Old Fashioned Service Keeps Customers Coming Back to California Super Video

Belmont residents don't need to go far to rent a movie. In fact, in Belmont, it's possible to get even closer to your video rental source than the Netflix in your mailbox.

That's at California Super Video, where being close isn't a matter of space but a friendly and familial atmosphere.

Manager Jae Roh says customers want the shopping experience that comes with browsing through a rental store, complete with the camaraderie of having an employee help them shop.

"People who want the shopping experience want to spend time looking at the covers of movie boxes, and to get recommendations from employees," Roh said. "The store is a gathering place; you can't get this kind of experience looking for movies online."

Roh's father launched California Super Video in 1983, starting with a store on El Camino Real in San Carlos. The San Carlos store moved to Belmont later that year, where it still stands near the intersection of Ralston Avenue and Alameda de las Pulgas. The family also opened stores in Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, which are still in operation.

When new movie rental options burst onto the scene, such as Netflix and Redbox, video stores saw a definite downslide in customers. However, the slide stopped at a certain point, and now Roh said he is seeing customers return to renting movies in the store after having less than satisfying experience with online rental services.

"The video business as a whole is collapsing due to competitive options like Netflix, or others, but California Video has hit the point where it is steady," said Roh. "We aren't losing customers, because those who chose online rentals already left, and now we have a steady base of customers who come into the store and rent movies."

Customers also appreciate paying less for rentals at California Super Video compared to local corporate stores. California Super Video charges around $3 for a new rental while some other stores charge nearly $5 for a new rental.

Regular customer Roger Olsen, a Belmont resident, comes in around once a week to rent movies from the store.

"I don't like the big corporations," said Olsen. "I like coming into a local store to find a movie, because it's part of the community."

With the influx of new movie renting options, video stores as a whole have evolved, according to Roh.

"Stores are not the same as in the past, now they are more boutique-type stores, centered around families and neighborhoods who still want to be able to stop by on the way home from work and rent a movie," Roh said.

The stores are not the only things that have changed. According to Roh, viewers' habits are always evolving, and he has seen a difference in the years since the economic recession began as viewers drifted away from dramas to comedy and action rentals.

"In a tough economy people don't want to watch something dramatic, people want to laugh, or see someone shoot em' up," Roh said.