A Blockbuster manager responded to reader Sarah’s refusal to sign up for Blockbuster’s rewards program by declaring: “Fucking customers, I’m tired of everyone not listening when they don’t even know what they’re talking about.” Sarah had politely declined to enroll in the program several times before the outburst.
She writes:
My boyfriend and I entered the store on 1848 Airport Rd., Suite K in Chapel Hill, NC at 9:30 PM on Saturday, August 25, to rent two movies. As I am a previous Online customer, but have never held a Blockbuster in-store rental account, I signed up at the customer service desk before checking out with a very polite woman. She started to explain the Rewards program, but upon my polite expression of disinterest, she offered me a brochure and said I could read it over and decide later if I’d like to enroll.After receiving my card, I went over to the rental desk and waited in line. An employee at the rental desk asked if we were ready, so we proceeded to check out. He asked if we had just registered, and we told him we had. He then began to tell us about the Rewards program, and I showed him the brochure we’d just been given and said we weren’t interested at the moment. He continued to tell us about it, and I told him expressly I was definitely not interested. He continued describing it, and I said, “No, really, it’s okay. I’m not interested. Thanks though.” He started to get visibly frustrated with us, and said that we didn’t understand, and then asked if we’d be renting another movie from Blockbuster in the next year, and how we could get a free movie every month, and I said one more time that I was really not interested. My boyfriend at this point felt like I was not being respected (which I wasn’t), and said, “I think she knows what she’s saying, she’s not interested.” At this point the employee said, “NO, you aren’t listening, why don’t you tell me what I’ve been talking about?” I was incredibly offended at this point, as I feel that the customer is entirely entitled to refuse voluntary programs. At this point, I asked to speak to a manager, and the man held up his employee ID badge to identify himself as the manager. I was amazed that any company would place such a rude individual into such a position, and asked him if he was seriously the manager. Finally, he muttered, “Fucking customers, I’m tired of everyone not listening when they don’t even know what they’re talking about.” This was absolutely absurd, as there were children in the store, directly behind us in line — not to mention that he had just cursed at a customer. He began to argue with my boyfriend, at which point I just asked for our merchandise so we could leave. He slammed the DVDs down on the counter, told us they were due Saturday, and was very visibly on edge.
This encounter has completely turned me off of all Blockbusters at this point, and I’m actually dreading even returning the DVDs I rented tonight. I seriously hope Blockbuster doesn’t intend this to be the normal experience for its customers, and I suggest you seriously consider this e-mail as fair warning of an out-of-control situation. I have heard of absolutely horrible customer service experiences at Blockbuster stores in the past, but I never really believed them until tonight.
I am so horrified by this experience, I am considering filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Again, I’ve dealt with a lot of rude employees at various institutions, but I have never felt so disrespected and so upset as I am tonight.
Reasonable upsells are tolerable when delivered by polite employees, but no customer should be subjected to aggressive outbursts, especially not from managers. Beyond complaining to the Better Business Bureau, contact Blockbuster corporate at (214) 854-3000 and let them know their manager’s outrageous behavior cost them a customer.
(Photo: RocketRaccoon)
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Take that, Netflix! You might make customer service a priority, but
Blockbuster curses and shouts at people who are trying to pay them
money! SUCK ON THAT.
The guy must be a charmer with the ladies.
“Are you listening? I said I HAVE A WATERBED! I drive a CONVERTIBLE! WHY DON’T YOU WANT TO GO HOME WITH ME?!”
Seriously, I’ve always argued that businesses have to communicate with consumers, be it advertising or PR or point-of-sales, like they were talking to a girl. And no girl likes a guy who’s pushy or desperate.
Don’t bother with the BBB. What’s the point? The most impact it will have is to pass the message onto corporate, who you can contact directly.
Wow, people still go to brick & mortar movie rental stores. How quaint! (stupid, inefficient, limited selection, paying too much – but quaint).
