A reasonable question

[Stolidog]

Okay, so I realize that I'm probably going to get ripped for this post but here goes. I apologize in advance for the length.
I've been in retail for 25+ years, so I realize that customers lie, cheat and steal to extraordinary degrees. I have a situation that I have not encountered before.
On 11/26 my family rented three movies. We watched tham in short order, returning all three to the drop box by the due date. We're not the type of customer who rents every week or even every month, and with the holidays we haven't been back since. Tonight my wife and I picked out three movies and at the counter were informed that we had been autocharged on December 7th for two of our previous three movies rented ($19.99 each) but one of those charges had been reversed on December 16th because the movie had been returned.
Needless to say, we were a tad confused since we as a family had returned the movies to the appropriate drop box at the correct store.
After informing the clerk at the checkout counter of this, she could only recite what is obviously store policy concerning the auto charges (which I understand and agreed with). She called over her manager, who reiterated the above.
Since both my wife and I witnessed the drop, we asked both the manager and the clerk if there was the possibility that mistakes may have been made in the store. We were informed of all the procedures put in place to both check movies in and search for movie numbers on shelves should a movie be late, etc. I again asked if there was the possibility of a mistake, and got the same response. It took at least 10 minutes for the movie that had been charged to us to be found; we also didn't get a clear answer as to why one movie charged to us was refunded and one was not. It was clear that no better or more rational answer was forthcoming, and the impression we received was that an error was out of the question. I'm not a whiner, complainer or scene-maker, so my wife and I returned the movies we just picked out, surrendered our cards to the manager and politely asked for our account to be terminated.
Any help with these questions below would be welcomed and appreciated:

1) If a movie is never returned/checked in and is charged to the customer, where does the copy that I received come from? Perhaps an extra copy from the shelf? Mine's definitely used.
2) I have read advice from posters concerning the avoidance of the drop-box. What good is the box (except for overnight drops) if it's not to be used/trusted?
3) When I know absolutely, positively that all three of my previous rentals were returned within 24 hours of one another, how on earth do the return dates come up as 12/1, 12/7 and 12/16?
4) Is it possible for barcodes to be missed or not scanned? Or is it possible that these were viewed by someone else, either employee or theft from the drop box?

Thanks for the read- I'm more interested in answers than in raising hell, but the attitude we got from the two staff mambers was that we were lying and there could not possibly have been a mistake on anyone else's part. I congratulated them on their perfect performance and left. I figured that if I couldn't trust them to figure this out, I would be better served elsewhere. I'm sure many posters here are applauding at having three less customers at BB, but I admit to being puzzled at the lack of any real attempt at customer service. The customer is not always right, but he's not always lying either.

[charlied72]

1. If it was never checked in its most likely on the shelf. If another member tries to rent that copy the computer will not allow us to check it out and will pretty much tell us it has been sold to another member. Thats most likely why was one returned and the others were not.
2. Always bring your movies and hand them to the person working. Mistakes can happen if they are droped
3. see 1
4. Then you are FUCKED if the label comes off for the love of god walk it in and tell someone

[AbandonedDreams]

To the OP, something similar happened to me after I quit. I went in and spoke to the manager and she SWORE up and down it wasn't in her store and told me no one could have made a mistake. I informed her I used to work there and I knew it was possible to make a mistake on that side of things, and she still didn't cut me any slack. I actually had to go through customer service to get it taken care of.


It all depends on the person working. Which sucks, but its true. Had it been me behind the counter, you would've gotten something like "okay I know you returned them, but you'd be surprised how many mistakes have happened. If you go home and double check your house/car/kids rooms, I will double check everywhere here and with all the staff. I'll call you if they turn up, and you do the same". And 99% of the time the movies turned up.

It is possible to miss a barcode when scanning in the rentals, which is why you should always take the movies inside. The drop box is becoming more obsolete.

[BBVcasualposter]

To the OP, something similar happened to me after I quit. I went in and spoke to the manager and she SWORE up and down it wasn't in her store and told me no one could have made a mistake. I informed her I used to work there and I knew it was possible to make a mistake on that side of things, and she still didn't cut me any slack. I actually had to go through customer service to get it taken care of.


It all depends on the person working. Which sucks, but its true. Had it been me behind the counter, you would've gotten something like "okay I know you returned them, but you'd be surprised how many mistakes have happened. If you go home and double check your house/car/kids rooms, I will double check everywhere here and with all the staff. I'll call you if they turn up, and you do the same". And 99% of the time the movies turned up.

It is possible to miss a barcode when scanning in the rentals, which is why you should always take the movies inside. The drop box is becoming more obsolete.


I think a lot of times telling them you are an ex employee is probably a bad thing. At that point they now think you know how to scam the system.

