VUDU Lack of Hindsight Related to WalMart D2D Conversion is Outlandish

[Drav2222]

I have been with Vudu since the begining. And I brought many DVD's to WalMart for Conversion. It is NEVER an IMMEDIATE conversion or QUICK conversion. It is a VERY VERY slow COnversion process. Point 1) The people at WalMart are not usually properly trained Point 2) People at WalMart come and go all the time. Point 3) I recently went to Walmart to do a conversion that did not work with VUDU to go. The guy behind the counter had NO idea what I was talking about. I had to wait to find a person who I worked with before. What VUDU seems to not understand is that b/c of VUDU to go, WalMart workers no longer use the instore conversions. Well, initially, I think I was the only person at my walmart that did D2D conversion. There was not many of us. So, the acutally walmart conversion went from a few people on a regular basis to NONE due to VUDU to go. So, when I go back to Walmart with Disks to convert, it is like asking thiem to speak French. They look at this big white machine not knowing what to do. I have to wlak them through all the steps on the conversion process. There was once a Rubber stamp, that Walmart employers had to stamp the disk to indicate that this DVD was converted. Well that thing is GONNEEEEE. Never to be seen again.
So, basically, the Wallmart store has NO means to prevent your DVD from being "PRESENTED" for conversion again. It is just STUPID.

[Walter-S_North_Carolina]

Re: VUDU Lack of Hindsight Related to WalMart D2D Conversion is Outlandish

Sounds frustrating.

Maybe just use the Amazon Instant Video service. Oh wait, there isn't one.

Well then, just use the iTunes. There are lots of Apple stores around you can use for in-store conversions. Um, on second thought, they too are AWOL.

Humm...

I guess the point I am making with a dash of sarcasm is that the D2D program, both in-store and in-home, is an amazing program without parallel in movie industry history. If the in-store method is often a frustrating expirence and the in-home method has occasional bugs, it is still an amazing program.

In my opinion, the effort it takes to convert a title from DVD / BRD to an iVoD version is well worth it. I do know others disagree. For me, I have been able to take advantage of this program to build my family movie library far beyond what I would of been able to do if I had to make full price purchases of all the titles.

Instead, I am charged what I consider to be an administrative fee to be able to own an iVoD title for any DVD / BRD I can get my hands on. In my mind, it is well worth any frustration I may have in performing the transaction. In fact, if I needed to jump through hoops and the transaction took multiple weeks to complete with mailing discs through the mail and obstructive customer service, I would still do so.

The fact that there are store staff who are unfamiliar with the process is of little consequence to me. I do agree it would be nice if there were clear instructions for the times when store staff are asked to do it cold for the first time. You and I agree on this.

[nganiere]

Re: VUDU Lack of Hindsight Related to WalMart D2D Conversion is Outlandish

I have been with Vudu since the begining. And I brought many DVD's to WalMart for Conversion. It is NEVER an IMMEDIATE conversion or QUICK conversion. It is a VERY VERY slow COnversion process. Point 1) The people at WalMart are not usually properly trained Point 2) People at WalMart come and go all the time. Point 3) I recently went to Walmart to do a conversion that did not work with VUDU to go. The guy behind the counter had NO idea what I was talking about. I had to wait to find a person who I worked with before. What VUDU seems to not understand is that b/c of VUDU to go, WalMart workers no longer use the instore conversions. Well, initially, I think I was the only person at my walmart that did D2D conversion. There was not many of us. So, the acutally walmart conversion went from a few people on a regular basis to NONE due to VUDU to go. So, when I go back to Walmart with Disks to convert, it is like asking thiem to speak French. They look at this big white machine not knowing what to do. I have to wlak them through all the steps on the conversion process. There was once a Rubber stamp, that Walmart employers had to stamp the disk to indicate that this DVD was converted. Well that thing is GONNEEEEE. Never to be seen again.
So, basically, the Wallmart store has NO means to prevent your DVD from being "PRESENTED" for conversion again. It is just STUPID.

did my first in-store at a local walmart and of course untrained, like you said and clueless, had to walk through the process with them after they logged in after trying about 4 times, I would of been frustrated if I had more discs but thank god only needed 3 done that didn't work be it cinemanow, flixster, or vudu.....also person said no one ever asks for the service either....

[LuzRinggold]

Re: VUDU Lack of Hindsight Related to WalMart D2D Conversion is Outlandish

We are the ONLY customers who do Disc-to-Digital at two different Walmart stores. I used to have the same problems that you have described. Because these stores haven't had any turnover lately the same people are there and are able to handle my transaction fairly quickly now. I did have a VERY LONG wait time during the holidays because the photo lab was being used as their layaway.

Regarding the stamping of DVDs...we have NEVER had a single DVD stamped and that "practice" never made any sense to me whatsoever...especially now that we have the ability to do D2D at home through multiple services.

What would make D2D an amazing program is if a movie OR television show was automatically available for disc-to-digital if it's an UltraViolet title. We would know a title can be converted just because of the UV logo and not have to waste a bunch of additional time checking to see if a title can be converted.

[MattO]

Re: VUDU Lack of Hindsight Related to WalMart D2D Conversion is Outlandish

Regarding the stamping of DVDs...we have NEVER had a single DVD stamped and that "practice" never made any sense to me whatsoever...especially now that we have the ability to do D2D at home through multiple services.

Me neither. They realized that the stamp was pointless so they did away with it. Seems like an odd thing to complain about.

I've had my share of slow conversions by employees that didn't know what they were doing, but it always worked. Last time, a new face knew exactly what he was doing and was done in the couple of minutes. It's a nice program - it's just that there's no way it makes business sense to invest in it further at this point.

[Walter-S_North_Carolina]

Re: VUDU Lack of Hindsight Related to WalMart D2D Conversion is Outlandish

Me neither. They realized that the stamp was pointless so they did away with it. Seems like an odd thing to complain about.

I've had my share of slow conversions by employees that didn't know what they were doing, but it always worked. Last time, a new face knew exactly what he was doing and was done in the couple of minutes. It's a nice program - it's just that there's no way it makes business sense to invest in it further at this point.

Well stated. We are working with an incentive program. Kinda like clipping box-tops or recording proofs of purchases for some mail-in t-shirt deal.

Yes the D2D program has rewards and real value savings, but it is not the same as walking into a Verizon store with a fist full of hundred dollar bills wanting to buy a new iPhone. The service offerings between the two transactions should be recognized as different experiences.