tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113304972024-03-13T19:14:56.438-04:00Blockbuster UndergroundBlockbuster News and InformationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-78176440128458820252013-11-07T00:01:00.000-05:002013-11-07T00:01:02.147-05:00Netflix Is No Alternative to BlockbusterIf you are a displaced Blockbuster customer and you are looking for a new home, it is unclear what the answer is, but the answer is probably not Netflix. If you are considering singing up with Netflix, make sure to do plenty of research before you give them your credit card or bank information. If you browse through the years of articles on <a href="http://netflixunderground.blogspot.com/"><em>Netflix Underground</em></a> (<em>Blockbuster Underground</em>'s sister site), you will find Netflix has a sketchy reputation built around more than a decade of sleazy corporate behavior. Make a list of everything you hated about Blockbuster Online and multiply that by three. <br />
<br />
Yes, Blockbuster was a profoundly lousy company with many sleazy tactics, but many of their tricky tactics in the DVD-by-mail business were pioneered by Netflix long before Blockbuster Online even mailed their first DVD. If you are a Blockbuster refugee and you are considering giving Netflix a try, do yourself a favor and first browse this site or do some Internet searches with the following terms.<br />
<br />
<strong>Netflix throttling<br />Netflix lawsuit<br />Netflix credit card charges<br />Netflix missing DVD charge<br />Netflix cancellation problem<br />Netflix delay<br />Netflix tactics<br />Netflix staging media event<br />Netflix price increase<br />Netflix shipping</strong><br />
<br />
What you will find will not be pretty, but at least you will be armed with some knowledge before making a decision that could lead to a lot unnecessary aggravation.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-4948276232370397022013-11-06T15:27:00.000-05:002013-11-06T16:12:21.476-05:00The End of Blockbuster As We Know ItWell, we all knew this day was coming. The only surprise is that it took so long. <br />
<br />
Dish is closing all remaining Blockbuster retail stores and shutting down the DVD-by-mail service. Dish will continue to use the Blockbuster brand and offer streaming service, but the DVD-by-mail service will end around the middle of December 2013. The last stores will be permanently closed in January 2014. <br />
<br />
It's here. This is the end of Blockbuster as we know it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-38934977625974172412012-12-18T13:47:00.001-05:002012-12-18T13:55:41.502-05:00Very High Demand Status at Blockbuster<br />
If you have checked your Blockbuster Online queue recently, you have probably been surprised to see a lot titles marked as Very High Demand, High Demand, Medium Demand, etc. This seems like something new, but it really is not. The is just Blockbuster's way of putting a positive spin on a bad inventory problem.<br />
<br />
The title statuses used to be Very Long Wait, Long Wait, Short Wait, etc., but those terms sound negative. The terms automatically imply there will be a wait, and waiting for DVDs is no fun. <br />
<br />
<em>Demand</em>, however, is much more positive. Everybody loves <em>demand</em>. <em>Demand</em> implies desirability, as in "We're terribly sorry, but Disc 3 of Happy Days Season 2 is in Very High Demand. We have only one copy of that disc for the entire country and Gus from Grand Rapids has been hanging on to it for months while he is perfecting his Fonzie impression for the community center talent show."<br />
<br />
Don't be misled by the slick change in terms. You are not getting those DVDs that have been sitting at the top of your queue for over a year, because Blockbuster does not have them in sufficient quantities. Blockbuster could buy more copies of those titles, but that would cost them money. As long as you are loyally paying for your subscription each month and not threatening to cancel, why should Blockbuster be concerned with meeting your needs as a customer?<br />
<br />
This is the point we all realize the new Blockbuster has already jumped the shark. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-65093549019181028742012-11-17T02:24:00.000-05:002012-11-19T16:48:49.607-05:00Why a Blockbuster Online Subscription May Not Be a Good Value for You<br />
If you are thinking about subscribing to Blockbuster, you may first want to determine if the subscription will provide a good value for you. On paper, a Blockbuster Online (Blockbuster by Mail, Total Access, etc.) subscription looks like an excellent value, but the reality is quite different. Actually, a Blockbuster subscription comes with many hidden pitfalls that dramatically reduce the value. Here are some significant issues you may want to consider before signing on with Blockbuster for one of their various plans. <br />
<br />
<strong>Few Store Locations</strong><br />
One of the biggest benefits to a Blockbuster Online (Total Access) subscription is being able to exchange by-mail DVDs at stores. With more and more Blockbuster stores closing, many subscribers are being forced to drive longer and longer distances to reach a Blockbuster store. There is no point in spending $10 on gas to pickup or return a DVD that rents for a fraction of that amount. Any Blockbuster store that is not easy for you to reach is a store that is useless to you. <br />
<br />
<strong>Reduction in Store Hours</strong><br />
The Blockbuster store near you may be reducing its daily business hours. This may be an indicator the store is performing poorly and may be closed in the future, but it also poses an inconvenience. Fewer store hours mean fewer hours for you to pickup and return DVDs,<br />
<br />
<strong>Insufficient Selection and Quantities of Store DVDs</strong><br />
Once upon a time, you could go to a Blockbuster store at almost any time and find loads of popular titles. Those days are long gone. Blockbuster stores may have loads of DVDs on the shelves, but they are not the titles people want to see. There are plenty of old undesirable titles and bad new straight-to-video titles, but the stock of popular DVDs you might actually want to see is very low, and many of the classic hits are missing from the inventory all together.<br />
<br />
<strong>Poor Online Availability</strong><br />
Blockbuster's selection of online DVD titles can be a bit limited. Some desirable titles are just not in the inventory. Making matters worse, many titles are in incredibly low supply. If a title has a status of Long Wait, you may have to wait months or years to see it. If a title has a status of Very Long Wait, there is a very good chance you will never see it. Even titles with a Short Wait status may take weeks or months to ship. <br />
