Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 13 Things A Movie Theater Employee Won't Tell You

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 01-11-2012, 11:53 AM:

The link below is to an article in Readers Digest online entitled 13 Things A Movie Theater Employee Won't Tell You. The article is in the form of a slideshow, so I could not copy the content to Film-Tech, but it is worth commenting on.

The reason that a movie theater employee won't tell you these 13 things is because all but one is not true or just misleading.

Readers Digest Link

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 01-11-2012, 01:12 PM:

Not all theater chains perform these practices and some employees are misinformed or disgruntled.

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 01-11-2012, 01:31 PM:

In the interest of thread preservation, I have cut and pasted the texts here:

quote:
1. Why does it smell so good? The popcorn has chemicals in it to make its aroma fill the theater.
2. “Extreme Digital” is actually lower quality than IMAX digital. We use it because it’s easier to maintain.
3. For the first month or two of screening, money from ticket sales goes to movie studios. Theaters rely on concession stands to make money. That’s why concessions are overpriced. Popcorn costs almost nothing to make.
4. I know all the methods you use to sneak in. I just don’t always care enough to kick you out for it.
5. The only foods I trust are the popcorn, drinks, and boxed candy. I wouldn’t eat the pretzels, hot dogs, or nachos.
6. Chances are, if you complain to the manager and he sides with you, he’s just putting on a show to calm you down. The manager might pretend to yell at me for a minute, but he’ll pat me on the back the moment you’re out of sight.
7. Combination deals don’t save you money at some theaters. You’d pay the same price if you purchased the items separately.
8. Think you’re saving calories by ordering a small popcorn? That “small” popcorn could have been a medium last month.
9. Stop getting angry that your food isn't ready. Microwaves can't cook frozen pizzas in 30 seconds!
10. No, I can’t give you extra cups. Everything is inventoried at the end of the night.
11. Your suspicions are correct. Sometimes I sweep excess food under the seats. Movies often end every few minutes. Sometimes, three or more screenings end at the same time. I don’t always have time to clean everything up.
12 Yes, movies start late. But they almost always end on time – otherwise, the ushers wouldn’t know when to clean up. Theaters tell you to come in early so you have time to watch commercials and previews.
13. Popcorn keeps for a day or two. Many customers confuse warm with fresh.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-11-2012, 02:09 PM:

Great.
now another group of dingleberries is going to be harassing our staff based on these moronic remarks.
what's with printed media trying to kill theaters ever few months?

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-11-2012, 02:22 PM:

That list is not only stupid, it's insulting. But their other "13" lists contain equally stupid things among the occasional good tips.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-11-2012, 02:37 PM:

1: Yes, there are chemicals. They're called "steam" and "butter" and "salt."

3: Yes, movie theaters DO make the majority of their money on popcorn. How else could Arnold Schwarzenegger make $50 million just for saying, "I'll be back!" Most people I tell that to are amazed to hear that theaters don't keep less than half the ticket price.

7: Combination meals? That's easy. Just do the math. OR, did you flunk Third Grade math?

9: Frozen pizza? Didn't you watch them put it into the oven? If it is frozen and you didn't notice that, you're just stupid.

This goes back to:
5: I don't eat the popcorn very much because I'm SICK OF POPCORN. They don't give away the candy and I'm not about to pay those prices for it. I eat the pizza. The theaters where I worked made it fresh. I used to go behind the counter and make it myself. The pizza shop workers used to like it that way because it was less work for them to do. Occasionally, a customer would come up while I was making my pizza and I'd make one for them, too.

Here's a secret about movie theaters the employees won't tell you: Wait until the projectionist goes on his lunch break and goes down to the pizza shop to make his own food. He'll make one for you, too. You WANT me to make you a pizza the same way I'd make one for myself! I could make a mean pizza! [Wink]

11: I've seen theaters where the floors aren't even swept at all! Sweeping the trash under the seats would be an improvement!
"Just let the night cleaners get it," was commonly heard in theaters where I worked.

