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NEVER IN ITALY

7/8/2015

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I just kicked a person out of my store. It was the first time this year and gee, it felt good.

The guy walked into the store with his two grandchildren. He was semi-familiar to me and while I didn’t really “know him” I recognised him enough to know that he was a member on our system. So I greeted him with the usual “G’day. How’s things?” to which he responded in a friendly manner. He raided the kids new release section (actually his grandkids practically destroyed it) and then complained to me that too many titles were on blu-ray. It was a pleasant enough exchange and nothing to curse over.

And so when the time arrived to make the transaction I asked him for his membership card or photo I.D…. you know, the typical requirements of any rental-model business. He responded that he doesn’t have either and told me (didn’t ask) to just look him up anyway. I said to him “No worries but I do need to ask you to make sure you have one or the other next time you come in becau…” – he cut me off with “How ridiculous!”. I responded with “excuse me?”. He then went on a weird rant about Australian VS Italy. He told me how he would never be questioned if he were living back home in Italy. He explained how “precious” Australia was as a country and that to be “required” to prove identity was absurd.

 It was all a little weird and I explained to him that I have a business to protect and the simple fact of the matter (as dumb as it might sound to him) was that accessing his personal information without the relevant identification was illegal. I explained that it was a privacy measure to protect his information, and that I was making an exception based on me recognising him. Somewhere in all of that I also mentioned that other staff members would not be permitted to perform the transaction were I not working. It seemed like a stupid conversation to me. I know my business and I know what can land us in some very hot water.

Once again he fobbed me off and gave me the whole “If this was Italy” bullshit. I had to put my foot down and told him that I really couldn’t care less how things work in Italy. “You’re here right now, in my store. Would you like to hire these movies or not?”. He then proceeded to tell me that I was a pathetic person and that I must be having a bad day. “Not at all sir” was my go-to response (with a smile). He went at me again and suggested that something very bad must have happened to me to make me such an unsavoury character. I replied, “Please don’t be so presumptuous.” Followed by ”Now, would you like to hire these movies or not?”.

His argument then turned to being victimised. “What have I done to deserve any of this?”…. HUH? The whole matter was beyond ridiculous and I really wasn’t interested in engaging it any further. I said, “Sir, please. Would you like to hire these or not?”. He replied, “Not if I am going to be the victim of some kind of unnecessary manhunt. If this was Italy I would have you charged!”. For another couple of minutes he made all kinds of personal jibes about my pathetic personality and my “stupid Australian conformity”.

That was enough for me. It’s Friday and I wasn’t going to have my weekend end on this note. And so I finished the conversation with “Okay well then I guess we are done. Thank you. You can leave now”. His face dropped and he said, “Wait a minute? So no movies?”. I smiled and replied “Correct. Goodbye.”

He yanked his grandkids by their arms and stormed out of the store. He ranted something on his way out but I was done listening. I suppose everyone outside can fill me in. LOL.
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PARDON THE PIN

11/5/2015

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Today I had an incident with a member. An Asian lady came in with a membership card, which belonged to her husband. The account had a password protection on it, which means we cannot legally hire to anyone who does not know the number. The lady's English was not fluent and she had trouble understanding the concept. I explained to her that she needs to know the password before she can hire any movies. She kept repeating "no number. no number". It was becoming very frustrating and I kept repeating the same thing in different ways to try and help her understand. She then insisted that I create a new pin number for her. Arrghhh. Obviously I cannot do that. She didn't have her own photo ID and so signing her up with her own membership was also out of the question. After 5 long minutes of going around in circles I lost my patience and said "I am very sorry but you cannot hire any movies today". She responded with "you are a very rude man to me". I repeated one last time that she must know the pin number or else she cannot hire.... and then she gave me the fucking number as though she knew it all along!! 

Several hours later her husband came storming into the shop. He came barrelling at me and of course at this point in time I had no idea who he was or why he was angry. I said hi to him with a friendly demeanour and asked how what I could do for him. He thumped his fist on the counter and said...