<br />
<strong>Undesirable Queue Shipments</strong><br />
Blockbuster may skip over several Available titles in your queue to ship less desirable titles to you. When this happens, the titles that get passed over are generally newer, more popular titles, and the titles Blockbuster ships are older, less popular titles. Blockbuster must have a philosophy of keeping subscribers busy with unpopular titles while carefully rationing the popular titles. Perhaps Blockbuster intentionally holds back the more desirable titles to ship to its more profitable low-volume subscribers. A more innocent explanation is that Blockbuster is just really bad with inventory management. Regardless, if this happens to you, you may wait weeks to see titles at the top of your queue even though they are marked as Available. The lesson here is: If you don't really want to see a title, you had better keep it out of your queue, because Blockbuster might send it to you when you least expect it.<br />
<br />
<strong>Shipping Delays</strong><br />
Blockbuster should be able to ship a DVD to you the day after you have an empty slot in the At Home section of your queue, but Blockbuster may not ship when they should. Blockbuster may choose to leave the empty slot open for an extra day or keep a DVD in Processing status overnight. Every time Blockbuster does this, they deprive you of at least one day of your subscription benefits.<br />
<br />
<strong>Distant Shipping</strong><br />
One of the sleaziest things Blockbuster does is ship DVDs to subscribers from distant shipping centers. If you live in or near a major city, DVDs should normally arrive at your home the day after Blockbuster ships them. If Blockbuster chooses to ship DVDs to you from a city that is hundreds of miles from you, DVDs will take an extra day or two to arrive. Every time Blockbuster does this to you, they reduce the amount of DVDs you can receive during each billing cycle, but, of course, you will be charged full price anyway. <br />
<br />
<strong>Poor Customer Service</strong><br />
Compounding all of these negative factors is Blockbuster's extremely poor customer service. Blockbuster allows subscribers very few customer service options, and not one of them is sufficient. The toll-free customer service works best, but the hold times can be long sometimes. The customer service-by-email system is good only for ironic entertainment value. The incompetence in this area of Blockbuster is staggering. Your chance of getting a simple problem resolved through email with Blockbuster is about one in four. If you have a complicated problem with your account, you will spend days bouncing emails back and forth with Blockbuster and still not resolve anything. <br />
<br />
<strong>The Bottom Line</strong><br />
To sum up, depending on your needs and viewing habits, there is a chance a Blockbuster subscription may be a good value for you, but there are many hidden factors that could have a tremendous impact on your ability to use your account and enjoy the benefits you must pay for each month. Before giving Blockbuster your credit card number, carefully consider the negative aspects of a Blockbuster subscription and determine if Blockbuster is prepared to meet your expectations as a consumer and provide you with an acceptable value for your money.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-27087803711415307772012-07-07T22:00:00.000-04:002012-07-07T22:00:02.023-04:00Alternate Blockbuster Customer Service Email AddressThis is probably very temporary, but if you are having problems on your Blockbuster account, you might try reporting the problems to Blockbuster at bbsurvey@blockbuster.cust-serv.com.
This might not do anything for you, but you might possibly get some results. At this point, any sort of result is probably better than the responses you have been getting from Blockbuster during the last couple of weeks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-52754459622677418452012-07-05T13:59:00.000-04:002012-07-05T16:34:37.390-04:00Surprise Visitors in the At Home Section of Your QueueHey, remember that DVD you returned to the Blockbuster store two weeks ago? You almost forgot you watched it, but guess what. It just popped up in the At Home section of your queue. <br />
<br />
Surprisingly, DVDs returned days or weeks ago are mysteriously appearing in Blockbuster subscriber's queues, sometimes as multiple copies of the same title. This is most likely due to massive system problems at Blockbuster. If this happens to you, you will probably have to call Blockbuster at (866) 692-2789, sit on hold for half an hour listening to awful music while getting excited every couple of minutes when hear a pause and mistakenly think someone is about to help you. <br />
<br />
If you have an abundance of time to wait for someone to speak with you, you may eventually get to ask a customer service representative to remove the surprise DVDs from your queue. Note: If you try to fix this problem via email, you may have to wait for a few days or maybe more than a week.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-48192353393192470192012-07-03T10:00:00.000-04:002012-07-03T10:00:08.163-04:00Bad Blockbuster Service in July<span style="font-size: small;"> According to a Blockbuster employee whose name will not be published here, the current problems with Blockbuster's systems are so bad the service issues could potentially extend into mid- to late-July. It is simply baffling that Blockbuster is not getting out in front of this and communicating with subscribers. It is almost like Blockbuster wants all of its online subscribers to cancel in anger.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-86897555123873887922012-06-30T19:00:00.000-04:002012-07-02T19:17:37.046-04:00Blockbuster Contact Information<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you need to contact Blockbuster there is very little use in contacting them via email. You will have to wait hours or days for answers, and the answers you get will often be copied and pasted nonsense that will rarely be helpful. It is not unusual to have to send emails back and forth two, three, or four times to get an issue resolved. The only way to get real action from Blockbuster is to call them directly on the phone.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Blockbuster Online (Blockbuster By Mail or Online Purchases)</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(866) 692-2789</span></strong><br /><strong><br /></strong><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Blockbuster Store Issues </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(800) 406-6843</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Account Cancellation Hotline </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(866) 574-3888</span></strong></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-50124120225053858742012-07-02T04:25:00.000-04:002012-07-02T04:25:48.518-04:00What Blockbuster May Not Be Telling You About Account Problems<br />
