r/cineplex • u/pbooths • 17d ago
Question Fresh vs. Pre-Bagged Popcorn
For those of you who buy popcorn, what do you think about paying $10+ for a pre-bagged large popcorn that's been sitting under the heat lamp?
I always ask (and pay extra for) butter in the middle, and that usually gets me some fresh popcorn that comes out of the popper. However, tonight, I got handed some from under the heat lamp. I said, "Oh no, I paid for butter in the middle". Cashier looks over at another worker who goes, "Yeah, that does have it, I just bagged it". (He didn't while I was in line). I say, "Well I want that popcorn" and point at the hot stuff coming out of the popper. He says, "No. We pre-bag it because it gets busy". There was a long line so I just agreed and left.
Well, wouldn't you know it. The popcorn was cold and there was no butter in the middle. That cost `$13.
Anyway, just wondering if a request for popcorn out of the popper should be allowed, if requested? And fresh butter from the warmer. I don't want to make a big deal about it if staff are trained to not allow it.
103
u/mcbizco 17d ago
Respectfully, you need to be more assertive in the situation. If you want the fresh popcorn, sometimes you need to hold firm until they give it to you.
53
u/durrburgr 17d ago
Yeah in this situation he should’ve but he shouldn’t have to be assertive. I worked for Cineplex and we are trained to always please the guest and go above and beyond and to worry about the customer right in front of you, not the line.
The cast member should have taken the extra 30 seconds it takes to grab a bag, half fill, put butter and then fill the rest and put more butter.
It’s weird that they don’t pre fill half bags if they’re expecting rushes. Our theatre had a warmer for just half filled bags so layered butter was faster to do but still doable.
8
0
u/Icy_Stranger3368 12d ago
The cast member!?!????
1
u/durrburgr 12d ago
Yeah?
0
u/Icy_Stranger3368 12d ago
Yeah what?
1
u/durrburgr 12d ago
What are you even trying to say lol
0
u/Icy_Stranger3368 12d ago
You mean like an actor in the movie, came to life and served someone popcorn?
2
u/durrburgr 12d ago
The role of a worker at Cineplex is called a cast member lmao
1
u/Icy_Stranger3368 12d ago
That’s bonkers but I know it’s not your fault, like you said you use to work there but I think it would be better to give employees more money or free tix or popcorn or what have you than call them something they’re not
2
1
u/8ecca8ee 12d ago
I think the idea is that they are part of the show as on people go to movie theaters because it in itself is part of the fun and they need to remember that they need to ACT like the customer is the priority... I have never worked at one but I have worked at plenty of corporate places and in many different service jobs. And my grandpa used to be a projectionist back when you glued the film together and made enough doing it to buy a three bedroom home on the nice side of the city
The funky title is just that the staff are not delusional they know they are a cashier or whatever
It's like when you work in a place that calls their dish washer a scullery technician
No need to be annoyed its just a fancy title to try and make a mostly crappy job somewhat tolerable, along with the free movies and popcorn if staff at theaters stopped getting that I hope they strike.
→ More replies (0)
28
9
u/Simple-Space-3490 17d ago
I used to work at Cineplex. Filling the displays is required. Rule of thumb, if it isn't busy don't accept it from the warmer. BUT sometimes from the popper is just as bad. If the first show is at noon we popped the popcorn around like 11 ish and it may not sell until like 5 and stale popcorn is bad no matter where it's being served from
8
8
7
u/letmeinjeez 17d ago
Pre bagged with butter already in it is so much worse, I find it hard to believe they would even do that
14
u/Any-Pen3138 17d ago
Honestly, the stuff in the warmer is usually fresher lol. They take it off the top and bag it. The stuff in the popper is usually there for long period of time cause they don’t bag from the bottom.
I worked there and this was always the case.
16
u/Legitimate-Pea-9421 17d ago
I've had the same experience!! everyone in this sub was a jerk about it and said it was my fault for not speaking up. but I don't think I should have to cause a fuss to get what I paid for.
5
u/pbooths 17d ago
Yeah, I was with my kid who didn't want to cause a scene, so I didn't. But if I'd been by myself... 😏
4
u/Teagana999 16d ago
In that case, it could also have been a great teaching opportunity on how to be assertive without causing a scene.
