Does it suck to rent DVDs for you as well?

[The Strange German]

No, I don't want to know which Mom'n'Pop-store I should frequent to rent the NC-17 version of SHOWGIRLS (I live in Germany, obviously, and I own the NC-17 LD, so...; on the other hand when I rent at a German video store I know not to expect uncut versions of horror and action films, even if they have the strictest possible rating - BATTLE ROYALE is an example - cut by three minutes and it is UNRATED... what about that?), no, I'm curious 'bout some other thing.

Today I went to my video store (not Blockbuster, although we're treated to them here as well), rented three DVDs (for the record, BATTLE ROYALE, VERSUS and MEGIDDO - not bad for a triple feature :-)) and spent most of my afternoon in wild anger and frustration.

Seems to me as if it's a hobby of certain people over here to use rented DVDs as frisbees, pet toys, ashtrays etc... Even quite new discs are scratched beyond belief, bear fingerprints as if the FBI used them for their files, and so on. I'm quite used to it, but today BATTLE ROYALE refused to play properly over a certain point - it completely locked my player, cleaning the disc didn't help - the only way to see the final ten minutes of the movie was to go to the next chapter stop and then proceed backwards to the scene I got stuck. Not exactly way to go for a enjoyable viewing experience. Normally I wouldn't mind too much, but since I now reach a ratio of 1 disc that won't play properly out of 3 I rent,
I get a little bit upset (yeah, I get a refund if the store acknowledges the defect -
but it just generally sucks if I can't watch the movie I rented) - and I own a player
that plays just about anything just fine, so it's not my player's fault.
Switching to rent good old VHS is not an alternative - I usually desire the original
language track (thank God even German DVD distributors - at least most of them - have now embraced the fact that many viewers actually want to see and hear the movie the way it was made in the first place) and even I can't buy all movies on DVD I'd like to (and a service like NetFlix still has to show up over here - and if it would, I think it won't work)...
So at this point I'm quite hopeless (I did complain friendly, but not exactly quietly,
today, so that other customers might hear it).

The question (finally): Do you have similar experiences when renting DVDs or are customers wherever you are posting from a bit more sensitive about the fact that I as the tenth or fifteenth person to rent a DVD am charged the same than the first or second person? Or is the average DVD renting type simply that careless (actually, I do suspect he is)? If so, I wonder if they treat their own stuff the same way.

Just ranting,
Markus

[Funk, E.]

My DVD drive on my computer will occationally cack/freeze up, but generally you just restart the movie, skip to the last chapter you saw and it works fine. Not that it should be your responsibility to repair rental disks, but there are cd repair kits that fill in the scratches with a clear resin making them more playable and repairs skips. It might be the only way to ensure a smooth movie watching experience.

[The Strange German]

Yep, I'm aware of that but as you said - I don't think it's my responsibilty to clean up the mess others have created (my own discs, different story - although I own enough discs that are in heavy rotation and they don't show any marks or wear of usage)... if everyone would handle the discs like they should, there wouldn't be a problem at all (or at least, only a negligible one) - but I suspect that's too much to ask from Joe Public.

cheers,
Markus

[Brother Ragnarok]

Speaking from experience as I work at a rental store, you're right, Strange German.  People who rent DVDs do indeed use them for all kinds of recreational activities besides watching them.  I'm pretty sure a few of our customers actually use them as temporary replacement circular saw blades.  They last maybe a month or two before people start bringing them back saying they don't work.
Your standard average rental store customer is careless and stupid and does not know how to take care of others' property.

Brother R

[The Strange German]

Sigh... I'm almost happy that this isn't a particular problem over here (well, I said almost). I still can't figure out what's so hard to understand in handling a DVD. You take it out the case, put it in the player and vice-versa, voila. But the saw blade theory is quite interesting :-)
Does your store charge customers for replacements? That's the least I'd do and it'd teach them a little respect... maybe.

Never had this kind of trouble with VHS (although once I rented a tape that had been repaired with adhesive tape... the expression on the clerk's face when I returned it and showed him that ... thing was priceless, though).

cheers
Markus

[Brother Ragnarok]

Unfortunately we can't charge any one particular customer for the scratched or damaged DVD, because there's really no way to prove which of the thirty people who rented the disc delivered the final blow that made it non-functional.
It wouldn't surprise me if rental prices started going up, though.

Brother R

[The Strange German]

Granted, that would be a bit difficult :-) With VHS at least that is easier - either the tape is torn or it isn't. Not very much in between.
I guess it's the typical game that the stupidity of some causes disadvantages for those who know how to behave (incidentally, I noted that my local store just raised the prices - I wonder why...). Just as in real life :-)

cheers
Markus

[Fearless Freep]

I've had VHS tapes that would not play due to abuse.  Usually I've just explained when I returned it and was given credit.