Being an ex I only had this happen twice but I went out in the BSI and found where they misplaced it myself. The other time i paid for the item I was to lazy to ever bring back in a responsible amount of time.

[The Omen]

Okay, so I realize that I'm probably going to get ripped for this post but here goes. I apologize in advance for the length.
I've been in retail for 25+ years, so I realize that customers lie, cheat and steal to extraordinary degrees. I have a situation that I have not encountered before.
On 11/26 my family rented three movies. We watched tham in short order, returning all three to the drop box by the due date. We're not the type of customer who rents every week or even every month, and with the holidays we haven't been back since. Tonight my wife and I picked out three movies and at the counter were informed that we had been autocharged on December 7th for two of our previous three movies rented ($19.99 each) but one of those charges had been reversed on December 16th because the movie had been returned.
Needless to say, we were a tad confused since we as a family had returned the movies to the appropriate drop box at the correct store.
After informing the clerk at the checkout counter of this, she could only recite what is obviously store policy concerning the auto charges (which I understand and agreed with). She called over her manager, who reiterated the above.
Since both my wife and I witnessed the drop, we asked both the manager and the clerk if there was the possibility that mistakes may have been made in the store. We were informed of all the procedures put in place to both check movies in and search for movie numbers on shelves should a movie be late, etc. I again asked if there was the possibility of a mistake, and got the same response. It took at least 10 minutes for the movie that had been charged to us to be found; we also didn't get a clear answer as to why one movie charged to us was refunded and one was not. It was clear that no better or more rational answer was forthcoming, and the impression we received was that an error was out of the question. I'm not a whiner, complainer or scene-maker, so my wife and I returned the movies we just picked out, surrendered our cards to the manager and politely asked for our account to be terminated.
Any help with these questions below would be welcomed and appreciated:

1) If a movie is never returned/checked in and is charged to the customer, where does the copy that I received come from? Perhaps an extra copy from the shelf? Mine's definitely used.
2) I have read advice from posters concerning the avoidance of the drop-box. What good is the box (except for overnight drops) if it's not to be used/trusted?
3) When I know absolutely, positively that all three of my previous rentals were returned within 24 hours of one another, how on earth do the return dates come up as 12/1, 12/7 and 12/16?
4) Is it possible for barcodes to be missed or not scanned? Or is it possible that these were viewed by someone else, either employee or theft from the drop box?

Thanks for the read- I'm more interested in answers than in raising hell, but the attitude we got from the two staff mambers was that we were lying and there could not possibly have been a mistake on anyone else's part. I congratulated them on their perfect performance and left. I figured that if I couldn't trust them to figure this out, I would be better served elsewhere. I'm sure many posters here are applauding at having three less customers at BB, but I admit to being puzzled at the lack of any real attempt at customer service. The customer is not always right, but he's not always lying either.

when you say you returned them by the due date, do you mean the actual date they were due or the last day of the grace period? Yes we do make mistakes, but I can tell you how often someone calls me and swears they dropped it off, we look for it and cant find it. Then lo and behold when we do the drop there it is. Like the movie fairy dropped it off.

I have also had people think they returned it, but it turns out they had their spouse do it and they never stopped to drop them off.

And I have also had staff forget to check them in, and when that happens we remove any charges and apologize profusley.

So you understand where we are coming from, we get people who swear they brought them back but didnt around 90% of the time.

Here is a solution: Have them back by the actual due date, and take them in, hand them to the employee, and watch them check in the movie.

[charlied72]

When i stop working at BBV i will most likely stop renting all together DVDs and Blu ray prices keep falling and rental prices keep rising.

[BBVcasualposter]

When i stop working at BBV i will most likely stop renting all together DVDs and Blu ray prices keep falling and rental prices keep rising.

Thus no more "I've fallen and I cant get up"

Every cloud has a silver lining.

[charlied72]

But this is happing alot we ran an FOS for the first time since xmas a week ago and the thing was 5 pages long we found close to 40 movies not check in

[BBVcasualposter]

Did I ever tell you the story of why I'm always smiling?

[BUYMECAR]

if they found the movies on the shelf, then the MOD should've taken it upon his/herself to clear the issue and make a note to the SM/ASM to remove the charges and return the movie to the inventory. i'm sorry that they didn't.

a lot of mistakes happen with the dropbox. almost every time, i find that it is one of two things: new employees who are bound to make those mistakes or the lack of letting fellow employees know what is going on at the check-in station. i hate dealing with other employee's stacks. everyone has their own way of doing stuff, it can get messy.

[charlied72]

Why are you always smiling?

[The Omen]

But this is happing alot we ran an FOS for the first time since xmas a week ago and the thing was 5 pages long we found close to 40 movies not check in

what?

