Quote:
Originally Posted by Geggy
Saw this at a local food store. First blockbuster steals an idea of mail in dvd rental from Netflix. Now they've stolen the idea of dvd rental box from Redbox. Bunch of money grubbing chiselers. |
To play Devil's Advocate (and yeah, I work at Blockbuster, and I'm aware it's heavily in debt, but that's neither here nor there, it's just how I make money), sure, Blockbuster may have stolen the idea for mail-ins and kiosk rentals, but you can just as easily turn that around and say Redbox and Netflix stole the idea of rental in the first place.
Sorry to get defensive, but despite loving my job, I hear this shit at least once a day, ie "Redbox gonna put you out of business yet?" (Yeah, maybe, thanks for coming in, giving me your money, and THEN telling me we're failing. Ironic customer is ironic) and "They're really desperate, huh?"
Um, yeah, maybe so. But to say Blockbuster stole an idea is bullshit strawman garbage when the other companies stole the whole business model (renting movies to people.) I'm realistic about Blockbuster's problems (and in fact, despite the fact my store does well, I don't put it out of mind that I may need to find a new job in the next 5 years or so) but despite their debt, even anti-Blockbuster articles tell you it's still the number one DVD rental chain. I've seen an influx of people come back into my store because Redbox ripped them off. I WORK at Blockbuster and I rented at Redbox... until the day their machine decided not to take my return back because it was full. So I go to the Redbox across the street (as opposed to the kiosk outside the gas station across the street from THAT, and the three Redboxes in the parking lot a block further down) and return it THERE, and STILL have Redbox charge my credit card for the movie. Customer service? Not unless staying on the phone with robots for three hours, getting to talk to a human after those three hours, and basically being told I was fucked are good customer service.
Leave it at face value, because that's all it is: Blockbuster is trying to compete and stay competitive. Did you accuse iTunes of stealing an idea because the record companies are failing when people can download a gig of songs absolutely free and they did something to compete?
Again, I apologize for getting defensive, but I hear this shit way too often, and in person, it's always condescending in tone (yeah, your competitor is putting you out of business, I say, while I hand you money).