Random Thoughts Thread

[isiolia]

I'm not complaining, but I do wonder if any store manager cares that their employees are giving stuff away.

I worked at a Kohl's briefly doing night stocking. I still had to do some of the retail training. They have a liberal return policy in general to keep people coming back, and because it means customers will more readily buy things they aren't 100% on. Kinda like main-in rebates I guess.

I still recall that they would normally take the merchandise back though. But, yeah, they can't really resell used shoes anyway.

Either way, I would assume that most of that is less employees deciding to be nice, and more a deliberate action to encourage buying things at their stores instead of using them as showrooms for Amazon.

[Jmustang1968]

I wonder if it is a cultural/regional difference in how customers are perceived.

Definitely.

Although, I am the son of a man who has returned movies to Best Buy because he didn't like them.

Yes, I do "work" them a bit, but I "get" customer service and cashier around here. Find a common ground, express that you don't want to complain but "given the circumstances", and "I'm sure you could understand that..." and so on. Be approachable, smile, and give an "aww shucks" attitude instead of demanding a return and you are likely to get great results. Like free shoes.

I wouldn't enjoy doing that, feels like it is working the system. I only return things if they are defective/incomplete. Returning a movie you don't like (I understsnd it was your dad) seems a bit ridiculous.

[Luke]

I wouldn't enjoy doing that, feels like it is working the system. I only return things if they are defective/incomplete. Returning a movie you don't like (I understsnd it was your dad) seems a bit ridiculous.

He also has returned CD's he didn't like. I agree it is ridiculous, but he has that "I'm not spending my hard earned money on something I am not fully satisfied" mind set. A lot of people with his background are the same way, and his age also plays a factor.

I'm the same way, but not to his extreme. I have received three free irons from BB&B. Finally the last time (knocks on wood) the freebie was their "top shelf" iron. The last freebie iron dripped a copper like substance on a fairly expensive white dress shirt, and I was angry as a chick-fil-a fiend on a Sunday. I composed myself, went to BBB with the ruined shirt, and calmly said "Man, I can't afford to have to throw another shirt away because of a faulty iron".

Or something close to that.

He understood, gave me a gift card and said "Pick out any iron you want". If that is working the system, then yes, I worked it.

Similar situation with the shoes. I loved the look of them, but after a run I knew they weren't the best running shoes for me. Casual shoes yes, active shoes, no. I told the lady at Kohl's "I really love the way these shoes look, but I can't see myself running in them every morning." And *boom*, full refund and a free pair of seventy dollar shoes.

The only time I can think of where I genuinely got mad at someone for a service was a cab driver in Chicago. I had a business dinner set with the owner and CEO of Notions Marketing, had called the cab company a week in advance to set a pick up and drop off time, and the guy was nearly an hour late. Not only that, he didn't like the fact I pointed out he was late. "Maybe this is your first time getting a Taxi" he said to me. The fare was over $40...I didn't pay a cent. I was furious, but kept it together and told him to "Sue me. Check with your boss for my name".

Luckily Ray Jay (VP is Ray, Jay was the CEO) were enjoying adult beverages so they didn't mind the wait, but I felt so unprofessional for not showing up on time. Plus my wife was with me and she looked so stunning I doubt they checked their watches.

Lesson learned: Never expect a cab to arrive on time, call a limo instead. I've never had a limo arrive late. And if you don't travel much, a limo isn't what you think. It's not a stretch limo, it's usually a Lincoln Continental.

[MrPopo]

There's also the part where Luke walks into the stores wearing his Cobra Kai gi. That tends to make people not want to annoy him.

[Luke]

There's also the part where Luke walks into the stores wearing his Cobra Kai gi. That tends to make people not want to annoy him.

That and I place my returns in a body bag and always unzip the bag very sloooooowly.

[BurningDoom]

So Stargate SG-1 is no longer instant watch on Netflix. What a shame.

That show has 10 freaking seasons in it, all of which are multiple disc. And Netflix only sends you 1 disc at a time, not the entire season set. You know how long that would take?

Why in the world would they take this off of instant streaming? What were they thinking?!

[jinx]

So Stargate SG-1 is no longer instant watch on Netflix. What a shame.

That show has 10 freaking seasons in it, all of which are multiple disc. And Netflix only sends you 1 disc at a time, not the entire season set. You know how long that would take?

Why in the world would they take this off of instant streaming? What were they thinking?!

That sucks...
I remember one of our entertainment stores were going out of business and we got all the seasons (that were released at the time) for next to nothing. I think the box sets were going for as low as $10 and some of the newer ones were $20. Massive marathon.

Can't be bothered to purchase them all over again though...

[Ack]

So Stargate SG-1 is no longer instant watch on Netflix. What a shame.

That show has 10 freaking seasons in it, all of which are multiple disc. And Netflix only sends you 1 disc at a time, not the entire season set. You know how long that would take?

Why in the world would they take this off of instant streaming? What were they thinking?!

Contractual obligations and server space issues versus popular demand. First, Netflix has to create a contract with the property owners to stream video. Negotiations can take years (it took roughly a year and a half here at Turner to get some Cartoon Network programming on Netflix streaming, and that was only for a few seasons of Adventure Time and Regular Show) based on the needs of both parties versus other offers that particular company might be fielding. Contracts may mean that a certain show may only be streamed for a certain period of time.

Now add in limited server space for streaming video. Netflix has a lot, yes, but it's not infinite, and sometimes hard choices must be made based on a show's popularity and its space requirements. Say an average 44 minute episode (1 hour with commercials in place) takes up about 300 Mb of storage. Now multiply that 300 Mb by an average number of 24 episodes in a season for 10 seasons. You get 72000 Mb (roughly 70.3 Gb) of data that must be kept on your server. If enough people are watching a show, it can easily justify the space. But say you have space limitations because your servers are also hosting innumerable other films, television shows of varying lengths, and cartoons, and suddenly you are presented an opportunity to air...oh...let's say Breaking Bad. It's only half the length at 5 seasons with the same base video file size and the same average number of episodes per seasons, so it will take up half the space. Plus, it may be considered a more popular choice that will bring in viewers, thus potentially getting people to try the service or keeping them from leaving. So for half the space, you're generating more interest and therefore generating more income. Therefore, Stargate SG-1 gets dropped in favor of Breaking Bad and perhaps a handful of other shorter but popular shows to generate more income.

[AppleQueso]

oooh those days when you're waiting for a Fedex/UPS delivery feel like they last forever.

[BoneSnapDeez]

oooh those days when you're waiting for a Fedex/UPS delivery feel like they last forever.

Haha yup.

Speaking of mail, I always seem to have some video game related item in transit to my mailbox. I can't be the only one.