@vonskippy: As much as I love Netflix, there’s no online substitute for the brick-and-mortar when you decide you want to stay in and rent a movie.
That said, this reader lives in Chapel Hill, NC, which doesn’t exactly have a shortage of independent and/or local video stores. They’re friendlier, often cheaper, and have wider selections of foreign and independent films (not to mention porn!!). There’s no good reason why she should be renting from Blockbuster.
While I haven’t had any rude experiences at Blockbuster, they seem physically incapable of fixing my account in their system. They ask me every single time I’m in – several times a week – to confirm my address. I’ve told them time and again, always politely, that yes, I still live there and yes, George, you asked this Monday. And last Thursday. Still haven’t moved. They’ve tried adding “warnings” to my file not to ask, but apparently the warnings pop up AFTER the request for confirmation.
I’m waiting to see if the magically-appearing “Adult Block” that I just had removed will re-appear. I haven’t been 18 in at least a decade and I’ve definitely been renting R movies since at least June of this year, but suddenly hey there red flags!
When Blockbuster rebrands itself as Skynet in a couple years, I’m moving to Fiji.
@spinachdip: That’s none of our business. Blaming the customer for choosing a particular store doesn’t help the fact that that store treated them like dirt.
WOw! Thats kinda bizarre! You’d think most BB employees are used to customers saying “no thanks” during their hard-sell spiel.
Btw… this weekend I rented two dvds (they were free with the coupons I had)& they forgot to remove the yellow security strip that locks the dvd cases closed. I had to look up a hack online to get it open (involves magnets). I plan on putting the strips back in & requesting 2 free dvds for my trouble when I return them.
@vonskippy: The only reason I’m with Blockbuster NOW is that when you do the math of in-store exchanges, the rentals come out to $1 a movie. Even in the 80s you couldn’t beat that price!
I AM running out of things to exchange for, I might have to run A thru Z down the Horror and Foreign aisles. When I’m done with that, I’m going back to the $10 a month plan. It gets rough watching 12 movies a week!
@Buran: I’m not blaming the customer – I sympathize with her 100% (see my previous comment). I’m just saying, she’s not going to have any trouble finding a non-douchey alternative for her spontaneous DVD rental needs.
Yeah, the Better Business Bureau won’t care, I don’t think; they’re more about fraud, shady business practices, etc., not general rudeness.
As a side note, if the offending employee is the manager, that doesn’t mean you have to let it go. Ask him who he reports to — probably a regional manager or something. Tell him you want his supervisor’s name and phone number. If he refuses, go home and contact the corporate office with your story — and make sure to mention that he refused to give you the name of his boss, which will piss them off as it’s usually a violation of policy to refuse that. Make sure to ask for and include the guy’s name in your complaint.
This is another reason to try to avoid national chain operations when practical. The manager of a Blockbuster store (or any other corporate behemoth) is just a flunky, a cog in a vast machine. The manager of a local independent video rental operation is probably the owner, or related to the owner, and is much less likely to go postal, and more likely to be nice you you.
Think about it.
He most likely was not the store manager, but rather the manager-on-duty; either a shift leader or assistant manager can hold that title.
That being said, I’m totally confused as to why he would be so passionate about it in the first place. It’s not like BB employees get any kind of commission off something like that. Most likely something else had him on edge and he lashed out at her over something stupid.
If she were to complain to the store or district manager, he probably would not be employed there for long. They’d probably also offer some kind of compensation, but I wouldn’t set foot in that place again.
@curmudgeon5: District manager info is usually posted somewhere in the store, though she probably won’t want to go back to get it. She can, however call the store at any time, and ask any employee for that info. They are required to give it, and probably won’t even ask why she wants it. DMs will likely bend over backwards to make her happy.
wow that guy is a jerk. You seem like you handled it very calmly. Kudos to you. If it was me, I would have kicked him in the nuts.
