Thrown out of cinema for buying
his own - much cheaper - sweets elsewhere
Daily Mail
www.dailymail.co.uk
18th February 2008
Preparing for a visit to the movies, Adam Glennon
sensibly decided to stock up with his own supply of snacks
rather
than pay exorbitant cinema prices.
But after buying a ticket to watch the sci-fi thriller
Cloverfield, Mr Glennon was approached in the foyer by a
security guard
demanding to know what was in his plastic bag.
When he searched it and found sweets, drinks and cola inside,
the guard ordered Mr Glennon to hand over the bag and
its contents.
He refused and was then told he would not be allowed in
to see the film with food bought elsewhere. So he had to
leave.
Outraged at his treatment at Cineworld in Stockport, Mr Glennon,
a 26-year-old postman, held a one-man protest outside the
cinema, giving away free sweets and his own price-comparison
leaflets.
|
Product |
Cineworld Stockport |
Local Newsagent |
170g tube Pringle crisps |
£2.40 |
£1.49 |
| family pack M&Ms |
£2.60 |
£0.99 |
Coke Smallest size |
£2.40 (draught) |
£0.60 (can) |
500ml bottle Buxton water |
£1.90 |
£0.60 |
150ml tub ice cream |
£2.60 (Ben & Jerrys) |
£1.00 (Walls) |
|
|
|
|
|
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Recalling the encounter with the
guard, he said: "He
was searching like he was a copper looking for a gun. I was
going blood red because I couldn't believe it. "I've
always taken in food and I've never had a problem. Money
is tight at the moment and I begrudge paying the prices
they charge." Mr Glennon bought his snacks from a discount store near
the cinema with his friend Darren Hadfield. He paid £5
to get eight packs of M&Ms,
a multi-pack of crisps, a mixture of sweets and two bottles
of cherry
cola.
If he had bought them at the cinema, two tubes of Pringles
alone would have set him back £4.80 and he'd have paid £6.10
for two large drinks. Cineworld sells large packs of M&Ms - at £2.60
a pack.
Cineworld said it searches bags in case recording equipment
is being smuggled in and, if food is discovered, will enforce
its no-food policy.
Spokesman Luke Roberts said: "Cineworld terms and conditions
outline that all food consumed on the premises must be purchased
at one of our concessions, which is in line with most cinema
chain policies. We do offer a full refund if a customer
chooses to leave." While Mr Glennon did receive a refund, he remains furious
at the cinema's policy. "I will be
making my opinions heard because the prices they charge are
not fair and the ban is pathetic," he said.
An employee at the Sweet Sensation confectionery shop, opposite
Cineworld, says the cinema's crackdown started this month. "We've
had people coming in and buying sweets to take in, they've
been refused and come back asking for their money
back but we can't give refunds on sweets," she said.
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