"If you EVER disrespect my wife again I will jump over the fucking counter and beat the living shit out of you!!". 

I took a step back and let him finish. I composed myself and explained that there was no disrespect and that I had been very patient with her. He responded by yelling "I will take my wife's word over yours, mate!" to which I said "of course. Would you like to hear my side of the story?". He huffed "what's your fucking side? This will be good!". And so I took my time and calmly explained the entire situation. I admitted that I became frustrated but assured him that I was professional and never at all angry, confrontational or rude. He then harked up and accused me of swearing in her face, which is ABSURD! I was shocked by the accusation and told him that I absolutely DID NOT swear at her. He wasn't interested in hearing anything I had to say. 

He pointed his finger at my face, tried to stare me down and then left. A decent bloke... must ask him over for drinks some time! 



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DOG ATE IT

21/4/2015

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SEEN IT ONCE, SEEN IT TWICE, CUE FURY!

9/4/2015

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Some people crack the shits and become hostile when we fail to inform them if they've already seen a particular title. Whereas other people become understandably irate if we DO remind them (because... you know... they're not stupid). 

I just served a woman who was angry. She wanted to know who she can lodge a formal complaint to. "That would be me, Ma'am". She was furious that we had allowed her to hire the same TV show twice in a row. She told me that we should be legally required to notify anyone who is hiring something they've seen before. 

I never respond well to unreasonable (moronic) aggression and so I launched into a response, which went something along the lines of...

"We can set up system alerts for you if you wish but we find that most people prefer that we don't bother them with unnecessary reminders. After all what they watch is their choice and many people watch films more than once. In your case we're talking about a television series. Its very common for people to hire the same title several times, usually because they weren't able to finish it previously. The fact that you hired it twice in a row suggested that you needed more time with it. And I am not sure how it is that you don't remember hiring it just last week... but again thats none of my business. If you require such reminders then we are more than happy to put an alert into the system. That's an easy thing to do but we do NOT make assumptions and I do NOT respond favourably to unreasonable confrontations."

And despite me telling her that we can set up alerts in the system and notify her of all repeat transactions she still persisted with the legal argument. "I could sue you" and "I met my lawyers would pick you apart" were two of her closing remarks. Yes well... good luck with that. LOL
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THAT'S ONE WAY TO RETURN IT

9/4/2015

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THAT'S ONE WAY TO RETURN IT...
Although I don't advise it.


#TalesFromAClerk on Facebook for tonnes more stories.

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BUGS BE GONE!

12/2/2015

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Customer dropped a BUG BURNER. 
That's a new one! 
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CLERK FLASHBACKS - PART 3

28/1/2015

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A lot of my stories over the past year have been short updates on Facebook and Twitter. Most of them have been too small for an entire blog-entry and so here they are, collected for your amusement. Enjoy.

A man just cracked the shits at me because, despite our new release section being 95% BLU-RAY, our catalogue of 12,000+ weekly titles was predominantly DVD. Not good enough for this film connoisseur.

It amuses me when an average Joe with limited knowledge of cinema comes in and attempts to talk with authority. For example (just now). Man returns TRANSFORMERS 4 and says "you know, I actually think that they're going to make another instalment. It was just left too wide open and I reckon I smell sequel"...... ROFL.... well duh!

Note to people. Do not come in during busy school holiday trade (when I'm clearly under the pump) and ask "what's good?". Thanks.

One of the hardest things I've ever had to do is put up posters for MRS BROWNS BOYS D'MOVIE! ... it breaks my heart.

How to guarantee busy trade. Have a technical issue that demands immediate attention... and then have a customer who thinks they can solve it (but they have no fucking clue what the problem even is) and then have a woman (who is well aware of the chaos that is unfolding) ask "What's good? Can you come and help us?" --- FUCK OFF Y'ALL!!  Oh and I forgot... an hour ago I purchased a $15 scent diffuser... and amongst the shit that's happening a woman asks me to turn around and grab something... and the whole fucking bottle spills. Zilch left... but the shop smells nice! 

