Broadway Market Video: succeeding in the Netflix era | Business

"You can't ask a computer a question like, 'What's the movie where the guy has Gumby in his pocket?'" says Dan Dinsmore of Broadway Market Video, located at Broadway and E Republican for nearly two decades. 

The cult classic, Spinal Tap, plays on the screen behind the counter and prompts spontaneous laughter from various customers. "You don't get the same interraction when you order movies on your computer. That's part of why I like working here. We have a relationship with the customers. I know their first names and we can discuss movies." I respond that an employee and I once spent ten minutes contrasting the merits of The Philadelphia Story and its musical remake High Society and Dinsmore isn't surprised. "There's an experience here you can't get at home," he says.

Conversely, Dinsmore says some browsers are surprised the store has an adult section, when such fare is readily available online now and any potential embarassment can be avoided. "Our customers are loyal, though," he says. "Some of them have been coming here since the store opened. And the staff is pretty unflappable."