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  #11  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 06:23 PM
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mullins mullins is offline
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Is there honestly much point to all this debating? Obviously we aren't going to convince BBSM that our goals are too high, and obviously he's not going to convince us we're terrible employees who complain about everything. Let's just let it rest. I'm just happy enough he isn't my SM.
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  #12  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 06:43 PM
KAWLIGA KAWLIGA is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BBStoreMgr112233 View Post
Ok, Danny boy, with all his self proclaimed intellect, needs an answer to these questions.......

"I want to hear a straight answer to this, by the way-- how exactly will selling online programs, which are specifically designed to come to customer's homes, negating the need to go to the video store, supposed to, um, bring people into the video store?

Is it in free trades? OK, they're in my store, but now my store is losing money, because a rental I could have gotten someone (if anyone cared to come in) to pay for is being given to some asshole. "


First off, who is corporate targeting with this online drive? Customers who don't frequent the stores very often and spend less than a specified dollar amount and are NOT a new member, reward member, pass member, or already an online member.

Secondly, Blockbuster is a company that not only has stores, but offers on demand, by mail, and kiosks. Its responsibility to its share holders, the owner of the company, is NOT just about the stores.

Now that you understand those two facts, let me see if I can help you understand this.....

A non-flagged customer who is a TA target is the type of customer that comes in every couple of months, or even less. Even monthly customers would exceed the rather low dollar threshold and be considered a flagged customer.

Now Blockbuster assumes this customer doesn't frequent the store more often because they probably are using our competitors to help fill their entertainment needs. Even if this isn't true 100% of the time, the logic will still hold true.

Now the goal is two parts, to regain market share from the customers who are using our competitors and become their only source of movie/game entertainment, and in doing so, get these customers to spend more money per year than what they are currently doing. So instead of a customer renting a movie or two every great now and then and spending say $40-$50 annually, if converted to even the lowest online plan of $8.99, you would be more than doubling the amount the customer spends annually.

What are the two big advantages Blockbuster by mail has over netflix? The ability to do in store exchanges, either at a discount or free, eliminating each time they do this the mail time involved. The second, is Blu-ray and games at no additional charge.

With the in store exchanges, this online customer will now come in your store far more often than they did before. You will probably see them a couple times per month (if not a once or twice a week) instead of once every few months. I am sure all of you who still work in stores have noticed this. People who hadn't been in your store in the last 3-6 months who you successfully signed up for TA, have now been in the store a couple times over the last couple weeks.

Now I will grant that these online customers don't often spend money in the store. They usually get their exchanges and leave. But every once in a while, they will pick up a bundle, preorder a game, buy some PRP or a retail movie. So even if these online customers are only spending an avg of $5 a month, and many spend more than that on avg, you haven't lost that $40-$50 they use to spend in your store and the company has gained atleast $9 x 12 months in the year off their subscription.

All the above is simple math and sound logic. The only argument I can think you could possibly make against it is the one poor Danny boy already tried to come up with and that is you are giving away free movies to these customers, getting nothing for it, and losing revenue on those items because you don't have them to rent to someone else.

Now this is where your great friend Danny boy, who most of you love to support, becomes yet again a liar and a fraud. You can't claim both that the stores are dead and say ("you can still hear crickets chirping by 8pm") and ("While selling to my invisible friends and maybe some ghosts and the rats") and ("Since no one's coming in, maybe I'll sell one to the rat, and another to the exterminator!") AND at the same time claim the stores are so busy you are all rented out. If the stores are truly as dead as he claims, wouldn't there be plenty of copies for these exchanges?

I am sorry that Danny didn't have a better experience at BBV. I truly feel sorry for him that he is still, almost a year later, filled with such hatred. But I have no respect for a liar. And Danny boy is nothing but a hate filled liar.
You are a complete idiot...

Blockbuster is "losing customers 3.5 customers at each store, EVERY DAY" because...

(A brief history that semi-explains how I knew that Blockbuster was FUCKED!)...

09/11/2001
I was
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Last edited by KAWLIGA; October 7th, 2010 at 06:45 PM. Reason: stupid
  #13  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 06:52 PM
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deathbydanny deathbydanny is offline
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I'm going to take this point by point. It's going to be objective, it's going to be mature, and most of all, it's going to be from an outsider's standpoint, because when you get down to it, who knows what the customer wants, someone in an office or the customer?

