Movie Theaters: Isn't this obvious?

i saw a TED Talk a while back with Seth Godin talking about how things are 'broken'. (see TED Talk here: http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_this_is_broken_1.html)

he brings up movie theaters being broken in that the majority of their profit is made on concessions yet there are rarely enough people working the concession stands to serve the number of people that want to buy things.

i was having a discussion with my friend Josh a few weeks ago about this concept (he used to work at a movie theater), and we came up with a few solutions, some that we had seen implemented in other theaters and some that we came up with on our own.

here are some easy ways to fix movie theaters without having to hire extra people.

One thing we've seen before is the popcorn pre-bagged by someone and set up in rows so that when someone orders all the person has to do is grab the corresponding size you order and give it to you. going along with this, i've also seen "do it yourself" butter stands for the popcorn, this eliminates the concession people needing to ask whether or not you want butter and/or dispensing it.

another solution to the popcorn problem is having the popcorn machine empty into a hopper and have it dispense popcorn as it is ordered into the bags, much like they do with soft drinks. they could simply hit a button (indicating the size of the popcorn that was ordered) and it would dispense a pre-measured amount directly into the bag/tub. in fact, with this type of machine, the entire process could be automated eliminating the concession person altogether from the popcorn, aside from potentially refilling the machine once it got low. this too could be automated though, in that once levels got low enough it would just refill itself and make more popcorn.

now let's talk about candy. a lot of people will at least buy the overpriced candy at the movie theater. but much like anything else you have to buy at the theater, if the line is too long you will not buy it, especially if you're running late for your movie. solution: don't we already have candy dispensing machines? we see them all the time at malls, grocery stores, cafeterias, waiting rooms, everywhere! they're called vending machines! why don't movie theaters just set up a couple vending machines in the hallways on the way to your movie? long line at the concessions? no problem. i'll just get my candy from the vending machine! on this same note why don't they do the same thing with drinks?

these are just a few thoughts to make concessions more efficient. can you think of any more?