Xtravision Store: Inappropriate

6th

Ok so on Saturday between 2.30pm and 3pm I was in my local Xtravision. I had my (almost) 3 year old daughter with me and next thing I hear "suck my cock", "fuck" and other such phrases.

Whatever film the staff had on it wasn't suitable to be showing during the day with kids coming into the store.

Mine was teh only child in at the time so I went up to the counter and told them I had a problem with it. They knocked it off and put on Superman.

I'm actually still annoyed over this and am tempted to email head office.

Am I over reacting?

pwd

no you're not over-reacting.

6th

Turning it off is all well and good but the dirty look I got from one of the staff made me think it was going back on the second I left.

WellyJ

I think the fact that they turned it off with out any issue should be the end of it,

But seems strange that they would even chance it

6th

I have 2 friends working in the head office so I might ask for the top dogs email.

pwd

i emailed their head office after being repeatedly over-charged and being treated rudely.
Email was ignored.
So you might be better off ringing if you do want to take it further.
Or talk to the manager of that particular store.

6th

hmm, my post (#3) was a reply to WellyJ (#4).

Hivemind187

6th wrote:

Ok so on Saturday between 2.30pm and 3pm I was in my local Xtravision. I had my (almost) 3 year old daughter with me and next thing I hear "suck my cock", "fuck" and other such phrases.

Whatever film the staff had on it wasn't suitable to be showing during the day with kids coming into the store.

Mine was teh only child in at the time so I went up to the counter and told them I had a problem with it. They knocked it off and put on Superman.

I'm actually still annoyed over this and am tempted to email head office.

Am I over reacting?

You are over reacting.

Your child will hear that kind of language at some point and its hardly likely to stunt his/her growth.

They probably shouldnt have had it on in the store in order to protect the "delicate sensibilities" and the corporate image but in all honesty, if it has upset you this much, perhaps it might be worth taking the time to examine your own reactions and moral propensity for outrage because it seems a little imbalanced.

6th

Hivemind187 wrote:

You are over reacting.

Your child will hear that kind of language at some point and its hardly likely to stunt his/her growth.

No one in my house uses foul language around my child. I hear 4 year olds shouting & cursing at their parents/siblings and will not have my children acting like that.

Hivemind187 wrote:

They probably shouldnt have had it on in the store in order to protect the "delicate sensibilities" and the corporate image

Well if the movie was 15 or 18 then it shouldnt be shown where there can be children under that age.

Hivemind187 wrote:

but in all honesty, if it has upset you this much, perhaps it might be worth taking the time to examine your own reactions and moral propensity for outrage because it seems a little imbalanced.

Where do you see an imbalance?

JC 2K3

You're over reacting.

Chances are your child has payed more attention to what they heard now that you made a big deal out of it.

6th

No I handed my kid a bright colour DVD box and had a quiet word - she didnt hear me.

flogen

JC 2K3 wrote:

You're over reacting.

Chances are your child has payed more attention to what they heard now that you made a big deal out of it.

I don't think so - if a parent decides that they don't want their child exposed to that kind of language then they shouldn't have to avoid shops in the middle of the day.

It's not like it was just a customer mouthing off either - it was something that the shop was broadcasting.

The complaint probably won't get anywhere, however, because people working in those shops just put on something they want to watch to pass the time.

Maybe a call to Joe might help!

EL_Loco

I think it's a policy that employees can't air certain rated films due to this exact situation. I knew someone who worked there for a while.

The Hill Billy

6th - Good for you. I would have done the same myself.
Xtravision is a store that caters for all ages & one should reasonably expect that children would not be exposed to violence/bad language/sex on movies playing in the afternoon.

edengarden

You are so right to complain. My local store is the very same. There have been times when I have been in early without my child and what they were showing was unsuitable for the time of day and if he was with me I would have complained.

Good for you for complaining!

Glowing

I worked there years ago - you're not allowed show anything over a 12's before 8/9pm at night .....give headoffice a call.

Huggles

6th wrote:

Ok so on Saturday between 2.30pm and 3pm I was in my local Xtravision. I had my (almost) 3 year old daughter with me and next thing I hear "suck my cock", "fuck" and other such phrases.

Whatever film the staff had on it wasn't suitable to be showing during the day with kids coming into the store.

Mine was teh only child in at the time so I went up to the counter and told them I had a problem with it. They knocked it off and put on Superman.

I'm actually still annoyed over this and am tempted to email head office.

Am I over reacting?

Hi 6th, I worked for XV in my college days. They take this VERY seriously!! I would ring Head Office and ask to be put through to the Customer Support Departmant. The girls in there are employed solely for this purpose.