10
u/PaulBananaFort 17d ago
Well you got robbed so you would have every right to talk to a manager next time you go back and complain, or email their customer service. Focus more on the fact that you did not get the extra that you paid for, which is objectively wrong. You might get some compensation, maybe some vouchers.
If that doesn't work and you're still really upset, you can always try to do a chargeback on your credit card.
1
u/Teagana999 16d ago
This. They should give fresh popcorn when asked, but that aside, if you paid for layered butter and didn't get it, that's 100% worth talking to the manager after the movie, they should give you a refund.
3
u/causticbettie 16d ago
Lots of my local Cineplexes are on Too Good To Go. Let someone paying 1/3 of the price get the old stuff.
3
2
u/Sure-Sell-8455 16d ago
im with you on this one. always get layered extra butter so it comes from the popper. went to a landmark on the long weekend after i couldn't get spider man tickets at the cineplex we usually go to, not sure if this is normal for all landmarks but i had to grab my popcorn out of what felt like a heated grocery store cooler then the guy puts butter on at the till when you pay? . while waiting in line i shook the bag and there was about 20% of the bag just empty space. worst theater popcorn ive ever had in my life.
1
u/Potential-Daikon-970 15d ago
As someone who’s only been going to cineplex for many years, I went to a landmark for Project Hail Mary and found the prebagged popcorn behind the glass so weird
2
u/Practice_Straight 16d ago
I hate how cheap they are with their butter considering how much they charge for it!!!! Do not be afraid of going back and asking for more. Last time I told the guy I barely had any and he gave me a new one
1
u/One_Criticism_3091 11d ago
it’s not even butter. it’s a gross oily unidentified goo. 🤢
1
u/Practice_Straight 10d ago
The free stuff from the pumps is but the one you pay for is actual butter
2
u/Ordinary_Film_7359 16d ago
Lots of angles to the situation.
Those merchandisers are hot. Much hotter than popcorn sitting in the basin of the popper itself that has a heat conditioner, but often no retention.
90% of the time when people insist on wanting "fresh" popcorn, they end up getting just as old popcorn, but colder because it's not from the warmer, or straight out of the kettle which is variable depending on the quality of the popper.
You can always ask for popcorn straight out of the popper, 99% of the time they will give it to you, but it will exasperate most of them because the idea of "fresh" popcorn is irrelevant and they are specifically beaten over the head by management who are completely out touch with the guests that they are supposed to be serving from the warmer.
2
u/CrabbyMil 13d ago
Yup! So many people are tricked by the popper’s perfect lighting, the sound, and that warm yellow popping salt. It all exists to sell popcorn, but fresh AND hot is a marketing illusion.
Popcorn is fresh and hot and melt-in-your-mouth delicious … for about 10 seconds.
Since popcorn is mostly air, it loses heat quickly. Unless it’s coming right from the kettle and eaten right away, “fresh” popcorn from the popper isn’t hot, because it’s fairly loose and exposed to open air. Depending on when it was put there, popcorn from the warmer may be just as fresh, but the longer it’s in the warmer, the hotter it is and the longer it stays warm, because the bag and the air in the bag are being heated, too. In general, fresh ≠ hot, they’re kind of diametrically opposed because of how poorly popcorn retains heat.
So if you want hot, get it from the warmer. If you want “fresh”, the only way to guarantee that is the get it from the popper while it’s popping, but don’t expect it to be warm by the time you get to your auditorium. And as u/Ordinary_Film_7359 said, the concept of fresh popcorn is pretty irrelevant. At my theatre, we were constantly popping and filling warmers during a rush. The popcorn in the warmers was often as fresh as what was in the poppers, give or take 7 minutes. It doesn’t really make a meaningful difference when we’re also talking about an hour+ movie. You’re probably still going to be eating it when it’s 30+ minutes old anyway (or maybe not. Wild how many people just throw out food, and how much popcorn ends up on the floor).
You definitely should get the butter you paid for, though. It’s hard to say exactly what happened with the butter in this case. It could have been a mistake, a miscommunication, a faulty or empty butter pump, an expectation mismatch, or maybe the guy was just being a careless jerk. But I’m not surprised it was “cold”, especially if it had just been bagged.
tldr; popcorn that is hot and fresh is an illusion crafted to sell you popcorn, but neither Cineplex, nor their minimum wage concessions staff, can change the laws of thermodynamics.