And don't expect a rebuttal about "being a liar". It's absurd, and will be addressed in a different thread.

Quote:
First off, who is corporate targeting with this online drive? Customers who don't frequent the stores very often and spend less than a specified dollar amount and are NOT a new member, reward member, pass member, or already an online member.
Here's the problem with this: How does that help your individual store? Let's suppose that you take those people who spend very little in your store and manage to convert them all to Total Access. At worst, you've removed that revenue completely-- the customer collects all his movies by mail, and the money goes to corporate, not your store. This will help the company, but will it help your lease? And at best, you've got someone who's using his mailer to come into your store and take a movie that someone else could have paid for, for free.

And that opens up a whole new set of problems. One by one--

- Movie Pass customers are not known for buying other things. I, and many people here, can attest that we've probably collectively heard "I didn't bring any cash/my wallet" with me collectively more than days you've been alive. Total Access is almost an extension of that. People are coming to trade in a movie for free, eliminating any bundle or PRP sales.

-In the case that you DO get a bundle sale, is the extra revenue from that (cut a bit, of course, due to the nature of selling the bundle) enough to offset the cost of giving a movie away for free? Or, think big picture... if you have limited qualities of a Hot New Release, say Iron Man 2, and you have several customers come in with Online mailers (and I can tell you we NEVER had less than thirty, whether through the drop box, or exchange...) and rent those copies. Then, half an hour later, you have a few paying customers come in, looking for those same copies, and they're gone. At best, you have a dissatisfied customer (unless you're a Guaranteed In Stock store, in which case you lose even more rental revenue), and at worst you have a future Netflix subscriber. Broken down to the essentials, is handing out free movies conducive to keeping a store open?

THIS is the problem with those exchanges. Let's take it to the extreme. Bear with me, I know it's an unlikely scenario, but let's play it out. Suppose you DO have people that pay good money into the store. Rewards customers, per dollar, tend to spend more than Movie Pass customers (ten paid rentals a month at $5 a pop is more money than a $29.99 pass, for those keeping score). They walk into a store and see nothing available, because a lot of new Total Access converts have taken it. They cancel their passes. Depending on how deep your Pass penetration is, this could be a significant hit.

As an aside, two simple things I'd do if I were running Blockbuster would be to push the Movie Pass, as it keeps revenue in the store level, and keep late fees.

But, back to the point, if you alienate the customers who've actually been spending money in your store to cater to people with online freebies, you lead yourself to one conclusion; your store closes for the greater good: to keep the company afloat, and the person who is responsible for the instrument of doom was yourself. You sold your own fate. I'll allow that, it's extreme, but in the face of bankruptcy, ask yourself if it's so farfetched? Helping Corporate will keeps jobs, but unless you get a transfer, will you keep yours? With more and more stores closing, there's only so many transfers Blockbuster can afford before people start getting let go.

Quote:
Secondly, Blockbuster is a company that not only has stores, but offers on demand, by mail, and kiosks. Its responsibility to its share holders, the owner of the company, is NOT just about the stores.
I don't disagree with this. The problem, however, is that we are NOT employed by the distribution center, the corporate office, or... well, whoever supplies the kiosks. Total Access is not an endgame threat to those legs. It IS an endgame threat to the brick and mortar stores. As time marches on, so does progress, and these signs all indicate that the brick and mortar aspect, which is US, is endangered. Blockbuster survives, therefore, indirectly, at your expense. They will have a lot more money to funnel into those awesome programs when they don't have to pay you, your staff, your lease...

Look at it from an executive's viewpoint. Let's make this a checklist.

Online- medium cost, low overhead, high profit
Kiosks- low cost, low overhead, high profit
Brick and mortar- high cost, high overhead (maintenance and such), low profit

Companies in bankruptcy look to cut costs anywhere they can. If these are the avenues of making money for the company, and one had to be disposed of to maximize income, which would you assume is on the chopping block first?