I imagine what will happen is the area manager will talk to the staff in the tore that day and customer support with throw vouchers and the like at you to stop you going to the media.

IMHO you should get in touch T: 452 7722

Hivemind187

6th wrote:

No one in my house uses foul language around my child. I hear 4 year olds shouting & cursing at their parents/siblings and will not have my children acting like that.



Well if the movie was 15 or 18 then it shouldnt be shown where there can be children under that age.




Where do you see an imbalance?

You might not use the language but I doubt very much that your child will go through its entire life without hearing any (and I sincerely hope they do hear it regularly).

As I said, they shouldn't have had it on.

And the imbalance is fairly obvious but if you need it pointed out - she complained, they switched it off in favor of something more palatable. Case closed. Getting hysterical and getting folks in trouble for something so stupid is over the top and is not a balanced reaction.

littlebug

Fair play 6th. Not an over-reaction at all and I wouldn't hesitate to take the complaint further if it means that staff will think twice about what movies they put on during the day.

coolcon

definatley give them a call, and if they dont want to know you then you can always 'Talk to Joe!'! (or at least threaten to )

Nevyn

They are infact required to show the company dvd during opening hours with the comming attractions and not anything they like and certain not anything which is not suited for the general public.

Ring head office about it.

stipey

If the movie in question could only be shown on television after the watershed then I would completely agree that it was at best insensitive of XV to have it on in the middle of the day. (and it sounds like that is the case).

6th wrote:

No one in my house uses foul language around my child. I hear 4 year olds shouting & cursing at their parents/siblings and will not have my children acting like that.

My parents never swore in front of me when I was a child but by the time I was 4 I probably knew every word in the book. (Friends always have older siblings who know them and will delight in demonstrating their wordly knowledge to younger children). Despite this, I never swore at my siblings or parents - mainly because they told me that such words were rude and that I would be in big big trouble if they ever heard me using them.

I'd much rather be in a situation where my children doen't swear because of what I have said to them than because I have sheltered them from them.

[Disclaimer: Before anybody goes and calls the ISPCC, allow me to stress that I don't go out of my way to expose them to naughty words. But this is Ireland, the majority of people (me included) swear from time to time (almost without thinking sometimes). To paraphrase Tommy Tiernan "The English language is like a wall between us... f**k is our chisel".]

greenkittie

stipey wrote:

My parents never swore in front of me when I was a child but by the time I was 4 I probably knew every word in the book. (Friends always have older siblings who know them and will delight in demonstrating their wordly knowledge to younger children). Despite this, I never swore at my siblings or parents - mainly because they told me that such words were rude and that I would be in big big trouble if they ever heard me using them.

My parents to this day have never swore around me and out of respect I never would to them or around them. The kids I grew up with and went to school with had the same and resulted in me knowing no swear words until I was about 10 when some older girls told me and my friends some. I remember going home and asking my mummy about it and her explaining that its rude to say them.
This is part of the reason I strongly advocate private school. People who send their children there care enough about about them to spend the money and they generally care enough about them to not swear around them (not in any way implying that if you dont send your kid to private school that you automaticly dont care or will swear at them).

JC 2K3

greenkittie wrote:

This is part of the reason I strongly advocate private school. People who send their children there care enough about about them to spend the money and they generally care enough about them to not swear around them (not in any way implying that if you dont send your kid to private school that you automaticly dont care or will swear at them).

Personally, I think swearing around a child wouldn't be half as bad for their development than sending them to a private school to seperate them from those "horrid common children".

stipey

That was more or less my point, although you put it more eloquently..

It is better if the reason your child does not swear is not that they have been sheltered from swear words* but rather that they respect you and that you have instilled in them a firm sense of right and wrong (even as young as 4).

* Again this doesn't mean parents have to expose their children to repeated swearing, rather that maybe going to incredible lengths to prevent them hearing words like f**k or s**t mightn't have drawbacks of its own.

But going back to the original point, I still think the OP was well within his/her rights to complain to the staff in Xtra-vision.

6th

As I said one of the phrases heard in Xv was "suck my cock" not exactly a harmless little curse.

JC 2K3

Within her rights, sure. But it's only a small issue tbh. It would be a bit of an over reaction to take it to the head office.

6th

Who's this "her" people keep mentioning?

Crea

greenkittie wrote:

My parents to this day have never swore around me and out of respect I never would to them or around them. The kids I grew up with and went to school with had the same and resulted in me knowing no swear words until I was about 10 when some older girls told me and my friends some. I remember going home and asking my mummy about it and her explaining that its rude to say them.
This is part of the reason I strongly advocate private school. People who send their children there care enough about about them to spend the money and they generally care enough about them to not swear around them (not in any way implying that if you dont send your kid to private school that you automaticly dont care or will swear at them).