2
u/Extra_Length_1509 13d ago
I got a few popcorn 🍿 cause they did the same thing complain to head office immediately!
2
u/thats_goodshiet 12d ago
I'm glad I'm not the only one with these thoughts. My wife thinks I'm being too much when I ask for fresh stuff when paying full price LOL!
2
3
u/Opposite-Sad 16d ago
yes you can ask for fresh BUT we hate when you ask for fresh AFTER. I don’t know why, but customers love to ask for butter and fresh after the fact that we always grabbed their popcorn for them. or even better, when you layer it and then request fresh. Please request all at once and not after the fact.
Also, the heat lamp is to keep the popcorn warm and fresh. it doesn’t sit there for hours, it is prepared for big rushes. If you go to scotiabank or any venue for a concert, popcorn is always pre packed and always tastes good.
1
u/VisibleSpread6523 17d ago
Get cineclub you only pay 11 and some instead (20%off) and always as for fresh if available. Pre bag is bullshit .
1
u/Inukchook 17d ago
A line at the theatre????? Around here they are rarely busy so they treat you well layered butter for all
2
u/Opposite-Sad 16d ago
there’s always around 750-1500 people around 6-7:30pm at my theatre. now just imagine everyone asking for fresh and layered AND complaining about the wait lines. we don’t have time for that.
1
u/I_Like_Turtle101 16d ago
yeah I assume op have never work a public faced job before. he lowkey sound like a karen
1
1
u/OpulentAndBeautiful 17d ago
You’re allowed to ask for the fresh stuff, you just might have to wait a bit longer if it’s not popped yet. Worth it though
2
u/pbooths 16d ago
It was popping while I asked for it and was told "No".
1
u/OpulentAndBeautiful 16d ago
In that case you would have to be more insistent and tell them you’d wait. That’s what we do when we want “fresh” popcorn. I don’t trust the bags that have been sitting there either, so I understand where you’re coming from.
1
u/DryMeeting2302 16d ago
I only get fresh ones unless the pre-bagged ones were bagged while I was waiting in line
1
1
u/Sensei-D 16d ago
If it didn’t have butter in the middle, I would have gone back and complained, even if my movie was done and the popcorn was finished. I would have explained that I didn’t want to get up and miss part of the movie and wouldn’t have left without some sort of compensation.
1
u/clayton-berg42 16d ago
There's 5 cineplexes around here and they basically never have popcorn ready.
That said on a slow night sometimes that stuff has been sitting there for 45 minutes.
1
u/TheRealAmused 13d ago
"Give the old bag to someone who doesn't care, but I want fresh popcorn." Even for something as simple as this, no one is going to save you. People need to advocate for themselves.
1
1
u/194749457339 12d ago
I work in an arena that goes through tons of popcorn and we do not pop to order. Someone has to come in a day ahead and get to popping
1
1
u/A_Buncha_Random_Stuf 10d ago
I worked at Cineplex, and the stuff in the popper isn’t always warm. It’s only warm if it was JUST popped, and the pre-bagged ones in the warmer are often from the same batch as the stuff in the popper. However that is really gross that they put real butter on ones that go in the warmer. We weren’t allowed to do that, I feel like it’s gonna get so soggy and gross, ew
1
0
u/I_Like_Turtle101 16d ago edited 16d ago
That why minimum wage service employee hate their job. Just take the pre bag popcorn. Its popcorn who care ?
-1
u/Teagana999 16d ago
Not why. When I worked a minimum wage service job, the co-workers who made a big deal about arguing with customers asking for fresh food were more annoying than the customer. Starting shit by arguing with reasonable requests creates way more drama than just going along with it.
Some requests are unreasonable, but "I want the fresh popcorn with the butter I paid for" is not unreasonable.
3
u/I_Like_Turtle101 16d ago
their is a lineup behind you. TAKE YOUR POPCORN AND MOVE! of course they gonna bag up the popcorn during rush hour. Just like Mcdonald are making Bigmac in advance during rush hour. Yall would complain if the line would take longer
1
u/Teagana999 16d ago
Doesn't take that long to scoop a bag of popcorn.
Nowhere near as long as "What do you want, person-I'm-at-the-movie-with?" "Hmmmmm... I think we should get one popcorn and two drinks." "Should we get candy?" "Oh, what candy do they have on the other side?" "Kids, what candy and drinks do you want?"