[Evan3]

Whew, what a deppressing topic. No fun at all. I must say though, for all the things people complain about..... like not enough world peace, the president (of America, Germany, other places) sucks, I can't vote properly, save the animals, etc. It is these same "moral" people that couldnt give a s**t on how they treat their DVDs.

Can you tell from my tone of voice that I am mad about constant DVD burnouts. I rented Spider Man for my dad and it WOULD NOT play the final web swinging scene. What a rip.

[TC]

At the location that I work at, I see this problem all too often.  People apparently are finding other uses for DVDs other than watching them, such as using them for coasters.  Then some people are not that understanding to the fact that people don't take care of them.  They look at us questioningly and ask, "Don't you clean these things before you put them out?" and stuff along that line.  As if with the sheer number of DVDs that we get back in a morning, that I can clean each and everyone of them.  And DVD players seem to vary in that my DVD player will play some disks just fine, with some kind of scratch or smudge on it, but then in someone else's, it will have problems.  Then you get people who get burned by one and then want the perfect DVD, with no scratches, which won't happen unless you are basically the first person to rent it.  I don't recommend using those DVD fixer kits either.  There's one called the DVD Dr. or something like that, that has a bad habit of ruining our DVDs when people use it on them.  It leaves deep swirl marks that further damage the DVD.

[Mofo Rising]

I think your best bet is to have the clerk show you the DVD at the counter when you're renting it.  If it looks scratched up, request another copy.  Of course, you're out of luck if it's the only copy in the store.

I was skeptical of us carrying DVD's at the library I work at, because I figured they would get thrashed faster than they do at rental stores.  Surprisingly, they have for the most part been kept fairly clean and scratch free (except for the kid titles).

Not that this restores my faith in people any, I'm just saying.

[Paquita]

your complaint about DVDs is Hottt! i dunno why, but its like porn for me its like yer talkin dirty!

love colleen

[The Strange German]

Seems to me that the bottom line is - don't rent DVDs, buy 'em, just to be sure :-)

Due to my rather obscure taste in movies I'm pressed to find a store that has multiple copies of oddities like MEGIDDO (a film that fits in the category "curious enough to see it once, but not crazy enough to actually BUY it") to choose from - unless some miracle equips all people on this planet with a basic set of common sense this problem probably won't cease (I did offer my video store to design a really big poster depicting all the big no-no's in DVD handling... 'till now they weren't too interested. Their problem. And given my design ability, they were probably right, too).

cheers
Markus

[JohnL]

>Or is the average DVD renting type simply that careless (actually, I do suspect
>he is)? If so, I wonder if they treat their own stuff the same way.

I have a friend whose CD-ROMs look like crap. I'll be over his house and pick one up and the backside is covered with little scratches, smudges, fingerprints etc. When one doesn't work, he'll take it out, look at the backside and then wipe with his shirt like a pair of glasses.

Myself, I'm a little paranoid about anything happening that could shorten the life of any of the CD's I've burned myself, so before I put one in the drive, I make sure to inspect the backside for lint or other things that could end up scratching it.

>Never had this kind of trouble with VHS

My mother once rented a tape that had what looked like dried soda on the tape itself.

>Unfortunately we can't charge any one particular customer for the scratched or
>damaged DVD

How about inspecting each DVD as it's rented out and informing the customer that they will be charged $1 for each new scratch you find on it when they return it? I'd be willing to bet that would make them treat it more gingerly.

>your complaint about DVDs is Hottt! i dunno why, but its like porn for me its like
>yer talkin dirty!

You are one strange girl! It's getting me Hottt!

[Neville]

I have complains of all sorts:

1) Scratched DVDs: Sure, I got this "Arachnid" copy and it simply refused to play the central 10 minutes. It stopped playing for about 30 seconds and then switched to next chapter. Ugh!

2) Missing Discs: I use to rent DVDs at a place where you have to get them through a machine. You know, you insert the card, select the title and here it appears. But it only releases 1 box per selection, so when I selected "Star Wars Episode II" I only got the film, not a trace of the extras disc.

3) This one is for that one who suggested buying DVDs is better. Well, not if you live outside the USA. I live in Europe, and Zone 2 DVDs often carry less extras than their american counterparts. It is quite sad to contrast the extras of your brand new movie with the extras of the version in Amazon. Sometimes they even refuse to add the original audio ("Knockaround guys", "The good, the bad and the ugly"), to subtitle the director's comment or even to add the original viewing format. Not to speak of "collection editions" ("Dagon", for instance) which have less stuff than the regular US edition.

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!