Some douche just gave me a mouthful of attitude because DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES wasn't released until November. With a smartarse tongue he says "I thought it was finished at the cinemas".... um... yes it has. And it hits dvd and blu-ray in November! And then like a spoiled child he says "Fine. I'm leaving!" and stormed out. LOL

I just received a complaint that I have too many films in my store, which makes it difficult to choose quickly. I apologised!

All day long I've been dealing with people wanting to discuss Robin Williams' death. Far too many of them are flippant and say shit to the effect of "stupid celebrities are too rich for their own good. why would anyone kill themselves when they're so famous and talented?".  -- Today I am far too ill to be giving them a crash course in humanity and respect

An unfortunate fact... please excuse this rant. I'm just releasing some frustration and having a good vent.

A mother and her little kid just came into the shop. She wanted to sign up with a new membership but didn't have any identification on her. When I politely asked her to return with some ID she turned to her kid and said "The horrible, mean man won't let us have any movies today. Lets go". ROFL!

A customer had flippantly hired CHILD OF GOD based solely on the "James Franco Factor". They appeared traumatised upon return... their hands were even trembling. They left and I giggled.

Some guy just cracked the shits with me because Jamie Foxx wasn't in SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO.... I tried to explain that he wasn't in the other 30 Django films either.

I think the heat might be getting to some people. I just had a grouch of a woman ask me "So are all of your new releases now blu-ray?" to which I replied "yes most of them" ... her response was an angry "well I guess we'll be looking for a new video store then"... it was at this point that her husband interrupted and said "hun, we have a blu-ray player!". LOL

Just had a teenage girl come in asking about a job. When I told her that we are not hiring at the moment and that she was welcome to fill out an application form (because positions open up at the most random of times) she got argumentative with me. She questioned whether I knew what I was doing and asked if there was anyone aside myself she could "deal with". Um, no sorry kid. My shop. Bad luck. You fail! LOL

A father came in with this tail between his legs. His missus had ripped him a new one because he promised the kids they could watch RAMBO.... the problem was they he took home RAMBO instead of FIRST BLOOD!! Whoops!! Big mistake!! LOL


I honestly don't make this shit up... no sooner had I dealt with the customer from the last TALE the next one popped up. She brings the display case for STEP UP 5 to me and says "Um, I think you should know that they've photoshopped the characters on this cover". I looked her in the eye, uncertain whether or not she was serious. I replied "Yes they have. In fact they've photoshopped every single cover in this store". She looked around with her stupid little teenage eyebrow raised and said "REALLY?". Dear God!! She then picked up a packet of triple-butter microwave popcorn to buy and said to me "Yuck. Why is this packet all squishy?". She picked up another and said "Gross. This one is too. They all are". I replied "Yes. That would be the butter.". She raised her dumb eyebrow again and asked "Butter expires. How is that possible?". I took a sigh and responded with "Oh I dunno. Chemicals. Preservatives. You know... like most pre-packaged foods". FACEPALM!!!!

Apparently I am the bad guy because my store doesn't stock the LOST 1923 silent film STEPHEN STEPS OUT. The gentleman I just dealt with has been looking for it for many years. After looking it up I explained to him that it is actually a lost film and that he's never be able to see it so long as it remains LOST!! Well he wasn't going to have that. "What would you know? You're too young to even remember it". ROFL... As he looked to be in his mid-40s I replied "With all due respect, sir. So do you!".

Just had a smartarse 10 year old back-chat me in front of his mother. He was taking coins out of the donation tin and I asked him to stop. He replied "make me" to which his mother laughed at him. She smiled at me and giggled "ah kids". I looked the kid square in the eye (I can be an evil fucklord when I need to be) and said "If my son mouthed off to an adult like that he'd be lucky to see tomorrow. If you don't take your grotty fingers out of that money tin then I'll rip 'em off"..... fucking hell parents... BE PARENTS!

