Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
C & M Video
Where was the store located?
Monmouth, Illinois (United States)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1986
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
A pretty small store, pretty basic in appearance. You'd walk in, and directly in front of you would be the check-out counter; to your sides would be maybe a dozen racks of videos, older stuff, broken up into basic genres: "comedy," "horror," "drama," etc. New releases would be lined up against two walls. In the far right corner of the store would be what my buddies and I called "the Golden Room." That's where they'd keep the pornos. Stashed safely away from us kids.
What were the employees and/or owners like, and what kinds of interactions
did you have with them? What particularly memorable exchanges or events
do you remember?
This was a small, small town, so everybody knew everybody anyway. I don't recall knowing the owners, but several of the employees I was familiar with. Mostly, they were young girls, late teens, early twenties, who'd say stuff to me like, "jeez, have you rented everything in here?" or recommend the new stuff--I recall one girl telling me I had to watch "Blue Steel," that lame Jamie Lee Curtis cop movie, because it was so scary, she double-checked all the doors in her house after she saw it to make sure they were locked. Mostly, I'd just try to flirt with the girls. One of the high honchos out there was a woman in her 40's, a friend of my mother's, who'd be either really chatty and friendly, or mean as a badger, depending on the mood you caught her in. Once, I was 16, went into the store and rented an armload, then went to my car, drove home, and discovered I'd lost my wallet. Shortly thereafter, my phone rang: "Hey, this is Shirley at the video store, you dropped your wallet in the parking lot, come on back and get it." One other time, I rented "The River's Edge," an R-rated flick, and she called my mother up at work and told her. Just in case, you know, I was watching movies I wasn't supposed to.
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
Originally, it rented, sold (sold only a very few, though; just a handful, really), and would rent VCRs as well. I believe it would offer VCR and videotape repair, too. I remember once, when one of my own videos got chewed up in my VCR, I brought it down there and they fixed it for me. I don't recall the repair option lasting too long, though, and I believe the VCR rental thing fell by the wayside pretty quickly, too.
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
This was strictly a VHS place. Nothing else.
In addition to mainstream Hollywood movies, what other kinds of videotapes
(for example children's, exercise, or X-rated) did the store rent/sell? Where were these
videos found in the store, and how often did you rent or purchase them?
I don't recall what, if anything, they had there other than the mainstream stuff. I'm sure there was a healthy supply of kid's movies, and the forbidden X-rated section was pretty large, but I always stuck to the mainstream. And by mainstream, I mean MAINSTREAM--they had pretty much every title released in the 80's, and some from the late 70's, but that was it. Nothing from the early days of cinema unless it was a bona fide classic like "Gone With the Wind" or "It's a Wonderful Life."
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
I mainly rented, mostly because they never had much for sale there. Occasionally, they'd have one of those surplus-clearing sales, and I'd be all over that, buying dozens of videos at a pop. But they were predominantly a rental place.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
Nothing, other than the occasional re-arranging of shelves and the like. They may have added a bigger selection over time, but nothing too noticeable.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
Ain't nothing but an empty storefront now. I left town in 1994; I think it shut its doors in 1995 or 1996. I like to think it was because it lost its best customer.
In your own words, tell the story of your first VCR/video player. Where
and when did you buy it, and why did you decide to make the purchase?
1982. I was seven. My mom and dad and I were at K-Mart, and I remember my dad literally pacing, circling the aisles, looking at that VCR like it was a foreign object (which I guess it was, back then). He kept saying "do you think we need it? do you think we'll use it?"--he asked this again and again. "Yeah, sure," I'd keep telling him, and he'd keep on pacing. Finally, he caved and made the purchase. It was a Beta machine, and my folks still have it. As far as I know, it still works. We bought our first VHS VCR in 1984.
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
Not that I recall.