Employee profile
What was the name of your video store?
Movie Village
Where was the store located?
Winnipeg, (Canada)
When did you start working at this store?
1987
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?
Working in a video store seemed at the time the closest thing to my true passion, which was making movies. I've since discovered an even closer thing: actually making movies.
Describe your store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
It was a small hole-in-the-wall establishment run by a gentleman who appeared to love movies. He claimed to have a friend who had starred in several Werner Herzog films. I'm reasonably sure he didn't mean Klaus Kinski. The store was located in a very boho part of town and catered to all manner of marginal clientele.
What were your customers like? What particularly memorable customers or events do you remember?
The top of the counter was covered in a shiny metallic material, and once a customer sat her child on the counter, facing outwards. The baby promptly broke wind, sending a misty, fan-shaped film out across the countertop. Otherwise the customers were quite normal.
What was your boss like? How did he or she divide the work in the store?
The boss was quite benign, but had an alarming habit of silently staring at you with large bug-eyes when you asked even the simplest question. A fellow employee reported that it often seemed to him that, from the boss' point of view, he'd approached and gon "B'KAWW!!" (chicken squawk) instead of speaking simple English.
What video formats did your store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
VHS and Beta. No laserdiscs ever. All formats were kept in the back, behind the counter. Customers would bring up small cards with a title and a number on them. Blue for VHS and pink for Beta. We would find the corresponding tape and bring it out.
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?
X-rated tapes came along after my tenure in the store. There were children's movies, foreign films, documentaries and so on mixed into the general population.
What other services/products did you offer besides the rental or sale of
programs? Did this change over time?
Video players were rented out to those freakish enough not to have their own.
Did you ever rent VCRs or other hardware to your customers? If so,
how important were hardware rentals to the business?
See above. The importance was minor.
During the period that you worked at the store, what changes did you see take place?
The store changed location and opened an additional location (which later failed). The new main location was only a few doors down the street, but was much larger.
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
The store is still open, and is a force to be reckoned with in the Winnipeg video rental scene.