13: See #11 above. I don't eat much popcorn. But, when I do, it's got to be fresh. See #1 above. If I didn't see or hear it get popped, just now, I don't eat it. Neither would I expect a paying customer to think any different. See #3 above. If popcorn is THAT expensive to buy and THAT cheap to make, you should be popping a new batch every fifteen minutes and throwing it out when it gets cold.
Oh! Wait a second! We used to do that!
Popcorn and soda are the life blood of the movie theater!
Again! See #3 above! You don't kill the goose that lays your golden eggs!
Shit! I've seen kids get fired for burning the popcorn!

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-11-2012, 02:39 PM:

I've seen #13 in actual practice. To show how cheap (or desparate) the company is .. the upper suits sees cooked popcorn as money to be made and not the actual price of the popcorn itself.

Thus, the employees are told to NOT throw away and start fresh, but to pop a couple of batches in and mix that new batch in with the old .. and I've also seen three-day old popcorn that was bagged earlier in the week being mixed with the new cooked stuff.

Total gross-out if you ask me...and they advertise "fresh cooked popcorn!"

-Monte

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-11-2012, 02:53 PM:

I do agree with one thing. Don't pop corn if the lobby is slow. You don't want to waste your goods.

Pop every fifteen minutes or less when you're busy. Don't pop at all if you'd just waste it.

Besides, it only takes a coupe of minutes to pop up a batch when you need it. Hint: Customers think it's cool if you pop a batch "just for them." [Wink]

Posted by Edward Havens (Member # 4715) on 01-11-2012, 03:55 PM:

That's the first time I've ever been to the Reader's Digest site, and I imagine for hundreds of millions of other, they've never been there at all. I find it quite interesting that they do not allow comments to be left, to otherwise point out all the fallacies of the "article."

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-11-2012, 05:09 PM:

I can throw in another one: Theatres are actually in the restaurant business since they are actually 'selling' an item.

Movies - we just lease to show on the screen.

True: why pop for nobody..?

The big issue with popping when the crowds comes in and not when the lobby is empty, is to stimulate the senses:

Hearing, Smelling and the desire to have since it also has activated the saliva glands.

The patrons can even smell the popcorn being popped from outside let alone entering into the lobby. Then, they see and hearing it roaring out of the kettle, thusdriving the taste buds and saliva glands to new heights for the desire to have .. and have more.

But, a side trick to having popcorn is to have the option to make fresh caramel corn as well. Now, we know how caramel corn would smell up the lobby and even to the businesses next door..

Popcorn done right along with the right selling tactics from the concession personnel can be a huge moneymaker for that location.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-11-2012, 05:52 PM:

quote: Reader's Digest

What idiot set up this picture? It disturbs me. This is something that only a "promotions manager" could think of. Also, looks like they "removed" the MANN logos from those cups and bag.

quote: Reader's Digest
10. No, I can’t give you extra cups. Everything is inventoried at the end of the night.

Why would this be considered secret information? Don't dare tell the customers we do inventory!

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 01-11-2012, 05:58 PM:

From the perspective of a poorly trained teenager with little work experience, I can see how some of these things might appear to be true. However, almost every item is either completely false, an oversimplification, or an example of a poorly managed establishment.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-11-2012, 06:05 PM:

I can almost guarantee that this article was "researched" by asking someone the author knew who worked at a theater for 3 months who claimed to know all of the secrets of the industry. The comment about IMAX Digital, for example is very ignorant and uninformed.

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 01-11-2012, 06:52 PM:

Since when has Reader's Digest ever been a required reference for Theatre Management?

Granted, it's aimed at those who have no real knowledge on managing Cinemas, so why not return fire with an article titled " 13 Things Cinema Staff Hate About Idiotic Movie-going Lies"?

Calling Joe Redifer .....

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-11-2012, 07:08 PM:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Why does it smell so good? The popcorn has chemicals in it to make its aroma fill the theater.
Yah, like the microwave popcorn they eat at home without batting an eye doesn't have chemicals? What's the mystery? ALL processed food has "chemicals;" salt is a chemical. And it's cooked on a hot plate so it naturally gives off a good aroma. Soooo, what's your point?