These upsell rewards programs are getting out of line anyway. I am tired of being marketed to every time I try to buy anything. I don’t want a rewards card, credit card or to give anyone my phone number.
When will corporate america figure out that this crap alienates customers?
What the guy at BB did was way out of line. She should have refused to complete the transaction and left.
I had a similar situation at a car dealership, and the salesman got so upset at me for something he mistakenly thought I did… he effectively impounded my car for 3 days and refused to release it.
Wrote a letter to the corporate office and now he’s the guy who puts the paper floormats in my car when I bring it in for service.
True story.
Provided this is true, this is worse than the TigerDirect fiasco. Definitely write a well worded calm letter to corporate. You know there are just some people who are not suited for the retail business.
Were I BB corporate I might suggest a drug test. People don’t usually just go off like this without some ‘assistance’.
call corporate.
they REALLY don’t like that, but in this case it’s quite deserved. there is no reason anyone in the store should be pushing a program that much, to the point they are fighting with customers who decline. it’s probably pressure from on-high to sell more rewards programs (and thus, more repeat business) and the added corporate stress of netflix competition.
they need to hear the effects it’s actually having on business, from the customer’s perspective. if you ever see any employee of any store acting this way, your immediate reaction should be very politely asking for the “guest relations” or “customer relations hotline.”
then you can explain to the nice people there why you’re never giving them your business again, and it’s more likely to have a real impact on the store or the chain in question.
@allthatsevil: I’d be surprised if the upsell wasn’t tied to bonuses or performance reviews in some way.
That was the case for the frequent buyer program at a mail order reseller I worked for when I was in college, except we were told to drop the subject the moment the customer said “no thanks”. Though the incentive program there was a pretty decent deal ($25 one-time fee, 10% off everything forever), so we’d automatically add it to the order if it went over $250.
> He began to argue with my boyfriend, at which point I just asked for our merchandise so we could leave.
The big mystery here is why, after being abused, you went ahead and did business with them? Do you WANT to give them any of your money?
@spinachdip: I used to be an ass-man at BB, and they never gave employees incentives to do anything. Except for the DirectTV – you had to be an authorized seller for it, and then you got $10 for every person you signed up. I have a feeling that $10 was coming from DirectTV and not BB, though.
Unless they’ve suddenly started treating their employees better, which I seriously doubt, then he wasn’t going to get anything out of selling that Rewards program. We certainly didn’t when I worked there.
@spinachdip
personally, my g/f and I go to Blockbuster because it’s right on the corner (less then 1/4 mile away) and we signed up early enough to still get unlimited in store free rentals with the online ones we bring back.
What’s not to love? I get all the new release stuff when its in store, sign up for it on the list when it’s not, and we get to rent a bunch of older stuff for free whenever we’re in the mood. Since she’s only 23, she’s never seen a bunch of movies I (29) grew up with as staples, so we’re slowly moving through the stack.
There’s a local place that’s better stocked (an entire Criterion Collection Wall) but its a much farther drive and costs more then unlimited freebies. As for porn, we’ve got a great porn/toy shop only about 10 minutes away that we get all our naughty stuff at. They’ve got a better selection then any mom and pop store has anyway, since they keep up to date with new releases instead of just having a bulk purchase of misc videos to stock the room.
@allthatsevil: I see, that really is surprising. And now I’m even more surprised by the batshit crazy manager if he had nothing to gain from the upsell.
Some places do have very good incentives programs that work for frequent customers. It would be much better if they took a hint when the infrequent customers make it known that that they don’t give shit. Instead of assuming the customer heard them wrong. There are times when get calls from my credit card companies about new benefits and I just end up saying, “I actually really just don’t want to talk about my credit card right now.”
Take control of the situation. Make a scene. Yell loudly with your hands cupped over your mouth dramatically: I DON’T WANT TO SIGN UP. DO I HAVE TO REPEAT THIS A FOURTH TIME? WHY ARE YOU MAKING EVERYONE IN LINE WAIT? I DON’T WANT IT. I DON’T WANT IT.
