The $4 paper bag!

Last Saturday afternoon I had a delightful time taking my daughter and a friend to the cinema to see a film. We were seeing The Pink Panther 2 and it was actually very funny.

Unfortunately, the outing was slightly marred for me in the fact that I was asked to pay $4 at the popcorn counter for an empty paper bag. The fiasco started when I ordered one large popcorn for all of us to share. However, the verdict was split on whether we should indulge in the extra butter or not; the thinner member of the party wanting nothing to do with the greasy stuff, while the more robust participants were more of the 'bring it on' mindset. So I decided to keep the peace by splitting the popcorn in two, so that butter could be safely applied to only half the bag. I returned to the counter and asked for an empty bag in which to transfer 50% of the popcorn.

Much to my amazement, the boy behind the counter started to look shifty, and shuffled off to confer with his manager - over a paper bag for goodness sake. The manager then returned with the counter boy (was I about to be hauled off in handcuffs?), and quietly told me that he couldn't give me a bag without the popcorn in it. I proceeded to say that I would pay for it and was promptly told that it would be $4, only $1 less than a full bag. His tone of voice also indicated in no uncertain terms that he was counting on me not turning into a crazed housewife and flail around the theater, demanding my bag.

So now I hate The Grand Theaters. Just think that they could have won over an avid fan with $4 - who would then have spread the word to more potential fans of this great destination. Instead they have an avid enemy who will also gleefully be spreading the word about the ridiculously poor service she got at the hands of a monstrously short sighted business policy.

Oh well....