Smart/casual for Blockbuster interview?

System

pinkteapot wrote: »

I bet the role-play will be dealing with a difficult customer. You can practise this with him.

For example, rentals have to be returned by 10pm on the day they are due back. So the role play might be the interviewer taking the role of a customer who returns their DVD shortly after the cut-off.

Assuming the job is customer-facing they'll just be checking that your son is personable and will keep his cool if he has to deal with a chavtastic numpty customer. Which, based on the people I usually see in my local Blockbuster, is entirely likely.

He should show an interest in film - the Blockbuster staff always comment on the films we're renting, whether they enjoyed them etc.

In addition to this I know that Blockbuster have a scheme where if your rental is returned late if you rent another film they reduce the fine. That might help? Good luck to your son OP

bluenoseam

You could find that they'll also want to see how good his knowledge is - i've personally seen hundreds if not thousands of movies, but that doesn't mean i know them & have a working knowledge of what best works if a customer was to walk up to me and say "hey, i liked The Hangover, can you recomend something which i might like?". Now i know that's quite rare in Blockies, but it helps if he can exhibit originality if faced with something like that - then he can show off that he's not just "watching" movies but actually absorbing them.

Might also be a good idea to get him clued up on stuff like the age restriction stuff - if he shows prior knowledge of that i'm sure it'll be a big plus mark on his part, it's boring as hell (although you do get to see Mickey from Eastenders acting like a prize plum!) but it's vital, a £5k fine is NOT money saving and it gives a criminal record & potentially jail time too! I worked in games/dvd retail and certainly with the last mob i worked with had to watch this video every 3 months - i've also seen someone be dealt with who didn't follow the video and frankly that scared the bejesus out of me, especially these days when you can barely tell who is or isn't of age! (http://www.videostandards.org.uk/ - that's the website with all the good information surrounding the law & age ratings)

I know when i worked for Gamestation when they were part of the Blockbuster group we got free rentals - without a doubt the single most awesome staff perk i've ever had! Caused much hilarity at holiday times too when i'd go rent 5-10 DVD's/Games to keep nephew & the "big kids" happy. Good luck & tell him not to be too nervous, just relax, show that he knows his stuff and even if he doesn't get the job he'll have experience of what to expect the next time round.

Bayonetta

Somewhere between 5 and 6 years ago I had an interview at Blockbuster, I was probably around the same age.

If I remember correctly it was just a pretty standard interview, I went wearing something smart, but definitely not all black.

The only useful things that really stand out in my memory were that they asked what the last film I saw was and what my favourite film was and why!

They also mentioned that they would do a stock take every so often that could go on in to the early hours of the morning, this might be something local to my store but I thought it might be worth mentioning in case you'd need to pick up your son from work!

HTH

Googlewhacker

they probably stipulated the colour as this is the colour staff wear now but its not a uniform as per say.

It use to be Blue T-shirts but I guess they thought to be more in tune with their demographic they want to be trendy and seen as cool

Judith_W

Odd about the black, my local BB def still wear blue t-shirts

pjcox2005

Throw a spanner in the works but I differ from the others in opinion. Smart trousers and a shirt, but I wouldn't wear a tie.

Personally if someone stipulates smart/casual and someone came wearing a tie etc then I'd question why they couldn't follow the simple instructions (although I do appreciate others prefer to be more cautious).

DCFC79

Id wear a sit, tie and black shoes, you want to make an impression and stand out form the rest, if all the others are for example school drop outs wearing chavvy clothes, polo shirts etc then the 1 who is smartly dressed will get noticed more

MsHoarder

Might be best to wear a shirt and tie under a smart jumper. Then the interviewee can gauge the atmosphere on arrival and decide whether or not to remove the jumper.

DCFC79

Re what i said earlier, my first interview for my first job i only wore a white shirt black trouser and black shoes, dont think i wore a jumper and i defintely didnt have a suit to wear but times have changed and theres more competition, the jumper idea sounds like a good idea

j-josie

Thanks for all your replies.
We are leaning towards no tie (I too shared the concern re them thinking he was overdressed for a smart/casual instruction..). My only concern was that at least the tie would break up the blackness. He's in danger of looking like a piece of liquorice:p
Ebay shirt has arrived - it's brand new so thumbs up to that. He has a suit so is going to wear the posh trousers from that.
Oooh, DS has just turned up in the shirt and tie combo.. Final decision is shirt plus tie but not buttoned at the neck giving the casual twist..
Who knew it would be so complicated;)