Blockbuster -- An Inconvenient #@$!%* Store

[manasecret]

What the hell is wrong with people?

Yeah, great way to start a thread. But jesus, what's with people manhandling DVDs???

I rented An Inconvenient Truth and started watching it an hour ago with a suitemate. We were gettin' into it, liking it so far, and 45 minutes in to the movie, just as we were completely hooked, the #@$!%* thing skips all to hell. I try to skip over it, but it goes on and on for the next four or five chapters.

Movie thoroughly ruined for us at this point -- and after the DVD actually crashes my DVD player for the first time ever -- I take it out to take a look at it. Amazing. It's like someone took the scratchy side of one of those different-sided dish sponges and meticulously and neatly scratched the DVD from the outside in, all the way around the entire circumference of the disc. I wish I hadn't ruined my camera in the dryer a year ago otherwise I'd take a picture for y'all. I would actually be impressed by the very neat work if I weren't trying to watch the damn thing and if it didn't fuel my usually dormant hatred for all mankind.

I'm not ruling out Republican sabotage.

But this also fuels my hatred for Blockbuster, and all other rental places in general including all the Netflixxes out there. This DVD is obviously ruined. YET, they still put it back up on the shelves for the next dumb schmuck like me who comes along and rents it. Yes, I can go back tomorrow when Blockbuster reopens, and get another copy free of charge. But this happens like every third rental. A ridiculous waste of time and thinning of my patience.

My suitemate brought up a good point -- I'll just check the DVD for scratches before I leave the store everytime I rent a ******* movie. Of course, this doesn't work for Blockbuster online....

[GameMaster]

I had that happen with disc two of Schlinder's List. It can be frustrating. One of the downfalls of DVDs I guess. I'd recommend only watching movies that are available on VHS. General rule of thumb you can use is that if the movie isn't available on VHS, then it isn't worth watching.

[Typhoid]

My grip[e with blockbuster's:




I bought NHL 07 for the 360.
It didnt work.
I brought it back.
They gave me store credit.
I didnt want anything that day, and opted to hold out for a week or so.
I went back a week (or so) later.
I saw NHL 07 on the shelf.
IT WAS THE SAME ****ING COPY I RETURNED THAT DIDNT ******* ****ING WORK.

That's low.
Re-selling a copy of a game that knowingly doesnt work, just to get a measly 50 bucks.
**** you, Blockbuster's, **** you.
I hope all of your employee's children fall ill to the black death.

[Storm Eagle]

Am I the only person who hasn't had problems with Blockbuster? Well, except for maybe this one time where I returned a video game on time, yet got something in the mail saying that they never got it and it's past its due date. I called the store to tell them that I did return it on time, and they did find it. So I didn't have to pay a late fee for nothing. It was just one store though, so I can't let a screw-up on one store sour my view on the general chain.

As for Netflix, I've gotten DVDs that were broken or unplayable in some way, and all I had to do was tell them, and they sent me a better copy straight away.

[Ric]

I hear what you are sayin about blockbuster, but it has been an indespensible guide for filling up the new hard drive on my xbox after I chipped it ;)

[Dylflon]

I work there. Don't even get me started on people ****ing up DVDs. Seriously.

But we don't check every individual DVD when they get returned. That would take a lot more time than we have. What we do do though is take them off the shelf when they don't work anymore. If by chance I do see a DVD that is scratched to ****, I put it in the bad film drawer. But I'm not gonig to check every DVD in the store to make sure they are pristine.

There's nothing I hate more than customers that ruin our DVDs.

[Dylflon]

I hope all of your employee's children fall ill to the black death.



Er...

But I....oh....



Anyways, I wonder who did that. :\

[Typhoid]

Er...

But I....oh....



Anyways, I wonder who did that. :\

Not you.
I love you, in hour intervals.

[manasecret]

Finishing the story, I returned the scratched-to-hell copy of An Inconvenient Truth, and I was pacified because

If by chance I do see a DVD that is scratched to ****, I put it in the bad film drawer.

This store also did the same. The lady who I told my woeful story to was very sympathetic because she said she had just taken home a movie that was also unplayable, and she worked there! So she took it over to the manager, and he said to mark it as a defective copy and put it away.

At least I'm happy to hear they do that.


I work there. Don't even get me started on people ****ing up DVDs. Seriously.

But we don't check every individual DVD when they get returned. That would take a lot more time than we have. What we do do though is take them off the shelf when they don't work anymore. ... But I'm not gonig to check every DVD in the store to make sure they are pristine.

There's nothing I hate more than customers that ruin our DVDs.

When I was ranting above I was thinking that you guys should check all of the DVDs as they come in. Perhaps hire another employee just to check them. And that way you would know which customer f'ed up the DVD and you could possibly charge him for it.

But now that I think more about it, it's probably not feasible with so many DVDs. And even if you catch the customer who did it, the proof would probably be too subjective to accuse a customer of wrongdoing. I mean, what if it's just a couple scratches, could you say anything about that? Or what if the customer tries to say it was already scratched when he first got it, or what if the customer is just a hostile dick. Too subjective.

To me this situation cries out for a technological solution. If someone could make a fairly simple, reliable, consistent, and -- most importantly -- objective scratch-measuring machine that wouldn't take too long so you could just pop the DVDs in and out and have it spit out some kind of measurement number -- I think that person could make some good money hawking that to all the rental stores out there.

[Dylflon]

If my store had a DVD resurfacing machine we'd be in business. But for some reason we don't.

It all comes down to a customers DVD player. Some DVD players can handle really scratched DVDs. And on the reverse side of that coin, I've had people complain to me about brand new DVDs that had never been rented before not working on some people's players.

It's hard to gauge whether a DVD is unplayable or not. But if it looks like someone has run their car keys along it (which some DVDs I've handled have looked like) we send it away to be fixed up.

[GameMaster]

Something unrelated to scratched DVDs that annoys me are DVD players that start freezing maybe 1.5-2 hours into use.

Like if I'm watching a movie or several episodes of television series, after a while, it starts freezing or just skipping a huge portion of the program. Its so annoying!

This occured with three DVD players I've owned and only one of them could be classified as a cheap DVD player.

Thank God for Xbox 360. That things plays DVDs perfectly. Never skips or freezes after extended use. And if it does, its because of the DVD itself.

[manasecret]

If my store had a DVD resurfacing machine we'd be in business. But for some reason we don't.

It all comes down to a customers DVD player. Some DVD players can handle really scratched DVDs. And on the reverse side of that coin, I've had people complain to me about brand new DVDs that had never been rented before not working on some people's players.

It's hard to gauge whether a DVD is unplayable or not. But if it looks like someone has run their car keys along it (which some DVDs I've handled have looked like) we send it away to be fixed up.


I had no idea there were DVD resurfacing machines, and I'm a little surprised that something like that works. I Googled it and found some neat-looking machines, Azuradisc seems to be the popular one. Do most Blockbusters have one of those things?

[Angrist]

I only scratch movies I don't like. :)

[Dylflon]

I had no idea there were DVD resurfacing machines, and I'm a little surprised that something like that works. I Googled it and found some neat-looking machines, Azuradisc seems to be the popular one. Do most Blockbusters have one of those things?

Some of the bigger ones do. My store is pretty small.