That's not how FOS works, it is a date range, if you dont do it it drops off the report, it doesnt stay on there

[BBVcasualposter]

So I had a wife, beautiful, like you, who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I ought to smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks... Look at me! One day, they carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just want to see her smile again, .... I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So... I stick a razor in my mouth and do this...
[im mimicing slicing my mouth open with my tongue] to myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!

[The Omen]

So I had a wife, beautiful, like you, who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I ought to smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks... Look at me! One day, they carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just want to see her smile again, .... I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So... I stick a razor in my mouth and do this...
[im mimicing slicing my mouth open with my tongue] to myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!

if I may ask you a question...

Why so serious?

[charlied72]

What are you talking about?any movie that is 7 days late is on that list I was saying that out of 5 pages and close to 500 movies on it 40 were on the shelf....

[BBVcasualposter]

Wanna know how I got these scars? My father was... a drinker. And a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. Turns to me and he says "Why so serious?" Comes at me with the knife,"Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth. "Let’s put a smile on that face!"

[The Omen]

What are you talking about?any movie that is 7 days late is on that list I was saying that out of 5 pages and close to 500 movies on it 40 were on the shelf....

somebody skipped the check in process... the way you phrased your post you made it sound as if since you hadnt done a FOS since xmas that was why it was so long

[DavidNewlySL]

to the op...

Things do happen, there is an FOS procedure that should be done everyday to check any movies 7-10 days late. Also, if someone calls, and they checked a movie that autocharged in, we typically check that account at the same time for others, just to knock them all off.

The employee was correct for stating policy, but incorrect for not saying yes mistakes can be made. Lets remember the system we have is from 1987, most of the computers, were Erols computers, and, u can still use ur erols card if u have one..

Anyways, it depends on service u get, if u terminated ur membership, shame on you, because guess what, u just gave blockbuster 3.93 cents they owe you. Cause, when they charged you, but refund you, they dont give back the restocking fees, you shoulda had them refund u that 3.93 as well, especially if they found it on the shelf..

Case in point, things happen, but 98% of the time customers swear they returned in, but its at their house

[BBVcasualposter]

How could you want to raise children in a city like this?

[charlied72]

Oh my bad... Yea it was a newish person let's say he's no longer works for bbv

[Stolidog]

Thanks for the informative answers to a reasonably stated question. It's nice of you guys not to rip me, even if I may not be as well informed as I need to be. Politeness can get you far in life, eh?
We know positively that the movies were returned, but not if they were checked. Our bad, but our assumption was that the drop box was as secure as handing them in. Our old "neighborhood" Mom & Pop rental store didn't allow the use of the drop box during business hours, so we looked at BB's box as an advantage.
We weren't asking for freebies, or charges to be dropped, or any other scumbag scams. We simply didn't understand how this could have happened. When both employee and manager showed that they had nothing for us but rote and verse, I made the decision we had been contemplating for a while, which was to switch to Netflix. Our overall experience wasn't bad at BB, but I still can't figure out where the movie came from that we were charged for that never showed up.....and yet we have a copy.

[The Omen]

Oh my bad... Yea it was a newish person let's say he's no longer works for bbv

funny, she doesnt look newish

(extra credit for the peron who can name the movie)

[sobedrummer]

It looks like a bad pun reference of a bad pun in Spaceballs.

[JackSM]

In regards to the drop box and handing it directly to staff....if someone does that I say "thank you" and throw it straight into the drop box myself, I'm not going to check in movies 1 at a time :rolleyes:

[BBVcasualposter]

I would check in everything 1 at a time if they all handed them in. A little courtesy and a lot of comfort and confidence for the customer goes a long way in long term loyalty.

[JackSM]

Well if they stood around waiting to see if everything is ok then of course I would check it in for them there and then, but most people run into the shop, practically throw a dvd at me and then run out again, they are long gone before I get to put it in the drop box.

Then you have those who don't like to wait in line so leave it on the counter where anyone could just pick it up, yeah because thats safer then the drop box!

[sar94pga]

funny, she doesnt look newish

(extra credit for the peron who can name the movie)

It looks like a bad pun reference of a bad pun in Spaceballs.

thought it was "drewish"....................

[sobedrummer]

It is, that's why it's a bad pun reference of a bad pun.

[The Omen]

It is, that's why it's a bad pun reference of a bad pun.

actually it would be a paraphrase of a bad pun!

[BUYMECAR]

Then you have those who don't like to wait in line so leave it on the counter where anyone could just pick it up, yeah because thats safer then the drop box!

it really bothers me when they do that, especially without clarifying that to us. as soon as we get through our rushes and i find several stacks randomly placed on the other side of the counter w/o locks in them, i hardly ever logically think 'rushed returns' and instead think 'holy shit how'd they get there!! O_O".