I hate to break it to you greenkittie but the rich kids curse as much as the poor ones. My sister had her son at an open day for a private secondary school recently. The boys were taken off on a tour by themselves for a few hours and when he came back he told her about how much the other boys cursed, every second word was F, Sh, ba****d etc. She nearly died cause her son is a bit innocent and hadn't heard it so blantantly used in his small public school. So money is no indication of good manners.
6th i think you were right to make an issue in the store but I wouldn't escalate it to head office.
BTW i'm so glad your not female, i'm sick of people assuming it's only the women who are protective of their kids.

Snowbie

So 6th,what annoyed you most.The foul lang or the dirty look or both.
Did you rent a dvd or just walk out?.
The dirty look be the last straw with me,report them.Take it to the top.
We hand over large sums of money per annum in these stores cause we interupt their afternoon and get a dirty look.As was said above,its against the policies of Xv to view underage content for most of the day.

Bring it to the top i say.

greenkittie

Crea wrote:

I hate to break it to you greenkittie but the rich kids curse as much as the poor ones. My sister had her son at an open day for a private secondary school recently. The boys were taken off on a tour by themselves for a few hours and when he came back he told her about how much the other boys cursed, every second word was F, Sh, ba****d etc. She nearly died cause her son is a bit innocent and hadn't heard it so blantantly used in his small public school. So money is no indication of good manners.
6th i think you were right to make an issue in the store but I wouldn't escalate it to head office.
BTW i'm so glad your not female, i'm sick of people assuming it's only the women who are protective of their kids.

I hate to break to you but going to private school does not automatically mean you are rich. My parents were certainly not rich and went without alot of things in order to send me to private school.
Sorry off topic I know, just in your post it appeard you implied that I was saying that if you are rich you wont swear which wasn't what I was trying to say at all. Just at the school I went to there was no swearing and the kids were always well behaved, my Mother is a teacher and often tells me of how awful the kids in the some of the schools act and the language they use. I know not every school is like that, just I think private ones are less likely to be.

WindSock

I worked in Xtra Vision before, and it is staff policy to play only Family films during the daytime. You may get more reaction if you go to the manager of the store, however I would think it a bit of an over reaction, seeing as the employee did as you asked.

winnie29

6th, I don't think this is an overreaction at all. Kids really pick up on everything around them and it is up to you as a parent to protect your child. I would definitely go to head office.

ferdi

i see where you're coming from but i fail to see how getting these lads fired will stop your daughter hearing bad language....

run_Forrest_run

I agree, well done for complaining and you are not over-reacting.

Khannie

Not over reacting IMO. The film was obviously not suitable for kids, and being played in an area where there were DEFINITELY going to be kids (at some point). edit: I wouldn't take it any further though....they did turn it off immediately.

mossieh

greenkittie wrote:

I hate to break to you but going to private school does not automatically mean you are rich. My parents were certainly not rich and went without alot of things in order to send me to private school.
Sorry off topic I know, just in your post it appeard you implied that I was saying that if you are rich you wont swear which wasn't what I was trying to say at all. Just at the school I went to there was no swearing and the kids were always well behaved, my Mother is a teacher and often tells me of how awful the kids in the some of the schools act and the language they use. I know not every school is like that, just I think private ones are less likely to be.

Wow. Sounds pretty boring.

Jesus Wept

No OP, you are not over-reacting.

Perhaps write a letter to the top boss?

pwd wrote:

i emailed their head office after being repeatedly over-charged and being treated rudely.
Email was ignored.
So you might be better off ringing if you do want to take it further.
Or talk to the manager of that particular store.

Best to write a letter, a lot of companies seem to ignore emails.

consoleman

well i used to work there and we would put any film on we wanted. Although we would have the cop on to turn it off or mute it if there were kids in the store.

Xtra Vision do have a dvd which they insist is played during opening hours as mentioned earlier in this thread, but its not always enforced but i can tell you , if you email their head office, they will most definately take it seriously. Xtra Vision can be held liable for any offensive material shown to the general public. Plus all material is copyrighted and not allowed be shown in public viewings without the distributers expressed permission, turn on any dvd, its the first thing that will come up in writing.

use that line on them and threaten to take it further and i promise you , you will get a response.

prospect

OP: you are not over reacting, the 9pm TV watershed should apply to public broadcasts.

pwd

pwd wrote:

i emailed their head office after being repeatedly over-charged and being treated rudely.
Email was ignored.
So you might be better off ringing if you do want to take it further.
Or talk to the manager of that particular store.