According to a verified Blockbuster employee, whose name will not be published for his/her protection, the problems you have been experiencing on your Blockbuster account are likely due to Blockbuster changing offices from McKinney, Texas to the Denver-area Dish campus in Douglas County, Colorado. This move has resulted in massive system problems, and Blockbuster is struggling to get these issues fixed. From the looks of things, it seems like Blockbuster is doing more struggling than fixing.<br />
<br />
You may have been able to get this information out of a Blockbuster employee yourself, but the fact that Blockbuster is not being proactive and up front about these problems is a sign they do not care much about their subscribers. All Blockbuster needs to do is send out an email to subscribers or post a simple notice about the system problems on the Blockbuster Web site. The message needs to appear only to account holders who have logged in and the unfortunate new customers who are in the process of activating new accounts. Just a little bit of information could be saving a lot of subscribers from a lot of aggravation and wasted time resulting from DVDs not being cleared, DVDs not shipping, delays of several days on responses from customer service, etc. <br />
<br />
This current fiasco is a shameful moment for Blockbuster and reveals some serious management problems. Who knows how long Blockbuster will take to get these problems fixed? Even if Blockbuster gets these problems fixed tomorrow, the very least they should do is give every subscriber a free month of service as compensation for the company's poor performance in June and a second free month for all of the frustration and lack of communication with subscribers. If Blockbuster does anything less than give subscribers two free months of service after this debacle, Blockbuster's lack of action and poor performance will be unforgivable.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-87827469675921869482012-06-27T15:57:00.000-04:002012-06-27T15:57:11.821-04:00Blockbuster's Toll-Free Cancellation Hotline<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8tZMAPkS2x3cu0XxRN7r-kwt4rEyZ7RiGVTjBmp92-sZ8gmJDncgpvn8NLg1LIoXwOl5k68LnSL9DnEwpNGvRXkpgyPaWZl9bprRZ-3vwGtHBlO2SGKJgaUYQNAv2dxUvfs/s1600/Contacting+Customer+Care+by+Phone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8tZMAPkS2x3cu0XxRN7r-kwt4rEyZ7RiGVTjBmp92-sZ8gmJDncgpvn8NLg1LIoXwOl5k68LnSL9DnEwpNGvRXkpgyPaWZl9bprRZ-3vwGtHBlO2SGKJgaUYQNAv2dxUvfs/s320/Contacting+Customer+Care+by+Phone.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Contacting Customer Care by Phone from the Blockbuster.com Call Us Page</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
If you visit the Call Us page on Blockbuster's Web site, you might be surprised to see the following message toward the bottom of the page:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;"><strong>Considering canceling your online account? Please call us at 1-866-574-3888.</strong></span></div>
<br />
How bad must a company be when they have a special toll-free number for subscribers who want to cancel? Does Blockbuster have so many customers canceling their subscriptions that a special phone number is warranted? <br />
<br />
Also, why is it that subscribers who want to cancel get to call a different number than the regular subscribers who are just having trouble but do not want to cancel. No doubt, if you call that cancellation number, you will be handled with a great deal of care and get special treatment. There might even be an offering of extra incentives to keep you from canceling. Maybe Blockbuster should just concentrate on servicing all of their customers instead of the ones who have become so incensed they want to quit. <br />
<br />
Well, if you are thinking about canceling your Blockbuster subscription, you might want to give Blockbuster a call at <strong>(866) 574-3888</strong> and see if they will kiss your butt and make a lot of promises to keep you as a customer. Maybe you can talk Blockbuster into giving you some free months or a reduced monthly fee. It can't hurt to ask. <br />
<br />
If you do not want to cancel, and you just want to ask someone why your DVDs are shipping from hundreds of miles away, why your DVD was in processing for two days, why DVDs you returned to the store days ago have not cleared your queue, or why half of the titles in your queue have wait statuses, just call the regular old number, <strong>(866) 692-2789</strong>, so you can be treated like all of the other schlubs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-65760297641740420132012-06-26T22:34:00.000-04:002012-06-26T22:49:29.233-04:00Worst Month Yet at BlockbusterJune is not even over yet, and Blockbuster has gone to great lengths to make sure it will be the worst month for Blockbuster subscribers since the old Blockbuster went bankrupt. For some, Blockbuster service has been so awful one can only imagine the incompetence is intentional. If you are unlucky enough to have a Blockbuster subscription, you have probably been subjected to a wide a array of serious service issues. Here are just a few you may have been experiencing, especially during the last few weeks.<br />
<br />
<strong>DVDs Returned but Not Cleared </strong><br />
Just because you returned a DVD to a Blockbuster store and watched the clerk physically scan in the DVD at the counter, do not assume the DVD will be removed from the At Home section of your queue. Actually, the DVD could sit in your queue for days, clogging up your account until you take action to get it cleared. Blockbuster is blaming this problem on system errors, but it should be noted these system errors are allowing Blockbuster to make more money by shipping fewer DVDs to subscribers. If Blockbuster has system errors, are they not obligated to fix the errors and reimburse the subscribers for the delays caused by Blockbuster's poorly designed system?<br />
<br />
<strong>DVDs In Processing</strong><br />
