Blockbuster Drama

I know just how you feel! I just had an experiece tonight but it would
take way too long to explain. Its too bad others don't see it our way.
Just because maybe they can't do something doesn't mean they have to
be rude about it. I don't care what the rest of you say. If you state
a policy or the way things are with an attitude or act like you don't
care it enrages people. If they had said ma'm we are so sorry but for
some reason we're not able to pull your name up. And offered her a
free rental or kept apologizing with sincerity I'm sure it would have
made a big difference! And I've worked in retail and as a cashier for
a while so I know both sides!!! So the rest of you don't need to take
a class you just need to figure out how to be EMPATHETIC!!!!! Actually
care about people!!!!

I'd like to clear up some misinformation that has been mentioned in
some of the replies. First off the "premium membership" is the
Rewards program. It costs 10 bucks a year, not $25. There are
unlimited rental programs such as the total access which combines
online and in-store renting and an in-store movie pass that can cost
$25 depending on the program.

Second, we are told to inform customers that they have a certain
amount of time to shop once we are within 15 minutes of close. When I
worked at Wal-Mart years ago we did the same thing.

Third, the movies on the new release wall are required to be in a
certain order. New titles must be on the top shelves. They must have
full presentation for the first three weeks. There are many other
rules but what can happen is that underneath a new title like
Premonition, you may have random "R" and "S" smaller titles. It is
done this way because 90% of the customers are looking for those
titles that just came out recently and it makes us look like we have
more copies.

Fourth, I'll explain how accounts work. Number one, contrary to the
post by an "ex-employee", Corporate stores for Blockbuster have never
been able to look up an account by phone number or address, only by
last name. Furthermore until recently the ancient DOS based computer
system purged the information of customers who had not rented in the
last three months (unless you owed us money, then it stayed in the
system indefinately). The only way to pull up an old account was with
the card. Looking up by name would not pull up an account that had
not been used in over three months. If you had used an account in the
last three months at another location they would able to get that
account number, assuming you are the primary. If you are the spouse
and the account was opened under the other's spouse's name, policy
dictates we do not transfer the account. Thankfully recent computer
upgrades have allowed for us to go into the new account system and
type in the date of birth and driver's license number and find
accounts for people. However it is a fairly new process and this
might not have been in effect when you shopped or the employees may
have been unaware of this tool.

Let me preface this by saying that I used to work at a Blockbuster. No
matter where I work, I try to treat every customer with respect.
However, many people think that because they're a customer, they're
above company policy.

Firstly, yes ma'am, you do need a Blockbuster card to rent from
Blockbuster. You either need your card or a form of identification -
preferably a driver's license. The reasoning is simple: people used to
just give a phone number and have their accounts located that way, but
they would use that phone number without authorization, keep the
videos overdue, and rack up massive late fees. How would you feel if
you went in to rent a movie and found out that you had a $100 late fee
for movies you never even rented, much less returned late?

Secondly, imagine you're a tired worker. It's almost closing time but
you can't clean up the store, or even worse, customers are undoing the
cleaning duties that you had just completed. After a certain period of
time, there's no reason to be dawdling in retail stores. It's
eleven-o-clock at night and here you are ma'am, looking for books,
trying on clothes, scrambling up the Drama section, letting your kids
run all over a place of business. It's annoying. Have some decency and
get your errands completed early. Don't wait until 10:59 for that
movie you "just had to have."

Intense customer service training? Yeah, I took that once. We learned
how to speak to customers while jumping out of planes, how to act like
we care while bungee-jumping, and how to run the computer while
wrestling alligators.

yeah go to hollywood some who cant just carry a card guess you dont
want the membership in the first place
ps i think stupid customers need to go through a intense
understanding class or else jump off a building

Did somebody say ... DRAMA?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw

I want to know if other blockbusters do not put their movies in
alphabetical order? I went there the other day with about 5 minutes
before closing and was looking for the movie "The Sentinel". I first
look in the Drama area, then the action area and it's not there (I
don't know why I ever bother with the categories anyway). I ask the
lady at the counter and she says it's still a "new release". Fine,
whatever. I go and look for it at the new release wall. Now there are
only about 2 minutes before they are to close. I can't find the damn
thing and I am determined. I see all the S's but there are some R's
mixed up in it as well. Finally the lady at the counter yells at me
that it is time to close. I say "tough, you need to help me find this
movie" I ask her if they are in alphabetical order and she says "well
yeah sort of but not really. We just put S's with S's and stuff". Um,
is it really that hard to put them in alphabetical order or is my
blockbuster just lazy?

Christina, the only drama here is you.

Why is it that customers can admit to being blatantly rude and then
act surprised when they don't get stellar service? Most of this, I
would have to guess, you brought on yourself.

The card issue, I have no explanation, but I find it hard to fathom
that if you at least had a drivers license on you that they couldn't
pull your account info. Are you sure you haven't had a name or
address change that would have caused the to not be able to find it?

Complimentary movies for a year? BWAAAHAHAHA! Um, NOPE!

& FYI, you don't "pay" for a membership at Blockbuster, you rent
movies.

I don't understand. Maybe it's me. I rent at Blockbuster all the time
(several locations). I've never had an issue. I never use my card
unless they ask, which sometimes they do.

I've been there, done that, forgot my card. No big deal. I was with
you, for the most part, until the last paragraph. The last sentence
and the last two words... "at least". The ONLY resolution? ....
Really? complementary movies for a year, at least....
If I were BB I'd send a complementary lifetime membership to NetFlix!

I'm confused as to why you would have an account at one Blockbuster
and not all the others. I started my account in Michigan and since
then I've moved to Tennessee and my original account still works just
fine. All I did was change over the address and I was good to rent.
My current Blockbuster requires a photo id to rent if you do not have
your card...simple. I had the rewards account for two years (I think
I paid $14.99 a year) and they did provide me with 4 cards when I
first signed up (as another poster stated) so to continually not have
your cards seems like a personal problem, not a Blockbuster problem.

