Showing posts with label store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label store. Show all posts
11/17/2012
Why a Blockbuster Online Subscription May Not Be a Good Value for You
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.
Few Store Locations
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.
Reduction in Store Hours
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,
Insufficient Selection and Quantities of Store DVDs
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.
Poor Online Availability
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.
Undesirable Queue Shipments
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.
Shipping Delays
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.
Distant Shipping
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.
Poor Customer Service
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.
The Bottom Line
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.
7/05/2012
Surprise Visitors in the At Home Section of Your Queue
Hey, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
6/26/2012
Worst Month Yet at Blockbuster
June 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.
DVDs Returned but Not Cleared
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?
DVDs In Processing
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.
Shipping from Low Queue Positions
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.
Shipping from Distant Cities
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.
Incompetent Email Customer Service
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.
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.
DVDs Returned but Not Cleared
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?
DVDs In Processing
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.
Shipping from Low Queue Positions
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.
Shipping from Distant Cities
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.
Incompetent Email Customer Service
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.
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.
5/05/2011
New Release Delays and Shortages at Blockbuster
A 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
11/17/2010
Blockbuster's Blu-Ray Disc Rental Figures May Be Flawed
If 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 At Home 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.
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 [Blu-ray] 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 [Blu-ray] 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.
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.
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.
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.
9/23/2010
Blockbusted: Blockbuster Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Blockbuster 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?"
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.
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.
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.
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.
12/04/2009
How Blockbuster Is Throttling You to One Set of DVDs per Week
If you are a Blockbuster Online subscriber, you may have noticed a curious pattern of delays on your account. Sometimes, you will return a DVD to a Blockbuster store, and it will take a surprisingly long time to clear your queue. Often, you will have DVDs--that are apparently being processed--sitting in your queue for multiple days. Frequently, your DVDs will take days longer to arrive than they should have.
If these strange events are routinely occurring on your Blockbuster account, you are not just a random, unfortunate Blockbuster customer. You are most likely a victim of throttling. Blockbuster may be systemically limiting the number of DVDs you receive by employing a combination of delay tactics against your account.
Below is a summary of Blockbuster Online's more common throttling tactics. Each tactic creates only a small delay, but when Blockbuster uses two or more of these tactics together, they can easily place tight limits on the number of DVDs you can receive in any given month.
Delayed Store Check-In
If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, you may have noticed you can return a store DVD to a Blockbuster store, but it might not clear your queue for hours (or days). You may have noticed the returned store DVD almost never clears your queue in time for another DVD to ship that same day--even if you returned the store DVD as soon as the store opened. Blockbuster can use this delayed store check-in tactic to slow down your DVDs by at least one extra day.
Processing Delays
One of Blockbuster's favorite throttling techniques is the processing delay. Blockbuster may indicate they are processing your DVD for shipment, but they will actually not ship it out until the following day. Blockbuster just claims to be processing your DVD so you will be less likely to complain. If you do complain, they will just defend themselves by saying, "We are processing your next DVD. We will ship it as soon as possible."
How long does it take to process a DVD anyway? How could it possibly take a full day or more to turnaround a DVD? There is no legitimate reason for this type of delay. The purpose is to slow down your shipments by an extra day or an entire weekend, therefore decreasing the number of DVDs you can watch for your monthly subscription fee.
Long-Distance Shipping
If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, you may have noticed, when Blockbuster ships a DVD to you on a Monday or Tuesday, that DVD takes an extra couple of days to arrive. This is because Blockbuster is shipping DVDs to you from shipping centers far from your house. Blockbuster could be intentionally exploiting USPS transit times to ensure that your DVD takes longer to arrive at your house. Blockbuster pays the same whether they ship a DVD to you from down the street or 3,000 miles away. By shipping DVDs from remote shipping centers, Blockbuster can add days to your turnaround time and then blame USPS for the delay.
What This Means for You
By using a devious combination of multiple throttling techniques, Blockbuster has made it nearly impossible for throttled subscribers to get more than one set of DVDs in any given week. If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, expect to be hit with a variety of delays. No matter how quickly you watch and return your DVDs, it appears Blockbuster has stacked the deck against you. Blockbuster is simply not going to send as many DVDs to you as they should.
If you are a Blockbuster subscriber, know that you are dealing with a shady company that is willing to take your monthly subscription fee while providing very limited benefits. This is just what Blockbuster is doing to subscribers now. Imagine what other sorts of unscrupulous business practices Blockbuster will be employing in the future as this increasingly irrelevant company continues to lose market share to its competitors and finds it more difficult to generate enough profits to sustain its outdated and bloated business model. For Blockbuster subscribers, things are bound to only get worse from here on out.
