatre. Of course, I've never had ill effects from his popcorn, or any other Regal or Carmike popcorn except Green Hills. It was probably a fluke occurrence and may have had nothing to do with anything at Green Hills 16.
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 02-19-2002, 04:13 PM:
"Galic is an excellent cure all "Mai oui! Certainment! Gallic est plus bon.
aussi,
Gaelic bheil brčagha! Deoch-sląinte.
I have roots in both.
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 02-19-2002, 04:22 PM:
Pink lemonade bubblers are often not properly cleaned, and some theatres mistakenly turn them off at night, which allows the solution to warm up and become a growth medium. The spigots are also an area where a pink aspergillus can grow. Aspergillus = a mold similar if not identical to the snot coming out of those soft drink spill tray drain tubes.
Yum.
Posted by Paul Turner (Member # 832) on 02-19-2002, 05:55 PM:
I've been serving nutritional yeast for five years in my art house. I get it at the local co-op for about $5 a pound. My customers would kill me if I stopped carrying it -- add to that: I don't do "butter flavored" topping. Just salt and yeast (on popcorn done right). It is clearly marked so those wishing to aviod it can do so. The workers are instructed if a customer wants it "layered" in while were scooping the popcorn, DO NOT get it in the popper since there are those who are avoiding it for reasons Gerry mentioned. It is generally used as a butter/salt substitute for those with a bit of a "grainola" bent. It is also used over pet food to give it a shinny coat and help ward off fleas. Personally, I think all popcorn toppings should have those qualities.
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-19-2002, 07:04 PM:
For me Popcorn must be popped in either coconut or peanut oil with either Savoral or Flavacol butter salt in large quantities and real butter topping (non of that recycled projector oil called golden topping) 
I figure if the cholesterol doesn't get me the salt will and the butter flavor probably doesn't matter
Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 02-20-2002, 02:12 AM:
Gotta love exit sampling. I've NEVER had a bad reaction from a customer about getting something for FREE. Let's see ... so far I've had to distribute ... Extra Polar Ice Gum; Orange Cremesavers; Dentyne Artic Ice Gum; Certs Cool Mint Drops; Listerine Oral Care Strips; Pria Power Bars; and starting March 1 - Mint Skittles.5 out of the 7 are breath or other minty substances ... hmmm.
Posted by Owen Shave (Member # 1156) on 02-20-2002, 09:48 AM:
I remember when we had 'evolution' we were delivered a huge quantity of 'head and shoulders' sachets to distribute ater each show. Unfortunately it was showing in a screen on our third level, resulting in us having to regularly change the bin liners on 3 levels on the way out as they were full of unwanted dandruff shampoo.
We also have had aftershave, perfume etc to distribute. The worst was when they were giving out a new brand of Cereal (Crunchy Nut Corkflakes with Almonds and chewy fruit pieces (yuck)). We had cereal appearing in all the screens as it was being munched as an alternative to popcorn! which reminds me.. recently Sugar Puffs have had a free cinema ticket printed on the boxes. Box of sugar puffs= ~£2 Cinema ticket= £5. You do the math. Tescos must have wondered why it suddenly became a brand leader.. Actually the Cereal distribution was ok as they sent two damn fine young ladies to give the stuff out...Owen
Posted by John Schulien (Member # 215) on 02-20-2002, 12:42 PM:
My favorite type of popcorn is Kettle Corn -- it's like regular popcorn, but popped in a large iron kettle with sugar as well as salt, so it's a little sweeter then ordinary popcorn. I've found it fairs, but it never seems to have caught on in theatres. Hidden opportunity?
Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 02-21-2002, 01:11 PM:
My favorite popcorn is Zastrow's Michigan Grown Popcorn with Flavacol mixed right with the batch (3/4tsp~8oz.) popped with Coconut Oil in an Old Cretors popper , (we have a Cretors Hollywood 48)------------------
Adam Fraser
www.pinestheatre.com
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-21-2002, 05:13 PM:
Manley Aristocrat is the only popper worth its salt or flavacol
Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 02-22-2002, 12:22 AM:
What the heck is flavacol? Sounds frightening 
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 02-22-2002, 02:07 AM:
Flavacol® is a butter-flavored yellow colored popcorn salt...
http://www.popthis.com/flavbutflavs.html -Aaron
Posted by David Koegel (Member # 25) on 02-22-2002, 08:10 AM:
Speaking of popcorn machines, does anyone have any leads on tracking down one of those air-popped popcorn machines, originally made by the National Icee Corp (now owned by someone else, I believe). They were common in Kmart stores, back when they sold Icee drinks and sandwiches in most stores. The corn was hot air popped, landed on a tray coated with butter-flavored oil, and then dropped into the hopper. In my opinion, it made the best popcorn as the kernals were fully fluffed, not partially cooked. A used machine would be fine with me. Oh, and you can find this machine at some locations in the Minneapolis airport, particulary in one of the bars. Now how'd I know that? 
Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 02-22-2002, 02:33 PM:
I remember those air-popped corn machines. Ours was at the Woolworth in down town Denver. I suspect that you have a nice, youth memory going and that you wouldn't enjoy the taste as much now. But I could be wrong. I also remember that they were rather slow, but entertaining non the less.
Posted by Mike Jones (Member # 522) on 03-16-2002, 03:43 AM:
We pop Orville Reddenbacher (formerly Vogel) corn, using sunflower oil, and flavocol. We found it to be the best combination and consistently are told its the best ever. The trick is to use twice as much oil (only in batches made for myself). We use O'Dells 99.9% real butterfat.As far as sampling goes, we're most fortunate not to participate considering we are an indpendent. The only thing we hand out is Dum-Dum suckers to kids after the show if they clean up their mess. (We make an announcement before the show)
Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 03-16-2002, 10:13 PM:
We just got about a million AOL CDs that we have to hand our starting the 2nd of April. I would tell the customers to use them as costers but we already have cup holder armrests.
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-17-2002, 01:27 PM:
Cinemark here is handing out mint Skittles. Just what every kid is clamoring for.