Employee profile
What was the name of your video store?
Tele Vid, Major Video, Blockbuster
Where was the store located?
Phoenix, Arizona (United States)
When did you start working at this store?
1985
In your own words, how did you get started working in video retail? What
led you to choose the video industry, and this store in particular?
I liked movies, so talking about and helpinf people select titles was fun and easy.
Describe your store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
Tele Vid was a small chain 10 stores not more that 200-300 tapes per store. the rental process was like the libary a 3x5 card was in the video and a file cabinet had the customer info. Tags w/ numbers hung in front of the movie box and customers brought the tag up to the counter. all tapes were behind the counter. customers file was taken out of file cabinet and movie 3x5 cards were paper cliped to file. all files were put in 1 of 3 bins. due next day late more than 1 week late. right b4 i left they go a computer for cash register and started to enter info into it. Major Video all tapes were behind the counter and movie boxes were out on the sales floor. customers brought up boxes. all info was computer tracked. BB(1989-1990) not much diferent than today
What were your customers like? What particularly memorable customers or events do you remember?
Top Gun coming out (1986). It was one of the first sell thru titles(if not the first) trying to get people to pay 26.95 for a movie they could rent for 1.50 was a tuff sell
What was your boss like? How did he or she divide the work in the store?
tele vid did not know a thing about movies major video did not know a thing about movies BB knew a little about movies but not more than me
What video formats did your store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
In addition to mainstream Hollywood movies, what other kinds of videotapes
(children's videos or X-rated tapes, for example) did you rent/sell? Where were these
videos found in your store, and how important were they to the business?
What other services/products did you offer besides the rental or sale of
programs? Did this change over time?
Did you ever rent VCRs or other hardware to your customers? If so,
how important were hardware rentals to the business?
During the period that you worked at the store, what changes did you see take place?
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?