Video Stores That Reserve Movies

[Ash]

Most video stores do not reserve movies.
It's always on a first come first serve basis and for good reason.

I had an incident today at the small mom & pop video store (Movietown) a block & a half down from where I live.  Keep in mind that I've been renting from them for almost 5 years.

They reserve movies.  They do this with a pen & paper.  This is a store that absolutely refuses to use a computer to manage ANYTHING in the store.  
As a matter of fact, there isn't a single p.c. to be found on the premises.  

I called yesterday and reserved "The Hulk" and he put my name down.

I called today and asked the owner if it was in and he said it was and to come on down & get it.
I get there about a half hour later and the owner had left for the day.  His dickhead part timer is there working.  It was this part-timer who put my name down on the reserve list to begin with.  I told him that I was there to pick up my movie and he said that they didn't have enough copies...that he had "accidentally" put one too many names down on the list and mine was the "one name too many".  He stated that they rent out each copy in the order by which it is reserved.  WTF??

He pointed to 2 copies of The Hulk that he had sitting behind the counter but told me that they were for the people who had reserved them before me in chronological order.  I told him, "Why not rent me one of those now?  I'm a paying customer here with cash in hand and you're telling me that you won't rent one to me because some joker called in before me and who MAY NOT even come in for the movie?  They're not here in the store....I am."  

He flat out refused and asked me to leave the store!
I nearly came unglued at that.

I told him, "It was YOU who mistakenly reserved it for me yesterday...not only that but the owner told me to come down and pick it up and now, because of YOUR mistake to begin with, I'm standing here wasting my time."  "That's a real good way to keep a customer's business."  "You could just acknowledge that you screwed up and rent me one of those copies now."  "I've been renting here for almost 5 years...doesn't that count for something?"

He again told me to leave.

I held up my hand to my ear and said, "The customer's always......."  "C'mon say it with me!"  "The customer's always........"  
After he didn't answer and glared at me I yelled "RIGHT!!"  and walked out.

I now see why most establishments do not reserve movies.
It's to avoid the bulls**t I had to experience today.  
Should I go in and confront the owner and demand a free rental because of their mistake & tell them that if they don't, they will lose me as a customer permanantly?  

Some of you might think that this isn't really a big deal but put yourself in my shoes....this really p**sed me off!  
I had my mind set all day on watching that movie tonight and now I have to drive clear across town to Blockbuster and pay more to rent it.

What would you do?

What do you personally think of the practice of reserving movies for customers



Post Edited (10-29-03 17:51)

[Fearless Freep]

Ok, I'm on the side of the clerk.  

If they have a policy that they follow that the owner has established, than it's not the underlings position to change that policy and all that needs to happen is for those two people to show up after you've walked off with one of the videos and now that other customer is mad and the clerk gets in trouble for it for not following the boss' policy.  If he screwed up, he screwed up. People make mistakes and he told you he made a mistake.  Let that be that.  You're trying to force him to make a second mistake on top of his earlier mistake

In short, you were a jerk about it.

[Ash]

That policy is the underling's....not the owner's.  You don't understand how things work there.  The clerk has been there so long he pretty much makes up his own rules when the boss isn't there.

After all, it was the owner himself who told me to come and pick it up!  If it were the owner's policy, I would've heard the same story from him but I didn't.

And trust me, you weren't there.  That guy has had an attitude with me all the years I've been renting there.  
It isn't just me either.  I've seen him talk s**t to other customers as well.
Even to women.  I've seen him throw a woman and her 2 kids out of the store because the kids were running around and knocked a couple video boxes off the shelves.  The woman tried to explain that they're just kids but he didn't see it that way and demanded that she leave the premises.  That might give you an idea of how he is.  And no, I wasn't a jerk....I only became angry after he started in with me.  
But I don't need to justify myself to any of you.

All I can say is that this movie better be worth the hassle I went through to get it.



Post Edited (10-29-03 18:57)

[Fearless Freep]

And trust me, you weren't there.

No, I wasn't.  All I see is your potrayal of the situation and in your own words, you look pretty bad.

So if it was 'his policy' and not the boss, then call and report to the boss about what happened.  Take your business elsewhere, whatever.  A movie's just not worth getting that upset about and playing stupid games "The customer's always..."  That's just childish ASH

All I can say is that this movie better be worth the hassle I went through to get it.

