WWYD: Bring Your Own Food
This is a new weekly series that we will be having, a question will be posed and we would like to hear your response to it. Not all questions are GLBT related, but that’s ok as our lives go beyond the glbt community as well.
While I was growing up and our family got a chance to go to the movies, we rarely got anything to eat at the theater. Mom always had her ‘candy bag’ in her purse that had hard candies or little chocolates and those seemed enough to tied us over (if you could grab a handful), and there was the occasional can of soda snuck in as well. My partner and I do that now as well, we sneak in candy, but then purchase and share an ICEE.
Having said that, I was reading in another forum where a lady brought up the ethics of doing this. Since the theaters had posted, “No Outside Food or Drink” and what they sell is to help pay the salary of the employees, etc. and we bring our own candy and soda, Are we breaking the rules of the theater?
I have a couple of questions:
**Would a theater really throw us out if they caught us with food, or is it a non-enforced rule, and really a suggestion?
**Does the $3 for a small soda justify me bringing in my 20Â ¢ can of soda?
**If we are “sneaking” the food in, does that mean we know it is wrong or are we just being nice by not flaunting it in the theaters face that we don’t like their prices?
I understand I could go the 2-3 hours necessary to not eat or drink anything, but I was wondering what your opinions are on bringing food and/or drinks to the theaters?
Voice your opinion with other questions in the What Would You Do archive.
Yes- you are breaking the rules of the theater, since its clearly posted that you are not supposed to bring anything in.
We go to the movies maybe once a year- so we go for the full splurge- a large popcorn and a large soda that everyone shares (two adults, one 7 yr old, one 4 yr old). If and thats a big if- just my partner & I go- we usually don’t get any snacks at all, since it doubles the cost.
I’ll stop sneaking in snacks when they stop showing commercials before the show. And when they bring the matinee prices back down. Let’s talk about ethics when we can see the profits of the major chains over the past 10 years–until then, it’s difficult to feel sorry for them.
(Note, my “rules” do not apply to the independents such as the lovely Castro.)
Love it Kristin!
I too tend to follow my own rules “depending”. There is a local nonprofit theater locally and I won’t smuggle in my water there usually. Otherwise, I refuse to spend $3 or $4 for the same small bottle of water I can get in Costco for like $.40/btl. I don’t mind paying a markup. I’m a wine drinker after all and restaurants do it all the time. But I draw the line at paying more than 150-200% more especially after I already spent $7+ to get into a movie.
Guess that’s why we’re boring stay at home and watch Netflix kinda girls….
Great post! I see a different between something being legally/formally wrong, and what Kristin and Paula write about something that is morally wrong.
Yes, agree with DivaJean, it’s clearly breaking the “rules”. But I don’t agree with the “rules” in this case. I don’t think it rises to the level of Martin Luther King’s civil disobedience, but I willfully break the rules in this case because I think it’s highway robbery. If they charge those kinds of artificially inflated prices, I will “act up” and bring my own food. If I’m “discovered” they are welcome to throw me out. (I would never return.)
To be honest, though, I agree with Paula that it’s easier, cozier, and MUCH cheaper to stay home with Netflix and microwave some popcorn, for a grand total of about $3 per movie.
Hi All,
I tend to try to follow the rules where possible. So, yes sneaking food into the theater is a no no.
That said, often you can sign up for promotional offers or frequent movie watcher programs. Sometimes they’ll give you a free soda or popcorn. That helps to take some of the edge off the silly food rules.
In terms of a final thought, I agree with some of the other commenters, if one really wanted to save money, one could rent a video and stay at home! Its probably cheeper and better for you!
Best,
James
You hit a nerve with that post! Not only do I bristle at what it costs to get into a movie these days…..the cost of snacks just about sends me over the edge!!!! Bring the cost down to reasonableness and I won’t sneak my water and pretzel in. And bring the cost of admission down and I’ll go to lots more movies.
Pam
Yes, I know I could watch Movies at home and we do, but there is nothing quite like the giant screen and reacting with a multitude of people.
Great to hear all of your thoughts on this, keep ’em coming.
I had a guy just email me and say he just grabs a soda drink and popcorn bag out of the trash and gets free refills – That to me, is stealing. Also who wants another person’s germs
I once dated a woman who used to sneak in a bottle of wine… we dated a long time and I did this often with her. I think she finally made it to 12-Step so it’s likely she’s not doing that these days. I’ve never done it since… besides even then it just seemed so low-brow.
But I’m guilty about bringing in bottled water. We fork over the money for popcorn.
Years ago, my mom would sneak-in popcorn from home in her purse. One time the theatre asked to inspect her purse and saw the contraband. They didn’t make her leave, but she had to give them her purse until the movie was over. I don’t think she sneaks popcorn in anymore (she probably switched to candy, which is more easily hidden!).
I think my rule is, the customer is always right! The posted signs prohibiting outside food probably help to boost sales because some people hate to break rules. So, the theater “wins” some of the time, and they accept the fact that some percentage of customers will cheat. Does that make the cheating okay? Maybe not, but it’s really about economics (supply and demand and all that). It’s probably a stretch to think that employees are not getting raises (or hired) because there are too many evil candy/popcorn cheaters.
I rarely sneak anything in, but I’m not really against it, given the outrageous prices. It amounts to a “convenience” fee if I buy their stuff instead of bringing my own.
Gary
Convenience fee is a good way to put it.
I once was on an after dinner date at a movie theatre in Philly…and the woman at the entrance wouldn’t let me in with my doggy bag! I tried to explain that, no, I wouldn’t be eating my pasta with my hands, but she was adamant. I snuck it in anyway.
I’m really glad I didn’t throw it out, as the theatre was terrible, with people screaming and threatening to beat each other up. We ended up leaving before the picture was over because it was a bit scary.
Goodness Melly- What movie or rather, theater did you go to in philly?
When the shiny, new local 16-plex opened up in my town, the supermarket in the same shopping center began setting up end-caps with signs saying, “Don’t forget your movie candy!” in spite of the signs posted at the theatre that outside food and drink were prohibited. And I do find the concessions prices, when contrasted with the low wages of the workers, reprehensible. When the cost of the popcorn and two beverages for my partner and myself will pay the wage of the person selling it to us for the next two hours, something is definitely wacky. That being said, I do follow the rules and don’t sneak things in. The theatres on the military bases when I was growing up rarely had concessions, so it was encouraged to bring outside food and drink. I kind of miss that stripped-down experience. Crappy seating, but everyone was very respectful of everyone else as an audience member, which was odd, considering the number of kids usually in the audience.