Kyle B. has left a new comment on your post "Pre Auth Issues and Questions":
Hey Mike,
Can you start a new topic about what other kiosk owners due when a customer gets a scratched or broken dvd. Right now I contact my customer and apologize for the promblem and give them a FNF rental. I would just like to what all the other owners do and if there is just a better way to handle those issues.
I forgot to add to the post I just sent in, is there a way to catch scratched or broken DVD's before they go out? Thanks
No problem Kyle. It's been discussed on the blog a little, but it would be interesting to see what others do in this case. I personally just get the phone calls and give them a free rental. Plus, I add them to the VPD Newsletter so they get e-mails from me once a week.
Sincerely,
Mike Weiland
http://readydvd.com
Sunday, February 1, 2009
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17 comments:
I do the same, give out a free rental. I also go into connections and mark the slot as "Unload" to prevent someone else from renting it before I can unload the disk.
Mike,
We do exactly the same thing for scratched DVD's (FNF and mark for unload) except getting an email address during the call. Great idea and so simple!! Luckily, we have not had a broken DVD yet, but I would think we would handle the same. Thanks
Chuck Newton
DVD Rentals
Marking a slot to unload will not make it unavailable to rent. When you mark a slot to unload it simply puts the slot in the unload queue. If someone rents that slot and returns it the slot will no longer be in the unload queue.
Currently Rich, it's been changed back to exactly to what you said. Awhile back it used to be that you couldn't rent it. Apparently, there was a huge client that requested it changed. I asked again to have it changed back to the way it used to be. Or, at least be able to choose what I'd like. This really messes up slots if you straighten them out the night before and someone comes in and rents. It used to say something like "Reserved"..
Thanks Rich for pointing it out.
Sincerely,
Mike Weiland
http://readydvd.com
Wow, that concerns me. I don't recall being notified about changes in the functionality of Connections. Mike/Rich how did you know about these changes in functionality?
Just by marking them to unload and then they get rented. Not sure why DVDNow didn't let us know. Maybe they did and I just didn't read an e-mail that was sent. Rich is definitely right though.
Sincerely,
Mike Weiland
http//readydvd.com
When we get a call about a scratched DVD we ask the customer to write their name on a piece of paper in the case then give the movie to the cashier. We let the customer know there will be no charge for the movie. Then we call DVDnow and have the slot cleared at no charge. We used to give a fnf code but this caused more phone calls regarding scratched DVDs; particularly from our low income neighborhood locations (word got around that you could get a fnf by complaining). I’ll also note that most of our damage DVDs come from the low income neighborhood locations; however, if we have a damaged DVD from a mid-high income neighborhood location it is almost always a kids movie.
Going forward we are looking at using a strong box (TNR uses the strong box method). The strong box measures about 18in high by 6in wide and is bolted on the side of the kiosk. Movies can be dropped in the box thru a slot but can not be taken out without using a key. This would also be good for bad RFID tags. Oh by-the-way … we no longer allow movies to be returned using CC or code when there’s a bad RFID tag as some customers returned movies this way with no DVD in case. Again this only happened at our low income locations. Additionally, almost all of our CC fraud, declined transactions, etc. come from the low income location. I’m beginning to think the low income locations just aren’t worth the hassle even if they are somewhat profitable … these losers try to rip you off every time you turn around.
We found out the hard way …
We had a location that was not performing well and had other issues. The location was about 200 miles from our office; so I only wanted to make one trip to pick up the kiosk. About six days before the kiosk was to be moved I marked all the slots to unload. This was to allow the kiosk time to recover DVDs that were out but wouldn’t rent any new ones. To my surprise the kiosk continued to rent DVDs. I ended up losing about 15 DVDs. Lesson learned.
Oh, that sucks! You didn't get an e-mail then? I couldn't remember if I did or not. I am going to ask Mark Rudolph to e-mail everyone that this is happening. Unless you already did?
Sincerely,
Mike Weiland
http://readydvd.com
I found out about the unload issue with connections by having a customer mentioning that a dvd was scratched, I marked it for unload and planned on removing it on my weekly visit. A couple days later I recieved a call about the same dvd, I went online and saw that it was rented again, after I marked it for unload. I called dvdnow tech support and they told me the manufacter of the connections software changed it and they have requested it be changed back to its purpose. However if a big owner was able to make the request and they obliged this is going to bother something big.
I am about to purchase two machines and I was wondering on average how many DVD's are damaged within a month?
I can say that I have never had this problem, but in the event that I do these comments will help. Thanks...
Although tonight I did get this for the first time:
WARNING: Action Rent, RFID Error, Slot 108, RFID 01084C5597, UPC 796019817561, TITLE Zack And Miri Make A Porno
Not sure what that means exactly, maybe bad RFID..
I've had that happen. When the customer brings the movie back and the RFID tag is damaged, they can use their credit card to put it back in the machine. It's one of the choices that pops up on the screen. The machine recognizes their credit card and when they swipe it, the machine will keep the movie and charge them. You get this message then so you can change the tag. It's a great feature because you don't them giving the movie to someone in the store. What happens if the person in the store loses the movie that the customer gave them? They get charged for the full amount. It's way better this way. Just go and change your RFID tag and you'll be fine.
Hope that makes sense.
Sincerely,
Mike Weiland
http://readydvd.com
Mike:
I would like to know how others have moved their DVDNOW Kiosk to a new/different location. I am considering moving my Kiosk and I was wondering if this is something I could do on my own, or if would be prudent to hire the technician who initially set up my kiosk?
David
Good question Dave! I'll add another thread.
Sincerely,
Mike Weiland
http://readydvd.com
Mike,
I had two movies rented on March 29they were not returned and so went to sale. The problem is, in payment staus it is showing the Card Expired. It must have expired at the end of March. What do I do? Have you had this problem? It seems that the software should catch this or something.
Yes, It's happened to me too! Unfortunately, there's really nothing that I know of that you can do about it. If the card is expired or the account is closed, your toast. Unless someone else knows something I don't.
Mike Weiland
http://readydvd.com
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