Mar13

blockbuster or bust.

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it was ladies’ night at my friend’s house

we had a bit of wine and chat and lots of laughter

the hostess suggested that we should get a movie

and try as she might

she could not remember its name

but it was ‘really good’

couldn’t remember the main stars

‘but we would recognize them immediately’

she put in a call to blockbuster

where they had every current movie

 the kind person/movie nerd at the store

answered the phone

the experts were standing by

 to help her figure out the title

when we heard her explain

that it was really good

had 2 popular stars

and a 3-word title

beginning with the word ‘the’

we absolutely lost it

the poor person on the phone

worked for 20 minutes

trying to jog her memory for more details

finally giving up and apologizing

now, that’s customer service

i really miss blockbuster

something about the excitement

going to pick out a movie

families, couples, friends, singles

taking turns and negotiating

hoping the one you really wanted was still there

so much comedy and drama all in one place.

“vague questions deserve vague answers”

-ristretto

76 responses »

  7. We used to get calls like that in the newspaper’s features department, too, Beth. I’d try my hardest to figure out titles of movies and books and song titles … for a few minutes. And hey, I really do miss Blockbuster, but have to mention that racks of DVDs remain for check out at many public libraries.

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  9. After we moved to our current house in 2004, I remember spending time in the local video rental place, now long gone. I don’t know how knowledgeable the people who worked there were, as I always browsed what was available and never asked a question of the kind your friend did.

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  11. Life has come a long way since those Blockbuster days! No longer VHS but DVD for starters. And if you wander through a Walmart store, you well might find a bin with an assortment of DVD movies that you can BUY for $5.00. Personally, I didn’t mind the rental process or fee, just the pressure to watch the movie in a short time frame and get in the car to return it before getting a late return fine. Of course, now there is streaming on demand…

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  14. You’ve described a scene many of us can relate to (friends laughing, reminiscing, drinking). I’d love to read a book by a Blockbuster employee sharing some of their favorite anecdotes.

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  15. And of course there was always a fast food drive-in somewhere along the way so we could grab dinner to go with the movie. These days, of course, I sound just like your friend when trying to tell my son about a movie, except that he always knows which movie or celebrity I’m talking about. For whatever reason he remembers more about which movies I’ve seen than I do!

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  16. That is too funny! Love it. (And that you can still call Blockbuster in your area). That’s like those book stores memes where on one table is books, all with red covers and the sign “I don’t remember the title but the cover was red” 🙂

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