Well, tonight's review was supposed to be the American version of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. Because the Blockbuster Express machine refused to cooperate, it has become tonight's focus. That is not a good thing.
I'm sure that while out and about, you have seen the Blockbuster Express machines. They're actually quite useful, providing you with movie rentals in convenient locations, often grocery stores. Additionally, the rent is much cheaper than if you rented from an actual Blockbuster store.* A new movie rents for around $2, while movies over a month old appear to be only $1. Need the movie another night? No problem. They'll just charge it to your card.
Making them even more attractive, Blockbuster Express machines have certain titles guaranteed to be in stock, such as the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. Last week, on Monday, I attempted to rent said movie. It was out of stock. Because it was out of stock, Blockbuster sent me a code to use for a free rental, since my guaranteed rental was out.
Tonight, after purchasing my groceries, I strolled up to the machine. Before I could use it, I had to wait for the gentleman and his two young daughters to finish their rental. After a few minutes, they finished, and I stepped up to claim my movie.
Tonight, the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo was in stock. Huzzah. I added it to my cart, somewhat frustrated that it wasn't available in Blu Ray. As a matter of fact, I didn't even see any Blu Ray options. It may be that I just didn't look in the right place, but I know the Redbox offers me Blu Ray.
I told myself it was no big deal and proceeded to the checkout. I input my code and bypassed the option to enter my email address. Blockbuster has no need for it. Now, the moment to swipe my card had arrived, and I almost had my movie in hand! Even though there was no charge, the machine needed my card on file to charge me for any extra days or if I didn't return the movie. Swipe! Enter pin! Enter zip code! Wait...it says my zip code doesn't match. I'll try it again. I have to go through the entire process again. Email - swipe - pin - zip code. No dice. I try a third time, even getting my license out to make sure I'm putting in the right zip. Sure enough, I am.
At this point in time, there are a couple kids waiting behind me, and I'm starting to feel a little stupid. I know my zip code. I am entering it correctly. What's the problem? Did I never update my address upon moving? I'll try my old zip code. Still, it does not work. At this point, I exit out of the payment screen, remove the film from my cart, and walk away from the machine. I am SUPER upset, as I was looking forward to the movie I tried to rent a week ago, but I walk away empty handed.
Upon arriving home, I logged into my online banking to verify the zip code they had listed for me. It is the same one I attempted to enter into the machine multiple times. I've never had this problem before, and I know the Redbox has worked just fine when I've rented from it. In the future, I'll stick to using the Redbox. My crazy conspiracy loving brain thinks it just wasn't working so I couldn't use my free rental. I realize that isn't the case, but it does seem pretty odd.
Anyway, if you need to rent a movie, go find a Redbox.
*If you could find one, that is.
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