Go Back  DVD Talk Forum > Shopping Discussions > Store Forum
Reload this Page >

Hollywood Video MVP question

Store Forum Share Your Shopping Experiences at Stores both Online and Off.

Hollywood Video MVP question

Old 01-11-06, 09:12 AM
  #1  
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
 
EdTheRipper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 15,722
Received 64 Likes on 46 Posts
Hollywood Video MVP question

I have been looking into Hollywood Video's MVP Premiere program. $30/month gets you any 3 movies you want for an unlimited amount of time. The program sounds appealing but I was looking for opinions before I sign up. Is anybody here a member? Any horror stories?
Thanks in advance!
Old 01-11-06, 11:46 AM
  #2  
Banned
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Talent, OR
Posts: 1,053
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
I have the $15 plan where I get 3 but can't get the newer releases. It works great and it's cheaper than Blockbuster. If you don't want to worry about getting charged automatically by giving them your credit card, you can just pay in advance. I pay for 3 months each time.

Sometimes you get a newer person that doesn't know you can do that but you just have to find someone with a clue.

Some things I do to get the newer movies is get rainchecks for the guaranteed movies and return them the next day to get a $1 credit.
Old 01-11-06, 07:28 PM
  #3  
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Champaign, IL
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I had MVP for three months last year and went through all the DVDs I felt like watching. It was good for what it was but everytime I went in I kept getting pissed off at the same things. (Sorry this is going to be a rant.)

Because of the electronic sensing you cannot take the DVDs with you into the store, find new DVDs, and go to the counter to turn in/check out the DVDs.

As much as I do not like Blockbuster at least there you can tell what movies they have. At Hollywood Video if someone has checked out the DVD you have no clue if they have it at all unless you ask a worker. You can also check online what DVDs Blockbuster has which you cannot with Hollywood Video.

I swear the workers never straightened out the DVDs. I would see movies in the wrong sections for at least a month. I then started to pull the DVD off the shelf and put it on top of the shelf so the workers would have to re-shelf it in the right place.

In the three months I was in the program they never had a Hollywood Video ID to give me so I always had to use my driver's license.

I had to tell the worker every single time that I was an MVP member and I had three DVDs in the drop box that needed to be checked in. About half of the times they would scan in the new DVDs and tell me I owed money without checking in the old DVDs.
Old 01-11-06, 08:38 PM
  #4  
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
 
EdTheRipper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 15,722
Received 64 Likes on 46 Posts
Thanks for the answers, I appreciate it. I signed up tonight after work. Very quick and very easy. I'll take this first month as a trial period to see how I like it.
Old 01-12-06, 03:26 AM
  #5  
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by aspects
Because of the electronic sensing you cannot take the DVDs with you into the store, find new DVDs, and go to the counter to turn in/check out the DVDs.

As much as I do not like Blockbuster at least there you can tell what movies they have. At Hollywood Video if someone has checked out the DVD you have no clue if they have it at all unless you ask a worker. You can also check online what DVDs Blockbuster has which you cannot with Hollywood Video.
Why do you need to bring along movies you've already seen onto the floor, anyway? Honest question. As for not being able to tell what's available, does your store not have display boxes with the bright red DISPLAY BOX case sitting there, without a movie infront of it?

I mean, I guess I'll chalk it up to incompetence on their behalf, but as a Hollywood Video employee myself, I don't see what the big deal is regarding those two issues. As many times as people walk up to me with cover boxes, I'd wish they'd had asked first.
Old 01-12-06, 06:38 AM
  #6  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Chew's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: South of Titletown
Posts: 18,628
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Originally Posted by Cinemaddiction
Why do you need to bring along movies you've already seen onto the floor, anyway?
Because when you're ready to check out with your new selections, the clerk can check in your old movies (obviously knowing you've returned them and not having to search an entire return box for them) and then check out your new ones. Usually without requiring your card. Blockbuster does it this way and it works great.
Old 01-12-06, 12:16 PM
  #7  
Banned
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Talent, OR
Posts: 1,053
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
I put the movies on the counter. Then when I go to check out, they go to the counter and pick up the movies. No need to make them dig through a box when you can just set it out for them. I'm sure they would appreciate it.

We don't get Hollywood ID cards where I live, we go by phone number. If they ever ask for ID, I just show my drivers license. No biggie to me.

Also, anyone who claims to have MVP at Hollywood shouldn't even need to show ID since they would be getting movies all the time. The clerks would remember you by now.
Old 01-12-06, 12:45 PM
  #8  
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Champaign, IL
Posts: 155
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Cinemaddiction
Why do you need to bring along movies you've already seen onto the floor, anyway? Honest question. As for not being able to tell what's available, does your store not have display boxes with the bright red DISPLAY BOX case sitting there, without a movie infront of it?

