On January 4 I went, purposely, to a movie early in the year at the Monroeville, PA theater to get a 2019 popcorn bucket. I took my old one with me since I was with 2 friends and thought it easier to share. When I asked to buy a bucket I was told they were "out"!! It's ONLY the 4th day in the new year!! I was told they would get some smaller buckets on the 20th (which I don't want!). I asked if, in the meantime I could use the old bucket and was told no and referred to the manager. The manager basically told me no, they can't honor the old bucket, and that it's "while supplies last"...the ultimate catch phrase. Certainly Carmike knows what the demand might be and what the distribution must look like? Maybe you need to run some analytics? Or maybe someone in charge of program execution, distribution, and corporate communications needs to be fired over this publicity problem. I teach customer service courses in major companies throughout the country. I shared that HIS responsibility as manager was to do the right, the ethical thing here, and that they shouldn't be out of buckets by the 4TH of January! The execution of this promotional program is abysmal, poor biz practice on a program that I'm sure is a money maker, and certainly not customer focused. WHILE I was there...working this out with the manager, 3 other people were at concessions with the same questions. The poor workers at the concession stand were getting "hammered" by the customers! Another reason that the local manager should have been able to have the authority to make compromises on this very unfortunate poor roll-out. My pledge? To communicate as much of this as possible via social media, and to NOT buy ANY popcorn this year at Carmike. This was just plain wrong. A FAIL of the Carmike strategy... Our Strategy We believe our disciplined operating philosophy and experienced operational management team will enable us to continue to enhance our leading position in the motion picture exhibition industry. Key components of our strategy include: Focus on Providing an Extraordinary Guest Experience. We differentiate our theatres by focusing on providing an extraordinary guest experience through a variety of initiatives. We have a market-adaptive approach with our theatre….We train, motivate, and empower our staff to provide first-rate customer service, ensuring our guests are continually pleased with their Cinemark experience.