If these strange events are routinely occurring on your Blockbuster account, you are not just a random, unfortunate Blockbuster customer. You are most likely a victim of throttling. Blockbuster may be systemically limiting the number of DVDs you receive by employing a combination of delay tactics against your account.
Below is a summary of Blockbuster Online's more common throttling tactics. Each tactic creates only a small delay, but when Blockbuster uses two or more of these tactics together, they can easily place tight limits on the number of DVDs you can receive in any given month.
Delayed Store Check-In
If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, you may have noticed you can return a store DVD to a Blockbuster store, but it might not clear your queue for hours (or days). You may have noticed the returned store DVD almost never clears your queue in time for another DVD to ship that same day--even if you returned the store DVD as soon as the store opened. Blockbuster can use this delayed store check-in tactic to slow down your DVDs by at least one extra day.
Processing Delays
One of Blockbuster's favorite throttling techniques is the processing delay. Blockbuster may indicate they are processing your DVD for shipment, but they will actually not ship it out until the following day. Blockbuster just claims to be processing your DVD so you will be less likely to complain. If you do complain, they will just defend themselves by saying, "We are processing your next DVD. We will ship it as soon as possible."
How long does it take to process a DVD anyway? How could it possibly take a full day or more to turnaround a DVD? There is no legitimate reason for this type of delay. The purpose is to slow down your shipments by an extra day or an entire weekend, therefore decreasing the number of DVDs you can watch for your monthly subscription fee.
Long-Distance Shipping
If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, you may have noticed, when Blockbuster ships a DVD to you on a Monday or Tuesday, that DVD takes an extra couple of days to arrive. This is because Blockbuster is shipping DVDs to you from shipping centers far from your house. Blockbuster could be intentionally exploiting USPS transit times to ensure that your DVD takes longer to arrive at your house. Blockbuster pays the same whether they ship a DVD to you from down the street or 3,000 miles away. By shipping DVDs from remote shipping centers, Blockbuster can add days to your turnaround time and then blame USPS for the delay.
What This Means for You
By using a devious combination of multiple throttling techniques, Blockbuster has made it nearly impossible for throttled subscribers to get more than one set of DVDs in any given week. If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, expect to be hit with a variety of delays. No matter how quickly you watch and return your DVDs, it appears Blockbuster has stacked the deck against you. Blockbuster is simply not going to send as many DVDs to you as they should.
If you are a Blockbuster subscriber, know that you are dealing with a shady company that is willing to take your monthly subscription fee while providing very limited benefits. This is just what Blockbuster is doing to subscribers now. Imagine what other sorts of unscrupulous business practices Blockbuster will be employing in the future as this increasingly irrelevant company continues to lose market share to its competitors and finds it more difficult to generate enough profits to sustain its outdated and bloated business model. For Blockbuster subscribers, things are bound to only get worse from here on out.
5/27/2009
Blockbuster Store Returns May Sit in Queue's At Home Section Indefinitely
Be aware that you must check the At Home section of your queue at least once per day. Blockbuster Online seems to have a system problem or be engaging in an intentional delay tactic that will allow a returned DVD to sit idly in the At Home section of your queue for multiple days.
Even if you personally return a store DVD to a Blockbuster store and call the manager of the Blockbuster store to confirm the DVD has been scanned into the system, the DVD can still sit in your queue and occupy a shipping slot indefinitely. Every day a returned DVD incorrectly remains in the At Home section of your queue is a day you are not able to fully benefit from your subscription. Please note that Blockbuster will continue to charge you the full subscription fee even if unnecessary shipping delays of this nature are Blockbuster's fault.
The best thing is to call Blockbuster at the first sign of any shipping delay. You can reach Blockbuster toll-free at (866) 692-2789. Blockbuster may ask you to wait twenty-four hours before reporting a delay, but this is a ridiculous request. Blockbuster's system should be able to update at least hourly. If their system updates less than that, they need to fix it.
Even if you personally return a store DVD to a Blockbuster store and call the manager of the Blockbuster store to confirm the DVD has been scanned into the system, the DVD can still sit in your queue and occupy a shipping slot indefinitely. Every day a returned DVD incorrectly remains in the At Home section of your queue is a day you are not able to fully benefit from your subscription. Please note that Blockbuster will continue to charge you the full subscription fee even if unnecessary shipping delays of this nature are Blockbuster's fault.
The best thing is to call Blockbuster at the first sign of any shipping delay. You can reach Blockbuster toll-free at (866) 692-2789. Blockbuster may ask you to wait twenty-four hours before reporting a delay, but this is a ridiculous request. Blockbuster's system should be able to update at least hourly. If their system updates less than that, they need to fix it.