In other words, make the guy look stupid. Play his game. Get out of your shell and you’ll feel much better about the whole thing.
The moment he said f*** would’ve been the moment I (calmly) walk out of the store and not even bother renting anything. That manager doesn’t deserve any business.
Chances are EXTREMELY good that the cursing manager is under pressure from his superiors. Under pressure to sell the “rewards” program, which, while disguised as “good for customers,” is intended to be a cash cow for Blockbuster. No doubt that manager spread the pressure to all employees to do everything in their power to force the decision their way. This BS comes from corporate policy regarding revenue (which may in turn be substantially motivated by shareholder value pressure). It’s quick buck thinking, not thinking: How can we treat customers with more respect and empathy so they will really like us and be more loyal, and thus produce long-term profitability? It’s the AOL mentality, Jiffy Lube mentality, or Best Buy mentality. Fucking foolish.
Use Movie Gallery instead.
Wow, that Blockbuster is rated PG-13!
Well, the motive here may be something else. I’m on the unlimited exchange plan and average maybe five movies traded per week. I don’t actually RENT movies from them in the store, so all they make on me is whatever BB corp. is paying them for the exchange and the popcorn tubs I get every week from my $5.99 “snack card.” I see that they are not promoting the snack cards in my local store anywmore – the display is gone – but you can still purchase the cards by asking for them. (The snack cards are good for up to $1.99 credit _per visit._ So if I make it to the store twice in one week, I get about four bucks of “free” popcorn.)
I haven’t seen the local store PUSHING the rewards program, but I did see the flyers in the store. I don’t know if it even applies to EXCHANGES. Could this be how stores are trying to move us away from the online rentals?
What amazes me is that many folks will spend $4.29 to rent a movie. BB Online has ruined me for that. Itunes taught me that a buck is the price of a song. BB taught me that $17.95/month is the price of five movies and five exchanges per week.
I bet that frustrated, nutty manager is desperate to do anything to get folks renting instead of trading. He’s even convinced himself that it’s good for his customers. It’s really BAD that they are not effin’ interested.
And my local BlockBuster is clean and the employees are polite. Something I DO find interesting is that I do a lot of plotting and planning about what I’m ordering online. In the brick and mortar store, I just charge in there and find something interesting. Last night, I grabbed anime and a Russian movie called “Mirror Wars: Reflection One,” which was actually pretty decent.
I watch movies a lot from Blockbuster. I’m in the online rental program. I have 3 dvd envelopes I can keep as long as I want and send in when I’m done. Then they mail me out new envelopes. However I hardly ever just mail them in. I usually take them in and return them in the store because When I do they give me a free regular rental for every envelope I’ve brought in. I also get another free rental every month. I’ve never had customer service problems, except maybe occasionally being mailed the wrong dvd. However, that’s easily reported and fixed. I also can’t really remember the last time they asked if I wanted to be a rewards member…
I like Blockbuster a lot. That store she went to needs to go under some serious review. The manager’s behavior is ridiculous… It makes me think they must have some sort of commission based thing going on with selling the rewards program. Maybe the manager had a quota to fill.
@bigTrue: Okay, so there are good reason to rent from BB. I’d still pick a combo of Netflix and mom & pop (99 cent rentals!) though.
In my defense, my last experience with BB was pre-Blockbuster Online, and the one near me had incredibly meager selection of movies that weren’t new releases. It didn’t help that they charged a late fee on a movie I returned on time and accused me of lying when I asked to have the fine removed.
@JohnMc: While that’s pretty bad, no one has the right to not be offended while everyone does have the right to not be subjected to false imprisonment or illegal search and seizure.
TigerDirect violated someone’s rights and threatened their freedom. Blockbuster was just rude.
Stare at him creepily, just keep staring and then say no at the very end. If he still insists or if you don’t have the patience, just ask him what is the reward after every few words he speaks times and let him explain it until he gets frustrated and having a confused look helps.