"Hulk"?  Probably not.

[Ash]

My original question was never answered.  Instead I was insulted.  Oh well.  

What do you think of the practice of reserving movies days in advance?

[Fearless Freep]

Well given that I almost never rent movies until they're past the 'new release' point, I've never reserved a movie

[nshumate]

Just so you won't feel lonely, Ash, I'm on your side.  Sort of.

I'd call the owner back.  (I have done so, when the burgerflipper clerk hasn't known his own job well enough and screwed me over.  So I'm not just couch-quarterbacking here.)  Especially when the owner is the one who told you one of those movies was yours; call him, tell him that you were the one he called yesterday and told to come get your copy, but when you got there, the clerk gave you some spiel about reserving in order -- even when there were two copies on the shelf right behind him, waving at you -- and then told you to leave the premises when you questioned him.

Tell the owner how many Blockbusters there are within city limits.  You prefer independent retailers for the service level; if that service level disappears, you can save yourself some money by going to Blockbuster, AND get guaranteed new releases.

(What was the "sort of" in my first line?  Well... The fact that the movie in question was "The Hulk"...)

[Mr_Vindictive]

Dude, you have a harsh temper.

[The Burgomaster]

I worked in a video store back in the 1980s and we did NOT reserve movies. It was "first come, first served."

We tried reserving movies for a short period of time, but people would call up and reserve a bunch of hot titles, and then not show up to get them.  As a result, we would lose a day's rental on each one.  Some people even had the guts to show up a day later looking for the movies, and then get mad when we said we put them back on the shelf because they didn't show up the night before.  We decided it wasn't worth the aggravation.

[Raimiette]

I work in a video store which reserves movies.  However, we both write them down in a ledger as well as input them into the computer, this prevents reserving more copies than we have.

I must say in this situation I agree with the clerk...I am biased though since I am a clerk and have to listen to people complain all day about every stupid little thing.

Now back onto your original question.

I think that reserving works, but you have to make sure you do it the right way.  In my opinion not using a computer in a video store is sheer idiocy.  I can't even imagine what the onwer is thinking...he's making things way more difficult than they should be.  In the 7 years I've worked in my movie store we have never had a problem with reserving more copies than we have.  Obviously some problems arise when people refuse to bring their movies back on time but generally people will return their movies on time, or shotrtly thereafter, if you explain to them that the movie is reserved by someone else.  As well, even if the reserve dosen't come in we let the person who reserved the movie get another free of charge or a credit towards a free movie if they don't feel like renting another one.  Also, if the person who reserves the movies dosen't show up by 7 p.m. or give notice that he/she will be showing up the movie goes back onto the shelf to be available for others.  We have all these rules written out on a large sign above the cash register and whenever someone new is going to reserve a film we explain it all to them.

So, in general I think the reserve system works...you just have to make sure to implement it correctly.



Post Edited (10-30-03 20:31)

[Evil Matt]

That clerk is totally going to spit in your movie...

[Brian Ringler]

I think some higher power is trying to save you from having to sit through the hulk

[TC]

I worked at a video store for 5 1/2 years during college.  I was relieved when we stopped reserving movies for people because it ended up being one huge pain in the ass that created a lot of messes.  

As for your situation, I don't think I would "demand" a free rental.   I would calmly explain the situation to the store manager and nicely ask if you could be compensated for a free rental for your trouble.   If he doesn't, just take your business elsewhere.   The whole situation isn't worth getting that worked up over.  The best way to handle a complaint is to always treat the customer service rep or whoever with respect.  Everyone wants to be talked to with respect - even the lowest of people.  

Oh, and anyone who has worked in customer service knows that the customer isn't always right.

[JohnL]

I haven't rented any movies in a long time, but years ago, I did reserve a couple movies and it was nice to know that they would be there when I went to pick them up.

As to what happened to you, the clerk may be an a***ole, but how would you feel if the situation was reversed? Let's say you were the second person to reserve a copy, but when you got to the store there were no copies left and the clerk tells you that even though you reserved your copy first, he rented it out to someone else because they were there and you weren't. You'd be pretty p**sed at that too.