I know you all saw Harry Potter 7.2 this weekend, because according to box office figures everyone saw the movie in the last few days! We too had a glorious couple of Potterish days, with my niece, Winona joining us for the festivities. She and Daisy made pumpkin pasties and butter beer, which we took as our contribution to a dinner and movie night (a refresher on Harry Potter 7.1) with friends, before reconvening Saturday afternoon for the final episode.
When I went to purchased the tickets for the movie I got sucked into another loyalty program. It gives ten dollars off every one hundred I spend, but costs twelve dollars. This basically means I have to spend a hundred dollars at the movies to ALMOST break even.
However, there was an added enticement – free upgrades on popcorn and soda. Now, as you all know, the theatres make almost all their money on popcorn and soda. Think about it: popcorn, soda, and their containers all cost pennies – the profit margin on these items is ASTRONOMICAL. Please do not ask me why anyone would want a free upgrade on popcorn and soda which could feed a family of four already, but I do know that it makes the theatre look good, and costs them nothing.
Anyway, I generously gave the girls my new loyalty card when they went out to get concessions. I figured they would save by only getting one popcorn – which they did – medium upgraded to large (which comes with free refills, as if…) But they did not use it for sodas – going for slushies instead! What were they thinking?
So, now I have to go to lots more movies in the theatres to get the benefit of my loyalty card, and eat popcorn - which gives me migraines from all the sodium. Brilliant. Not only are they a lot smarter than I am, but the loyalty program brings out a kind of craziness.
I have had troubling experiences with loyalty programs in the past, so this might just be stirring up old issues. First, there are the problems of the bulging wallet and keeping track of the cards. I have so many cards at this point that I leave them all in one compartment (where the cash should be), and shuffle them every time I have to pay, present membership, or get my rewards. And then, there is attachment. My favorite coffee place had a wonderful loyalty program – so wonderful, in fact, that my coffee addiction increased exponentially. Then they changed to a new loyalty program, which is a loyalty-program-in-name-only to save face for giving up the old loyalty program. It is far too complicated to use and I have not been able to adjust to it. So the new loyalty program left me feeling deprived, and I just stopped drinking coffee.
Loyalty is a big issue in the Harry Potter stories. There are the overt loyalties, like between Harry and Dumbledore, and the covert loyalties, like between Snape and Harry. Ultimately, loyalty causes the biggest problem for the Malfoy Family - who realize too late that they are stuck on the wrong team. In fact, I feel a full analysis of Harry Potter 7.2 coming on, but that will have to wait for my next post. I am considering going to the movie one more time – because I really want to see that Gringott’s scene in 3D (even though I know it will make me barf). Plus I need to build up my loyalty card. You will just have to stay tuned for Harry Potter: Part Two.
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