My Frustration with Cinemark Theaters and Coffee

I wrote the following letter to Cinemark, and was hoping that I would get some kind of response. That they would at least have some dignity to at least say, well we agree with our manager and are fully concious of our desire to restrict your freedoms in the theater, or that we apologize for your discomfort and we will make changes. I am not arguing that all actions, or that all freedoms should be allowed. I agree with the laws's restrictions on crying out fire, when there is none, or the blatant filming of films when they are in the movie theater. But what I am trying to argue, and what I tried to communicate in my letter, was that Cinemark might be better served by seeing customers in a relationship type style. Clearly, there is currently a ban on coffee in the theater. I think that this is absurd, particularly when you consider how cold it gets in those theaters. Here is my letter:

To Whom it May Concern:

I was at the Cinemark Movie theater that is located at the Mall del Norte and I wanted to watch a movie at your theater and was told that I could not bring a cup of coffee from Starbucks to watch the movie. This upset me greatly. It upset me sufficiently that I requested my ticket be refunded immediately. It upset me because I had purchased the ticket roughly an hour before the movie started, I waited in the Mall for an hour solely to watch the movie Taken which was to begin at three 'o clock, and when I was about to enter the theater with my cup of coffee, I was told that I could not bring in the cup of coffee. I claim this is ridiculous, poor customer service, and not an astute business practice.

First of all, there was no possible reason to reject my entrance with a cup of coffee. Coffee is not sold by Cinemark theaters, and therefore is not a product which would compete with the concession stand offerings, and therefore would not cause sales in the concession stand to decline. You might argue, as one of your managers did that I should finish my coffee in the lobby and then watch the movie. I am sure though that you know someone who like me cannot be without coffee not one moment of the day. Therefore the comment by your manager is insensitive and is counterproductive(Frankly, If I owned the theater, I would fire such a manager.). Furthermore, you might say that I should buy something from your concession stand. Well, what if I do not want a coke, or a bottle of water, or nachos, or popcorn at the moment. What if I want my cup of coffee? You might say that by allowing me to enter to the theater with a cup of coffee that you are losing a possible concession sale. This is a false and incorrect argument. You should see it as a damaged customer relationship. I have visited this theater numerous times with my cup of coffee and have not been rejected or even told anything.

Secondly, I think that this is a poor business practice. Cinemark should not turn away customers because they are drinking a beverage not provided by the concession stand such as a cup of coffee or a cappuccino. In fact, Cinemark should handle a situation like this very astutely. For instance it is not a solution to serve coffee in the theaters if there is a nearby coffee house as is the case with Mall del Norte. It might be a solution if there is not a nearby coffee house. A coffee house which is nearby will produce any number of wonderful coffee beverages which cannot be replaced or duplicated at a movie theater without the purchase of a lot of equipment, inventory, and additional headaches. However, coffee, for instance, is such a high demand commodity that it led to the formation of chains such as Starbucks. So, therefore, it is best not to try and enter this market and compete with entrenched competitors. Instead, allowing the products from Starbucks to enter the theater for example might be an excellent solution, placating coffee drinkers such as myself with the ability to have our favorite beverage(s), while at the same time not incurring any additional risk. However if there is no nearby coffee house, a possible solution might be to adjoin a coffee house such as a Starbucks.

Thirdly, just a few hours later, I went to a "Hollywood Theater" with a cup of coffee, and they did not say anything whatsoever. What does this mean? Does this mean that they have a pathetic management team?

Finally, I think that there are real reasons for preventing outside food and drink. For instance, if there was someone drinking alcohol on the premises, it would be a problem because there are legal concerns and legal headaches that might arise. However, it is necessary for Cinemark to realize that customers should be treated correctly, and products which do not compete with the concession stand items should be blocked with care and good judgment. Popcorn, nachos, and candies, and sodas will have low levels of competition from nearby businesses, and they have a high degree of association with the cinema in the mind of moviegoers, thus it is natural that this will always have a high degree of sales at the theater.

I think that my argument at the end could be summarized in the following way. The concessions that movie theaters sell, are highly associated to the Cinema, and by focusing on these products, Cinemark will maximize concession revenue. However, their revenue is not maximized if people might have purchased a coffee, and then purchased a ticket, and then returns the ticket because the coffee is not allowed inside. This is highly bullying, I think. And also, in other countries, for instance the Multimedia Cinemas of Mexico, you can find coffee and pastries in the cinema, along with all the standard concession stand articles.