Blockbuster loves to delay your account by putting a DVD in the At Home section of your queue and classify the DVD as Processing. The DVD just sits there overnight, holding up your account for an extra day. It does not take two days or more to stick a disc into an envelope and apply a mailing label. There is no good reason for DVDs to routinely be in processing overnight. Every day Blockbuster "processes" a DVD is a day they do not have to service your account. <br />
<br />
<strong>Shipping from Low Queue Positions</strong><br />
Blockbuster may skip over dozens of titles in your queue and send a DVD you had given a very low priority in your queue. Blockbuster needs to take your wishes seriously and try to send out the titles you want before they send your thirtieth or fortieth choice. <br />
<br />
<strong>Shipping from Distant Cities</strong><br />
Blockbuster can delay your account for days by sending DVDs to you from a city far from you. Look on your Blockbuster return envelope. If the return address is for a city hundreds of miles from your home, your DVDs may be needlessly sitting in the mail system for days. <br />
<br />
<strong>Incompetent Email Customer Service</strong><br />
The worst thing about all of these problems is there is no easy way to resolve them. If you contact Blockbuster through email about an issue, there is a roughly a 75% chance the customer service representative will fail to address your concern properly. You may even get a response that demonstrates the customer service person did not even bother to read your email. Most of them just seem determined to copy, paste, and email boilerplate responses until you give up trying to get your problem resolved. <br />
<br />
<br />
If you have been experiencing these problems, notice that all of these issues ultimately benefit Blockbuster, because Blockbuster gets to send out fewer DVDs to you and spend less money while still charging you full price for a subscription. Every time Blockbuster causes a delay on your account, you wind up paying the same price for less service and Blockbuster keeps the savings at your expense. If you are having problems on your account, call Blockbuster toll free at (866) 692-2789 and demand answers. If they cannot fix your account, the only answer is to cancel your subscription and find a company who will treat you like a valued customer.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-6803475675726243712012-03-06T22:00:00.004-05:002012-03-07T17:16:45.889-05:00Distant Shipping Cuts Blockbuster Subscriber BenefitsIf you have noticed your Blockbuster Online DVDs abruptly began taking an extra day or two arrive, do not jump to conclusions and automatically blame USPS for the delays. This is a case where the post office may not be at fault. The delays may be occurring because Blockbuster has chosen to ship DVDs to you from shipping centers that are far from your home. <br />
<br />
When Blockbuster ships DVDs to you from a local shipping center, you should receive the DVDs generally within one or two days. If, however, Blockbuster chooses to ship DVDs to you from a shipping center that is hundreds of miles from your home, the DVDs may spend a few days in transit.<br />
<br />
This extended transit time is an issue, because every extra day you have to wait for a DVD is an extra day you cannot enjoy the subscription benefits for which you are paying. In effect, the increased transit times are reducing the value of your subscription. You are paying the same amount of money each month, but receiving less for it.<br />
<br />
Now, there is something positive about distant shipping. Perhaps, you want to see a movie that is not available at your nearest shipping center. It is nice to still be able to see that movie, even if you have to wait a couple of extra days for it to arrive. A problem could arise, however, if Blockbuster actually has the DVDs you want at a local shipping center but chooses to deliberately ship all of your DVDs from distant shipping centers with the primary intent of exploiting the extended USPS transit times to reduce the overall flow of DVDs to you. Netflix began using <a href="http://netflixunderground.blogspot.com/2005/03/netflix-tactics.html">a similar tactic by 2005</a>. The old Blockbuster (before the bankruptcy) <a href="http://blockbusterunderground.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-blockbuster-is-throttling-you-to.html">was doing this as early as 2009</a>. <br />
<br />
Remember, postage costs the same regardless of whether a DVD gets shipped from one mile away or a thousand miles away. Yes, having a bunch of DVDs floating around in the mail system ties up Blockbuster's inventory, but the cost reductions in processing and postage make up for that disadvantage. Theoretically, Blockbuster could increase profits significantly just by shipping all of your DVDs from distant shipping centers. Under this throttling practice, you would get fewer DVDs each month, Blockbuster would save money on processing and postage, and you would still pay full price. <br />
<br />
Look on your Blockbuster Online return envelopes, if the addresses are for shipping centers hundreds of miles from your house, consider contacting Blockbuster and asking them why you have to mail your DVDs to another city. If you live near a major city but your DVDs take more than one or two days to arrive, consider contacting Blockbuster and asking them why all of your DVDs are coming from so far away. <br />
<br />
Blockbuster will tell you they sometimes ship DVDs to you from distant shipping centers to make sure you get the DVDs you want most. This may be true for some titles, but if Blockbuster is shipping all of your DVDs from distant shipping centers and having you return the DVDs to distant shipping centers, there is no reasonable excuse for this inconvenience, and there is a strong chance Blockbuster is intentionally taking advantage of you by creating artificial delays on your account (a.k.a. throttling). If you suspect Blockbuster is throttling you, consider contacting them and asking them why.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-66606692945059604922012-02-17T22:12:00.003-05:002012-02-17T22:30:22.598-05:00Availability Is Becoming a Liability for Blockbuster OnlineOne of the biggest problems with Blockbuster Online right now is the issue of poor availability. Many, many titles are simply just not available in sufficient quantities to satisfy subscriber demand. The problem is not just with new releases but with older titles as well. <br />
<br />
