Well, I have just finished with a phone call that ends a four week search for a DVD movie of "The Italian Job" that was not a fake. My search was unsuccessful. It ended tonight with the guy telling me that this particular movie is not available in any part of Argentina.
It didn't start here, but actually began with a search of the city for a place that would sell me something genuine. You see, there are lots of places here that are more than happy to sell you a copy of a movie. To buy something genuine is very difficult, probably because the cost is between three and ten times more than a fake.
In our neighborhood we have just started to see DVDs available for rent. All of them are fakes. Most downloaded by Internet I would guess. Some are filmed in the cinema and have people walking across the screen, while others are missing big chunks from the middle of the movie. It is all that is available here.
So after walking all over the city, searching for a place that actually sold DVDs and not just copies, I finally found a great little rental shop with a good collection of genuine movies for sale. It was a little out of the way, but since it had the first decent collection of real movies, I figured we had found the right place.
I guess it was the right place in most senses of the word. They did eventually find out that my ordered DVD was not available in Argentina. But it was the process that really amazed me.
When I first spoke with the guy, he told me that he would have it within a couple of days. I went away content that at last, after searching through this city of Corrientes, I had found a reliable place. But when those few days had passed and I found myself back at the shop, there was no DVD.
"No problems," I was told, "it will arrive tomorrow. We don't know why it didn't arrive in the box today." Well, a couple of days passed by before I was able to return. Full of confidence that they would have my DVD, I journeyed the 40minute bus trip into town to pick it up. After my first attempt, when I found the shop to be shut, I turned up and asked for my DVD. It was nowhere to be found.
Somewhat amazed, after searching through each of the six or so possible locations they may have put something like that, I was told that they did not have it. Well, that had become obvious by then. So I asked them how long it would be before I actually did get it.
They told me, again full of confidence, that they would know for sure by the Thursday coming. That was only several days away, but I was growing wary now. I gave them my phone number and asked them to call me with information. They never did. I called them on the Thursday and was told that they knew nothing and to call again that night (shops here open in the morning and evening and close during the afternoon).
That night I called again, and was told that they could not find my DVD in any part of Corrientes. It was now almost two weeks since I had first asked them to order it for me. It seemed that this was the end of the road for them. They offered me no other alternative, and spoke as though they had completed their obligation to me. I was not so content.
After some pushing, they eventually agreed to look a little further afield for my DVD. Three more times I called them to find out how things were progressing. Three more times they told me that they could not get it from such-and-such a place or that they simply still did not know. Each time I asked them where else they may be able to get it. So three more times I was told yet again that if I called back in a few days they would know when they could get my DVD. This was not to be so.
My final call was tonight. The guy once again told me that he did not know when they would get my DVD, and that it had not yet arrived. He was about to give me another time to call back, but suddenly told me to wait a moment. Then I heard the first piece of accurate information since starting this game. There was no such a movie on DVD available in Argentina.
I thanked the guy for this information and explained to him that I was very disappointed with their level of service. That it took this long to find out such basic information, that I never received a phone call during the entire four weeks even though they had my number, and that I had to basically push them to find out this much.
The guy agreed with me that it was bad business to have treated a customer in this way. He also explained that he was able to give me such accurate information because the Regional Representative that distributes all DVD movies in Northern Argentina just happened to walk in during my call.
Then he told me that there was a possibility that this movie may be available in August, so if I would like to call back in just two weeks they may know more........
No thanks.