Went in in the first time since said email and found 30 euro credit on my account. Don't know if that was in response to my email or not. They didn't reply to it.

kelle

6th wrote:

Ok so on Saturday between 2.30pm and 3pm I was in my local Xtravision. I had my (almost) 3 year old daughter with me and next thing I hear "suck my cock", "fuck" and other such phrases.

Whatever film the staff had on it wasn't suitable to be showing during the day with kids coming into the store.

If I'd been in the store by myself and heard the line "suck my ****", I would have been offended and walked out. I feel that shows a lack of respect to all customers.

EcoGirl

You absolutely are not over-reacting, and ignore those in this thread who say you are, and you think you have a problem. A) Your child most likely will NOT hear those kinds of things anyway, and even if s/he does, it's not up to Extravision to start the process. There's a reason films are rated for different ages. In the cinema they don't even show trailers above the age limit of the film that's going to be on.

I personally would get in touch with head office and complain loudly.
Good luck with it.

fifth

Thaedydal wrote:

They are infact required to show the company dvd during opening hours with the comming attractions and not anything they like and certain not anything which is not suited for the general public.

Ring head office about it.

The company DVD is only issued maybe twice a year at most and only shown for a month at a time if that.

For the rest of the year, we have a CD Playlist to abide by and DVD's cannot be over PG.

Ring if you like, I work there and i see it happen a lot, but complaining to the store manager is probably enough.

Paddy@CIRL

I currently work in Xtravision and those staff were wrong to have something with language like that on during the day. Even after the Watershed and there is kids in our store, I would mute or pause a movie that may be offensive until they've left. But sometimes you may have a movie on you've never seen before and not realise there would be massivley inappropriate. One instance of this was I had on Open water I think, it was a 15's movie and the guide on the box said no coarse language so I figured it should of been okay, it was after six. I was serving away unbeknownst to the fact the couple were getting jiggy on the several screens around the store, I've never ran to the stop button so fast in my life !

That being said, I usually have no music or film airing in our store (or that annoying loop of Xtravision adverts, that will drive me postal someday) I find people enjoy looking for films and seem to be more relaxed with no music or background noise ! They also don't seem to raise their voices at staff when everyone else can hear them ...

6th

Glad I checked this again because it happened again but a violent film as opposed to swearing. I will be ringing the head office after the weekend.

I'll post up how I get on.

kashi

I used to work in Chartbusters up until yesterday, and I know we were told to only play at most a 12 certed movie at all times. Due to the fact that there are young kids, and teenagers in the shop until closing time. 6th you weren't over reacting, but personally I would try and talk to the manager first and only going to head office if I got no satisfaction.

There have been times people have complained about Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter to me (both pg movies btw!) and we would just stop them until the people left. However, I think a lot of people do not realise how rude customers can be, and the cr*p the staff has to take on a regular basis. (Esp this summer due to the bad weather!) If you were rude to them 6th that might explain the look you got from them, cos I would have been the same (and I'm not claiming you were either).

People forget that the people in video shops have feelings and do deserve some respect too, in fact I think they are legally entitled to it. And from experience, some people think of people in shops are beneath them (these are the people who complain about a 50c fine!!) and trust me that attitude just gets their back up. (Sorry bout the ranting - I have a habit of that lol):)

6th

I've worked as lounge staff, in wooodies, service stations etc, I am alway very respectable to staff because I know what its like. I also know that some staff are just dicks.

John Kimble

6th, you certainly did not overreact. I worked in XtraVision for over 3 years, and the highest rating you are permitted to play in the store is 12, regardless of time of day. This policy is not well communicated to staff however.
I'm glad you're taking this stance, because the one thing that really annoyed me about that job was witnessing hordes of idiotic parents buying Grand Theft Auto for their kids (some as young as five). It's good to see that some parents still set standards for their kids.
With regards to the staff, they should have been more apologetic. Perhaps they were unaware of the language prior to playing (though if it was an 18 cert they should have had a fair idea) but their reaction was unacceptable.

magnumlady

I don't think you over reacted either, you child is only 3, she doesn't need to hear things like that. Yes she could hear it out in the street but 6th doesn't have any control over that. You don't expect it from a high street shop.
I've just emailed the broadcasting complaints about the use of the word w*n*er on a national radio station at 9.30am. Yes I know my kids have probably heard this word before and will again but there is a time and a place and if we don't try and look out for our kids then who will?

Carsinian Thau

You're not over-reacting.
Phone them because emails will not be answered (at least not in a satisfactory manner).