Boxoffice-November.2001

GREAT STATES EXTRA: INDUSTRY VETS SHARE CONCESSIONS TIPS
The Great States Theatre Convention was, like most
American life and business, inconvenienced by the terrorist
attacks that occurred on the opening day of the event.
Because of the grounding of all airplanes that week, many
conventioneers and scheduled speakers were unable to attend.
United Artists' Wally Helton was one of the absentees and
thus unable to follow up his "One Percent Solution" talk from
ShoWest. Instead, Theatre Candy's Norm Chesler,
Multifoods' Mike Bates, Ventura Foods' Richard Biggs and
Pepsi's Curt Miller stepped up to the mike to share their experiences
in the concessions industry, and Great States chairman
Dan Klusmann offered advice as well.
Among their tips, ranging from the general to the specific, were
• The importance of customer service. "Everything happens
if you make a profit," Chesler said. "If you make a profit,
your customers are happy. 'Profit' is not a nasty word."
• "You have a captive audience," Bates reminded those in
attendance. "Product selection isn't as important as how you
do it." There aren't going to be any ground-breaking popcorn
or sodas introduced onto the market, for example. "Speed of
delivery is more important than anything else," he added. You
need to have "good people, working fast" behind the counter.
• In addition. Bates suggested, pay attention to your
have an equipment problem. "That's important," Bates said.
If the temperature's not right, "You're losing big money."
• Popcorn kernels should stored away from air and away from
heat. The smaller exhibitors who perhaps don't pop a whole bag
of popcorn in one day should store it in a sealed bucket.
• Be flexible in your candy choices—tastes do change.
• Offer combos—they increase per caps. And Klusmann
suggested sweetening the deal by including bonus items such
as coupons to local businesses. In addition, prepare a handout
advertising your combos to distribute at the box office.
• Klusmann also confessed to feeling guilty for charging
high prices for concessions during his stint as an exhibitor,
but he learned, "The more you charge, the more you profit,
the higher the per caps.... Don't be afraid to charge premium
prices, but make sure your candy is fresh and popcorn and
soda are high-quality."
Audience participation at the makeshift seminar was high,
as the attendees traded tips from their experiences behind the
concession counter:
• One exhibitor has instituted free refills and found that
"sales went up," and customers generally "don't come back."
• Emulating the fast-food industry, another theatre operator
has begun setting up self-serve stations, mainly due to lim-
patrons. If you have a lot of families attending your theatre, ited space in his lobby. He found that service time at the
offer kids trays and sour candies. Chocolate, for example, sells counter was cut in half, as staffers didn't have to wait for the
well among adult, sophisticated audiences.
pop cups to fill, and the theatre per cap went up 20 cents. In
• Citing advice he's heard others give, Biggs remarked that addition, this exhibitor observed that many customers use
clearly marked menu boards result in faster decision-making "more ice than we ever dreamed of putting in."
on the part of the customer and thus faster service.
• Pepsi's Miller gave audience members the opportunity to
• Popcorn should be popped at 425 degrees if you're using emphasize that customer service is the most important element
in choosing a beverage (or any concessions) provider,
coconut oil. After popping an initial batch of corn, employ
the three-minute test. If your popper is taking shorter or and they're anxious to brand products if access to promotional
buttons, bowties, t-shirts, etc., is longer than three minutes to produce a batch of popcorn, you
provided.
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