For the record, let me say that I hate Blockbuster. They have become a terribly outdated company, and to add insult to injury they have absolutely no sense of customer service. A few months ago I rented a couple movies from Blockbuster and I even managed to return them in on time. However, the "fail safe" inventory system indicated otherwise and 3 weeks later I got a call saying that I still had them and if I didn't return them soon, I would have to pay for them. Obviously, since I didn't have them and had distinctly remembered that I had turned them in, I pleaded my case, but the only logic they could offer was that just because their system didn't show I had turned them in, I would have to pay for them or else they would notify the collections agency. Seeing as I was backed into a corner, the only recourse I had was to pay the $28 fee, which I did. I was absolutely positive I had turned them in, so there was ultimately nothing I could do, but I expressed to them that I wanted the money back if they found the DVD's. Sure enough, one week later I get a call saying that they had found the movies and that they wanted me to come in to put the money back on my card. Needless to say, I wasn't very surprised when I didn't get as much as a simple apology from them. Anyway, sorry for the incredibly long tangent, but my story parallels story of this one guy who had the very same encounter. However, this guy was a little more sneaky in order to get what he wanted. In every argument that is had, there is a fair amount of design that is factored towards manipulating the other person to get what you want. Such is seen in the conversation had between the Blockbuster store manager and this guy who apparently had 4 overdue movies. http://www.27bslash6.com/blockbuster.html To make a long conversation short, he wears the store manager down by continually sending her nonsense that has nothing to do with the missing movies since he thinks he did in fact turn them in. She eventually drops the late fines and says that all he owes is for the movies that are missing. Surprisingly, after the 10th email or so, he reveals to her that he had them all along and didn't even know it. He said that since they had already dropped the late fees he would drop them off that night and they could call it even. You would think that the store manager would stick to their guns and enforce the fines, however by this time they are so annoyed with this guy that they just agree and end it. By the time I finished reading this, I busted out laughing, because it is this kind of unintentionally manipulating design that I wish I had had in order to fend off the 'trollish' Blockbuster store managers. However, I can safely say that if I find myself in such a bind again, I am going to employ some of this guy's brilliant tactics to get me out of it. It worked for him, it could certainly work for me too.