On Wednesday, October the 21st 2009 I walked into one of the local stores in Florence, Alabama and left with the movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” from my local Redbox Kiosk. This may not seem like a big deal to some but the problem happens to be much deeper than it appears, let me explain: 1) I had rented my copy of “Transformers 2″ online at Redbox.com. 2) Although I had already rented the DVD online I still ended up having to wait behind 3 other people who took over 5 minutes each. 3) They were taking so long because all 3 of them came for a copy of “Transformers 2″ and ended up leaving with another movie, or no movie at all because I more than likely had rented the last copy of “Transformers 2″ online just 30 minutes prior to this moment in time. With that being said I will now begin Part 2 of “Redbox Etiquette” :

3) Look Ahead – For almost everything we do in life we have to stand in line, and the same holds true when you want to rent a DVD from Redbox. When you are standing in line at the Redbox Kiosk with the intent of walking home with a DVD all you need to do is simply “look ahead.” This can be as simple as looking at all of the movies your kiosk has featured on it’s side, or you could even glance at the Redbox screen while the person ahead of you browsing through the DVDs. This can give you an idea about what is available in the Kiosk and most importantly it can cut the amount of time you spend browsing through the movie titles in half or more! You can usually see the screen from a good distance away (I can usually see the movie selections 3-4 people back) so take the time you spend in line and use it to your advantage!

4) The Blockbuster Mentality – Ok let’s go back 2 years, and think about how renting DVDs use to be and then look at how some of us can’t shake the old “gatherer” mentality. When I spent $5 on a movie I took my time and made sure I got a movie that was worth the $5, because if I’m going to spend as much money on a movie as I did my dinner tonight, I’m going to make sure the movie is worth that money. I would walk around rental stores from 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how many “new” movies had come out since the last time I was there. This is no longer that case boys and girls, we are renting our DVDs from Redbox and it only cost us $1! Time after time I hear people complain about the 1 person who stands at the Redbox kiosk for 15 minutes while the line of 10 people behind him keeps growing and growing. In 15 minutes I could have searched every movie in the Kiosk’s inventory 9 times over and by the time they finally leave with their 1 obscure movie I’m almost positive they have as well! Let’s lose the gathering mentality and learn to quickly rent our DVDs once we are standing in front of the Redbox Kiosk, that way everyone can enjoy the “Redbox Experience” with much more ease.

Ground Rules:

1) As a rule it should take no more than 4 minutes per movie.

2) Use the online service! (There is a reason the website is plastered everywhere on the kiosk, and it ask you for your e-mail!)

3) Show some respect to those that are returning DVDs.

4) Enjoy movies you would have never considered before Redbox.

In Conclusion – Over the last 5 months I have seen movies I would have never even considered before Redbox came to my town. It’s amazing what kind of movies you can find when you start letting yourself enjoy every movie in your local Redbox. Just because a movie looks like it wont be good, doesn’t mean it’s not a great movie and at $1 a night it’s worth a shot. Over and over I have been able to cut down on the amount of time I spent at the Redbox Kiosk because I go with 1 movie in mind, the 1 movie is out of stock, and I just revert to “the next movie that sparks even slight interest I will rent” mentality. Surprisingly the movies that I rent on the fly have ended up being more memorable to me than the ones I “pick” before I leave my home. Renting with Redbox makes renting DVDs fun again and with over 15,000 locations, it keeps getting easier and easier to enjoy a Redbox near you.

Part 1 of “Redbox Etiquette” can be found here: Redbox Etiquette (Part 1)