THE MAN WHO CLEANED IT HIMSELF.

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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