Add any ten titles to your queue at random, and--depending on your tastes--you are likely to find one or two have a status of <strong>Short Wait</strong>, one or two have a status of <strong>Long Wait</strong>, and one or two have a status of <strong>Very Long Wait</strong>. Even worse, there may be a couple of titles that have a status of <strong>On Order</strong> or the worst and most dreaded status of all: <strong>Unavailable</strong>. With all of the availability problems, you will be lucky if half of the titles in your queue have the status of <strong>Available</strong>.<br />
<br />
This situation would not be so bad if it appeared Blockbuster was attempting to correct the problem by beefing up its inventory with more copies of the most wanted titles, but that does not seem to be the case. Titles with wait statuses may sit near the top of your queue for months on end. In some cases, they may never ship. <br />
<br />
The silly thing about this is that everyone knows how easy it is to acquire used DVDs. Even somewhat obscure titles are fairly easy to locate on the Internet. Commonly, used copies of most DVDs are readily available for only a few dollars. <br />
<br />
Why does Blockbuster not have a buyer who trolls the Internet looking for cheap used copies of DVDs that are in low-supply at the Blockbuster shipping centers? Why does Blockbuster not work out bulk purchasing deals with a few of the larger used DVD dealers who are selling DVDs all over the Internet? Why does Blockbuster not invite its customers to exchange their unwanted DVDs for account credit? <br />
<br />
Used DVDs are so easy and cheap to acquire. Why does Blockbuster not want to spend a little money and fix its inventory problems? The issue of poor title availability has got to be irritating a huge portion of Blockbuster Online's subscriber base. What's the point in paying for a Blockbuster subscription when half of the titles you want to see are nearly impossible to get?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-13920216017578549182011-09-23T23:59:00.004-04:002011-09-24T00:16:18.654-04:00Blockbuster Movie PassToday, Blockbuster/Dish Network announced a new streaming service to compete with Netflix. Blockbuster's new service, Blockbuster Movie Pass, will allow subscribers to stream video, receive DVDs by mail, and exchange mailers for DVDs at Blockbuster stores. The new plan will be available to existing Dish Network customers for an additional charge of $10. <br />
<br />
There is no word yet on when or if the plan will be made available to those who are not Dish Network subscribers. Right now, it appears Dish Network is going to use Blockbuster Movie Pass as bait to attract new customers to Dish Network and retain the ones they already have. <br />
<br />
Certainly, at some point, Dish Network will see the value of making Blockbuster Movie Pass available to all. Netflix is really on its heels at the moment. A really great service that offers DVD-by-mail, in-store exchanges, and streaming video at a competitive price could be just the thing to knock Netflix to the mat. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately for Blockbuster, they are probably not going to act fast enough to take full advantage of Netflix's weaknesses and its furious mass of disgruntled customers. Those angry customers are going to cool down in a few months. If Blockbuster does not act right away by offering them a competing service at a competitive price, the opportunity will be lost, and Blockbuster will--once again--have missed the boat. Isn't that just the way things always seem to go at Blockbuster?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-56518765812458710452011-09-20T15:52:00.002-04:002011-09-20T16:04:17.187-04:00A Stream Come True, Blockbuster to Offer Streaming Video?Blockbuster is planning to hold a press conference on September 23, 2011. The press conference will be streamed live from San Francisco at 10:00 AM PT on Ustream (www.ustream.tv).<br />
<br />
An event called "A Stream Come True" has been heavily rumored to be an announcement of Blockbuster's entry into streaming video as part of "the most comprehensive home entertainment package ever." Given the current turmoil facing Blockbuster's main competitor, Netflix, the timing of the press conference could not be much better for Blockbuster, a company that is in serious need of some good luck.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0San Francisco, CA, USA37.7749295 -122.4194155000000137.7206295 -122.50881550000001 37.8292295 -122.33001550000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-47829988022772955212011-09-20T02:22:00.002-04:002011-09-20T04:27:33.143-04:00The Dish on Blockbuster Online Under Dish NetworkWhen Blockbuster first got into the DVD-by-mail business in 2004, the service was largely a joke for the first several months. Blockbuster Online would ship incorrect DVDs, takes days to ship DVDs, etc. Blockbuster was having a hard time getting their online business going, and it was obvious.<br />
<br />
Blockbuster Online improved in 2005 and eventually was a pretty good value. The Blockbuster Online service continued to be a pretty good value through most of 2006 and 2007. The real problems did not begin until late-2007 when Blockbuster began throttling the flow of DVDs to customers using a wide, ever-changing array of delay tactics. <br />
<br />
Through much of 2008, 2009, and 2010, Blockbuster engaged in all sorts of bizarre and unsavory behavior such as rarely shipping DVDs on certain days, taking days to process DVDs, making subscribers stack the tops of their queues with "Available" DVDs, failing to register in-store returns, etc. In short, Blockbuster Online was back to being a joke--only this time, the joke wasn't funny. The service was just awful, absolutely awful. It was a horrible value, a major headache for consumers, and it was probably one of the main reasons Blockbuster wound up finally going bankrupt in 2010. Blockbuster not only deserved to go bankrupt, the company was out-of-control, and it needed to go bankrupt. <br />
<br />
In April 2011, Dish Network bought Blockbuster at auction, and that was when things began to turn around a little. Here we are a few months later, and there is little to no evidence of Blockbuster Online blatantly throttling customers. Yes, Blockbuster Online has some substantial problems with availability, but the throttling is minimal or non-existent. For now, it appears Blockbuster Online is basically shipping DVDs when they should and not playing a lot of obvious, sleazy games with customers. This is most likely because Dish Network cannot afford to mistreat whatever few Blockbuster subscribers are left. In order to remain in the DVD rental business, Dish Network has probably decided to do nothing to trigger more customer defections from what is already a dangerously weak customer base.<br />