I mean, I guess I'll chalk it up to incompetence on their behalf, but as a Hollywood Video employee myself, I don't see what the big deal is regarding those two issues. As many times as people walk up to me with cover boxes, I'd wish they'd had asked first.
Bringing the movies you have already seen onto the floor makes it easier for both the customer and the employee. Scan in the old ones, scan in the new ones, and off the customer goes.

My Hollywood Video only has cover boxes for the new releases. The older rentals were in boxes where they removed the metal part and get handed back to you.

As for the clerks not remembering me: If most of them could not remember I said the three DVDs I just returned are in the bin, I do not have much faith in them to remember me.

Maybe some of my problems do not occur at other Hollywood Videos but there is only one in my town so I do not have other experiences to compare it to.
Old 01-12-06, 01:27 PM
  #9  
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Chew
Because when you're ready to check out with your new selections, the clerk can check in your old movies (obviously knowing you've returned them and not having to search an entire return box for them) and then check out your new ones. Usually without requiring your card. Blockbuster does it this way and it works great.
Things are obviously different at Hollywood. The inside drop box is open, and about a foot deep. It's hardly a hassle to find a returned movie there, if the customer didn't just sit it on the return counter instead. As for returns, Hollywood has a designated terminal for those movies, and an ID, phone number, or membership cards are required to rent movies, even when returning. Nobody should expect a clerk to know the returners membership number, or go back and forth from the return terminal to their register to type in an 11 digit number.

Originally Posted by chemosh6969
Also, anyone who claims to have MVP at Hollywood shouldn't even need to show ID since they would be getting movies all the time. The clerks would remember you by now.
Not if different clerks work different shifts and MVP customers come in at varied times. You can't be expected to memorize people's names and phone numbers at a video store, that sees hundreds of people over the week. I know a few of our regulars by name, but it's not like I have a mental rolodex.

Originally Posted by aspects
Bringing the movies you have already seen onto the floor makes it easier for both the customer and the employee. Scan in the old ones, scan in the new ones, and off the customer goes.

My Hollywood Video only has cover boxes for the new releases. The older rentals were in boxes where they removed the metal part and get handed back to you.

As for the clerks not remembering me: If most of them could not remember I said the three DVDs I just returned are in the bin, I do not have much faith in them to remember me.

Maybe some of my problems do not occur at other Hollywood Videos but there is only one in my town so I do not have other experiences to compare it to.
When you set off the Sensormatic gates when you pass through with your returns, do the GSR's not ask for your movies? That's lazy of them, if that's the case. I don't know of anyone that's ever brough both old AND new rentals to me. If the GSR is doing their job, you should return the movies in the box, and they'll all be returned at once.

All Hollywood's (should) have only cover boxes, and if the movie isn't in, it's evidenced by the cover box with the red DISPLAY BOX ONLY sticker in the corner. Otherwise, if they're available, they're stacked infront of the empty box. Catalog releases don't have cover boxes, just the red clips or purple spring locks.

Just sounds like you have a poor Hollywood location, to be honest.
Old 01-13-06, 06:34 AM
  #10  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Chew's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: South of Titletown
Posts: 18,628
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Originally Posted by Cinemaddiction
Nobody should expect a clerk to know the returners membership number, or go back and forth from the return terminal to their register to type in an 11 digit number.
That's the entire point of handing off the old when you're renting the new. The clerk checks in the old, the account information comes up on that computer. The new can then be checked out without requiring a card.

And plenty of the clerks I've dealt with at Hollywood act like it's a hassle to check for the three titles I just returned in the bin. Especially when the bin is full (on weekends, for example).
Old 01-13-06, 11:35 AM
  #11  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Mr. Cinema's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 18,044
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
I may try this out. The website says: "When you purchase the Basic Movie Value Pass, you'll get most New Release rentals and ALL Hollywood Film Library® rentals FREE"

Is this also referring to the instore deal?
Old 01-13-06, 12:09 PM
  #12  
Banned
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Talent, OR
Posts: 1,053
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Mr. Cinema, that is for the $15 deal which I use. The MVP program is only instore. They don't have any online type of deal.

