Protocols and codes

[Kimeru]

Are they really that much of a thing? It can't be so important when they are following just because of a technicism. What I mean is, today I went to the Video Club to rent a DVD, and this happened:

Me: I'll take the movie number 493.
Him: Okay, what's your account name? (which is my mother's name)
Me: J******** P******.
Him: Address?
Me: R******* P*** 350.
He raises his eyebrow and I notice.
Me: Or, if it is the old address, R******* and C******, since we moved...
Him: Oh, you moved? Then I can't rent you the movie.
Me: Why?
Him: You have to tell your mom to bring a light bill or something that certifies you are living somewhere else.
Me: I am not enough of a ceritifcation?
Him: No, we need a bill.
Me: Well, we moved a month ago, so it would be hard that I have a bill; besides, my mom is gone and this place will close at 20:30 PM (I was at 20 minutes from closing)
He shrugs.
Him: I can't. The boss wouldn't allow it

'k, I just decided to shut up, went home and called my mother, she said there was some bills of phone and internet on the drawer; I took a phone one and went there, again.

I entered and, without saying a word, handed him the bill. He took about 5 minutes typing the numbers in the bill (hell, he types SLOW, but that's not the point) so he hands it to me again and opens a CD case, he realized it wasn't the one I asked for, when he went to look for them again I said: "I believe it is movie number 493" in a somewhat sarcastic tone of voice. He took it, checked it and handed it to me.

Before leaving, I said: "By the way, it is funny. If I would only have given you the old adress first, I would have spared myself these 10 minutes it took me to go get the bill." He babbled something but I interrupted him before he said a word with "And, besides, there is a difference in the verbs 'can't', 'shoudn't' and 'mustn't'.". Then I crossed the door and went outside but I heard him say (while I was leaving) "Well, I did ask you your address" and I reply "Hence I said 'can't', 'shoudn't' and 'mustn't' are different. We could just have pretended..." then he shrugs and say "Nothing I can do about it" then I also shrugged (more drastically, by raising my hands to my shoulders' height) and with a sarcastic smiling face left (still shrugging).

The point is, he was ALONE. No one else working with him at the time, and we could just have pretended I gave him the old address. I moved one whole month before this, and he still had that address, so what would the effing problem be? Okay, he could have given me the movie now and when I come to give it back I would give him a bill, but no. It is the politic of that place (which is indepent either way. It is no Block Buster or whatever, it is just one sad place), code, protocol or whatever it is. Was that even needed? Did that do any good? Was that useful at all?

So, I am debating the actual usefulness of protocols and codes. (Besides the honor code and proper ettiquete protocols)

[Obsideon]

First off he shouldn't have outright asked for a bill per say. That includes private information he has no right to. What he should have asked for was proof of residence, this includes bills. It's a technicallity true, but it is proper protocal for this sort of thing. Had your mother been present she could simply have shown an up-to-date driver's license which would have been more than sufficient.

There are obvious reasons why protocal is useful. Even if it is inconvenient and bothersome. More often than not, the people asking for this information don't know what is vallid and what is proper. They know only what they've been told. My mom had her license updated at the DOL, they did this by adding an update sticky to the back rather than replace the thing. A person at one video stor near here was too stupid to recognize this and requested a bill. Needless to say we've never went back there.

While protocals can be useful, often enough they can be counter-productive. Personally I think protocal should be more of a guideline than the law of the business.

[Kimeru]

The point is, it was pointless. (My mom has no driver license, nor does she drive)

I even gave him a bill of an address of another house where I moved from, hence the innecesarity. I got a nice explanation to why he did this (because he's a lifeless person, wage-slave who's so pathetic that wants to drag other people into misery by following the rules strictly *cough*).

It would have been okay if he was being watched, but what he did was pointless. In fact, he didn't give a damn if he lost a client for that day, to what he cares if he has less clients to attend, the better. He still gets paid monthly.

Maybe it's not so much of a thing against protocols but against that kind of people.