Soda, Popcorn Price Switch Too Much of a Concession?

I’m normally too sweet a guy to delight in another person’s problem, but I confess to being heartened by Shireen and Jim Rogers’ gripe. Maybe that’s because, after eight months of seemingly inescapable talk about That Woman and That President, I longed to hear about the problems of everyday life.

But what are those problems? After all this time, do we even remember what they are? What’s really on the minds of average Americans?

To start with, the price of movie popcorn.

Here is the Rogerses’ lament, as told me by Shireen:

A 31-year-old lawyer, Shireen is a lifelong movie fan. As a teenager, she worked in various Edwards theaters in Orange County, both as ticket-taker and concessionaire. She and Jim, a schoolteacher, go to the movies at least once a week. Part of the experience, she says, is buying concessions. It would violate the code, she says, to smuggle food into the theater. Besides, she learned during her Edwards days that concessions provide much of a theater’s profit margin.

Like many moviegoers (me included), Shireen and Jim are creatures of habit. Their standard buy has been the Combo, a big tub of popcorn and two medium drinks. Cost: $6.75.

About three weeks ago, Shireen and Jim went to see “54” at the Edwards Park Place theater in Irvine. Assigned the concession stand ritual, Shireen ordered the Combo and handed the concessionaire $7.

Uh-uh, the clerk said. That’ll be $9.

Doing the math, Shireen realized the price had gone up $2.25, or 33%.

The couple spent the entire movie, Shireen says, fuming about the price. The word she uses is “fleeced.” She’s also sure she heard more-than-normal crinkling sounds of food packages being opened--food smuggled in because of high concession prices, she says.

“I’m thinking, I know Edwards has to make some money off concessions,” Shireen says, “but do they want me to buy popcorn and a Coke or not buy anything? Now, I won’t buy anything.”

Strong words, but like most moviegoers, she found that vow hard to keep. So on a subsequent visit with her mother, Shireen bought a small popcorn and a soft drink, and they shared them.

The result: disaster. They discovered there wasn’t enough drink to go around.

The issue isn’t money. With dual incomes, the Rogerses can afford $9. “It’s the principle that we’re paying for something that costs pennies to make,” Shireen says, referring to popcorn. “It’s just outrageous to cost that much. I like Edwards. I want to help them. I know that’s how they make their money, but, come on. . . .”

For that price, she notes, you could practically pay for two meals at a restaurant.

Shireen is upset enough that, despite her long-standing good feelings toward the Edwards chain, she’s uttered the unthinkable: “I’ve contemplated getting microwave popcorn and bringing it in.”

That’s the kind of talk that keeps Frank Haffar up nights.

He’s vice president of concessions for the Edwards chain, which numbers about 40 theaters in Orange County.

The problem, Haffar says, is that the Combo was introduced a few years ago as a short-term promotional idea. It turned out to be so popular that it became long-term, ending about a month ago.

The theater chain didn’t raise the price of the Combo, Haffar says. Rather, it discontinued it and reverted to charging the posted concession price for that size popcorn and soft drink.

Haffar concedes, in somewhat anguished tones, that the moviegoing public that’s partial to the Combo may not appreciate that distinction. Adding to his misery, he says, is that the Combo was his idea in the first place.

“We’re very reluctant to raise prices, and we always try to stay under our competitors,” Haffar says.

I noted that Edwards kind of corners the market for Orange County moviegoers. Isn’t there a bond with the public?

“We have a bond with the public. We’re based in Orange County, and we’ve never taken Orange County for granted,” Haffar says. “We’re always building new theaters and giving them the latest in technology.”

Acknowledging the jarring inflationary nature of the Combo price, Haffar reiterated that, technically, the Combo no longer exists. “It’s like when you go to Robinsons or May Co. or Macy’s and they have a 50% sale one day and the next day it goes back. You ask yourself, ‘How could I buy a shirt for $20 one day and the next day it’s $40?’ ”

That’s a decent analogy, but as Haffar concedes, the Combo has been around for at least three years. Macy’s never holds a three-year sale.

When bought individually, Haffar says, popcorn and soft drink concessions have gone up only a quarter in the last four years.

It’s just that people got spoiled by the Combo. Now, Haffar has to figure out how to calm some angry patrons.

Meanwhile, Shireen says she’s afraid of appearing foolish for worrying about the price of popcorn.

I reassured her that she isn’t being foolish at all. I found her gripe refreshingly human and universal.

In this long year of Pennsylvania Avenue problems, I, for one, am happy to hear again from Main Street.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at the Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com