That's Entertainment

For those who don't live in the Canadian province of Ontario, the Niagara Region in Ontario, or let alone anywhere in Canada... let me tell you about a store called That's Entertainment. It was Niagara's favorite one stop shop for movies, games, music, and snacks. It was located at 353 Lake Street in Saint Catharines, Ontario. It ran from September 1989 to June 2022. It literally ran for 33 years. You read this right. The store literally lasted longer than rental giants like Blockbuster Video, Bonanza Video, and Rogers Video. It even survived the streaming platforms. So, what happened? It couldn't overcome being shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. It closed it's doors this year and despite being a cinephile who still prefers buying his favorite movies on Blu-Ray and now 4K Blu-Ray... I COULDN'T BE ANY HAPPIER! But why?

See, here's the thing. I’d always like coming here once in a while because of my love of movies and the fact that it was miraculously still open despite all the other video stores closing down in the last decade. It also had a bunch of rare treats and drinks that you couldn’t probably couldn’t get at any other store. But now, I resent it for giving me a traumatic experience and it's all thanks to the store's general manager Greg Switzer.

See, my last visit was on December 5, 2019 in the afternoon and it was one of the worst days of my life. In the store, inside the rental cases, there are digital codes inside and considering almost ALL of the empty cases have them, I assumed they were for those who have an iTunes or Google Play account. However, in the middle of going through some of them and taking pictures of them, Greg Switzer came up to me and asked if I was quote "helping yourself to some digital codes". I paused for a bit because I figured something was wrong and couldn’t tell whether or not he was messing with me. He then told me to empty my pockets even though there were nothing in there other than my comb and in the middle of doing so, he told me to "delete them" and yelled out "NOW!".

He said he was going to call the cops while taking a picture of me and went "I got your picture. You’re not coming back in here. GET OUT!". As I was walking out, he was right behind me, ordering me to "delete them". I thought he meant the movie studio digital provider tabs on my Safari app when he’s actually talking about the pictures I took of the codes. I kept nervously saying "sorry sir" while walking out and trying to make sense of the situation. Apparently, taking pictures of digital codes in empty rental cases that no one else was using is considered "stealing". When I said "I didn’t know it was stealing", he stopped me and asked questions like "Are they yours? Are they mine?". I hesitated with both questions because of what’s going on and didn’t actually think it was stealing if they’re just in these rental cases. He ordered me to leave as his employees watched and he teased "I’m right behind you".

A minute later while I was walking out and trying to breathe, I realized that I left my empty red backpack in there and went back for it. As I re-entered, Greg stomped behind the counter with an angry look on his face as he saw me walking towards the counter and told him I left my backpack there. He laughed for a bit as he put it on top of the counter and dared to ask: "If I look in here, there’s nothing stolen?". I said "yes", he asked "really?", and a second of silence later, he was like "Alright, get outta here". When I said "sorry" again, he said "yeah, you better be" like a jerk and I left for good.

My mom picked me up while waiting at a Montana’s waiting room and after driving for a bit and parking at a McDonald’s in Fonthill, I broke down in hysterical crying because of my experience. When I told my dad about what happened, he said the owner was "acting all tuff" and was such an asshole. He even asked: "Well, if these codes are in these empty rental cases, then how is it stealing?". He asked that because the owner never took them out of the cases to get rid of them. I mean, he could’ve just taken them out, keep them for himself, burned them, or even sell them independently to drum up business.

Heck, the owner could’ve just nicely told me that I can’t take pictures of these digital codes, but instead he yells at me, harasses me, kicks me out for good, and threatened to call the cops. Greg Switzer is an arrogant, psychotic, porno ‘stache monster who you mind as well say that he looks like a pedophile. The manager, Brandon, was such a nice guy before the nightmare happened when he told me his name and whom he is, he reminded me that if I need help, I ask for it. The other employees who watched me get kicked out and humiliated had sad looks on their faces, presumably feeling sorry for me. I have no idea how good employees like them and Brandon can work for a monster as he might’ve humiliated them too from time-to-time.

So, the moral of the story was that if you’re in the store and find digital codes in empty rental cases, leave them alone unless you want to be yelled at and humiliated by a demon. In fact, all cinephiles should’ve just stayed away from this store. It was no longer worth it.

These days, when the incident would be brought up once in a while, my parents would keep reminding me that what happened, happened. Still, when talking about it, I sometimes wander if my parents understood that I was still traumatized by the experience. At least, they acknowledged that what happened was horrible and that Greg Switzer is a bully. Heck, I would even refer December 5th as "That’s Entertainment Day" because of the incident. When I found out on May 4, 2022 that the store was closing it’s doors for good, I felt a bit of relief, but not by much. As much as I want movie stores to stay open, I’m glad this one is shutting down.

The problem is that I still have this trauma that pops up in my head once in a while since it happened. In my Dad's words: "He's getting into your head for free!". As if that wasn't enough, there were interviews of him about the store closing down and who knows what else. Here's a video news report from CHCH News on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VLGoqf_OC8) and here's his big interview on iHeartRadio (https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/audio/greg-switzer-general-manager-that-s-entertainment-store-closing-after-33-years-1.17721430). I've never watched nor listened to any of them because of what did to me and what we might've said in these interviews, but he's probably been getting these interviews to make himself a nice guy or a hero of some sort. Here's the thing, Greg: YOU ARE NO HERO! YOU MAY ACT ALL INNOCENT WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ABOUT DONATING BLOOD, HAVING A FAMILY, AND RAISING MONEY FOR MOVEMBER... BUT YOU ARE SCUM FOR THE WAY YOU TREATED ME AND I'M PRETTY SURE YOUR EMPLOYEES TOO! What’s going to happen to him? I’ll probably never know, but I do hope he gets a taste of karma in some shape or form because he deserves it.

Farewell, That’s Entertainment. We hardly knew ye!