Waves Of Minor Genius (1)

I'm sure it happens to you all the time too, you see something that makes you go, "Why hasn't someone thought of that before now?" This is what run through my head as I queued up to buy my cinema ticket in the same line as the food.

In the old format, you bought your film ticket at a dedicated ticketing counter before going off to buy your popcorn, drinks, chocolate - whatever you fancied. This is not only a hugely inefficient way of doing business but you lose out on the food sales of those that are on the border between buying and not buying something to eat.

My plan was to watch a film and not buy any food because cinema food is too highly priced (and hence a waste of my precious money) plus I don't need the extra calories. Unfortunately, the self-service machine was faulty on this fine day; this was how I found myself at a food counter. I had just woken up from a mid-afternoon siesta and it had been a couple of hours since my last feed. I was running short on will power and I didn't want to look like a cheapo so when the attendant asked me what I want, I asked for a Sprite Zero and a ticket for Bridesmaids, just like that, Cineworld added £2.50 to their coffers. 

Selling tickets and food at the same point is ingenious, I'm surprised the model hasn't been copied by every cinema. I'm pretty sure it increases sales and reduces labour costs, so why wouldn't you?