Monsters and Aliens invade Estes on Friday (March 27, 2009)
Posted by Reel Mountain Theater on Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I know you're wondering- how many subjects can this movie theater guy write about?
I wonder the same thing every time I finish putting the newsletter together- and then a week goes by and there's another question or subject that comes up in the lobby. Some of you will recognize your questions or topics of conversation here... Remember that 'anything you say (in the lobby) can and will be used...' in our newsletter. That's what happened this week.
One of our regular customers got to the front of the line and very efficiently ordered his movie concessions- including a 'layered' popcorn. The couple behind him had obviously not been in before as they scoured the menu for the best deal to satisfy their needs during their movie escape. Well, as soon as the regular customer had gathered his snacks and left, they revealed that they had been gleaning information from that conversation by asking some 'follow up' questions of their own...
'They' always say that if one person asks you a question or comments about something in business, there are probably a few more that have the same question- so here's what we talked about. [My answers in blue brackets]
"What's layered popcorn- and how much extra does that cost? [Layered is a regular customer's way of saying 'butter in the middle, too', and it doesn't cost any more than the butter charge of 25 cents].
Why do you charge extra for butter on popcorn? [Instead of raising the price of popcorn across the board a couple of years ago, we surcharged the expensive but worthwhile process of clarifying butter].
What IS clarified butter? [We clarify our butter by starting with unsalted butter, and heating it in a double boiler until the butter fat separates from the milk solids and water.. Some of the solids float to the top and are skimmed off and discarded, while the rest of the solids and water sink to the bottom when refrigerated overnight. The butter fat comes out in one piece, while the remaining waste pours off. Ah-ha! The clarified butter that we serve. For every pound we buy as unsalted butter, at least 1/3 is discarded as unusable. When you melt butter for popcorn at home in the microwave and it causes the popcorn to get soggy, that's the water and milk solids doing their thing- which is exactly what we're trying to avoid at the theater].
The butter topping at our home town theater doesn't taste like your butter....... why? [My guess is that they're not using butter... "Buttery Topping" is a code word for flavored oil. Inexpensive, artificially flavored and colored. We choose to use real, clarified butter- that's all I can say! ]
Butter is FAT and that's not good for you. [Everything in moderation, sir. I personally would pick natural fats in moderation for my diet, over an engineered cooking oil or flavored topping... Our friends in the natural food business have steered us toward our current combination of cooking oil and topping- encouraging the use of real food products over man made wonder foods... So, that's where we are today. If it's helpful, I could name 3 or 5 Doctors in town that choose to butter their popcorn... OK, OK, no names here... But they too understand that moderation is the key to success in life and health!].
About this time, the drinks and popcorn were on the counter, and our new guests were happy with their choices and they moved along into the auditorium. The whole conversation took less than a couple of minutes... You never know what we'll be talking about at the concession counter. At the next show, I fielded a customers suspicion about the religious agenda of a film- and anothers opinion about the trend of the volume level in today's movies.... But we'll cover that another week.
I wonder the same thing every time I finish putting the newsletter together- and then a week goes by and there's another question or subject that comes up in the lobby. Some of you will recognize your questions or topics of conversation here... Remember that 'anything you say (in the lobby) can and will be used...' in our newsletter. That's what happened this week.
One of our regular customers got to the front of the line and very efficiently ordered his movie concessions- including a 'layered' popcorn. The couple behind him had obviously not been in before as they scoured the menu for the best deal to satisfy their needs during their movie escape. Well, as soon as the regular customer had gathered his snacks and left, they revealed that they had been gleaning information from that conversation by asking some 'follow up' questions of their own...
'They' always say that if one person asks you a question or comments about something in business, there are probably a few more that have the same question- so here's what we talked about. [My answers in blue brackets]
"What's layered popcorn- and how much extra does that cost? [Layered is a regular customer's way of saying 'butter in the middle, too', and it doesn't cost any more than the butter charge of 25 cents].
Why do you charge extra for butter on popcorn? [Instead of raising the price of popcorn across the board a couple of years ago, we surcharged the expensive but worthwhile process of clarifying butter].
What IS clarified butter? [We clarify our butter by starting with unsalted butter, and heating it in a double boiler until the butter fat separates from the milk solids and water.. Some of the solids float to the top and are skimmed off and discarded, while the rest of the solids and water sink to the bottom when refrigerated overnight. The butter fat comes out in one piece, while the remaining waste pours off. Ah-ha! The clarified butter that we serve. For every pound we buy as unsalted butter, at least 1/3 is discarded as unusable. When you melt butter for popcorn at home in the microwave and it causes the popcorn to get soggy, that's the water and milk solids doing their thing- which is exactly what we're trying to avoid at the theater].
The butter topping at our home town theater doesn't taste like your butter....... why? [My guess is that they're not using butter... "Buttery Topping" is a code word for flavored oil. Inexpensive, artificially flavored and colored. We choose to use real, clarified butter- that's all I can say! ]
Butter is FAT and that's not good for you. [Everything in moderation, sir. I personally would pick natural fats in moderation for my diet, over an engineered cooking oil or flavored topping... Our friends in the natural food business have steered us toward our current combination of cooking oil and topping- encouraging the use of real food products over man made wonder foods... So, that's where we are today. If it's helpful, I could name 3 or 5 Doctors in town that choose to butter their popcorn... OK, OK, no names here... But they too understand that moderation is the key to success in life and health!].
About this time, the drinks and popcorn were on the counter, and our new guests were happy with their choices and they moved along into the auditorium. The whole conversation took less than a couple of minutes... You never know what we'll be talking about at the concession counter. At the next show, I fielded a customers suspicion about the religious agenda of a film- and anothers opinion about the trend of the volume level in today's movies.... But we'll cover that another week.
