Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

[awarlock]

So far, I have always used the Vudu At-Home Disc to Digital program to convert Blu-ray movies to Vudu. But, I have had a number of Blu-rays piling up that says:

"Thank you!
We are in the process of manually verifying your disc. We will contact you as soon as the verification is complete.

For instant conversion you may take this disc to your nearest Walmart store."

So, for the first time ever in 1.5 to 2 yrs, I picked out a dozen Blu-rays that I get this message on, spend the 30 minutes round trip, driving to my only local Walmart in town (Hays, KS), and head back to the electronic section where I am told the system is down and Walmart won't let them convert right now. The person I talked to acted like they had no idea if and when the system would be up.

I guess I didn't know that I needed to call ahead to see if the system is up or not. So, is this temporary, permanent, or what? Needless to say, my first experience at Walmart converting Blu-rays to Vudu was rather irritating and disappointing, especially since that was only reason I went to Walmart today.

[lostinva]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Maybe the system isn't working there, or maybe they're giving you BS.

I did a conversion at my store on Wednesday and was relatively painless. Although the lady at the counter doesn't really understand what the service is or very familiar with how to process the transaction, she at least was able to follow the instructions in her folder. The only real hiccup we had was that my VuduToGo cart was merged into the in store cart, which I didn't expect to happen. Since I didn't have enough for the 50% discount this wasn't a big deal.

[awarlock]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Thanks for the info! So, I called my local Walmart and asked to speak to the Manager. He was vaguely familiar with the service but did go and check with the Photo Department, which I guess is where the process occurs, and was told that it has never worked very well from day one (for 1 to 2 years?) by the individual that is supposed to be in charge of it. The Manager stated that this was first time he was aware of this problem and thanked me several times for letting him know.

So, we will see, but the Manager seemed to be very helpful, and was going submit a repair ticket and see that it is resolved. He told me to check back middle of next week, so maybe I will wait until next weekend and try again.

The Blu-ray movies that I was getting this message on were:

Slither
The Exorcist Extended Director's Cut
Chariots of Fire
Prince of Darkness
The Smurfs
The Killing Fields
Jurassic Park 1, 2, & 3
Cellular
The Ring

I have more but these were the ones I was trying to get converted today.

[lostinva]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Your store's cellular department might also be able process your order. Of course if it's not working at the photo then it probably won't work there either, but you can always try.

half the battle is finding someone that knows how to do it, or at least able to find the instructions and follow them :-)

[LuzRinggold]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

And why has it never worked from day one? Because they don't have a clue how it works! Once they find the instructions, read them, and actually do one or two they will see that it is very easy. We had problems at all four Walmart stores around us a couple of years back, until finally one girl at one store figured it out and I would wait until she was working and go to her. Now the Walmart closest to us has figured it out and they are actually faster than the other girl now.

I can say that the software and the process of doing in-store disc-to-digital does work, and it works well. The problem is lack of training and some of the Walmart employees actually get intimidated by the whole thing until they actually walk through the process the first time.

[RBBrittain]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

I can say that the software and the process of doing in-store disc-to-digital does work, and it works well. The problem is lack of training and some of the Walmart employees actually get intimidated by the whole thing until they actually walk through the process the first time.

+1. I tried to convert several discs yesterday at a store where I've done it before; several folks tried but they didn't have the login, and they gave me a $10 GC for my trouble. I went back today and the person who was trained on it (IIRC she did it for me once before) was there; she tried but got the same error as the OP. (She did teach some of the folks from yesterday, however.) I'm sure today was a temporary issue; the bigger long-term problem is training.

[LuzRinggold]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

+1. I tried to convert several discs yesterday at a store where I've done it before; several folks tried but they didn't have the login, and they gave me a $10 GC for my trouble. I went back today and the person who was trained on it (IIRC she did it for me once before) was there; she tried but got the same error as the OP. (She did teach some of the folks from yesterday, however.) I'm sure today was a temporary issue; the bigger long-term problem is training.