2. “Extreme Digital” is actually lower quality than IMAX digital. We use it because it’s easier to maintain.
??? Idiot.

3. For the first month or two of screening, money from ticket sales goes to movie studios. Theaters rely on concession stands to make money.
Again...so what? It's called economics. And a car dealer makes a couple of hundred dollars on a car sale, if that, but then makes five times that on the accessories like rugs and tire guards and extended insurance.

That’s why concessions are overpriced. They are not over-priced -- they are priced based on the working economics of the business the owner is running. Popcorn costs almost nothing to make. It costs what it costs; it's not "nothing" and whatever it costs is irrelant to what it's sold for.

4. I know all the methods you use to sneak in. I just don’t always care enough to kick you out for it. You lazy, zero work ethic parasite. Go ahead....brag about it. Can't wait to see how long it takes you to look to get on welfare and live in a trailer park, although that's probably not fair to good people who live in trailer parks.

5. The only foods I trust are the popcorn, drinks, and boxed candy. I wouldn’t eat the pretzels, hot dogs, or nachos.
No doubt because you and slacker workers like you have your hand involved with their preparation. And I bet you don't wash your hands after using the rest room either, do you...after playing with your undersized, pinky-like excuse for a dick, you dick.

6. Chances are, if you complain to the manager and he sides with you, he’s just putting on a show to calm you down. The manager might pretend to yell at me for a minute, but he’ll pat me on the back the moment you’re out of sight. Ah, so now we know where you got your slacker, lazy-ass work ethic from. You both need to have your sorry asses fired.

7. Combination deals don’t save you money at some theaters. You’d pay the same price if you purchased the items separately. Hmmm, you summoned the totality of your math skills to figure that out, did yah? And you assume no one else can?

8. Think you’re saving calories by ordering a small popcorn? That “small” popcorn could have been a medium last month. Does this happen every month? How many months do you think they can get away with this?

9. Stop getting angry that your food isn't ready. Microwaves can't cook frozen pizzas in 30 seconds! Not even sure what this is an attempted slam at -- that they use microwaves and not pizza stone ovens (who would have believed it?!), that patrons are impatient? That he doesn't know how to set the timer on the microwave?

10. No, I can’t give you extra cups. Everything is inventoried at the end of the night. What a revelation! Who would have thunk it? However, given this tool's incredible attention to detail and attention-span abilities, it is doubtful that they EVER get an accurate count of ANYTHING at the end of the night. He might as well give out the extra cups.

11. Your suspicions are correct. Sometimes I sweep excess food under the seats. Movies often end every few minutes. Sometimes, three or more screenings end at the same time. I don’t always have time to clean everything up. If our suspicions are correct, then this is not a "secret;" we can SEE you sweaping junk under the last row, you dipshit.

12 Yes, movies start late. But they almost always end on time – otherwise, the ushers wouldn’t know when to clean up. Theaters tell you to come in early so you have time to watch commercials and previews. No, it has nothing to do with watching the commercials, it's all about crowd control.

13. Popcorn keeps for a day or two. Many customers confuse warm with fresh. Most patrons aren't as stupid as you, bub...they either see the popcorn being cooked and usually this isn't even an issue after the first show of the day, or it tastes just fine to them, day-old or two days old. Considering what most people eat off supermarket shelves that has been sitting there for weeks, popcorn from last night isn't that big a deal. For those who it is, they just wait to see it popped or they go without. Nothing says anyone has to strap a feed bag to their heads in order to enjoy a movie.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-11-2012, 08:40 PM:

quote: Frank Angel
For the first month or two of screening, money from ticket sales goes to movie studios.

This is stupid. Money from ticket sales ALWAYS goes to the studios. They make it sound like we give 100% to the studios for a month or two, and then get to keep all the money after that.

quote: Frank Angel
Combination deals don’t save you money at some theaters. You’d pay the same price if you purchased the items separately.

