10 Brands That May Disappear in 2011

[Brandon.]

To my surprise there's a whole shit load of companies listed that I actually thought were doing well.

[ThetaDancer]

I'm surprised to see T-Mobile on the list. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly surprised by Blockbuster or Readers Digest being listed.

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I just sat there chuckling to myself thinking she'd be looking for a new job within a year.

This made me cringe. I'm hoping you just worded this really poorly and didn't literally laugh at someone's potential misfortune.

[DrPhil]

Dr. Angel's post really bothered me.

It's okay, we all have our cringe worthy moments on and off the Internet.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

Why would you find it funny that someone might be losing their job in this economy? Blockbuster has a lot of retail stores across the country, if they were all to close it would add a couple thousand people to the list of unemployed.

Oh please...I didn't find it humorous that she would lose her job but that she thought Blockbuster was such a strong company. Learn to read posts.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I was getting a haircut the first weekend after I moved to PHX, and a group of women were getting pedis behind me. I couldn't help overhearing their conversation. Apparently one of them worked for Blockbuster. She went on and on about what a great company Blockbuster was. She thought that they'd never go out of business because they sold everything! I just sat there chuckling to myself thinking she'd be looking for a new job within a year.

Since it seems several people were stunned by this post, let me clarify. The woman was in middle management with blockbuster. She went on and on about the company for about 15 minutes about how strong the company was. I do not find humor in her misfortune, just in her complete lack of understanding of her companies financial situation, especially since this was not a teenager working the desk at a store.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Oh please...I didn't find it humorous that she would lose her job but that she thought Blockbuster was such a strong company. Learn to read posts.

I got what you meant. Not really sure what caused the uproar.

But I remember working at Blockbuster years ago. The company treated employees and customers like shit and had a "too big to fail" mentality. Good riddance.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I got what you meant. Not really sure what caused the uproar.

But I remember working at Blockbuster years ago. The company treated employees and customers like shit and had a "too big to fail" mentality. Good riddance.

Thanks, K_S...I'm not that kind of mean. Mean yes, not vicious!

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Not really sure what caused the uproar.

Where's the uproar?

Her point was extremely clear until this part "I just sat there chuckling to myself thinking she'd be looking for a new job within a year." That's what people are responding to. Add water and stir.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Thanks, K_S...I'm not that kind of mean. Mean yes, not vicious!

Yeah and that's why people responded as they did.

If you were known to be a vicious and heartless username, people would've just cussed you out instead of expressing shock, frowny faces, and ThetaDancer's attempt at giving you the benefit of the doubt.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Yeah and that's why people responded as they did.

If you were known to be a vicious and heartless username, people would've just cussed you out instead of expressing shock, frowny faces, and ThetaDancer's attempt at giving you the benefit of the doubt.

I appreciate it, that's why I clarified.

[DrPhil]

For the record....

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

The woman was in middle management with blockbuster.

Middle management employees tend not to truly be informed of the financial situations of the companies they work for.

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

But I remember working at Blockbuster years ago. The company treated employees and customers like shit and had a "too big to fail" mentality. Good riddance.

You worked for the corporate office or one of the locations? That makes a big difference.

I have my list of companies that I hate. However, within the context of this thread, "good riddance" for even the crappiest and most exploitative of companies should not ignore all of the jobs that will be lost. That's definitely nothing to celebrate.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

For the record....



Middle management employees tend not to truly be informed of the financial situations of the companies they work for.



You worked for the corporate office or one of the locations? That makes a big difference.

I have my list of companies that I hate. However, within the context of this thread, "good riddance" for even the crappiest and most exploitative of companies should not ignore all of the jobs that will be lost. That's definitely nothing to celebrate.

But as an educated person, she should be able see what every other educated person in the country can see... Blockbuster is in trouble.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

You worked for the corporate office or one of the locations? That makes a big difference.

I have my list of companies that I hate. However, within the context of this thread, "good riddance" for even the crappiest and most exploitative of companies should not ignore all of the jobs that will be lost. That's definitely nothing to celebrate.

I worked at a location, but in Dallas (where corporate HQ is located). My main group of friends at the time were in middle management, so in hanging out with them, I heard about what was going on.

To the second part -- of course I don't want to run around screaming "Hahaha, you bitches are unemployed now!" but I saw in 2003 that BBV was tanking. If a retail employee can see that the company is going downhill, someone in middle management should be able to see it.

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

But as an educated person, she should be able see what every other educated person in the country can see... Blockbuster is in trouble.

Pretty much.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

But as an educated person, she should be able see what every other educated person in the country can see... Blockbuster is in trouble.

Exactly. They're in a lot of trouble, and copying netflix and working out deals with studios to delay redbox/netflix releases will NOT save them.

We only have Family Video left in town (and the chain started here) and they're great for people w/o netflix who just want something to watch (preferably in the back catalog, with a free kids movie!) Otherwise, even the last hold out grocery store with a rental service just got their brand new redbox.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

But as an educated person, she should be able see what every other educated person in the country can see... Blockbuster is in trouble.

Don't attempt to cash that check. A lot of things that we think are common observation and knowledge are not.

I don't really know Blockbuster's financial situation but I always guessed that they are struggling because of the economy, Netflix, Redbox, the Internet, and OnDemand channels. At the same time, I don't have the inside scoop of what Blockbuster is doing to buffer the effects of these things. They certainly aren't the first or last company to have to tackle such issues--other companies have survived. I know people who still go to Blockbuster because Redbox and OnDemand really suck sometimes. That may or may not represent a larger trend.