I normally like to wait until I have a few to convert before I go to Walmart, but I will take one that VUDU To Go will not convert tomorrow or Monday to see if it is still working here. I just converted a few about a week ago.

[Joefiore1976]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Walmart in-store D2D is a disaster. There is usually one or two people per store that know how to do it. If that one or two people aren't there, you're out of luck.

I've had Walmart employees tell me, "We don't offer that service in this particular store", "only Walmart Supercenters offer that", "We don't do that here in the photo dept, you're in the wrong area", "We have to send out your discs for conversion and it can take a few weeks."

(by the way, none of these statements are actually true, yet I've actually been told all of these things)

I actually know the D2D process myself. An uninformed but ambitious Walmart photo employee once decided to read to D2D 'how to' manual with me so that she would know how to do it in the future. So now I know the process. If I run into an employee that doesn't know how, I always tell them that I can walk them through it step-by-step so long as they know their username and password. The kicker is, they rarely ever do

[RBBrittain]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

I finally got my batch converted yesterday; one of the employees figured out how to get around the error message. Still, there's not enough people properly trained in the stores for it to work consistently; I use only one store (not the one I most frequently visit) because I've never been successful with it anywhere else. (In the middle of this, I asked the photo-lab employee at another store if she'd ever done D2D; she just said "no".)

[madmod20061]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Looks like I am now on the list of people who in store d2d is not an option anymore. I have 3 Walmart's in my area (though one is kind of far). There was an employee at the closest store who knew me by name and would just take my list and do it no problems. Sometime he didn't even bother looking at my discs. He seems to be gone now. I'm not sure if they moved him or if he moved on. He was a nice guy so I at least hope he moved on to something better. No one else there seems to know what to do and are unwilling to try.

The other 2 Walmarts are a different story. I can occasionally find someone who knows the system (It's been a while though so they may be gone now too) but last couple times I tried they couldn't get the system to work. At this point I am pretty much at the mercy of the d2d systems. Luckily I only have about 15 titles that have issues in Vudu that aren't available elsewhere.

[sirmikael]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Why not have the Walmart employee call Vudu's customer service line while you're there? It can't be that hard to have them walk through it with a Vudu employee. No way would I drive there and walk through that damn store and have them tell me they don't know how it works.

[madmod20061]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Why not have the Walmart employee call Vudu's customer service line while you're there? It can't be that hard to have them walk through it with a Vudu employee. No way would I drive there and walk through that damn store and have them tell me they don't know how it works.

I've tried. They always say it's not their department and then call on an intercom for someone who never shows up.

[watcherseven]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

Thanks for the info! So, I called my local Walmart and asked to speak to the Manager. He was vaguely familiar with the service but did go and check with the Photo Department, which I guess is where the process occurs, and was told that it has never worked very well from day one (for 1 to 2 years?) by the individual that is supposed to be in charge of it. The Manager stated that this was first time he was aware of this problem and thanked me several times for letting him know.

So, we will see, but the Manager seemed to be very helpful, and was going submit a repair ticket and see that it is resolved. He told me to check back middle of next week, so maybe I will wait until next weekend and try again.

The Blu-ray movies that I was getting this message on were:

Slither
The Exorcist Extended Director's Cut
Chariots of Fire
Prince of Darkness
The Smurfs
The Killing Fields
Jurassic Park 1, 2, & 3
Cellular
The Ring

I have more but these were the ones I was trying to get converted today.

Interesting that you have Slither on Blu-Ray! It hasn't been released in America on Blu. Is your copy the Canadian release?

[tsken02]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

I went to the store today to convert some that were not working with the At Home program. Took them an hour to figure it out. They couldn't find the manual, and eventually a young guy with a pony-tail showed them the way.

[sirmikael]

Re: Walmart not doing In-Store Disc to Digital??

I've tried. They always say it's not their department and then call on an intercom for someone who never shows up.

I'm the worst nightmare for bad customer service. I don't go away.