Blockbuster is a goner (in all cases now)

Friday night I decided it would be a good idea to watch some of the Oscar nominated movies this weekend so I can really have an opinion on how good they are (and besides I was really curious about Inglourious Basterds.) So I get home from work after an extremely... intense week (let's put it this way), still very alert from recent events and, why not to say, grumpy as hell due to the same reasons. So I get home, put on my tennis shoes and go out for a walk to clean up the air a little bit. And why not use the opportunity to get some of the movies in Blockbuster, as I'll pass by it anyway. Even though I practically don't use Blockbuster since the advent of Netflix, I still go there like once every month whenever I have a sudden crave for a particular flick.

So I get there, find IB and decide to finally watch Star Trek as well, it seems the night will be a winner after all. As I get to the line, they take FIFTEEN MINUTES to help two customers (in two cashiers) and one more that just jumps in front of me because she had just returned the wrong movie (don't lines apply when you do something stupid?). After ten minutes of wait I realize I don't have my wallet, just put my Blockbuster card and ID in my pocket, but I think "nevermind, they *must* have a plan B for these cases, right?" Like checking my rental history, address, how long I'm a customer, anything that would make it possible to get me an exception.

Five minutes later, the answer: No.

The option? Go get my wallet, walk back and get in line again (or could I just jump in too? It was kind of stupid what I did after all. Forgot to ask...) "Nevermind", I said and walked back home kicking dogs and old ladies that were unhappy enough to cross my way.

Fortunately when I got home I remembered my Roku machine doesn't serve only Netflix movies and that I had seen an Amazon on Demand App somewhere. One minute to complete registration and it was all there, all movies I wanted to watch, all in HD and all *cheaper* then renting through cable and some even cheaper than Blockbuster. No lines, no people returning wrong movies, no need to return a disc, no problems at all. I really do not understand how Blockbuster expects to stay open with no reaction to the consuming habits. And I'm not talking about technology or business model now, but just improving the experience in the stores.

So in the end of the night I had watched Inglourious Basterds (which is everything everyone is saying) and The Hurt Locker. And was cozy, happy and relaxed again.