And, person to person, you admit that you're in a D store, which is the lowest of the low in Blockbuster standards in terms of profitability. Aren't you personally worried about losing your job? We know for a fact that Blockbuster is looking to close stores that are making less money. Which do you think will close first, the A stores which still squeeze through a profit, or a D store which, even meeting goals, is still making the company so little money but at so high an expense (rent, electricity, maintenance, etc.) that it's effectively an albatross around it's neck? Do you think this will matter to the company? Nope, it's maximizing profits. Would this matter to you, personally? Ahh, that's a whole different ball game.

Quote:
A non-flagged customer who is a TA target is the type of customer that comes in every couple of months, or even less. Even monthly customers would exceed the rather low dollar threshold and be considered a flagged customer.

Now Blockbuster assumes this customer doesn't frequent the store more often because they probably are using our competitors to help fill their entertainment needs. Even if this isn't true 100% of the time, the logic will still hold true.

Now the goal is two parts, to regain market share from the customers who are using our competitors and become their only source of movie/game entertainment, and in doing so, get these customers to spend more money per year than what they are currently doing. So instead of a customer renting a movie or two every great now and then and spending say $40-$50 annually, if converted to even the lowest online plan of $8.99, you would be more than doubling the amount the customer spends annually.
Regaining market share depends heavily on the product being offered, the quality, and the availability. Human factor is almost irrelevant, because only BBV offers human interaction.

Now let's go with the competition route. Assuming that those who just get their entertainment needs filled through competitiors and use BBV as an afterthought, how, and in what better way, can TA fulfill those needs? I don't disagree that free in-store rentals are a great bargain, but that's the limit of it. I don't know TA's price, so I'll use a direct comparison-- one movie at a time in the mail plus in-store exchange for $8.99 a month at Blockbuster, or $8.99 a month for one movie in the mail at a time plus unlimited streaming at Netflix? As a consumer, I can tell you matter-of-factly that Netflix has the better bargain.

How so? Allowing for mail delivery, you probably get one movie every two days. Now let's assume that this hypothetical person has nothing else to do but watch movies. Literally, nothing. No kids, no job, just movies.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Keyes
OK ladies, gents, shareholders... I must admit, I haven't a goddamn clue about what to do. Things seem so rough, I just wanna go home. No lies, we're in a pickle... WAIT! I HAVE AN IDEA!
Quote:
Originally Posted by deathbydanny
If I want the experience of being in the store, let me have it on my own fucking terms.
  #14  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 06:53 PM
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Continued from last post, because apparently there's a 10,000 character limit:

With Blockbuster-
1 movie in the mail + 1 free movie in store = 2 movies in two days
30 days in one month = 30 movies for $8.99 (assuming customer doesn't pay for in-store movies)

With Netflix- (assuming customer stays up 14 hours, and all movies are two hours long)
1 movie in the mail = 1 movie in two days
Unlimited streaming (at above criteria) = 7 movies in one day
30 days in one month = 210 streaming, 15 mail, total 225 movies for $8.99

Now, look at those numbers again-- 30 vs. 225. This is cold, mathematical fact. Which is the better bargain?

Now, things may improve when Blockbuster Online introduces streaming, I'll admit. But what will set it apart from Netflix? Movie studios are VERY anti-streaming. Will Blockbuster keep it's 28 day window with streaming? Bringing back my previous point, if stores go the way of the dodo, that eliminates free in-store rentals from the equation, making Blockbuster and Netflix the exact same thing. What will set it apart then? How will BBV compete, when it's Chapter 11 and Netflix is coasting on profit? And, getting back to the core of all things, how will this keep you employed?

Quote:
What are the two big advantages Blockbuster by mail has over netflix? The ability to do in store exchanges, either at a discount or free, eliminating each time they do this the mail time involved. The second, is Blu-ray and games at no additional charge.

With the in store exchanges, this online customer will now come in your store far more often than they did before. You will probably see them a couple times per month (if not a once or twice a week) instead of once every few months. I am sure all of you who still work in stores have noticed this. People who hadn't been in your store in the last 3-6 months who you successfully signed up for TA, have now been in the store a couple times over the last couple weeks.