So what? Math aside, combos aren't really designed to save people money as much as they're designed to ease decision-making. I do think you would find that most combos really do have some discount built in though. (Ours do, at least.)

quote:
he’s just putting on a show to calm you down. The manager might pretend to yell at me for a minute,

I don't believe in reprimanding an employee in front of a customer, or in front of anybody for that matter. Just do what's necessary to make the customer satisfied and then talk to the employee in private.

quote: Frank Angel
Theaters tell you to come in early so you have time to watch commercials and previews.

No...theatres tell you to come in early so you can get to your seat while the lights are on and without stepping on the other patrons, and also so you can see the whole movie you paid for.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 01-11-2012, 10:31 PM:

I dont know how prevelant it is now. BUt when I worked 20+ years ago as an usher out of high school at the RKO Shore Quad in Huntington, Long Island under Cineplex Odeon, the management would have several garbage sized bags of day old popcorn and mix it with the fresh popcorn popped. What I didn't understand is why they were bags. Once you get to a bag full of excess, why not pop more prudently?

Last week, I was at a Regal and they had the $2 popcorn night for Crown members. I pretty much told them I wouldnt mind waiting a few minutes instead of having the guy scoop the half kernels at the bottom of the popper area.

And we had clear logoless cups to have free cokes so the inventory wouldnt be messed with.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-12-2012, 12:11 AM:

quote: Pravin Ratnam
the guy scoop the half kernels at the bottom of the popper area.

Wonder how many comment cards that the manager got due to this sloppy service...

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-12-2012, 12:36 AM:

At Cinemark, it was free popcorn and soda while on your scheduled breaks but you had to bring your own containers.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 01-12-2012, 03:53 AM:

I love Frank's point by point breakdown of the "13 things."
Frank is officially my favorite Film-tech forum member, hands down.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 01-12-2012, 08:48 AM:

Thirteen Things a Movie Theater Employee Won't Tell You (tesg's version):

13. That popcorn smell? It's actually my cologne.

12. The stadium tier floor is one-way see-through so we can stand in the space under the tiers and look up girls' dresses.

11. The snack bar has a secret menu that includes reasonably priced fresh lobster.

10. Every seat has been peed on by previous customers. You're always sitting on somebody else's crusty pee.

9. After hours, we're totally playing X-Box on the main auditorium screen.

8. All theatre employees are virgins.

7. All of the popcorn we vacuum up off the floor between shows is put back in the popcorn machine and re-sold.

6. You know that time your car radio was stolen while you were watching "Avatar"? My bad.

5. You know that time when during the most critical part of the movie I came in with my orange cone flashlight and shined it right in your eyes? That was on purpose.

4. I actually DO have Michael Bay's home phone number.

3. As a matter of fact, I DO know what that sticky substance on the floor is. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.

2. When you're supposed to take your sister to a movie and you just drop her off and do something else instead, I'm totally nailing her.

1. I really don't get paid enough for your bullshit.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-12-2012, 11:22 AM:

You guys are missing the obvious one.

"Is this movie any good?"

"No. Actually everything we are showing is crap."

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 01-12-2012, 12:17 PM:

I've always been amused at the "fresh" popcorn topic.

It's been a few years since I've been there, but I know that the local AMC theatre (formerly a General Cinemas outlet) popped their corn upstairs in one of those double-kettle machines. They did popping runs maybe a couple of times a week, stored the bags in a stock room and used them to fill warmers downstairs.

Until maybe 10 years ago, prepopped corn was widely available to theatres. Here in the Northwest, the same major concessions company that sold 5 lb bags of prepop to theatres also sold the stuff to sports stadiums and Costco. A couple of indoor theatres and a whole drive-in chain in my area had no poppers at all... only prepop. Only within the last couple of years has demand for the stuff dropped to the point that nobody's making it on a large-scale basis.

The concessions company ran one of those big Cretors machines that continuously ground the stuff out. Coconut oil came in by rail car, was stored in heated underground tanks and was sprayed on the airpopped corn , along with a little salt, as it ran up a conveyor to a storage bin. A "case" was something like 6 bags. That was about as big a box as you could fit through the side of your Corvair van.

As for taste... for the palate of the masses, it wasn't all that bad. For the more "refined", maybe not so much, but it certainly wasn't repulsive.

