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Topic: AMC's non-standard pricing scheme

Manny Montes
Master Film Handler

Posts: 270
From: United States
Registered: Feb 2010

posted 10-21-2014 02:21 PM

Has anyone else seen AMC's new pricing scheme for some theaters. It bucks the traditional standard of $0.25 intervals for tickets. I haven't been to an AMC in a while so I'm not sure if it also applies in concession.

For example:
AMC Empire adult evening tickets are $14.99
I've seen some with $8.63 children tickets.

Any ideas on the thoughts behind this one?

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-21-2014 04:45 PM

It sounds as if they will be wasting plenty of time counting out pennies and making change with prices like that.

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Buck Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 894
From: St. Joseph MO, USA
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 10-21-2014 04:48 PM

All the Concession items have done the same thing.

I asked "Did the local tax go up or something and you're just tacking on the extra?"

He didn't really know, just babbled some nonsense about how the structure changed everywhere within the company, blah blah, he was a mumbler.

Seems to me just another tactic to be able to raise prices more frequently and quieter since most people won't recognize their ticket going from $8.37 to $8.73. [bs]

Ugh, the big two are so annoying. I can't even.

EDIT: As Scott said, WOW, giving out change would be THE WORSTTTTT. I can just imagine a standard Saturday night.....

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-21-2014 07:34 PM

Could it be they're showing the prices "not including tax," and when sales tax is added it makes the price land on a 25 cent increment? (Disney used to do that in their parks but they don't anymore.)

Sounds like a recipe for having a lot of tills not be in balance.

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Steve Matz
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 672
From: Billings, Montana, USA
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 10-21-2014 08:24 PM

Carmike Theaters here have a pretty good deal if you can wait til a Saturday/Sunday 4:00-5:30pm Matinee. Then it's only $5.50 vs the 9 Bucks any other time($12for3-D) I was a Happy Camper until I made the Mistake of wanting a Med Coke and Popcorn. I actually thought the Woman rang up the Wrong Price($13.55),I was so pissed off I was ready to say stick it where the Sun don't shine but went ahead and paid anyway. The Woman behind me who saw how pissed I was and was carrying this Large Empty Bucket that said Carmike on it;Said that's why I use this Popcorn Deal. She can get it filled for $3.00 each time.

Now I see why this outfit has so many Multiplexes across the Country.I would be embarrassed as a Theater Manager to rip a Movie Patron off on something that Cost 89 cents at any Eating Establishment and Popcorn you can Buy all day for under a Buck for the size I got. Well make me grab my Ankles Once;They'll never do it again. I'll take a 2 litre Bottle in there the Next Time.. [fu]

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Manny Montes
Master Film Handler

Posts: 270
From: United States
Registered: Feb 2010

posted 10-21-2014 09:00 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
Could it be they're showing the prices "not including tax," and when sales tax is added it makes the price land on a 25 cent increment? (Disney used to do that in their parks but they don't anymore.)

I thought this too, then I double checked and the price they're actually charging people is the odd amount. For example one theater price used to be $11.50 for an adult, now its $11.55, so it's not just showing pre-tax.

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Buck Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 894
From: St. Joseph MO, USA
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 10-21-2014 09:17 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
Could it be they're showing the prices "not including tax," and when sales tax is added it makes the price land on a 25 cent increment? (Disney used to do that in their parks but they don't anymore.)

Sounds like a recipe for having a lot of tills not be in balance.

No, sir. That's how it was before this switch. The ticket vs tax price was even broken down on each ticket in small type, the sum of which would be an even number as you said. But now it's just all these odd numbers.

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-21-2014 10:05 PM

The ticket showed the price the customer paid in total with the tax portion broken down. The non tax portion was not shown. That aspect has not changed. You see what you paid and also how much of that went to tax. It's just the total asking price is now some odd amounts.

Just now from their web site. Second is an ETX. Third is a Liemax.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-21-2014 10:16 PM

So, what are they trying to achive by not having prices that (with tax, etc.) end in $.25 increments? Every individual transaction will take longer, cash drawers will need to be stocked with pennies (lots of them), and patrons will be annoyed by getting pennies in change.

It all just seems like an amazing amount of effort and expense for no obvious benefit. I can see an argument for having prices that end in $.99, but $.08?!? [Confused]

Is it supposed to encourage patrons to buy concessions with their change?

This will be "fun" when they run out of pennies on a busy night.

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 10-21-2014 11:18 PM

Around here we have weird prices like that. We also do have pennies in circulation so everything gets rounded out to be even.

In the past I have seen prices such as $6.42, $7.58, $10.66 etc. Never really noticed any difference in the length of the lines. Most people here use interact or credit card touch and pay so that speeds up the line which just offsets the penny pinches. These days we have no pennies and we longer need to punch in codes for interact and sometimes credit cards are tap and go....heck we don't even need to sign anything anymore when we use a credit card.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-22-2014 12:18 AM

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
We also do have pennies in circulation

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
These days we have no pennies

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
we longer need to punch in codes

Go home Terry you're drunk.

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 10-22-2014 01:03 AM

Makes perfect cents! [Big Grin]

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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012

posted 10-22-2014 01:11 AM

quote: Scott Norwood
So, what are they trying to achive by not having prices that (with tax, etc.) end in $.25 increments?

From the way AMC explains it, the customer now views the price with the sales tax. In the past, the ticket price wuz (just for Flakesey) was rounded off. I am assuming at the box office the customer will see the price listed as $10+tax 1.13 = 11.13. Cineplex did (does, would have to look) it this way in the past and I think they still do. AMC probably did not break down the price at all.

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Marcel Birgelen
Film God

Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 10-22-2014 04:33 AM

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Flakesey

Really? Are we back in first grade?

quote: Scott Norwood
So, what are they trying to achive by not having prices that (with tax, etc.) end in $.25 increments? Every individual transaction will take longer, cash drawers will need to be stocked with pennies (lots of them), and patrons will be annoyed by getting pennies in change.

Maybe they're trying to push everyone to cashless transactions? People tend to spend their money easier when there's no real cash changing hands.

And although they may pay a shitload in processing fees, handling large amounts of cash also isn't free and it's more prone to theft too.

Like Buck already mentioned, increasing your prices without everybody noticing might also be easier with those odd prices. But they might also push for a totally "dynamic pricing scheme", so essentially you will be paying more for the most popular features and less for the alternative movies or box office bombs. Kinepolis, a local theater chain, tried something similar a few years back in Belgium, but apparently it wasn't worth the extra overhead.

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-22-2014 07:16 AM

Old, old, new.

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