I think it’s only fair to say upfront that I work for Blockbuster Canada, but not for much longer. The most recent deal fell through, and with nothing promising on the horizon, the receiver is recommending the liquidation of the company to pay the creditors. The problem is, they aren’t our creditors.

Before our parent company Blockbuster US went bankrupt, they bought themselves some time by using Blockbuster Canada as collateral for their debt. When they went under and were purchased by Dish Network, that $70,000,000 bill wasn’t part of the deal. That debt transferred to us. We didn’t incur the debt, but we were held accountable for it. Such are the joys of international commerce. Dish Network chose not to exercise their option to purchase Blockbuster Canada, largely it seems to avoid the creditors we inherited. Nice for them, not so much for us.

Blockbuster Canada was a successful, profitable and slowly expanding business. When the fiasco in the US pushed our company into receivership, we had posted an operating profit of $112,000,000 last year and had about $15,000,000 in liquid assets. That success is what ultimately killed us. That success is why we could be used as collateral. If we hadn’t been as strong as we were, we’d be better off now.

Now of course, the story is that we were struggling for relevance in an increasingly digital age. That’s the problem when you just recycle your stories from when Blockbuster US was tanking. There isn’t the same pressure from streaming/mail/kiosk use. I’ve worked at Blockbuster for nearly five years and in that time, I’ve definitely seen customers drop out of sight as they move to the other entertainment channels. I’ve also seen more than a few of them come back. Some come back for the selection of new releases and older titles, or for the rental terms which are apparently better than the on demand service they were using. The one thing almost every returning customer listed in common was service.

The fact is, that’s why those services cost so little. There’s no human interaction, so you only have to pay a handful of people at the back-end. There’s no front-end cost. But that lack of personality is also the problem with that model and the reason that so many people come back to brick and mortar stores. That’s the first thing I emphasized to every new hire. We aren’t in the movie/game business, we’re in the service business. People can get their movies or games anywhere. The only reason they come to us is because we offer something none of those other channels can provide. That one special ingredient is service.

It’s an attitude that was encouraged at every level. I’ve worked more than a few jobs over the years, and Blockbuster Canada was the most customer driven. AlLL of the staff were empowered to use discretionary credits to resolve problems. It was understood that it’s better to lose a few dollars now, than a lifetime worth of business.

Our customers come to our store because they want that level of service. If there’s a problem, they want it solved on site and usually on the spot. They want people to remember what they like and be able to recommend things to watch or to avoid. That’s part of what sets us apart from an algorithm that tracks your viewing habits and makes recommendations based off of them. Algorithms work great for machines, but not so great with people just yet. I’m not saying they never will, but so far, not so much. Of course, people can get all the review information they want from rottentomatoes.com. This is true of course, but I’ve been there and frankly, they and I tend to have some divergence of opinion. They provide an aggregate result of all the reviews they receive. Unless you agree with the taste of most of the people you know, it’s not much use.

So what is going to be lost when they lock the doors that last time? My job and those of about 2300 other people. Some much needed income for my family and those of the other 2300 families. Most importantly perhaps, a business where people are treated like people and not just ambulatory ATMs. You see, I specialize in customer service. That doesn’t mean that I try to upsell every person who walks through my door. It means knowing the people who come into my Blockbuster location as people. Sometimes, it means telling them why they don’t want to sign up for that tempting sounding promotion. Sometimes it means telling them that the movie they are thinking about buying is much cheaper at another retailer. Sometimes, it means giving them a shoulder to cry on or an ear to vent to.

What are people gaining by the destruction of Blockbuster Canada? Not a damned thing. When Blockbuster Canada closes, it’s not going to make anything better for anyone. It’s actually going to make things a little bit worse for the thousand-plus people who enjoy coming into my store each weak. People might gain a couple of bucks by not paying our outrageous prices to rent movies. To some that might be enough. I just don’t think it will be for everyone.

I’ve enjoyed my time at Blockbuster. I’ve been fortunate to work with some truly wonderful people. Some of my regular “customers” have become close friends. Anywhere I go in my community people smile and say, “Aren’t you the Blockbuster guy?” That ‘s a rare gift. It’s just one more thing I’m going to miss. Like I’m going to miss the ten year old girl who’s mother gives her the Blockbuster card and five dollars to come in and rent her own movies. The mother has been a customer at that store for years. We’ve talked often and she got to meet my daughter when she stopped in to see me after school one day. So she feels safe letting her daughter come into the store and rent her own movies. Her daughter gets to feel “all grown up” and I smile every time she comes in. I’m going to miss this one older couple who come in about once a week but only when I’m working. They know that I understand what kind of movies they like. When I’m cleaning the shelves or doing returns, I always keep an eye out so I have something new for them. I could write a dozen more, or a hundred more. It doesn’t make a difference because this isn’t about what I do, or the lives I touch. It’s about the bottom line. It’s better for Blockbuster Inc.s creditors to liquidate my company, my store, my livelihood, my community.

I’m certain I’ll find another job. I’m confident I’ll be good at it. I’m not sure I’ll ever get that sense of being part of the community around me again. When the people you serve come in week after week for years, and want to talk to you about movies, games, their kids, their job, their car, their vacation, their neighbor etc, they become real to you. They aren’t customers anymore. The secret is, they never were. They are people like you, like me and they are what I’ll miss the most.

Cheers, Winston