<br />
Now, Blockbuster Online deserves no praise for shipping DVDs to subscribers as agreed. Blockbuster is just doing what they should have been doing all along. Since, however, Blockbuster Underground has been intensely critical of Blockbuster for at least a few years now, it is fair to make it clear that Blockbuster's DVD-by-mail service has improved remarkably since Dish Network took the reins of that deeply troubled company. <br />
<br />
Please do not read this article as an endorsement of Blockbuster or any of its services. The Blockbuster name has been severely--perhaps permanently--tarnished by years and years of bad customer service in the stores and online. Millions of people hate the Blockbuster brand, and they have every right to do so. It will take years to rebuild trust among millions of alienated consumers. <br />
<br />
Maybe the new Blockbuster is going to be a good company under Dish Network, but it is also possible Blockbuster could suddenly revert to its old ways. Only time will tell. If Blockbuster starts messing around again and begins taking advantage of customers, <i>Blockbuster Underground</i> will go right back to exposing every single wrong thing Blockbuster does. For now, on <i>Blockbuster Underground</i>, Dish Network is going to get a fair chance to prove they can and will deliver on what they promise to Blockbuster customers. Stay tuned.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-77070215829808880822011-07-09T03:51:00.000-04:002011-07-09T03:51:00.636-04:00Blockbuster: Please, Please Change Your Habits<em>Fast Company</em> is running an article by Austin Carr about the problems with Blockbuster's new subscription-free DVD-by-mail program. Click the link below to read the article.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/1765646/blockbuster-please-please-change-your-habits" target="_blank">"Blockbuster: Please, Please Change Your Habits"</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-5404556578376512942011-05-05T03:25:00.002-04:002011-05-05T03:25:56.382-04:00New Release Delays and Shortages at BlockbusterA new trend seems to be developing at Blockbuster. Around February, finding new releases at least some Blockbuster stores became extraordinarily difficult. We are not talking normal shortages here. This is a stunningly low supply. <br />
<br />
Last year, a customer could walk into a Blockbuster on a Tuesday night and almost always find the DVDs that came out that day. They would be gone by Thursday night, but they were still there on Tuesday. (New releases generally become available for rental on each Tuesday.) Now, the new releases are gone by Tuesday afternoon. Even after a particular title has been out for a week or more, the title will be completely gone or in very low supply. The odd thing is that the Blockbuster store may try to cover up the low supply by putting out dozens of those placeholders that look like the DVD jewel case. This could give the illusion that the store owns many copies of a title, but all of the copies are checked out. Given the low quantities of new releases in stock, and the unremarkable flow of customers, one might wonder if Blockbuster is actually purchasing very limited numbers of each title while pretending to have normal quantities in stock.<br />
<br />
Now that is just one suspicious thing going on in some stores. Something far more serious also seems to be beginning. Since March, some new releases are not available at Blockbuster stores or Blockbuster Online. When questioned about why the new releases are not in stock, Blockbuster employees are claiming the titles are being held up by the studios, but this is very unusual. New releases for major movies almost always come out on time. It makes no sense that the studios would suddenly be incapable of delivering DVDs on time.<br />
<br />
What makes more sense is that 1) Blockbuster's suppliers are withholding shipments because Blockbuster is not paying them quickly enough, 2) the studios are taking advantage of Blockbuster's weakened state and deliberately delaying shipments in an attempt to motivate consumers to buy new releases rather than waiting to rent them, or 3) the studios are offering price incentives that encourage Blockbuster to delay purchases of new titles. <br />
<br />
At this point, the cause is completely unknown to the public, but something suspicious is going on at Blockbuster. Regardless, Blockbuster needs to remedy this supply problem immediately. One of the few benefits that Blockbuster has to offer its customers is having new releases the day they come out. Netflix and Redbox have already conspired with the studios to impose artificial release delays. If Blockbuster cannot have the movies before the competitors, there is no way Blockbuster can even think about being competitive.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-18723664316723644672011-04-25T19:00:00.000-04:002011-04-25T19:00:01.661-04:00Blockbuster Store Closings Create Privacy ConcernsBeth Givens with Privacy Rights Clearinghouse was recently walking by a Blockbuster store in Mission Valley, San Diego which happened to be closing down. Outside of the store, Givens found a box of case files that contained Blockbuster employee records, such as job applications and detailed employment termination documents. The documents contained private information such as social security numbers, full names, etc. There are probably signatures and birthdays too. This could be a gold mine for an identity thief or a wonderful supply of embarrassing employment information.<br />
<br />
Luckily, Givens found the employee files before a criminal found them. Givens plans to return the files to Blockbuster, and it appears no harm was done in this case, but this incident should sound an alarm. <br />
<br />
Blockbuster stores are closing all over the country. With Dish Network taking over, many more Blockbusters are likely to be closing later this year. If Blockbuster is mishandling files from abandoned stores, not only are the employees at risk, but so are the customers. <br />
<br />
When you opened that Blockbuster account years and years ago, do you remember exactly what information you put on the account application form? Where is that form now? Could an identity thief use that form to steal your identity? What about your rental records, credit card information, address, etc.? What is Blockbuster doing to make sure this information is not going to fall into the wrong hands?<br />
<br />