A woman just walked in and I said "Hi. How you going today?" and she replied "Jesus! I'm just looking. Far out!" before she stormed out the door. What I should have said is "Hi bitch. You're a fugly one. Now piss off!"




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BUSTING THE MYTH OF REVERSE COMPATABILITY

6/1/2015

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Today is my first day back at work after a nice 3 week Christmas break. I am refreshed and ready to take on whatever the day can throw at me. It was only a few hours into the day when a doosie walked through the door.

A woman approached me at the counter to discuss a mistake she had made while I was away. She had hired a heap of blu-ray titles thinking that they were DVDS. She returned them and exchanged all but one... that straggler was still on hire and she came in today to check if it was available. She was friendly and there were no problems.

Our discussion took a bizarre turn when I mentioned to her that we are predominantly a blu-ray store now and that we rarely purchase DVDS anymore. I mentioned all of the perks to switching to blu-ray, one of which was its reverse-compatibility... ie, meaning that DVDs can still be played on a new machine. 

It was at this point that she laughed. I gave her a smirk as if to ask "what's so funny?" and she began to tell me that I was wrong. With a weird-ass defiant and irrefutable tone she explained to me that she and her husband operate a "myth busting & fact checking website" and that they had discovered recently that the concept of "reverse" or "backward compatibility" was a myth made up by the blu-ray player manufacturers. This really threw me. Clearly it actually IS a thing and that the proof was undeniable. I explained to her that the blu-ray player behind me (as I was talking to her) was playing a DVD and that every blu-ray player I have ever owned and every blu-ray player on store shelves was reverse compatible. She kept shaking her head as if to imply that I have been duped or scammed by some corporate honky. 



WTF?? Seriously.... W. T. F ??





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AN UNFORTUNATE FACT

7/10/2014

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Our least favourite aspect of the business is debt collection. Late fees are an essential component and yet always unfortunate. Quite often when chasing late fees we are accused of profiting, which confuses me. Obviously the purpose of late fees is to recoup lost revenue and if we were to profit from them then we wouldn't be offering massive reductions and amnesties whenever possible (we offer 50% off ALL late fees when settled upon return). Anyway my point is that no one likes late fees, not least of all us. 

The general practice of debt collection (at my store) is as follows. 

1 sms or phone call when 2 days late. 
1 sms or phone call when 3 days late.
1 sms or phone call when 4 days late.
1 reminder letter when 5 days late.
1 final notice letter when 10 days late.
Title removed from account, marked as stolen and account sent to debt recovery agency.
Debt recovery agency then sends 2 sms's or phone calls over the course of 2 weeks (on our behalf).
Debt recovery agency then sends a soft letter on our behalf, which offers 50% off upon return.
Debt recovery agency then takes on the debt as their own and pursues by whatever means necessary.

A similar process is undertaken for debt that has been sitting in our system, which has gone unattended. Every 6 months we do a sweep of the system to address any monies owed that have been ignored or neglected. Members who have lapsed but still owe money are sent a friendly reminder in the mail, which will offer them a generous reduction. When such letters are ignored we hand the accounts over to our nominated debt recovery agency and they implement their usual process. It's important to note that we do not add interest on to outstanding debts. 

Last month we sent over 200 accounts to the agency for debt recovery and, as usual, we are now getting inundated with angry phone calls. We're used to it. What I find hilarious is that people are so willing to speak to me when they received a "notice of action" from the debt recovery people but ignored all of our previous attempts to resolve the matter. Not only had we attempted to settle the matter 8 previous times, we had also offered them massive reductions during that process. Only when it's too late for amnesty and the threat of legal action is imminent do they bother to make contact.

