You know those "buy 2 get 2 free" deals that they have at Hollywood Video? It's almost never worth it to actually take part in the deal. Usually, there's only two movies that you really want to purchase anyway, and yet you still convince yourself to buy two other mediocre ones, simply to take part in the deal. So if you're dead set on owning "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Wrestler," you're almost guaranteed to also be taking home "Paul Blart" or "Knowing."
I recently went into my local Hollywood Video knowing that I wanted to buy "Frost/Nixon" and "Watchmen." As I grabbed the two movies from the rack, I noticed that the display was advertising something called "DVDs for the Troops." Basically, if you bought two movies, Hollywood Video would donate three movies to Operation Homefront, who would then send those movies to deployed troops overseas. The sign also said that if you didn't want to participate in that, you could do a "buy 2 get 2" deal.
After looking around at some of the other crappy titles that I could've lumped together, I finally decided that there really wasn't anything else that was worth owning. I only really wanted the two movies anyway, so I figured "what the hell, I'll help out a good cause."
I took my movies to the register, where Misty the cashier (sounds like a children's book title) told me that I could get "buy 2 get 2" if I wanted.
No, I told her, there wasn't really anything else I wanted. I was going to do the other thing for the troops.
"Oh. OK ..." she said, fumbling around in a training manual. "Um, I may need a minute to figure out how to ring this up on the computer. You're like the first person who has done this."
She told me that the promotion had be running for about two weeks, and it was being presented as an either/or situation. Customers could either send three movies to the troops with their purchase of two movies, or take two free ones. She said that in the entire time the promotion has been going, she didn't think that a single person had chosen to send the movies.
"But do people still pick the 'buy 2 get 2' option?" I asked.
"Oh yeah," she said. "Tons of people do that!"
I couldn't believe it. Here is an opportunity to help our troops overseas, to send them a few movies from home and give them a little entertainment if only for a few hours, and no one was taking part at that store.
"It's the way people are around here," Misty said. "When I was putting up the signs, I had a feeling that no one was going to do it."
I have three good friends who are serving in the military. One is in the Navy, two are in the Marines, and all three are in different parts of the world. But one thing that all three of them have said was that getting mail was like Christmas morning. It didn't matter if it was letters, pictures, books, or cookies; it felt good for them to be remembered by their loved ones and to get a little distraction for a short while.
But no one at this particular Hollywood Video wanted to participate in sending some DVDs to our men and women overseas. When given the option of choosing something for yourself or giving something to people you don't even know, most of the people at that store were opting for getting a themselves couple more movies. And to be honest, I wasn't any different. Hell, the only reason I chose the DVDs for the Troops option initially was because I couldn't find two more good movies. Had there been a couple more good titles available, I wouldn't have had a second thought.
It's lazy thinking. But this doesn't even take much effort. Instead of picking out two movies you'll probably never watch, you could pick three that would mean the world to a soldier overseas. No, you don't get any special deal out of it, but you shouldn't have to.
I hope the trend at that particular store isn't happening at other Hollywood Videos. But still, it doesn't bode well that two days before the promotion was set to end, the workers at that store don't remember a single person taking part. It shouldn't be that way. When given the option of choosing for others or choosing for yourself, especially with something as trivial as DVDs, the majority shouldn't be picking the latter.
My friend Adalid, a Marine serving in Afghanistan, told me once that in whatever little down time his squad had, they would watch movies together. It didn't matter what genre or even if they movies were any good. It was simply for the fact that, for a couple hours, they were all just buddies gathered around a TV, laughing and enjoying themselves. They knew they would have to get back to work eventually, but for the time being, they had a little entertainment.
I don't mean to sound preachy. I just know that the feeling my friends in uniform have when they get mail, even if it's something as small as a movie, means more than someone grabbing two free DVDs in a Hollywood video just because it's a limited-time deal. What's in it for you? You might be tempted to say, nothing. But what's in it for the people you're helping? A package from home, which sometimes means the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment