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  #1  
Unread March 29th, 2011, 08:27 PM
FreeFromBlue FreeFromBlue is offline
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I am finally free!

Well, as the title states, I am free from big blue! I have been a long time lurker here, but never really felt the need to post before. I have worked for blockbuster for almost 5 years as a store manager. Like everyone here, I have had my ups and downs with the company. At first, this job was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed coming to work and I don't have any complaints about any of my employees at any of the stores I ran.

The last year or two were really difficult on me. I had been so stressed out by everything that had been going on with the company. I had a decent DM. By all means, he was a lot more lenient than our neighboring DM, who I originally worked for years ago and who I witnessed kick a door open once when his district didn't finish first. I was a dedicated store manager. I put in well over my 45 hours, I made sure my store hit all of our goals, I treated every customer with respect, and my employees were really happy. But for the reasons we all know, I really grew more and more tired of working there. I had been keeping my eyes open for any new positions elsewhere, but I wasn't actively seeking jobs. Mainly, I felt a responsibility to my team to not let them down. Store morale had been reaching an all time low, and I didn't want to let anyone down.

As someone close to me recently told me, I am a very loyal individual who works hard and doesn't like to rock the boat. So, while I was unhappy, I wasn't about to give up on my team and leave. That was until a few weeks ago. On a Thursday, I got a call from my DM telling me that he had bad news. He told me that I was going to be affected by the closing stores. It was not because my store was closing....rather he was going to switch me with the DTSM because her store was closing. Basically, we had just recently had a string of store closings. Like everyone else, we had more stores closing in the area than we had open. My DM, wanting to keep his DTSM, was going to switch me to her store because I had the only store that was close to hers. He also informed me that when the store was closed, I would be done with the company. He was also going to switch my ASM as the DTSM wanted to bring her ASM with her to my store. He told me the switch would be effective that Monday.

When I asked about severance, he told me that I would not be offered a severance package. He said I would get a $1,000 bonus for staying, and the TA payout. He stated that he wanted to switch me right away so I would have time to rack up that TA bonus! When I questioned how I could have worked there for almost 5 years and not be offered a severance package, he simply told me "we are in bankruptcy and can do whatever we want".

Now, I don't know if what he told me was right or not. If they would have offered me some type of severance or what. But, at that point, I really didn't care. He did apologize for informing me all of this over the phone. But he was going on PTO the next day and didn't have any other time or way to talk to me.

After we hung up, I had a long conversation with my wife. We both felt that severance or not, I was already up to my eyes in stress from the company, that the best thing for me to do was just call it quits. So, I finished out the rest of my week at my store, and that Sunday I walked back in and dropped off my keys and asked my SL to call the DM and let them know I wouldn't be in on Monday. Having found out about this, my ASM, who was also basically being let go, did the same. After that, it was like a domino effect. Two CSR's at my store, upset by what happened, also quit as well as one of my SL. The other SL found another job right away and put her two weeks in. They all told me that they in no way wanted to work for anyone else but me. It felt good to know what a great team we were.

Well, I knew unemployment was not going to happen. Luckily, my wife is incredible and started working over time at her job to help make ends meet. We figured we could plug along for at least 3 months before things would get out of control. I planned on hitting the job search hard, knowing times are tough and finding a job would take a while. It didn't. Exactly one week after I quit, I was hired by a new company. A company that treats its employees with respect. A company that has bonuses and raises constantly and is actually paying me more than double what I made at Blockbuster. A company that recognizes and honors hard work. It's a smaller company (about 300 employees) that is local to my area, but I am so very excited to be there. I have honestly not felt this great about my work in a long time. I feel so lucky to have found this position.

So, now that I have written a book, I guess the moral of the story is that there is hope out there. I know at times, I felt trapped. For those who are still working there, keep your chins up. You never know what is around the corner. Thank you for reading my post and I am sorry it is a bit long. But I am so glad to be Free from Blue!
The Following 9 Users Say Thank You to FreeFromBlue For This Useful Post:
angrYbird (April 4th, 2011), ASMacronyms (March 30th, 2011), BBW[BlockBusterWorker] (April 5th, 2011), djsdojo (March 31st, 2011), fireyjewels (March 31st, 2011), getoffmybeach (April 5th, 2011), HelloItsMeMOM (March 31st, 2011), psycoma (March 30th, 2011), underemployed (March 31st, 2011)
  #2  
Unread March 30th, 2011, 08:13 PM
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MamaSmurf MamaSmurf is offline
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Thanks for unlurking. . Very nice story you shared, and I'm happy you've found a good place.
  #3  
Unread March 30th, 2011, 08:49 PM
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BlockbusterLuvsU BlockbusterLuvsU is offline
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That sounds awfully shady. I don't know if that violates something or other but it seems to me that this other chick and her ASM were the ones who should have been on the chopping block, not you and yours. I didn't know you could force someone to transfer to a closing store in this manner, that seems weird. Certainly if it isn't a violation of policy it is extremely unethical, especially for what this guy wanted to do with your ASM. That's just a bunch of bull shit right there.
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Disclaimer: The postings on this site are my own and do not represent Blockbuster's or Dish Network's positions, strategies or opinions, because they are all a bunch of dickless idiots.
  #4  
Unread March 31st, 2011, 12:37 AM
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OzMan OzMan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlockbusterLuvsU View Post
Certainly if it isn't a violation of policy it is extremely unethical,
You do realise you are talking about BBI, right?

I mean, they practically invented unethical behaviour. Before Enron, Worldcom, Tyco, and all of those other companies (is it just me, or are all of the unethical companies based in the southern US? Just sayin...), they were doing freaky shit to their books. I mean, really, unrealised debt as "income", and issuing a debit to their books when the late fees were written off?
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  #5  
Unread March 30th, 2011, 09:36 PM
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yodavsjason yodavsjason is offline
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Why do you think blockbuster has to "b"'s in it? A Bunch of Bullshit.

In otherwords BBV sucks fat donkey dick.
  #6  
Unread March 30th, 2011, 10:05 PM
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DavidNewlySL DavidNewlySL is offline
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Congrats on getting out.
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I learned that dreams don’t work without action; I learned that no one could stop me but me. I learned that love is stronger than hate. And most important, I learned that God does exist. He and/or She is right inside you, underneath the pain, the sorrow, and the shame.
  #7  
Unread March 30th, 2011, 10:18 PM
psycoma psycoma is offline
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I know exactly how you feel and I'm relieved you found something so quickly. Isn't it amazing to actually work for a company that understands that YOU are the reason they make money and respect you because of it??
  #8  
Unread March 31st, 2011, 03:41 AM
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AbandonedDreams AbandonedDreams is offline
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Long posts are ok as long as they are spaced and punctuated and have a point. Congrats on getting out.

I was going to post something about no common sense, but I don't want to give anyone ideas.
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  #9  
Unread March 31st, 2011, 04:09 AM
djsdojo djsdojo is offline
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Congrads on finding something new so fast in such a bad economy.

Ever since I started working for the gas station I feel a relief in getting out of BBV myself. BBV is a great job if you could handle the sales pressure.
  #10  
Unread March 31st, 2011, 05:11 AM
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abhorrent scowl abhorrent scowl is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FreeFromBlue View Post
He did apologize for informing me all of this over the phone. But he was going on PTO the next day and didn't have any other time or way to talk to me.
That. Right there.

Nothing says "classy" like hurrying up to essentially fire someone before you start your vacation.

In any event Free, I'm sorry it went down like this.
But believe me, life after BB can be soooooo much better.
And from the way you present yourself, I'd say this is Blockbuster's loss. Not yours. Best of luck!
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