Designed to promote interaction between attendees, two sets of venue breakout sessions were held at the 2003 NAC convention in San Diego. In these sessions, concession operators broke into two groups - theatres, and stadium/arena and convention centers - to talk about common problems and share ideas.
NAC President Elect Larry Etter, CCM, of Malco Theatres, moderated the theatre breakout sessions. The theatre operators noted that customers aren't as concerned with the price of concessions at the theatres as they may have been in the past. "Customers don't care what they pay anymore; what they do care about is the quality of service and the speed of the service," Etter said.
If speed of service is an issue, one operator questioned if transactions would be faster if some points of sale sell only combo meals. Operators present replied that "combo only" express lines had some inherent problems. At many theatres there weren't enough customers using the express lines that would irritate those waiting in the longer, non-express line. These lines would also confuse employees and customers, as many would wait in the wrong line and be upset when they couldn't order an item.
NAC Board members Randy Collins moderated the stadium and arena breakout sessions, ECM, of the Charlotte Coliseum Authority and Terry Conlon, ECM, of the University of Illinois.
The stadium and arena operations that utilize volunteer groups as staff discussed
commission percentages for the groups them employ. Commissions ranged from ten
percent of food and beverage and seven percent of alcohol sales to a flat fee
for the group.
Insuring volunteer groups that work the stands was a main concern with many
of the stadium and arena operators. A group that can't afford insurance may
need to get that insurance cut out of their pay. Checking with your insurer
is also an option for your groups. "There might be a blanket policy that
may be able to insure volunteer groups," NAC Director of Education Shelley
Feldman said. "You'd have to contact your insurance provider and see what
they recommend."
A few members of the stadium and arena group also agreed with the theatre group's take on the pricing sensitivity of customers. "Price doesn't matter as long as you give them quality food and try to jazz up the service," Feldman said. "They are not going to worry about the price if they enjoy what they are having."
This is a partial version of the complete story that appeared in the Winter
2002 issue of Concessionworks, the newsletter for NAC members. To
become a member of NAC click here. Members that would like to receive the
complete story can call the NAC office at (312) 236-3858.