Friday, November 21, 2008

RedBox Etiquette

When one uses the RedBox Terminal at any given grocery store, fast food joint, or neighborhood pharmacy, there are a few common courtesies that would make the world better for all. First, it isn't a movie store. Movie stores are built around the idea of browsing and finding many various movie options. At said movie store one can read the synopsis and ponder the age old question of "will this satisfy my mind numbing desires?" If you want to browse, head to blockbuster or better yet, do it online. Redbox allows you to view the various titles, read the plot, and even have it held for you at your nearest RedBox locations. That way when a mother of three needs to return their one movie, she doesn't have to painfully watch the indecisive bumblings of the customer in front of her all the while diverting the kids eyes from the gory/sexually explicit material glowing on front of the RedBox console.

Ok, may be there is only one common courtesy, but I keep running into the people who are unaware of life around them. Tonight being the worst with some lady returning 5 movies (a slow and tedious process, done one at a time) and trying to find her next 5 selections, but only ended up with four after flipping through the selection screens about 10 times and re-looking at the pictures on the console. Tiago did point out almost every foul movie there and described why it was a "yucky" movie. The Hulk got a bad review since it showed "his sacred body and he is mad". I did have the UN-satisfaction of giving a patronizing "you know it works a lot better if you check out the movies on line so they are held and waiting for you to slide your card and pop out just like that."

So Why do I keep tourturing myself with REDBOX? An outdoor (usually) kiosk containing "Easy $1 new release DVD rentals. No late fees. Rent and return at over 10,000 locations"