Ok guys this hit me yesterday. I had been at college where I cannot have my gun on the property so I was unarmed at my local Redbox (you know we all use them). Had a promo code to get a movie. Now when I am at the Redbox I am constantly looking around to make sure I'm not gonna get snuck up on (I look kinda retarded looking around all the time, but it's what I do armed or unarmed). To me this is even more difficult than ATM's. Shuffling wallet, phone with promo code on it, possibly returning a movie, and messing with that stupid sunscreen. Anyone ever thought of this or have a strategy?
We very rarely go, but if we do, we go to the ones where they are inside store like Wal-Marts or HEB's around here. If we go to gas station ones, I'll wait in car which is parked in front and have my wife get down. That way I can guard her from car.
I make my wife do it because she's just way more badass than me. She's an active duty Marine, and even at 6 months pregnant was still participating in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. She's seriously not to be messed with. :gah:
We do our movie selection at home on the computer so the movies are reserved for us. Then go to the box, stick in credit card and it spits out our selections. Done in under a minute.
IMO, the absolute best, and only really viable strategy, is to have someone else with you. It's physically impossible to have your attention split like that with any solid grasp of your overall situation. A second person standing 10 yards behind you is going to have a much wider field of view and will not have to split their attention between the fine motor skills needed to manipulate the device in front of you and the overall scene beyond you.
Beyond that, all you can do is keep your head on a swivel and scan back and forth as much as possible; along with being smart about your choice of time/location of your visit to the ATM/Redbox. Noon is always going to be better than midnight if you want to keep your risk to a minimum.
Some say, "Have a gun." But I know people who "had" a gun and are 6' under right now. :blink:
My old friend once told me this back in the 1980's:
"Gun must be in hand before fight begins." - B.C. Walsh
When I do the Red Box thing (or ATM) I have my gun in my hand in a coat/vest pocket and use my off hand to work it. On hot days I carry appendix and have my hand on it, with shirt over my hand and my hat on sideways. That way they think I'm holding my pants up.
On a more serious note, my wife and I are pretty much always out and about together, so whichever one of us is doing the picking, the other is paying more attention to our surroundings.
As far as the ATM, the only one I usually go to is at a gas station on the corner. My wife stays in the car, and the ATM is actually positioned rather nicely where I have a solid view of the door, my wife in the car through the window, and the register. Since I rarely use an ATM for less than a few hundred dollars, my head is constantly on a swivel to make sure nobody's getting any wise ideas.
We usually don't deal with Redbox. But when we do we go together and my wife operates the machine while I watch our backs. We went to get Taken 2 yesterday but was sold out. We just got finished watching Taken 2 today.
It's funny that you mention it... I've been noticing more and more groups of "unfortunate" looking people camping the boxes during the nighttime hours.
As you know, if you've reserved one at specific box you can't just go to a different one instead. I live in a very small city and there's probably a minimum of 5 kiosks in the immediate area. With that being said, i try to avoid reservations so i can just move on to the next if i see campers or other suspicious people hovering in the area.
You have to pick your battles. Maybe if you start to feel uncomfortable... Abort the transaction and move off to the side. Or save the promo code and other extra time consuming actions until a better time. As with most other things, you will get better and more efficient the more you do it. So have your stuff ready and try to do the process a bit faster each time.
I guess at some level it would depend on your community. If it's rougher, be careful and go with someone else preferably to an indoor one. If in a "safer" community, be aware of your surroundings (like always right). But if i'm honest I think two things...one: I've never thought about any Redbox and their locations in my community being unsafe. And two, this seems a little paranoid and over the top. Is there something I don't about Redbox being targeted for assault and/or burglaries?
When I do the Red Box thing (or ATM) I have my gun in my hand in a coat/vest pocket and use my off hand to work it. On hot days I carry appendix and have my hand on it, with shirt over my hand and my hat on sideways. That way they think I'm holding my pants up.
For the love of all that is good and holy, are you guys serious? The only "viable option" is to have someone provide security while you make a trip to the local Walgreens' redbox?
Ok guys this hit me yesterday. I had been at college where I cannot have my gun on the property so I was unarmed at my local Redbox (you know we all use them). Had a promo code to get a movie. Now when I am at the Redbox I am constantly looking around to make sure I'm not gonna get snuck up on (I look kinda retarded looking around all the time, but it's what I do armed or unarmed). To me this is even more difficult than ATM's. Shuffling wallet, phone with promo code on it, possibly returning a movie, and messing with that stupid sunscreen. Anyone ever thought of this or have a strategy?
Here is a strategy...Stop driving to go pickup and return movies. Join Blockbuster at home or Netflix. Movie comes to you via mail or download...much easier and much more convenient.
Not the same brand but I almost always have that as I can have that almost everywhere I go but no gun. Thanks for all the thoughts. As someone had mentioned I don't like the online pickup cause you might decide at the time the one you picked is not where you want to be. I do like how the inside ones have no sunscreen to fool with and often they are in a corner so you have less area to watch. I have no significant other to go with me, but in past experiences I don't want them picking movies all the time lol. Redbox is something I hardly ever fool with for several reasons and no more money than I spend on movies (or time) I don't want Netflix at this point.
I take my partner in crime, she looks over the movies and deals with that while I act really impatient and bored (turning around, sighing, tapping my foot, just in general moving around a lot) keeps your head on a swivel and people just think you got dragged along.
All you guys trusting your wife to pick out a movie are crazy. I'd rather take my chances getting jumped than to watch Sleepless in Seattle... again....
If you have to use these things, keep your SA up, and try not to look like you are clueless when standing in one place where you are required to have your wallet in hand and your eyes focused on something for a long time.
To me, it sounds simply like another ATM-like situation to be avoided. Person with attention diverted, cash on hand, likely going solo ... perfect target for a robbery.
I use the Redbox app on my phone to reserve my movies before I get out of the car.
You can use it at any box you are near, stay secure in your car to make your selections & lets you take time to scout the area before you get out of the car. Jump out, swipe card, get movie, back in car in less than a minute. Hard to beat.
At my university students are allowed to leave firearms in a locked safe with campus police. Does your campus have a similar program? It could be a viable option for those occasions you leave the campus perimeter and want to carry.
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