Of course I am a nice guy and I hate chasing people for money and so in most cases I offer up to 90% off their debt and invite them back with free or discounted hires. A fresh start, if you will. Most people then come around and change their tune and we are seeing a big return to the rental environment. With the prominence of blu-ray, home rental has become a popular thing again with families. 

Now if only they would learn their lesson and return on time OR address any debts straight away they would find rental to be a wonderful thing. ie... interaction with knowledgeable staff, an extensive selection of oddities & obscure titles and bundled offers & deals that cannot be rivalled. We offer community and a social connection to cinema. 





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DROP BOX BLUES

29/9/2014

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I am struggling without coffee today and so it's not advisable to piss me off. The last woman to cross my path almost copped the full brunt of my wrath.

She was hiring a game and while processing the transaction I reminded her that she still had another title on hire, which was overdue. I politely asked her to return it as soon as she got the chance. She replied "Oh it was returned". To which my natural response was "I'm afraid it wasn't. But that's alright. Just have another look when you get home". Our conversation went like this...

HER - "I know for a fact that it's been returned".
ME - "Are you positive? We are meticulous when it comes to returned titles. If they ever miss our scanner (which is very rare) then we find them almost immediately". 
HER - "Oh I am absolutely sure we returned it"
ME - "Do you know when?"
HER - "Yes. First thing this morning. We put it in your after-hours drop box. It's probably still in there".

ME - "No, sorry it wasn't in there".
HER - "Yes. It's probably in there right now". 
ME - "Well I emptied the box at 9AM and I have emptied it 5 times since. Every single title from that box has been processed correctly so unless you put it in there within the past 10 minutes then I am adamant that it's not there"
HER - "I watched my daughter put it in the box this morning. You are wrong".
ME - "I am not sure how you are not comprehending what I am saying but I have emptied the box 6 times today and can show you the log book to prove so."
HER - "I insist that you open the box now!"
ME - "Did you just returned it now??"
HER - "No. At 9AM!"
ME - "Well okay. Lets open it!".

And so I opened the box to see 5 movies sitting inside. On top of the pile (ie most recently returned) was her title. With a smart-ass tone and her arms folded she said "Told you!". 

At this point I was ready to explode. She obviously put the fucking movie in there right before you came into the store. I didn't return her "Told You!" with the reply it deserved and so instead I treated her to my infamous death-stare and said "funny that, huh? Bye". 



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POOR OLD LADY.

25/9/2014

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A little old lady came into my store earlier and damn near broke my heart. She approached me quietly with her eyes glassed over. She looked upset and embarrassed and after taking a moment to compose herself, in a meek voice, she asked if we hired out "adult" movies. She really picked the wrong moment to enquire because my store was full of people, with several kids within earshot. I quietly told her that we don't stock adult films anymore. She wasn't sure how to react. She stared into my eyes and looked as though she was about to burst into tears. In an attempt to pluck her spirits up I continued "but there are plenty of places nearby where you can find some". She replied "Like where?" and so I gave her a few suggestions of local adult stores. She asked if our membership card would work at their stores, to which I let her know that she would have to actually purchase the films. She was clearly becoming more upset and I wasn't too sure how to read the situation... that is, until she told me that her husband suggested that they watch sex-movies together and that he was making her do the groundwork. I quietly asked if she actually wanted to watch the movies or whether it was just him. With her lip quivering she told me that it was only him and that she was just trying to make him happy. My heart sank. I told her that she shouldn't have to watch them if she doesn't want to, but went ahead and gave her the locations of some stores that are friendly and will understand and help her. She looked at me and left. No goodbye. Simply broken. 

And to her husband I say this -- YOU ARE A PIECE OF SHIT !!!
DO YOUR OWN DAMN DIRTY WORK AND HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR YOUR LOVELY WIFE! 
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CRUSHED!

24/9/2014

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School holidays hurt my head. They're great for business but they kill my sanity. LOL. Take this for example. A kid does THIS to a bag of fairy floss while the mother talks to me over the counter. Before they leave she hands the bag to me and says "we wont take this"....  