With all of these stores closing, Blockbuster/Dish Network needs to get on top of this issue. When people trust a company with their privacy, that company has a duty to protect the information of its customers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-55025128193548865372011-04-06T12:53:00.002-04:002011-04-06T15:40:45.740-04:00Sold! Dish Network Buys Blockbuster at AuctionFor some reason, Dish Network has chosen to drop $320 million on the purchase of Blockbuster, Inc. No one is quite sure what Dish Network intends to do with Blockbuster, but one might imagine that Dish Network could use this as an opportunity to create a big brick-and-mortar retail presence. Dish Network could be trying to position itself to better compete with Netflix by being on the street and in the mail in addition to the skies. <br />
<br />
By taking over Blockbuster's existing infrastructure, retail presence, customer base, relationship with movie studios, and merchandise supply channels, Dish Network now has the tools to become a potential threat to companies like Netflix. Dish Network could now be in the unique position of being able to deliver all kinds of movies to all kinds of consumers in all kinds of different ways. What other company has all of that? Redbox has the rental kiosks. Netflix has DVDs by mail and streaming video. Many retail stores sell videos. The pay TV channels and many other services offer video-on-demand. Up until now, no one company has been able to offer it all, and no one company has been able to reach what is nearly the entire market of video renters/buyers. Perhaps Dish Network will try to be the first to make that happen. <br />
<br />
Considering the harsh realities that Blockbuster had been facing, this deal is probably as good as it could get for Blockbuster. If Dish Network does wish to build a strong retail presence, they will probably not be liquidating Blockbuster (which had been an extremely likely possibility). If Blockbuster continues to exist in brick-and-mortar form, many Blockbuster employees may be able to hang on to their jobs for a while. Consumers will also not have to face losing one of their video rental options.<br />
<br />
Not much is certain at this point, but the Dish Network takeover is probably being viewed as at least moderately encouraging news for anyone who likes Blockbuster or depends on the company for a living.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-57096657656086009722011-02-21T18:06:00.003-05:002011-02-22T16:26:23.056-05:00Troubled Video Rental Chain for SaleBlockbuster is up for sale, and bidders are welcome. If you have a little extra money, and you are looking to sink it into a company with a tainted brand name, a Chapter 11 filing, and no clear path for regaining its market footing, this may be your opportunity. <br />
<br />
Seriously, the number on the table as of today is $290 million. Blockbuster is hoping to sell for at least that much. It is unclear exactly why anyone would want Blockbuster. Perhaps the purchasers are interested in liquidating the company. <br />
<br />
How many scratched DVDs and barely touched Blu-ray discs does it take to add up to $290 million anyway? If Blockbuster can unload the used discs for an average of $5 a piece, they will need 58 million of them to hit the $290 million mark. That sure seems like a lot of used discs. <br />
<br />
Blockbuster does have more than used video discs, however. Blockbuster has all of that overpriced candy, drinks, and popcorn. Do not forget about all of the stuffed animals, key chains, and those framed movie posters no one ever touches. <br />
<br />
No one is sure what is going to happen to Blockbuster, but it looks like Blockbuster is moving ahead quickly. Probably, by the end of April, we will find out who is buying Blockbuster and for what price. After that, we will either be treated to a tremendous reincarnation/re-branding of Blockbuster or the most massive clearance sale of used DVDs, games, and movie-related merchandise the nation has ever seen. <br />
<br />
The sad thing is that very few people care. Not many people were upset when Blockbuster went Chapter 11, and there will not be that many people upset if Blockbuster is transformed or liquidated. How often do you hear someone praising Blockbuster, or excited about making a trip to a Blockbuster store? It's pretty rare, isn't it? That is the real problem. Most people just do not care about Blockbuster anymore, and why should they?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-65156040883391324042011-02-10T13:39:00.003-05:002011-02-10T13:57:50.632-05:00Blockbuster Online's Processing Decoy TacticIt appears Blockbuster Online has begun favoring a particular throttling tactic. This one is the processing decoy tactic. Blockbuster will tie up your queue for an extra day by holding a DVD in <strong>Processing</strong> status overnight and then canceling shipment of the DVD the following morning. Here is an example of how it works.<br />
<div></div><ol><li>On Monday morning, you have an empty slot in the <strong>At Home</strong> section of your Blockbuster Online queue.</li>
<li>Later that day, Blockbuster will move one of your most desired DVDs (normally one with an <strong>Availability</strong> status of <strong>Long Wait</strong> or <strong>Very Long Wait</strong>) to the empty slot in the <strong>At Home</strong> section of your queue. This DVD will be tagged as <strong>Processing</strong>.</li>
<li>The DVD will sit in your queue for the rest of the day and into the night with the status of <strong>Processing</strong>.</li>
<li>The next morning, the DVD will have mysteriously been moved from the <strong>At Home</strong> section of your queue back down to its original position in your list of desired DVDs. This leaves an empty slot in the <strong>At Home</strong> section of your queue. </li>
<li>Later that day, the empty slot will likely be filled with a different DVD from you queue. That replacement DVD is likely to ship that afternoon.</li>
</ol><br />
<div>This throttling tactic is bad for you for two reasons. 1) The delay automatically adds at least one day to your turnaround, reducing the number of DVDs you can receive during the subscription month and thereby reducing the value of your subscription. 2) By holding one of your most desired DVDs in <strong>Processing</strong> status, Blockbuster is discouraging you from renting that title from another source for at least one day. You will probably not rent a DVD from a Blockbuster store, Redbox, etc. if you believe Blockbuster Online will be shipping that DVD to you in the immediate future.</div><br />
