For All The Long Termers

[deathbydanny]

By long termers, I mean not that you've been posting here for a long time, I mean that you'd been working for Blockbuster for a long time. Let's define "long time" as at least two years for part timers, one year for full timers.

Blockbuster and I had parted ways in January of 2010. I usually round up for convenience's sake, but I'd been working there since September of 2006, and even as a CSR, I'd worked no less than 30 hours a week. Before all this labor saving bullshit, hell, before we were even corporate, it meant that even the lower end CSRs saw about 20 hours a week. So we were there pretty steadily, and the job USED to be fun, and it showed: We had a lot of fun with the customers and whatnot.

So, with rounding up, I'd been with Blockbuster for four years. And considering by the time hours started falling away, I was an ASM, meaning I got about 30-35 hours a week. With a constantly busy SM (who'd become DTSM), he was often out of store, and I have every reason to believe that ours was the busiest BBV in town (location sure didn't hurt). Because it was often left to me and the SLs, we became the de facto face of Blockbuster (indeed, people leaving in droves after I was gone...)

Here's the thing: A lot of us are quitting in droves. But we've been synonymous with "Blockbuster" for so long. I separate work and free time to the point where I almost flat out refused to talk about Blockbuster if I was off, but ran into someone who knew me from there. My friends would come and visit me there, but they never asked about it. The friends I'd made while working there, however, would run it by me as if I was the authority.

How many of you other guys had things like that? Where, even to new friends you've made in the store, have trouble moving on and seeing you as more than a BBV drone? Hell, to this DAY I have people come in, notice me, and ask me about Blockbuster. Some will ask me if I have two jobs, some will straight up say "Moved on?" But I still get asked about it, despite not being there since January. By my count, that's 10 months!

-Does it bug you guys when people insist on talking about BBV on your off time? If so, is it because they're insistent, or you just feel like me and feel you leave it as you walk out the door?

-the friends you've made there... if you see them regularly, how long did it take before they finally stopped asking you about it?

- for those who HAVE moved on to other jobs... do you still get the occasional run in with an old customer who wants to know everything about why you're no longer there? And if they do, do they always assume you're gone because Blockbuster is failing? In my case, it's true, but I want to hear your stories.

- How many friends HAVE you made as a result of working there? One thing that I do love about my time at BBV is that, on my own, I knew plenty of people (this is a mid level town after all... big enough for three public high schools, but small enough that there's this "everyone knows everyone" feeling). But I met many more whilst working there, and I do enjoy talking to them regularly.

[almondSM]

my friends from outside of work want to talk about Blockbuster too. Friends I've had for many many years. I think it's because a lot of them are in retail management too, and they like to compare and contrast how corporate operations work in other companies. Although....i can assure you that our conditions are by far the worst when compared.

[EVFNazi]

Had lunch with my son in a town 40 miles away..went to the ladies room and two ladies asked me to recommend a movie! So it goes...

[kOre]

I left Blockbuster in January 2009 and I have friends and family that still ask me about the financial situation of the company especially with the bankruptcy.

When I was working for Blockbuster, customers would see me and come up to me and talk about movies all the time. It was so bad that when I was not working, I refused to shop at or eat at any of the stores and restaurants near my store so I wouldn't be bothered by customers!

[BBBlows]

Making friends at BB is one of the things I enjoyed about the job. Got to meet a lot of interesting people, people there is no way I'd ever meet outside of the job. I've been there a little over two years now, and I've probably got 5-6 regulars who when they come in, I can count on having a 15-20 minute conversation with them every time just about life.

I'd also made some good friends. Hang out with co-workers quite a bit, even though my SM doesn't like it. Started talking to one customer one time about skiing, he was taking a trip that weekend, joined up with him and been friends ever since. Also dated two girls I met there.

I don't know how I'll make friends once I quit

[Veruka_Salt]

Originally Posted by EVFNazi

Had lunch with my son in a town 40 miles away..went to the ladies room and two ladies asked me to recommend a movie! So it goes...

I hope you suggested "I Piss On Your Corpse". It always astounds me how some people can have absolutely no sense of decorum. In a ladies room? Really?

[BUYMECAR]

when a family member or a close friend asks me "what good new movies came out?", i reply with

"no, you did not just ask me that."

[djsdojo]

I used to work for a store back in 2001-2002 for about a year and then I got the job back in April 2008 and had been with BBV ever since. Ok so if this company is still around in April it will be about 4+ years with BBV. The job was way better in 2001 as sales pressure was not the main concern as it is today.

Mid 2008 I went from a store that was busy at times to a store that was busy all the damn time. And when I worked for the other store it was great I could talk to customers get to know them and still get my work done. But then in a busy all the time store UGH!!! Its a mad house your running register all the time customers get mad because your stuck on drawer and can't help them the line keeps getting bigger. So the customers that want your attention and help jump into line when its their turn they ask you questions then you help them find the movie witch just causes the line to get bigger. The customers with problems on their accounts and want to argue make the customers in the line mad. When you finally have a chance to get off register then the customers that want to talk about movies or games come over to you, I don't want to be rude, but you try to show them you have work. I known who the customers were that just wanted to talk and tried to avoid them to get work done because I got yelled at if it didn't get done. Stores like that suck you always have work to do and customers always want your attention.

The last store I was at and my current store is a great experience I get my work done for the most part and get to know my customers. But I really haven't seen too many of them outside work as I don't really go too many other places. I don't own a gaming machine or a DVD player so I don't watch any movies and just go off other peoples opinions. It kinda sucks to tell people that I don't watch movies as when someone ask me if a movie is good I say "yes its a good movie" then if they want some details about the movie that is where the problems start. I have been yelled at "you don't watch movies!!" "sorry but these movies don't interest me and its kinda hard to watch without a DVD player" and I tell some people "this job is not about suggesting movies its really all about sales". It used to be about suggesting movies to people when sales was not the main focus.

[BUYMECAR]

wtf dojo, you just revealed something astronomically huge about yourself.

YOU DON'T WATCH THE RENTALS!!??!

[BrowncoatNada]

I still get approached all the time about Blockbuster-related stuff by ex-customers or even friends of mine from outside of the BB Universe who KNOW I don't work there anymore. Most of the ex-customers have the same basic rundown?
"Do you remember me from Blockbuster? Are you still with Blockbuster? What do you think of this movie/policy/Blockbuster-related-news? Yeah, I have Netflix now; I don't even go to Blockbuster anymore." Then they always throw in their brilliant idea of why they think Blockbuster is doing so poorly and how if they only did that one thing they thought of, it would have saved them.

Some of the nicer people I remember by name are cool to see again once in a while, but most of them...ugh. They probably still have a balance on their account.