Posted by Cranick at pcp01259835pcs.nhaven01.ct.comcast.net on June 17, 2003 at 01:37:39:
Noticed a lot of Blockbuster bashing here lately. Sigh. Not long ago, I was hired as a BB manager. As a decade long Graphic Designer/illustrator/animator/art director, I was really bummed at the direction of my life. Some of you might remember my fears a few months back. Kindly, many people at the Askew were supportive. Even Kevin himself answered me, lamenting only that if they were going to run the ma & pa's out of biz, at least they could carry porn. Well, after 2 months with this company I landed a gig as a designer for a cool alternative weekly paper and quit BB about 15 minutes before my shift that night. Do I feel guilty? No. This company is evil. They have every intention of killing ma & pa and will never carry porn or the actual release of any risky flick (i.e. edits). They pride themselves on being the biggest rental force in the world. Yet, on a daily basis, they ditch titles that are not huge, mega-american titles and at the same time, scorn the employees for not selling enough candy and used DVDs. An example. I live and managed in New Haven, CT. A very urban, worldly (yet small) city. The home of Yale you know. MANY of my customers wanted foreign and art house films. The BB solution? Ditch that stuff for mainstream summer flicks. Send it back to distribution. Another example? I am as white as a porcelain doll with an education from UCONN. The clerks that taught me how to run the place were inner-city black kids. One in particular (Greg, you were the best!) could manage the hell out of the place. He wanted and deserved my position. But who got the job? Me. I still feel guilty because I know they will not give him that piston, even after I left. This company has ONE objective. Make as much "safe" money as they possibly can. They don't mean to deprive us of quality films. It's just more profitable.