Delivery of popcorn&coke directly to your seat whenever you want?

Hello!
I just wanted to know what you think about idea of system for automatic sale and delivery of food and drinks in movie theater.

Imagine, that you don't have to buy food at concession stand, you can just order food, drinks or refill on the touchscreen mounted on the seat, and have it delivered by a tiny robotic container, directly to your seat.
It could be seen clearly on the image attached.

Q&A:
Yes, robotic container is able to move up and down the stairs.
Container is very tiny, so it leaves enough space for your feet.
It moves very quietly, so I don't think it will distract your attention from the movie.
Prices are the same as at the concession stand.

Any opinions?

Attachments

 

Nifty little idea but snacks at theaters already costs a fortune, this would just make the prices higher.

Absolutely - and may cause theatre rage when getting under people's feet, thus making them throw the machine down the stairs in temper.

We have something similar to this called V.I.P. screenings. You buy your ticket and take your seat and staff bring you your munchies before the movie starts. Nice idea, but it costs extra (natch!).

__________________
"Yes, citizen, there is no cause for alarm -- you may return to your harpsichord."

Yes, you couldn't pay a machine enough to take that abuse!

Silly idea.

Having a touchscreen that will need some form of light to be able to see what you are ordering will be annoying for the people sitting around that person doing the ordering, especially someone who faffs about taking their time going through the payment part or trying to decide what to have. Going to have a light going on and off now and then during the film all over the room... If people on their mobile phones wasn't annoying enough.


If you must munch away during the film, get your food at the start of the film and have it ready.

Psychologically, a % of people will order more than they would usually get during the screening if they have a button near them to order things, unlike having to get out of your seat during the film to go and get more food.

Bla, no thanks.

I would say that this is an ok idea if the prices were reasonable but they are not. For example, for a medium coke you have to pay about 20 zł (Polish currency) at the movie theater I go to. You'd pay 4 zł for it everywhere else.

It's absolutely mad already and such a service would add even more to the crazy prices. No, thank you.

__________________
Check out my blog: Yasashii's Retro Game Playground

He's made this topic on another message board and every single person who replied to the topic hates the idea, some going so far as it would be the final nail in the coffin for cinemas and they would never go again.

Take note of us who are against it.

What if the machine becomes self-aware and takes over? Is it worth taking that risk just for lazy snackers?

__________________
#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

This machine would inflate the already over-inflated cost of snacks and drinks thus making people buy nothing or stop visiting the cinema. If people came for movies, but simply brought nothing, then picture houses would start closing quickly - I believe that the extras sold on site pay for staff wages and overhead costs of running the establishment, and the movie takings themselves go to the actual studios that produced the piece.

I'm surprised Powdered Water hasn't made some sort of connection with Popcorn and Crack rather than Coke...

__________________

Anyway, I clicked I Do Not Buy...

A large bucket of fizzy sugar that tastes like watered down rat piss costs more than the actual movie...

... stupid really when a 3ltr bottle of coke costs £1 from my nearest shop...

While I like the idea of not having to get up for refills, I don't think this would work well in practice. Not only would the price of concessions (which are already astronomically high) go up but the thing would be incredibly distracting. Besides the light from the touchscreen, the sceen itself and the delivery unit would be moving about (probably making noise in the process), people would get upset waiting for it to come to them, and the unit itself would get really disgusting really quickly.

Also, people tend to have trouble/are resistant to adapting to new technology in situations where they are accustomed to having an actual person assisting them. It's one of the reasons I like to use self-check registers at grocery stores - there's hardly ever a line at all because people would rather wait for a cashier than try to figure out the machine.

__________________

I don't use those things on general principal...

I once stood in a pretty long queue in the Supermarket with only a handful of items and one of the workers/floaters in the shop asked me to use the self serve checkout...

... so I asked if I'd get a discount on my shopping...

... I was doing their job for them, so I shouldn't have to pay the full price... some of which will inevitably go toward their wages...


She said I wouldn't get a discount... so I stayed in the queue and waited.

I think your principle is a little backwards. If more people used the self check, less of the price you pay will go towards wages because there will be fewer wages to pay. (Less need for cashiers = fewer cashiers on payroll.)

Also, to me, getting the hell out of there quickly is far more valuable than a discount.

Regardless, though, it reinforces my point, which is that there's a history of people refusing to use similar technology, so I don't see this being any different.

I also refused to use one when buying three DVDs months ago. The assistant pointed out the machine to me, but I quickly said no thanks. Of course, she thought I was strange, so did the guy rigging up the bill. Oh well, lets just say I havn't brought anything from the high school for almost a year now. I purchase online where its far cheaper.

Yeah but, at the extreme end of the spectrum... if cashiers are gotten rid of completely, the prices will still remain the same...

... meaning the rich Supermarkets will be pocketing more money as they are not forking out for workers' wages.

I'd rather wait in line and get what I'm paying for.

"I'd like a popcorn and Coke, HAL"

"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that"

__________________

Well I'd rather get in and get out quickly if I'm going to pay the same amount regardless.

There's also one particular store where I REFUSE to use an actual cashier. This is because one day I asked for change for a $20 bill (during a transaction where I was buying several items with cash) and the cashier was very rude about saying no (she said she's not allowed to do that, which is fine if it's true, but she was very abrupt about it and used a rude tone of voice). So now when I need change, I'll pick out one inexpensive item (like a single donut) and pay for it with a large bill at self check. I've bought a donut with a $100 bill before.

... the computers know that the Russian Counter-attack will eliminate their enemies over here.