@spinachdip: Except that bb’s selection is absolutely awful in my opinion. The BB near by house folded recently – absolute shite movie selection followed by absolute shite service.
@artki: That struck me as odd as well. My completing the transaction she made it clear that the manager’s actions and words were perfectly find with her. Not sure why she’s complaining now.
The manager’s attitude, tone of voice, and language are inexcusable. So don’t take what follows as an excuse.
Ever wonder why cler … ‘scuse me … sales associates are so pushy about store credit cards, bonus plans, buying more batteries than you need, extended warranties etc.
It’s because that’s how they get paid.
Many of them are making little better than minimum wage and the only way they can increase their take-home is with commissionable or spiff sales. (If you’re not in retail, spiffs are bonuses paid for selling specific items.) The items that normally get the best bonus for the seller are those where the customer is paying for something that they are unlikely to use, or where the markup is so high that the company will make money even after paying the spiff.
Many of these companies are short-sighted, looking to get an immediate benefit at the risk of losing the customer. So managers are held accountable for the number of these extras that their people sell. In many cases, their salary also depends on the ability of their salespersons to add these extras.
This system also explains why you should never expect any significant assistance or information from these people. Any time that they spend trying to show you how to use something is reflected in their dollar per hour score. If they don’t sell a certain amount every hour that they are on the floor, they lose any extra money they may have made.
As an example, the rudeness of Cingu … ‘scuse me again … ATT salespeople after the sale is legendary. Often they won’t even do the most cursory troubleshooting or give you any explanations. The reason is simple. The only time they can make money is if they sell you a new or upgrade contract. That phone you bought for $275 because you dropped the last one in the toilet sounds expensive to you, but the salesperson makes no money off it. Activation takes time and all that time that they’re spending with you means that the ability to pay their rent is slowly decreasing.
Sticking with sell … ‘scuse me again … cellphones, here’s how it breaks down.
SCENARIO 1
1. A customer signs up for a $39.99/month plan and gets a cell phone free – probable spiff $10-15
2. The customer adds text messaging – probable spiff $5
3. The customer adds internet access – probable spiff $10
4. The customer adds GPS, downloadable music, photo mail – each of these adds money to the spiffs raising the the salesperson’s paycheck and helping the manager look like he or she is doing their job.
Cost to the customer – nothing until they get there first bill.
SCENARIO 2+
1. A customer buys a new phone for $300 having destroyed his old one. – spiff $0
2. Customer needs to transfer names and addresses from old SIM card to a new one – spiff $0
3. Customer cannot figure out how to connect his Bluetooth device – spiff $0
4. Customer cannot figure out why all those extra charges are on the bill – spiff $0
I could go on, but you should be getting the picture.
Add to that, the fact that a salesperson who pays attention to customer needs and doesn’t inflate the contract unnecessarily, or doesn’t make the base dollar per hour goal is likely to get fired even if he or she has the highest rate of return customers.
It’s all about right now in retail. If helping you doesn’t make money, then you won’t get helped.
if you were getting an indie flick, there are plenty of other options in Chapel Hill…if you were going for a mainstream film, check out RedBox machines at the Harris Teeters throughout the Triangle area…they are great and you dont have to deal with rude employees…i havent been to blockbuster in years because of the upsell thing.i just want to rent a movie for christs sake!!
Huh. Blockbuster is still around? Giving money to any business that employs upselling is like asking for any and all abuse they can heap at you.
I dumped them as a consumer back when I found out they actively supported pro-life candidates and censored their local managers from carrying films with content and ratings they didn’t approve of.
Just a postscript:
Reality sucks. It’s not that salespeople or their managers dislike their customers, it’s just that their jobs are at stake and the only measuring stick that is being used is the almighty dollar per hour.
These guys (and I use the term unisexually) are just ordinary people being put under a lot of pressure. I’m surprised that so few of them implode as dramatically as the manager above.
