Preventing outside food/beverage

[Darin Steffl]

Any tips on how to prevent outside food and beverage from sneaking in? We find wrappers and snacks that we don't sell on the floor enough to make me want to address it.

[Don Furr]

We had several strategically located signs outside and at the box office very plainly stating Absolutely NO outside food or drink. We also closely patrolled the auditoriums and enforced the rules. If we found someone with outside food or drink, they were given a option of throwing away the items or leaving the theatre. Bear in mind these were dollar houses with 99 cent tickets so concession sales was crucial to our bottom line. Over the years I removed a lot of people who wanted to finish their own food. Never had a real serious problem enforcing the rules.

[Mike Blakesley]

We don't allow outside food to the extent we spot it, but lots of people bring in bottles of water (or something). I don't like it, but these days people are so picky about what they are drinking that we can't possibly please everyone, and we sell a shit-ton of drinks anyway. Some people will buy our drink and dump it in their own Yeti-type insulated container, because it stays colder that way. I know that works because I do it myself -- I have a 32-oz Yeti cup that is pretty much my constant companion.

It's pretty common for a mom with kids to have a backpack full of "healthy" snacks that the kids won't like. Such people almost always buy some concession stuff from us too when the kids whine about not wanting the healthy stuff.

Overall I've found that outside stuff is a problem, but not one that I'm willing to become "the cranky old owner guy" to eradicate.

[James Wyrembelski]

I don't say anything about water. Anything else is pretty much out of sight until it's on my floor, and just like Mike, I'm not going to be the cranky dude that runs around policing everyone. I noticed that even the ones sneaking stuff in generally buy at least one thing so I'm happy.

Now, the lady that brought in her to go taco platter from the bar across the street? Nope.

Just wish people would put outside stuff in the trash bins we provide.......

[Marcel Birgelen]

Like indicated before, you need to be a little political about it. You can't deny water and you probably shouldn't check people's belongings like they're going on an international flight. Before you know, you're taking away someone's special something and end up looking bad on whatever social media is hipster that day.

One of the larger theme parks around here simply allows you to bring in anything you want. Sometimes, people come with bags and bags filled with stuff... I wouldn't want to spend my day schlepping tons of stuff around the park, so I usually travel light. And, eventually, restaurants still are busy and concession stands still sell more than enough stuff.

So, the conclusion: You probably shouldn't worry too much, unless you'll see some rampant abuse.

[Leo Enticknap]

I'm wondering if part of the reason for the growth of combined cinema/restaurant chains (Alamo, Flix, SMG, etc.) is that this business model is immune to this problem: you can't bring a sit down hot meal in (unless theaters were to start installing TSA-style x-ray machines, which would drive customers away from the movies even more effectively than the pandemic lockdowns did).

It's pretty common for a mom with kids to have a backpack full of "healthy" snacks that the kids won't like.

As the husband of one of these moms, I have experienced the phenomenon first hand, following my four-year old (at the time) describing granola bars using vocabulary that a four-year old shouldn't have learned by that age. We still bought popcorn from the concessions stand, but were trying, without success, to convince him to have something healthy before letting him at the popcorn.

[Frank Cox]

This is something that I don't understand.

You bring a kid to a show so he can have a good time, and you can enjoy having a good time with him.

And then you start pushing "healthy" and "no you can't have the red one".

Why?

It's supposed to be 90 minutes of fun and enjoyment. Let the kid be "healthy" at home. If he wants the red lollipop it's only 50 cents and you've already spent how-many-dollars to bring him to the show to this point.

You're here for a good time, after all.

[Randy Stankey]

So, the conclusion: You probably shouldn't worry too much, unless you'll see some rampant abuse.

It's always going to be a game of "Cat and Mouse."

Everybody who does it is going to have some lame excuse as to why THEY should be allowed, even when they say that others shouldn't.

You're always going to be the "meanie" when you confront people.

Yes, you should enforce your policy but do it on more practical grounds: You have to pay people to clean up the theaters and the money you make selling popcorn goes toward that payroll. Why should you have to clean up other peoples' messes when you don't get any benefit?

I wouldn't come right out and say that but I would make it clear through actions rather than words.

Still, there will always be some people who think that they deserve special treatment. I wouldn't confront people who keep it under the wire.

If you don't see it, don't worry about it.

It's pretty common for a mom with kids to have a backpack full of "healthy" snacks that the kids won't like.

The ideas that people have about what is "healthy" food is mostly bullshit. Some psychologists have coined the term, "orthorexia," to describe the neurotic belief that certain foods are "correct" and others are "bad." The truth is that moderation and balance are the real key.

Eat an otherwise healthy diet. Don't overeat. Keep the snacks down to one or two small servings per day. Don't worry about the small details unless you have some other health issue that requires a special diet. (Diabetes, for example.)

How often does the stereotypical moviegoer visit the theater? Once? Twice per week?

At that level, there's no reason why two people can't share a tub of popcorn and drink a coke, provided that they are eating well the rest of the week.

[Mark Lane]

We don't encourage it, but we don't really care if people are low key about the food they sneak in. If I catch them, I might ask them to keep it hidden until the lights do down. I am still making money off them. I am not so busy that I turned away more profitable customers.


We sell a lot of candy,, including king size candy bars 3 for a dollar.. We sell some health snacks also three for a dollar but very few people buy them. If people want to spend more money at the grocery store than what we charge, then that is up to them. I have a much bigger issue with booze. Bring in a can of beer and I will remove it.

What I hate is cleaning up after someone who bring in their own food. If they are going to sneak in their own food at least clean up after themselves.

I do have an on-going gag that I am playing on my brother. I have a few large pizza boxes and large donut box hidden. When he is working the lobby, welcoming people, shacking hands, tearing tickets, etc, I wait till the movie is over, then place those boxes in the auditorium to be found when cleaning up. It makes it appear as if someone brought in enough food to feed 6 people. Then I give my brother a hard time about letting people sneak a sheet cake or a jumbo size pizza into the theater. I have an old microwave hidden that one day I will break out and plug in as if someone brought in their own microwave to make their own popcorn.... then I will never let him live it down that he missed someone bringing a huge microwave into the theater so they can make their own popcorn. .

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I always take my own snack and drink when ever I have to endure an AMC for 2+ hours. But I never do this at well run chains... and never at an independent.

[Jim Cassedy]

The height of chutzpah, which I've witnessed several times at one theater, was
when a patron would use their cell phone to order a friggin' pizza from a nearby
establishment and have it delivered to them at the theater. The deliveryguy
would text or phone the customer in the auditorium and they'd come down to
the lobby to get it. There were several pizza places within a few blocks of the
theater, and the owner eventually went and had a friendly talk with the restaurant
managers, and told them that the theater would no longer allow deliveries to
the lobby. (or auditoriums!) All of the pizza places fully understood the problem
and agreed that they would no longer take orders to deliver to the theater's
address. (and if a customer tried to circumvent that by meeting the delivery
guy out on the street, then in was a simple matter for the lobby staff to enforce
the 'no outside food' policy )

[Chris Bain]

We have multiple signs posted, but also don't allow back packs into the theatre. We allow people to store their bags in our party room during the movies. We have someone taking tickets almost every shift and they monitor this.