Now I will grant that these online customers don't often spend money in the store. They usually get their exchanges and leave. But every once in a while, they will pick up a bundle, preorder a game, buy some PRP or a retail movie. So even if these online customers are only spending an avg of $5 a month, and many spend more than that on avg, you haven't lost that $40-$50 they use to spend in your store and the company has gained atleast $9 x 12 months in the year off their subscription.
And this is actually the most ingenious (sp?) thing Blockbuster has done; included games in their Total Access. Blu-Ray by mail is lovely, too, but Netflix streaming offers quite a bit in HD. I don't know about you, but unless my vision is FUBARed, an HD offering in Netflix has negligible difference from a Blu-ray.

Not ALL people who've converted to TA will be guaranteed in your store. Some may decide it's not for them and cancel. Some will, like in-store customers, lose stuff and refuse to pay for it, whathaveyou.

You've mentioned it yourself-- not all TA converts will spend money in your store. The thing is, as I mentioned above, they're vying for the exact same product your paying customers are. If you cater to the TA crowd, you're taking away from the money-spending folks, unless these people are indeed buying your PRP bundles or whatever. But you can't depend SOLELY on that. Here's another worry factor-- several people on this board have said that, consistently, they're getting far less copies of new releases. I don't know if it's contained to members of this board or if it's nationwide, but let's assume it's nationwide. This means that you're getting less and less to offer on your PRP table. Granted, it may take a long time, but the sign indicates the well's running low. What happens when it dries up? PRP can boost your sales, but they won't keep a store open singlehandedly.

Quote:
Now this is where your great friend Danny boy, who most of you love to support, becomes yet again a liar and a fraud. You can't claim both that the stores are dead and say ("you can still hear crickets chirping by 8pm") and ("While selling to my invisible friends and maybe some ghosts and the rats") and ("Since no one's coming in, maybe I'll sell one to the rat, and another to the exterminator!") AND at the same time claim the stores are so busy you are all rented out. If the stores are truly as dead as he claims, wouldn't there be plenty of copies for these exchanges?
And now it comes out. I'm a liar because I've said the stores were dead, yet I constantly met goals!

You're right! I'm so busted! Except...

1. The stores weren't always dead. I was employed longer than two weeks. Far longer. Heck, when I started, my store was a franchise, not corporate. Which meant NO sales goals. All I had to do was rent movies to people! This was also a time where labor hours were of no concern-- why, I remember when 5 employees were working! I think tyrannosaurs walked the streets back then, as well.

2- I said I consistently met goals, not ALWAYS made goals. Quote me, better yet, link to the post where I said I met 100% of the goals 100% of the time. Did I fail to make goals? You bet. Was it my fault? You'd have me believe yes, it was.

If you'd paid attention, you'd notice my beef was never with not making goals. My beef was with UNATTAINABLE goals, and the blame being placed on me for not meeting it.

Ask yourself, good sir, why would I complain about sales goals if I made them all the time? Remove your foot from your mouth as you read this-- a goal of one total access to a daily crowd of fifty is attainable. A goal of five total access to a daily crowd of three is not. Some days, we would be handed a goal of five, only to see three people that entire shift. The latter was impossible to fulfill. Yet, who was blamed? Me. So, if you'll reference the other post, you'll see I'm repeating myself by asking this (still yet unanswered) question-- why was it my fault that I couldn't sell five total access to three people? My DM sure believed it was, and you sure seem to believe it was.

Actually, you never addressed this because you called me a liar, so look past how unbelievable you feel it is (just because you don't believe it doesn't make it untrue), how is it my fault I didn't sell five Total Access to three people? Address it. Don't worry if I'm lying, worry about answering the question, like a civilized, non-accusatory, professional person would.

Quote:
I am sorry that Danny didn't have a better experience at BBV. I truly feel sorry for him that he is still, almost a year later, filled with such hatred. But I have no respect for a liar. And Danny boy is nothing but a hate filled liar.
There's that 'liar' thing again, and despite me saying I wasn't going to address it, I guess I did... and proved it wrong, as wrong as I can against someone bellyaching about it over the internet, I guess. I can't make you believe me, but your stubborn refusal to move beyond that issue raises a very serious, non-flaming question-- even before you determined I was 'lying', you refused to answer my questions. Now, all I am doing is reiterating the questions, and all you can do is call me a liar. Politicians call this "mudslinging", and it could be construed as "artful dodging" and "deflection".