On a related note, upon moving, I inherited the telephone number of a Blockbuster customer who apparently had trouble returning his videos on time. Every week, I would receive multiple telephone calls by Blockbusters automated system, urging me to return “The Lion King.” The caller ID was spoofed (999) 999-9999 Name Unavailable. I called my local Blockbuster and explained the situation. They were courteous enough, and promised to remove my telephone number from their system. Only, it wasn’t removed, even after several follow-up calls.
Technology to the rescue. My telephone service allows me to redirect calls, so I redirected their caller ID to the local Blockbuster that had offered to help me. Let them deal with their own system.
The problem with retail is there is always someone to replace you. Having these rewards programs and cards count towards performance reviews makes me sick. It’s why people hate big business. To place constraints on employees which they really cannot control. With corporate knowing its not really fair, and knowing there is always someone else waiting in line for a shitty job.
I’m amazed at how pampered the average American consumer has become. She had a bad experience from a twerpy, on edge moron, and now she is “completely turned off every single store in the chain”? Chances are when she returns no one will know who she is, and the big mean cashier will have been fired or quit.
WRITE to corporate. Companies still regard paper with higher regard than calls/e-mail because of the “permanence” of it.
Had a similar experience at Game Crazy, the Hollywood video game store. I was trying to buy a Wii (which was pretty hard to come by) and the guy working the counter told me he wouldn’t sell it to me unless I purchased the lame-ass rewards card.
I told him to go fuck himself, I wasn’t going to be bullied into their pointless rewards shit and left. I e-mailed Hollywood video about the encounter and received a pretty weak, diplomatic response. Two days later I found a Wii at Target…
I’m getting fed up with this card and reward program shit. I feel like I’m buying a car and the guy keeps trying to shove the undercoating up my ass. I said fucking, NO asshole. Do I need to scream ‘rape’ just to buy something, hassle free?
I worked at BB during my teenage years and was a manager myself (this was a decade or so ago). I can tell you that if that happened then, the person would have been terminated with one phone call from the customer to the district manager. Call another BB, ask for the district managers number – they don’t need to know why. Then call the DM. Although their standards are no where near what they used to be (and I’m sure this posting has made it’s way to the DM already), that’s all you have to do with any company like this.
As I said, I’m sure now that this has been posted here said employee is already gonzo, but calling the DM at this point might get you something out of it…
Blockbuster really does seem to be struggling to maintain any semblance of professionalism or profitability these days. My partner and I have been popping in an out of Blockbusters throughout the greater Chicagoland area for the last couple months with the faintest hope of finding some MST 3K DVDs. Every time we inquired about it we were met with strange looks and “Mystery Science wha…? Look it up? I think I might be able to…” We’d then either make due with the paltry selection the store offered up or leave empty handed.
We finally gave up any and all hope for Blockbuster about 2 weeks ago when we walked into one store only to find that it was a total disaster. The store was a mess, with dozens of those little cardboard place holders with pictures of the front of the DVD on them strewn about the floor. While the employees and other customers seemed completely apathetic to the state of the store, we walked around for a few minutes trying to be okay with things too. Finally we just walked out, drove home, and immediately signed up with another company for online DVD rental.
The Manager at the blockbuster is simply the oldest, or longest employed. Which isn’t really saying much.
I work at Borders Bookstore currently in the cafe, and nothing angers me more then having to upsell those stupid Borders Rewards. The fact is, no one wants one and really, they don’t actually offer anything special? You get $5 off every $150… what?!
So in the cafe, I always do the same thing. “Do you have a Boders Rewards”, “Nope.”, “Okay”.
Not to mention, half the time, the rewards was never activated and it prompts for me to enter an email. So I just bash the keyboard and come up with aksf;jsdf@.sdkjsa.com so in essence, you won’t receive your coupons anyway.
No one comes to a cafe looking to save $5 on a $150 purchase. They want their coffee and the raw couches we have.