Normally I would say "Ah YES you will" but today I'm all out of muster!! Sigh.

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 CHILD OF THE 30S

24/9/2014

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Yesterday I had a lengthy conversation with a lovely old woman who, well and truly, lived up to the "senior" stereotype. She appeared to be in her mid 80s but was very switched on and chatty. It was a frustrating discussion, however,  and one that I was going to keep to myself... but the details of it have stuck with me overnight and I thought that it was an amusing story to tell. 

She came into my store just after lunchtime and asked whether I had PETER AND THE WOLF available to hire. There have been various adaptations over the years but there has never been a proper theatrical release. I told her that we didn't stock any versions of the story and that she would be strapped to find any feature-length version of it anywhere. She was disappointed and then asked whether ROBINSON CRUSOE was available. We do have the film, however, it was currently on hire. In her frustration she explained to me that she was looking after her two great-grandchildren (aged 6 and 9) and that she wanted movies that would "truly entertain them". I introduced her to our family section, where we have over 2000 titles in stock. She honestly wasn't interested and told me that "all of these new films are rubbish". I suggested that we browse the titles together and that I could help select some of the wonderful movies amongst them. She humoured me and we had a long discussion. She told me the children's parents let them watch "rubbish". I was curious to what sort of titles she was referring to and she pointed to a few on the shelf. "Oh things like this." and "Things like that". She was pointing to movies like HUGO and TOY STORY. I was a little surprised and told her that I personally considered those to be very good movies for kids. She asked me why and I explained that they are both adventurous, sincere and thought provoking. She didn't seem convinced.

Our conversation lasted for at least thirty minutes and she revealed that she was looking after her grandchildren for two weeks. She wanted to introduce them to movies that she grew up with, which she considered to be wholesome and educational. At one point she mentioned OUR GANG (the original Little Rascals) to which I smiled and commented that OUR GANG was most definitely not wholesome or educational. "Of course it was" she replied. I don't think she was expecting me to even know what OUR GANG was but I reminded her of those child characters being paraded on screen in salacious ways. Little boys pretending to be cigarette-smoking gangsters in gambling dens and little girls pretending to be prostitutes. "It wasn't all pure" I said... but I digressed. I wasn't interested in pissing on this woman's fond memories and so I continued to show her some fabulous and wonderful modern movies. "No no no. I want Peter and the Wolf. And Robinson Crusoe". Hmm. Things were getting frustrating. 

I mentioned to her that I was a father and was in a position to lend my own advice. Knowing that I had children changed her attitude and the conversation switched to the type of films I exposed my kids to. She was genuinely curious. I told her that I like to challenge my kids. I am not one to bubble-wrap them and that watching challenging films was an important component to healthy development. I further explained what I meant by that and pointed to films like THE LAST MIMZY, HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS and BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA. "All of these are challenging in their own ways. This is a little bit scary while this one is emotionally charged. All of them have a strong sense of morality and they will take the kids on a wonderful journey". The conversation did go into what is age appropriate and all of that stuff but my point was that there was plenty of modern movies to enjoy.

Unfortunately this old woman, as lovely and well intentioned that she was, was stuck in her mind set. She was adamant that her grandchildren would prefer to watch classics from the 30s through to the 60s. I remaked that I personally can't imagine too many kids gravitating towards that stuff and that most kids don't explore classic cinema until they're much older and interested in historical context... etc.

The conversation was long and extensive. Only a fraction of it found its way into this article and I would be here for hours if I were to include every detail. The discussion was great and we both respected each other's opinions. She ended the conversation by saying that all kids (referring to the age of her grandkids) these days are lazy and lack a sense of adventure. That they've got too much time for computer games and mobile phones and no time for the outdoors. I smiled and said to her "Oh I dont know. I don't think the kids of today are much different to the kids of yesterday. It's the parents who have changed and have a lot to answer for". 