Or, to put it in simpler terms, you've called me a liar repeatedly (say something enough and it becomes true, hmm?) and steadfastly refused to address anything else. I mean, you didn't even go the "humor him and answer it anyway" route, you went straight for the "you must be lying, because I don't believe in it, and if I don't believe in it, it MUST NOT exist" route.

And that is why I, sir, have no respect for you. I never called you a liar. I just addressed your beliefs re: the company, pointed out the flaws, and personal example to back up my argument, and the only rebuttal I get is, basically, "fuck you, buddy." Cute, but it's not winning any arguments.

So, in the face of all this, why is Total Access a good thing concerning in-store employees again? And do I have your permission to say "I told you so" when Total Access makes stores obsolete? I don't wish anyone to lose their job, and I'll feel genuinely bad if it leads to a struggle, but I'm also not above "I told you so".
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Keyes
OK ladies, gents, shareholders... I must admit, I haven't a goddamn clue about what to do. Things seem so rough, I just wanna go home. No lies, we're in a pickle... WAIT! I HAVE AN IDEA!
Quote:
Originally Posted by deathbydanny
If I want the experience of being in the store, let me have it on my own fucking terms.
  #15  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 06:53 PM
BBStoreMgr112233 BBStoreMgr112233 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KAWLIGA View Post
You are a complete idiot...

Blockbuster is "losing customers 3.5 customers at each store, EVERY DAY" because...

(A brief history that semi-explains how I knew that Blockbuster was FUCKED!)...

09/11/2001
I was
LMAO. Sorry sir but you are the idiot. If Blockbuster was losing 3.5 customers from every store every day, they would be in negative actives already.
  #16  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 06:54 PM
KAWLIGA KAWLIGA is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KAWLIGA View Post
You are a complete idiot...

Blockbuster is "losing customers 3.5 customers at each store, EVERY DAY" because...

(A brief history that semi-explains how I knew that Blockbuster was FUCKED!)...

09/11/2001
I was
trying to "engage" the guests that I had in my store, even though all of our eyes were fixated on the "Direct T.V" that was displaying the carnage of the Twin Towers.
All throughout the day, customers came in and we discussed the horrible scene that was unfolding before our eyes.
The store was solemn/silent all day long. The most "life-changing" day in my life.
At 6:00pm I got a call at home from the pm Supervisor at my store (I was the Store Manager)
My pm supervisor said. "uuummm.."DM's name" want's to know how many Direct TV Systems you sold this morning".

FUCK YOU.
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  #17  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 06:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mullins View Post
Is there honestly much point to all this debating? Obviously we aren't going to convince BBSM that our goals are too high, and obviously he's not going to convince us we're terrible employees who complain about everything. Let's just let it rest. I'm just happy enough he isn't my SM.
Actually, that was the end of it for me. I know I can only push so far before "lost cause" has to be declared, but I feel I had to say my piece.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Keyes
OK ladies, gents, shareholders... I must admit, I haven't a goddamn clue about what to do. Things seem so rough, I just wanna go home. No lies, we're in a pickle... WAIT! I HAVE AN IDEA!
Quote:
Originally Posted by deathbydanny
If I want the experience of being in the store, let me have it on my own fucking terms.
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  #18  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 07:00 PM
KAWLIGA KAWLIGA is offline
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And it was an awesome post Danny...good job.
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  #19  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 07:33 PM
kOre kOre is offline
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Danny you said alot of what I was thinking but too lazy to formulate into words and post!
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  #20  
Unread October 7th, 2010, 07:34 PM
itirnitii itirnitii is offline
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If there is anything to take away from Danny's post it is that Total Access members take new movie rentals out of the stores, for free, and paying customers can lose out. Even if one paying customer goes to rent a new release, and it's not there, because one Total Access member rented their copy for free, and that customer joins Netflix and stops renting at your store altogether - which is honestly not a farfetched scenario whatsoever - that definitely stings. Total Access definitely hurts stores... no doubt about it.

Next Saturday night, when you're getting asked to check the drop box for the newest release, ad nauseum, and you don't have it in stock - think long and hard how many copies are not on the shelf due to Total Access free exchanges and then ask yourself how much money that costs your store.
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