5/26/2009
How to Investigate Artificial Blockbuster Store Check-In Delays
During the last several days, the Blockbuster Underground test account has revealed a peculiar new trend that might negatively affect some Blockbuster Online subscribers. The possible delay tactic limits the DVDs a subscriber can receive each month by allowing or intentionally creating a lengthy delay between the time a Blockbuster subscriber returns a store DVD and the time the Blockbuster Online system updates to reflect the return. The issue could easily add a day or two to the turnaround time for each DVD.
The most troubling thing about these delays is that they have the appearance of being artificial and intentional. Past system update patterns and current system update patterns show some inconsistencies that seem to have no reasonable explanation.
Under this new possible throttling tactic, store DVDs returned at the same time and at the same store may not clear the Blockbuster online system at the same time. This inconsistency strongly suggests the delays are not due to a legitimate system update schedule issue. For example, if the Blockbuster system were updating only once every twenty-four hours, generally all store DVDs returned at the same time should be clearing the system at about the same time. If two DVDs are returned at exactly the same time and they are clearing the Blockbuster Online system at very different times, that suggests the delays are artificial and, therefore, intentional.
Certainly, a Blockbuster employee might scan in one DVD and then not scan in another DVD for hours. This might account for discrepancies of a few hours, but this would not account for delays sometimes far exceeding twenty-four hours, especially since a couple of weeks ago, DVDs returned to the same store were normally clearing the Blockbuster Online system at nearly the same time and in less than a few hours. Often, returned store DVDs would clear in less than an hour.
Another reason the system delays seem artificial is that in-store exchanges (i.e., online DVDs exchanged for store DVDs) still show up in the system rapidly. This feature of the system seems to be mysteriously unaffected by the new delays. In-store exchanges commonly show up in the Blockbuster system within an hour of the transaction. How could the system so quickly update to show when store DVDs go out but then take a full day longer to reflect when those same DVDs came back?
You can test all of this for yourself and see if you are being throttled by Blockbuster in this manner. Here is how to conduct your own investigation.
The most troubling thing about these delays is that they have the appearance of being artificial and intentional. Past system update patterns and current system update patterns show some inconsistencies that seem to have no reasonable explanation.
Under this new possible throttling tactic, store DVDs returned at the same time and at the same store may not clear the Blockbuster online system at the same time. This inconsistency strongly suggests the delays are not due to a legitimate system update schedule issue. For example, if the Blockbuster system were updating only once every twenty-four hours, generally all store DVDs returned at the same time should be clearing the system at about the same time. If two DVDs are returned at exactly the same time and they are clearing the Blockbuster Online system at very different times, that suggests the delays are artificial and, therefore, intentional.
Certainly, a Blockbuster employee might scan in one DVD and then not scan in another DVD for hours. This might account for discrepancies of a few hours, but this would not account for delays sometimes far exceeding twenty-four hours, especially since a couple of weeks ago, DVDs returned to the same store were normally clearing the Blockbuster Online system at nearly the same time and in less than a few hours. Often, returned store DVDs would clear in less than an hour.
Another reason the system delays seem artificial is that in-store exchanges (i.e., online DVDs exchanged for store DVDs) still show up in the system rapidly. This feature of the system seems to be mysteriously unaffected by the new delays. In-store exchanges commonly show up in the Blockbuster system within an hour of the transaction. How could the system so quickly update to show when store DVDs go out but then take a full day longer to reflect when those same DVDs came back?
You can test all of this for yourself and see if you are being throttled by Blockbuster in this manner. Here is how to conduct your own investigation.
- The next time you exchange your Blockbuster Online DVDs for store rentals at a Blockbuster store, make a note of the time, go straight home, and check your Blockbuster Online queue.
- Your in-store exchanges will probably already be reflected by your queue, indicating the Blockbuster Online system has updated.
- If the new store rentals do not appear in your queue, check your queue every hour or so until the new store rentals appear in the At Home section of your queue.
- Make a note of the time.
- When you later return those store rentals, take them into the store to a Blockbuster counter clerk, and ask the counter clerk to scan the DVDs in front of you. Ask the clerk to verify the DVDs are showing up in the system as being checked in. (The store's system update should be almost instantaneous.) You may even want to ask for a receipt or other form of proof for the return. Regardless, make a note of the time the DVDs were scanned at the store.
- When you get home, check your Blockbuster Online queue periodically until the store rental DVDs clear the At Home section of your queue.
- Make a note of the approximate time you notice each DVD clearing your queue.
- If your returned store DVDs clear at significantly different times, or if the DVDs remain in your queue beyond 6:00AM (Eastern) the following morning, there is a problem, and you are probably being throttled by Blockbuster.
- Contact Blockbuster, ask them why you are experiencing such long delays on your account, and request a refund. If these delays are the result of a legitimate system delay, Blockbuster needs to offer you a full explanation, a detailed plan for how they are fixing the problem, and a refund for the time you were unfairly deprived of the subscription benefits for which your are paying.
