Employee profile
What was the name of your video store?
Webbers World/Reel Time Video
Where was the store located?
Dana Point, California (United States)
When did you start working at this store?
1984
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?
The summer I graduated from High School, my parents got me a a portable VCR and Camera. At the same time, a video store opened in our little town and since I knew how to work a VCR, they hired me. At that time, we were charging 39.95 for a year membership and 79.95 for a "life-time" membership. I also remembere that the tapes were usually around $79 to buy. I think Star Trek IV was one of the first tapes to price itself at 24.95.
Describe your store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
The store was big, well lit and had very nice display counters. Videoboxes were displayed on the shelves with laminated tags hanging under them. You would take on of these tags up to the counter and exchnge it for your movie.
What were your customers like? What particularly memorable customers or events do you remember?
I remember angry customers coming back saying the movie was messed up only to find out that they had never heard about cleaning their vcr's heads.
What was your boss like? How did he or she divide the work in the store?
My first boss was a bizarre older woman that liked to go out and get drunk at lunch. She would call you anytime at home to tell you something no matter how small that you had done incorrectly. She got fired after a few months.
What video formats did your store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
Only VHS
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?
The store had every genre. Both childrebs movies and porn were huge. This was the dawn of the era of kids watching a movie 9 million times and the first time normal average people could discreetly check out a porno in their own homes. When I think about it, not much has changed... Kids movies and porn are still the big sellers
What other services/products did you offer besides the rental or sale of
programs? Did this change over time?
Vcr repair, accesories, VCR Rental, Television sales, one hour photo developing.
Did you ever rent VCRs or other hardware to your customers? If so,
how important were hardware rentals to the business?
We had a few VCR's for rent and they were always rented on the weekends
During the period that you worked at the store, what changes did you see take place?
Mmeberships went away. The business went from manual to computerized. Movies beacme cheaper to own and sell
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
It was sold sometime in the early 90's and went out of business. The TV sales side is till thriving