Cinema, I come in at different times and have dealt with all the people that work there. After a while they remember my last name and can just look it up that way. If somebody comes in everyday, it's not that hard to remember one word.
Old 01-13-06, 12:59 PM
  #13  
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Chew
That's the entire point of handing off the old when you're renting the new. The clerk checks in the old, the account information comes up on that computer. The new can then be checked out without requiring a card.
..and you've done this, because it doesn't make any sense if we're talking about Hollywood Video. There's a seperate terminal for returns. If an employee returns movies on their own personal terminal and till, which they're not supposed to, they still have to exit out of the function that allows them to rent movies out. It shows the title, the catalogue number, and the last member to rent it and that's it. When you return movies, it doesn't automatically bring up your account is what I am saying.

So how you're able to merely return movies and have it pull your account up is beyond me, because all Hollywood's just uploaded the same new program 2 months ago, and there is no such function. I'm not calling you a liar, either, but it's impossible to bring up an account on a sales terminal without a telephone number or last name, unless, like I said, they take the membership number from the returns terminal/screen and manually enter it.
Old 01-13-06, 01:12 PM
  #14  
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by chemosh6969
Cinema, I come in at different times and have dealt with all the people that work there. After a while they remember my last name and can just look it up that way. If somebody comes in everyday, it's not that hard to remember one word.
Kind of besides the point when you claim that MVP members shouldn't have to show ID or give a phone number just because clerks should remember them. Case in point, Blaine store 023797, where I work, has the highest MVP registration of our district. Should I be expected to remember 1,000's of peoples names, because that's how many MVP subscribers we have. I remember regulars, granted, but it's different in each market.
Old 01-13-06, 01:17 PM
  #15  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Chew's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: South of Titletown
Posts: 18,628
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
I'm comparing the smooth operation of the instore program of Blockbuster vs. the (what I consider) not-so-smooth operation of the instore program of Hollywood. Not my Hollywood vs. yours.
Old 01-13-06, 01:20 PM
  #16  
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
So, it is Blockbuster that has this deal where you can hand them the old movies and it pulls up your account?
Old 01-13-06, 01:25 PM
  #17  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Chew's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: South of Titletown
Posts: 18,628
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Yup, I stated that in the last line of my first post in this thread.
Old 01-13-06, 01:36 PM
  #18  
Banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 794
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I see now. What confused me was that you had followed up on someone's comments about Hollywood's return methods, and I thought you were implying that we could do that there.

When I asked why bring returns onto the floor with you at Hollywood;

Because when you're ready to check out with your new selections, the clerk can check in your old movies (obviously knowing you've returned them and not having to search an entire return box for them) and then check out your new ones. Usually without requiring your card.
Had you specified Blockbuster from the get-go, I would have understood. That method just seems kind of backwards, because we stop people who bring returns past the Sensormatic gates, because they could easily put the movies back on the shelves themselves, come back the next day and rent movies, and abuse Hollywood's customer policy and get free rentals for "our" error.
Old 01-15-06, 02:43 AM
  #19  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: a mile high, give or take a few feet
Posts: 14,839
Received 219 Likes on 175 Posts
At my Hollywood Video, I walk in every time with my three returns. I'll find the three I want to rent, walk to the counter, and then return the three I already have out. They check them in, scan my card, and then check out the three I just picked out.
I set off the alarm every time I walk in. Whoever is at the counter simply makes sure I'm walking in and not out.
Old 01-15-06, 04:03 PM
  #20  
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
 
EdTheRipper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 15,722
Received 64 Likes on 46 Posts
So far, so good after the first few days. When I walk in I hand my returns to the clerk at the counter and tell them that they're MVP returns. I get the 3 movies I want and return to the counter where they scan in the returns and scan out the new rentals. Pretty simple stuff. My biggest complaint is waiting in line behind people who have evidently never rented a movie before in their lives, but that's neither here nor there.
Old 01-15-06, 04:51 PM
  #21  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA
Posts: 641
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by EdTheRipper
So far, so good after the first few days. When I walk in I hand my returns to the clerk at the counter and tell them that they're MVP returns. I get the 3 movies I want and return to the counter where they scan in the returns and scan out the new rentals. Pretty simple stuff. My biggest complaint is waiting in line behind people who have evidently never rented a movie before in their lives, but that's neither here nor there.
I had it last summer & always handed my movies to the clerk & then went back & got more. I was in there frequently & this guy worked almost every day so he knew that I had the MVP program. I thought it was a pretty good program. I often ended up behind someone who was signing up for a new account, which took awhile.
Old 01-15-06, 09:07 PM
  #22  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: New England
Posts: 1,293
Likes: 0
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
I use the $15 MVP program at my Hollywood, and I find it makes things a lot easier for me and the people working there, If I just place the discs on the counter and let them know I will be renting some more movies.

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.