Blockbuster might think they are being clever with this tactic, but they are only annoying subscribers. We all know Blockbuster Online generally knows whether it can ship a particular DVD or not. Those DVD envelopes and sleeves are barcoded and tracked through their inventory system. Yes, sometimes returned DVDs arrive damaged or in the wrong sleeves or envelopes, but generally Blockbuster knows what DVDs it has in its shipping centers. If Blockbuster is going to throttle subscribers, Blockbuster needs to stop playing games and just be straightforward with it. <br />
<br />
<div>Come on, Blockbuster, don't be such a tease. Just leave those shipping slots empty until you are satisfied with how much extra money you have milked from the subscribers. Irritating your last few loyal customers is not a good way to pull yourself out of bankruptcy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-3386734842683640322010-11-17T13:00:00.001-05:002010-11-17T12:57:11.386-05:00Blockbuster's Blu-Ray Disc Rental Figures May Be FlawedIf you are a Blockbuster Online subscriber and you exchange your online rentals at stores for store rentals, you may have noticed that, sometimes, your store DVD rentals show up as Blu-ray discs in the <strong>At Home</strong> section of your Blockbuster Online queue. This commonly occurring error does not necessarily prove an inventory flaw; however, the error strongly suggests that Blockbuster inaccurately records some store DVD rentals as Blu-ray disc rentals.<br />
<br />
If you do a lot of store exchanges and typically choose the DVD format, look in your Blockbuster Online rental history. There you may find several titles tagged with the <strong>[Blu-ray]</strong> tag. Depending on your rental preferences, you may notice that few or none of these supposed Blu-ray discs you rented from Blockbuster stores were really Blu-ray discs. They were just improperly tagged DVDs. Even more curious, this error seems to occur disproportionately often among new releases. Perhaps this is just a recent problem affecting only newer titles. <br />
<br />
What is uncertain is whether or not Blockbuster is tagging discs inappropriately on purpose for some reason or if this is just another example of Blockbuster's incompetence. Regardless, many DVDs are being tagged incorrectly as Blu-ray discs in at least one system. If these errors are being carried over into other systems, such as the systems that provide data for inventory reporting and sales reporting, Blockbuster's numbers could be showing dramatically inflated figures for Blu-ray disc rentals. <br />
<br />
There do seem to be stacks of unwanted Blu-ray discs just sitting on the shelves at Blockbuster stores. The excessive Blu-ray disc supply could stem from improper inventory reporting, or the improperly tagged discs could be concealing that Blu-ray discs are not terribly popular among Blockbuster store customers. Regardless, Blockbuster needs to get their act together and consistently tag DVDs as DVDs and Blu-ray discs as Blu-ray discs in all of their systems. <br />
<br />
Imagine if you lost a store DVD that was electronically mislabeled as a Blu-ray disc. Would the store charge you the lower DVD price or the higher Blu-ray disc price? That could be an unpleasant surprise. If you lost the physical disc, you would have no proof it was a DVD, and you would be at the mercy of Blockbuster's inaccurate computer system.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-58803704929658613682010-09-23T12:58:00.001-04:002010-09-23T12:59:20.985-04:00Blockbusted: Blockbuster Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy ProtectionBlockbuster has filed Chapter 11. This is barely news, because we have all been seeing this coming for a couple of years. The reasons for the bankruptcy are fairly obvious: debt, outdated business model, alienated customers, constantly shifting pricing structures, unpredictable rental policy changes, tainted brand, etc. The question should not be, "Why did Blockbuster go Chapter 11?" but "How did Blockbuster stay out of Chapter 11 for so long?"<br />
<br />
Now, what does all of this mean for you? If you are a common shareholder, you are probably about to get screwed and lose your investment. If you are a customer, things are less certain. Chapter 11 is a reorganization status. Blockbuster is not shutting down at the moment, but the company is likely to spend the coming months trying to restructure their organization into a profitable business. Look for a lot of store closings, changes in policies, changes in pricing, changes in store inventory, and changes in ways of doing business. (Wow! That sounds like business as usual for Blockbuster.) Maybe these changes will benefit the customers. Maybe the changes will be a big headache for customers. The good news is that you have choices. If Blockbuster changes in ways you do not like, just go somewhere else.<br />
<br />
This Chapter 11 filing gives Blockbuster one last chance to get things right. If Blockbuster can take advantage of this opportunity, they might be able to figure out a way to please customers while being profitable. If Blockbuster cannot figure out how to rehabilitate their business model, then the eventual end of Blockbuster in inevitable. We will just have to wait and see.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11330497.post-28205987700946476572010-03-20T01:53:00.000-04:002010-03-20T01:55:29.082-04:00What Happens to Your Shares If Blockbuster Files Chapter 11 BankruptcyIf you have been following Blockbuster in the news, you have noticed the bankruptcy talk is really heating up again. Frankly, it is stunning Blockbuster was able to survive all of the way through 2009, but they made it somehow. Well, it is 2010 now, and Chapter 11 seems like it could easily be in the cards for Blockbuster.<br /><br />If you are a Blockbuster shareholder, you have probably been whimpering each time you have checked your portfolio during the last six years, but things can still get worse. If you are one of the unlucky investors still hanging onto Blockbuster shares, be aware those shares could possibly become worth absolutely nothing. If Blockbuster enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the common stock (probably the type of stock you hold) will be worthless. You will have no way to recover your money, and you will not be entitled to shares in the reorganized Blockbuster. In short, you, the common shareholder, will be left holding the bag (an empty bag). If you are concerned about losing 100% of your investment in Blockbuster, consult with your broker as soon as possible and explore your options. Maybe you can cash in those shares and have just enough money left for a few DVD rentals at that little, struggling independent video store in your town.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1