The part that's always been so amusing: Today, people walk into a theatre and fuss if they think the corn wasn't popped within the last 5 minutes. The prepop many of them used to eat might have been in the box for a week before it was sold by the wholesaler. It might have sat in the theatre's stock room for a month before it was opened, with no discernable deterioration.

Marketing really screws with people.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-12-2012, 12:45 PM:

Ugh. That reminded me of the experiment in Supersize Me where they let French fries from some fast food restaurants decompose in closed containers. The McDonald's fries never really changed their appearance.

Maybe the pre-pop popcorn uses some of the same preservatives as those McDonald's French fries.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 01-12-2012, 01:43 PM:

Maybe, but as I recall, it was just popcorn, oil & salt... or maybe Flavacol.

They filled & sold cans of Vo-Pop from the same tanker loads.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 01-12-2012, 02:17 PM:

Mcdonalds burger after sitting for one year

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-12-2012, 02:48 PM:

But Jack...

"We pop our popcorn FRESH"

...at the time.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 01-12-2012, 05:42 PM:

Regarding the nature of The Readers' Digest:
When I was in high school in the 40's, some English teachers
had students subscribe to it in the classrooms, thinking it might encourage a love of reading.

But critics charged it was not a true digest, a sampling of literature in magazines and books, abbreviated and simplified
in style for younger or less literary readers. Many articles, they maintained, were written only for the Readers' Digest, and tended to promote a one-sided political viewpoint. Teachers
finding this to be true, stopped using it in class.

I find the articles selected are superficial and mildly entertaining "gee whiz" presentations, and seldom can be relied uopn for penetrating journalism or reliable first-hand information.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-12-2012, 10:42 PM:

Readers Digest is trying to morph itself into a modern "fun-to-read" magazine, rather than a serious condensation of articles from other places.

A much better magazine, for my money, is The Week ( http://www.theweek.com ). It summarizes articles from many other publications into short, easy-to-digest articles and it covers pretty much all viewpoints.

Posted by Michael Putlack (Member # 6523) on 01-15-2012, 03:57 PM:

I would love to see The Week do a similar article on the secrets theatre employees keep from their patrons.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 01-18-2012, 02:02 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
But Jack...

"We pop our popcorn FRESH"

...at the time.

Incontrovertible, my dear Watson!

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 01-18-2012, 03:20 PM:

quote: Monte L Fullmer
I can throw in another one: Theatres are actually in the restaurant business since they are actually 'selling' an item.

Movies - we just lease to show on the screen.

True: why pop for nobody..?

The big issue with popping when the crowds comes in and not when the lobby is empty, is to stimulate the senses:

Hearing, Smelling and the desire to have since it also has activated the saliva glands.

The patrons can even smell the popcorn being popped from outside let alone entering into the lobby. Then, they see and hearing it roaring out of the kettle, thusdriving the taste buds and saliva glands to new heights for the desire to have .. and have more.

But, a side trick to having popcorn is to have the option to make fresh caramel corn as well. Now, we know how caramel corn would smell up the lobby and even to the businesses next door..

Popcorn done right along with the right selling tactics from the concession personnel can be a huge moneymaker for that location.

this gets me ALL the time - poppin' "fresh" popcorn - sure,why not? [ugh, get's me all the time]

Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 01-21-2012, 05:45 PM:

When I first started in this business 20+ years ago, the then-manager would stockpile anywhere from 25-50 bags of popped corn in the booth (at a three screen, no less). I'll bet we only popped about ten times per year. That popper was the cleanest - and oldest - popper I ever seen. Hell, it was museum quality.

Posted by Taylor Wiemann (Member # 6738) on 02-01-2012, 12:53 PM:

I read it and thought it was great! All of those are true statements

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-01-2012, 10:57 PM:

Uh, Taylor? You should go back and read this whole thread before you post. That list may apply to "big box" theatres but it certainly doesn't apply to all cinemas.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-02-2012, 12:38 AM:

And Taylor, you should maybe fix your profile. http://Facebook isn't a legitimate webpage URL. And it certainly isn't your URL... [Smile]