Though I do agree that if you walked in 5 minutes before the store
closed they should have served you with a smile...otherwise they
should state their hours as closing at 55 past the hour.

I don't see why everyone is bashing the letter writer here. I think
she has a valid complaint. I'd be pretty annoyed too if the employees
we're unable to do their job every time I went to blockbuster. And
normally I think asking for freebees makes the whole letter invalid,
but in this case I really don't think she is being unreasonable.

How can you consider yourself "a long time committed customer to
Blockbuster" when you don't even carry the free membership card in
your wallet?

And as far as "intense customer service training" is concerned - - I,
for one, would like to see a little customer training before that
happens. When are people going to understand that customer service is
a two way street? Good customer service on the part of the employee
does not mean that the customer can treat them badly but still expect
their every wish to be cheerfully granted.

DETROIT!!! 'Nuff sed.

This "drama" is definitely exaggerated. So you're mad because you
overheard two employees discussing how they are going to get everyone
out of the store? Big deal!!! they weren't being rude to you. Do you
want them to use a secret code amongst themselves? It wasnt intended
for your ears, and they didn't tell you to get out, so why do you
care?

What kind of service do you expect from blockbuster? Keep your card in
your wallet! If you lost it, go when its not too busy and get another
one made. I think you forget that employees are also people.

If people have an account somewhere.. HOW hard is it to bring the dang
card with you? its not like it takes up alot of spaces. I'm sorry but
thats a pet peeve of mine. At the store I work at.. we also have a
card, and daily.. we maybe have to look up more than 50% of them..
most who dont even have one but "thought" they did and get mad at us
cause we can't find it. With customers whos cards are worn, I
certainly don't mind looking it up, because they at least keep it on
them. So on this letter, I personally totally disagree with the OP.

Just to reply to a few comments that have been made below. No, I'm not
the OP, but I've worked at Blockbuster.

Blockbuster DOES have a "premium membership." I think they call it
"Blockbuster Rewards." But, last I checked, it wasn't $25/year.
However, the price varies, according to their website:
http://www.blockbuster.com/stores/rewards

Blockbuster also has the ability to look up your account information
by your phone number, or address that is on the account. I, at times,
rent movies on a whim, and if I do not have my card, they look the
information up by my phone number on the account.

Now, as for the letter. The first incident could have been avoided if
you did carry your card. However, it is silly that it took 10 minutes
to look for a phone number to a store. As for the second incident,
from what I remember, Blockbuster's computers shut down at exactly
midnight, so you cannot rent anything after 12am. The computer will
simply not allow you to do it. That it why you were being asked(told)
to leave the store.

As for free rentals for a year. Ha! You get plenty with your rewards
membership!

There is a Blockbuster Membership that is paid. It's like $25.00 a
year, and that gets you a coupon for a free rental sent to you in the
mail once a month, plus for every 5 rentals you get one free. So if
you rent often it is worthwile.

BUT Having a paid membership does NOT eliminate the requirement of
having your membership card at checkout. In fact, they give you 4 of
them, 2 wallet cards and 2 keychain cards, so there is really no
excuse for not having it.

Let's look over these "employee-caused" problems, alright?

1. You forgot your card, and expected a clerk to call another store
god knows where to find the information.

2. You come in five minutes to closing time. Though it may take you
only a few minutes to select a video, it takes longer to process.

3. There are many things that could have happened there. From all your
stories, you imply it's been a while since you actually rented a movie
at Blockbuster, so therefore it's possible that your account expired.

You pay for a membership? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think
you actually pay for that membership. Maybe the employees are ripping
you off if you down.

Free movies for a year? Give me a break.

If you have a Blockbuster account, then you should have a Blockbuster
card. And if you have an account at one Blockbuster, then they should
easily be able to look up your information and get you a new card.
There have been times when I've rented movies at Blockbuster without
my card. They didn't need to call another store; all they needed was
my driver's license or information. This part of your complaint
doesn't make much sense.

As for showing up five minutes before closing at the second store,
most Blockbusters are open long hours. Although I agree it's not good
customer service to throw people out, at the same time, the employees
deserve to go home too. And I don't understand this sentence of yours:
"I mention to the manager the time and he says nonchalantly "I can't
even do it."

And if the clerk at the last store finally told you that you had an
account, why didn't you try to resolve the issue right then and there?
Again, it doesn't make sense why you'd waste your time going to three
different Blockbusters, only to finally have them tell you what you
want to hear, and then not try to resolve the issue.

As for a paid membership, you don't pay for a Blockbuster membership -
you only pay for the movies you rent.

Like Shaun, I have serious doubts about the validity of this
complaint. There are several details that that aren't adding up, and
the blatant request for a ridiculous freebie at the end really hurts
this letter.

Complimentary movies for a year? Yeah right. I guess you live a
charmed life if this is drama. Poor service, yes, drama, no!

I can't believe this is an actual letter.

For example, "it's not necessary because I already have an account
there. I then walked out." Why would you walk out when they actually
do find your account information? Why wouldn't you finally request a
Blockbuster card to resolve the problem in the future?

Then, "I pay for a membership because I like Blockbuster". No one
pays for a Blockbuster membership. It also doesn't sound like this
writer likes Blockbuster very much.

"In my eyes, the only resolution is to offer complimentary movies for
a year, at least." Why would anyone request something so
unreasonable? If this complaint was legitimate, a reasonable request
would follow.

BTW, why is this showing posted July 9th at 12:00 PM? It's not 12:00
PM yet anywhere within the U.S. Either PFB's time is off or I'm in
the Twilight Zone.