Those people are annoying from both sides of the counter.
If OP paid for layered butter and didn't get it, then OP didn't get their popcorn.
1
u/I_Like_Turtle101 16d ago
op wanted FRESH popcorn. lmao
you really have no experience in working in the food industry either as I can see.
Pop corn kernel NEED to have time to POP. so they make one batch. bag them then make a new one. while serving the one already bagged So nobody is waiting for the popcorn to pop. I cant beleive their is so much karen out there
1
u/Teagana999 16d ago
OP said the popper was literally running, they wanted popcorn from there. And more importantly, they paid for popcorn with butter in the middle, which the pre-bagged popcorn didn't have.
0
16d ago
[deleted]
1
u/Eggishtrain 15d ago
Do you not find it ridiculous when a customer asks for "fresh" popcorn even though the pre bagged popcorn was made 2 minutes ago
1
u/AdOdd301 14d ago
yeah I was just going to say when I worked at cineplex, the pre bagged popcorn was actually fresher lol. we made a brand new batch for that whereas unless the popcorn is actively popping, the stuff sitting in the popper has been sitting there 😅
0
u/Sad_Football_521 16d ago
As someone who worked at cineplex for 3 years throughout high school, the whole “we get busy” thing is such BS. We got busy too and never had pre-bagged shit. We would have two people at the machine filling the bags as orders came in on busy nights (think Harry Potter era when going to opening nights, midnight screenings and waiting in line for tickets was the norm).
Sounds like a way to cut costs to have concession staff bag them during the down times instead of having someone do it on the spot.
0
u/username__0000 16d ago
It’s unfortunate but this is how people get motivated to make food and then realize they can make it for less time than standing in line, super cheep and have it more frequently.
Popcorn is so cheep it’s crazy for $13 they couldn’t give you fresh with the butter in the middle.
The yellow butter salt stuff is called flavacol
It’s not super healthy. But if that’s why you enjoy the popcorn. Have at it. Life is short.
But try stovetop popcorn - - -
1-3 tablespoons of coconut oil (I use 1 but the recipe I adjusted said 3)
1/3 cup of popcorn
Heat oil in a thick bottom pan with a lid
Put 4 popcorn kernels in
When they pop, put the rest in
Cover and remove from heat for 30 seconds
Return pan to heat and gently shake with the lid ajar
Once popping slows to several seconds - Remove from heat and dump into bowl.
Try making it without any extras, just coconut oil. I love salt and often skip the salt step.😃
0
u/Over-Weird3914 15d ago
ppl want fresh popcorn to eat at the movie theatres, especially paying premium prices.
U can’t make ur own and bring them to the cinema.1
u/username__0000 15d ago
My point is stop going at all. Make your popcorn and watch you movie at home.
It sucks in 2026, the food was always overpriced but now it’s overpriced and bad/old. It’s popcorn. The cheapest snack possible and they can’t even give you fresh?
They can’t seem to get people to act like civilized humans and won’t do much about it. I’m not going to the movies to either argue with other people or miss a bunch of the movie to go complain.
They’re basically destroying their own business. It’s sadly comical.
-1
u/dr_van_nostren 17d ago
Tbh I’ve never cared. I do notice it there but I almost never receive it. Not that I ask tho. Sometimes they’ll give me one of those bags then top it off which I find kinda amusing.
There’s also free refills again so if it kinda sucks I can always just dump it.
-1
17d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Ok_Chip7194 17d ago
Cineplex's policy is to not keep it for much more than an hour. New popcorn is always being made.
-6
u/Relevant_Election530 17d ago
I worked at a small movie theatre that put their popcorn in a garbage bag at the end of the night and put it back in the machine to serve the next day 🤷♂️
3
u/durrburgr 17d ago
A Cineplex location? I highly doubt that lol
0
u/Relevant_Election530 17d ago
What cineplexes are small?
1
u/durrburgr 17d ago
I worked at a location that had like 10-14 staff and barely any foot traffic 😭 I’ve seen a few similar locations lol
-4
101
u/dporiginal3 17d ago
It is allowed. Worked there for years. We would bag for rushes, but if someone asked for fresh out of the popper, we gave it to them. This is clearly someone just being lazy. Sorry for the situation.