She left with ROBINSON CRUSOE on reservation and ignored the rest of the family section. It's a great film and all.... and I'm sure that her 6 year old grandchild is going to just LOVE IT.


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THE MAN WHO CLEANED IT HIMSELF.

16/9/2014

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So many of my run-ins with customers bring upon deja vu and Im sure that if I were to trawl through this blog I would see the same thing reoccurring. I suppose I document them to highlight just how many of these idiots are out there. 
This afternoon I was visited by a middle aged couple (husband and wife). They were returning several films and were quite disgruntled. The husband was angrier than his wife and he told me that one of the films kept skipping. I opened the case and examined the disc to find that the surface was devoid of scratches but was smothered with greasy fingerprints. I pointed this out to him as I began to polish the disc and he interrupted me by saying "we cleaned it ourselves". I nodded and kept polishing to which he repeated "I said we cleaned it ourselves". Fortunately at this point I was not done and so I stopped to show him the disc. I showed him the finger marks. He acknowledge them and mentioned that regardless of his efforts to clean the disc, the fact remains that they've been covered in grease in the time since. That was the end of that issue. His wife looked embarrassed. 

Next up he pointed to another film and told me that it doesn't work at all and no matter what they did, it would not work. I asked him if he owns a blu-ray player to which is answered NO. "So that's the problem" I replied, pointing out the fact that it was a blu-ray and not a dvd. He got angry and said "how are we supposed to know that?". I held the cover up to show him that our covers are unmistakable and irrefutably marked correctly. His wife looked embarrassed. 

I then took the opportunity to inform them that our store was now predominantly blu-ray orientated and that we are phasing out dvd. The husband got angry and said "well I guess you've lost me as a customer". I mentioned that this was unfortunate and explained to him that blu-ray is the leading format, which we have featured in our store for 10 years. I also mentioned that we spent the past 12 months advertising the change in various mediums. Online. In store. On rental covers and across the counter. A explained that, furthermore, the last several months has seen a stronger emphasis on the change and that approximately 85% of our members made the conversion before we decided to phase out dvd. I also explained the benefits of blu-ray and that the biggest perk from his point of view was the fact that they're highly durable and do not scratch easily. I told him that every hire will be perfect and that all films will play perfectly, without glitches. His wife looked embarrassed.  

By the end of the conversation I had given them 3 free new release hires and demonstrated the benefits of blu-ray. They left the counter for a few moments, talked amongst themselves and then returned to ask whether they could come back and purchase one of the blu-ray players we have on sale. 

That was far too much bullshit for a sale... but considered them converted!




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NOTHING TO REPAIR HERE

4/9/2014

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Disc repair is one of the services that my store provides. In layman's terms, the machine essentially acts as a cut & polish and removes scratches from the discs. As the image here suggests it is a fantastic service that brings discs back to life that were otherwise unusable. We're able to service all kinds of discs from DVD to PS2 to Wii, PS3 and rewritables. A guy came in today with five PS1 discs. He explained to me that he collects retro old-school games and that occasionally some of the discs won't work. The five he was bringing to me has been collected over the last couple of years and he had only now realised that he's unable to use them. I looked at all of the discs and they were in pristine condition, as though straight out of the shrink-wrap. I asked him where he had brought them from and he told me there were brand-new from various places like ebay and cash converters. I explained to him that the discs were blemish-free and wouldn't benefit from our repair service and also explained how our machine works. As the discs did not have any scratches, the machine's service would be pointless. I suggested to him that the problem could be a number of other things such as a manufacturing error or possible heat damage or even a rare case of disc-rot (which one appeared to have a slight indication of). I reiterated that the discs looked perfect and that there were no scratches to be removed, and that he would be wasting his money. He replied "Thats okay. Put them all through your machine anyway". Clearly he wasn't getting it and so I thought "fuck it". 


And I took his money. (Sucker!)

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