Experience Guru

The "Popcorn Bucket Experience"

Today's Notable Quote: "Can you believe what they're doing with that refillable popcorn bucket?" - Overheard in the concession line at the local Carmike Theater this past weekend.

Buy a "refillable" plastic popcorn bucket for only $8.00 - and get 50-cent refills on each return visit to the theater during the coming year! 

Initial response? WOW! In the land of unrealistically high-priced candy, food and beverage--i.e. the local movie theater...this sounds like a great deal...a response followed by looking at the people in line--in our case, an acne-faced concession-seeking patron who scratched his face and other areas of his anatomy with the plastic popcorn bucket, before putting it on his head. At this point, our initial excitement was replaced with the sobering realization that hordes of strangers will be bringing buckets from their various abodes to be dipped into the common trough alongside our popcorn bag or bucket. Hmmm.

As a student of human nature and safe food handling practices, I have learned a few facts that cause me to look at the bucket offering with something less than full-out enthusiasm.  In the interest of the public health and welfare, I will share a few of my observations and a possible solution to the bucket dilemma.

Regarding foodborne illness - directly related to safe food handling:

1. Each year in the U.S. , approximately 75,000,000 - or about 1 in 4 citizens contracts some form of foodborne illness - often mistaken for intestinal flu or other illness.

2. Nearly 325,000 Americans are hospitalized due to something they ate which was improperly prepared, or mishandled during serving.

3. An estimated 5,000 deaths result from mishandled or contaminated food consumed by individuals in the U.S. each year.

Regarding human nature:

Are the individuals taking steps to insure the proper cleaning and sanitation of their popcorn buckets prior to and during transport to the concession line?

Are the service clerks behind the counter taking the steps necessary to provide clean, safe, contaminant-free popcorn to each patron(washing their hands, wearing disposable gloves, etc.)?

I could go on and on, but won't, in the interest of your ability to enjoy lunch or dinner.

Regarding a possible solution:

For now, I suggest "kicking the bucket" - and probably adhering to the TPAP (Theater Popcorn Abstinence Plan). Were I in charge of concessions, a simple solution would be to implement the sanitation protocol described above, along with providing disposable liners for use by the refillable bucket bearers. Of course, along with these steps, I would clean the restrooms on a regular schedule, teach the staff basic principles of customer engagement, etc., etc.

 

Indiana Jones' Bucket of Doom?

Finding Santa in an Unexpected Place...

Today's Notable Quote: "You happen to the set...and the set happens to you". - Doug Johnson, Experience marketer extraordinare, and creator of GGP's Santastic Experience.

You can find a traditional "Mall Santa" at hundreds...perhaps thousands of locations across the US. To experience the sights and sounds of Santastic, however, you must travel down to Cajun country into Baton Rouge - to Baltimore - or, as I did into the desert climes of Tuscon AZ.

So, what exactly is Santastic, and how did it originate? 

A few years ago, Doug began thinking about the experience that his children had when paying a visit to the Mall Santa. It became obvious with each passing year that Santa didn’t know Hannah or Liam’s names—or what they hoped to receive for Christmas. This truly bothered him, believing as he does that Santa is a source for goodness and happiness—and is capable of eliciting such responses in children of all ages. What could be done to ensure that Santa knows each and every child by name?

 

This thinking led Mr. Johnson to the idea for Santastic—an interactive land in which family togetherness is fostered and where you “happen to the set” as the set “happens to you”. There is a true co-creation of value driven by the staging of a North Pole Experience as seen through the eyes of a six-year-old. Gone are the schlocky pillow stuffing and plastic trees—as well as the animatronic reindeer and snowmen. You have entered a different world—one in which Santa believes in you, and you in him.

 

Doug has done a delightful job of staging a compelling experience--one which children of all ages will learn from, enjoy, and want to linger in as they find a sense of joy and escape from the chaotic crush of Holiday shopping.

 

Doug Johnson "mugging" for the camera prior to the morning opening of Tuscon's Santastic at Park Place Mall.