2/22/2009
Blockbuster TotalAccess Is Getting Worse, Much Worse
Blockbuster has found yet another way to slap TotalAccess subscribers across the face. According to Anders Bylund of Motley Fool, in-store exchanges might be changing in a big way. In the past, if you were a Blockbuster TotalAccess subscriber, you could exchange some or all of your online rentals at a Blockbuster store for free in-store rentals. As soon as the counter clerk scanned in your online rentals, slots would open in your queue allowing additional online DVDs to ship. You could return the in-store rentals any time before the due date at no cost. Under this system, on a three-out plan, you could actually have six DVDs (three online and three in-store) at your house at a time.
The new TotalAccess system--currently being tested--is far worse. Under the new system, your in-store exchanges will count against your plan limits. For example, if you are on a three-out plan, your plan will not permit you to have more than three Blockbuster DVDs in your possession at a time. You might exchange all three of your online rentals at a store, but Blockbuster Online will not ship another online DVD to you until you return an in-store rental to the store. Therefore, if you have three in-store rentals and you do not make it back to your Blockbuster store for a few days, those in-store rentals are going to delay shipment of your online rentals by the same amount of time. Under this new system, will you have to return those in-store rentals as soon as you possibly can or face significant delays on your online account.
This plan modification will be another major reduction in TotalAccess subscriber benefits. Isn’t it ironic that ever since Blockbuster adopted the TotalAccess name, subscribers have been hit with increasingly deeper reductions in subscriber benefits? Perhaps, Blockbuster LimitedAccess is a more accurate name for the plan, but that honest approach might not sell many subscriptions. It looks like Blockbuster is a flailing company that cannot figure out a way to be profitable without misleading and mistreating customers. When Blockbuster finally goes bankrupt, is anyone really going to feel sorry for them?
The new TotalAccess system--currently being tested--is far worse. Under the new system, your in-store exchanges will count against your plan limits. For example, if you are on a three-out plan, your plan will not permit you to have more than three Blockbuster DVDs in your possession at a time. You might exchange all three of your online rentals at a store, but Blockbuster Online will not ship another online DVD to you until you return an in-store rental to the store. Therefore, if you have three in-store rentals and you do not make it back to your Blockbuster store for a few days, those in-store rentals are going to delay shipment of your online rentals by the same amount of time. Under this new system, will you have to return those in-store rentals as soon as you possibly can or face significant delays on your online account.
This plan modification will be another major reduction in TotalAccess subscriber benefits. Isn’t it ironic that ever since Blockbuster adopted the TotalAccess name, subscribers have been hit with increasingly deeper reductions in subscriber benefits? Perhaps, Blockbuster LimitedAccess is a more accurate name for the plan, but that honest approach might not sell many subscriptions. It looks like Blockbuster is a flailing company that cannot figure out a way to be profitable without misleading and mistreating customers. When Blockbuster finally goes bankrupt, is anyone really going to feel sorry for them?
12/24/2008
Could Redbox Mean the End for Blockbuster?
At one time, Blockbuster was the king of video rental; however, customer dissatisfaction grew along with the company’s market share, and, eventually, the DVD-by-mail industry was born. Netflix (a coincidentally despicable and dishonest company) capitalized on the growing number of irritated Blockbuster customers and developed a completely new way to rent movies. The service became popular and did massive damage to Blockbuster’s stranglehold on the video rental business.
Blockbuster has partially stayed alive by offering an online service comparable to Netflix. Like Netflix, Blockbuster’s online service is not very good and has angered numerous subscribers with dishonest business practices. The online service has proven to be a flawed venture for Blockbuster and will probably be discontinued or significantly overhauled at some point.
Blockbuster’s final hope for survival has been their online stores. Independent video rental stores have been scarce for several years now, so Blockbuster has been one of the few place people can visit to personally rent DVDs. Redbox may be the company who is about to change that.
Redbox (www.redbox.com), a company started in 2002 by McDonald’s Ventures LLC and now equally owned by Coinstar, poses a tremendous threat to Blockbuster’s stores. Redbox is a network of over 10,000 DVD rental vending machines (or kiosks), which are located at McDonald’s restaurants and drug stores around the nation. The vending machines are normally accessible 24 hours per day, every day of the year. They offer mostly new and recent releases for $1 per night. Basically, anyone with a credit card can go find a recent DVD at any time of the day for just $1.
The one thing Blockbuster had going for it was allowing for people to spontaneously rent new releases. Redbox offers the same option in more locations, with better hours, and at a much better price. Why would anyone drive four miles to rent The Dark Knight for $3 to $5 during rigid store hours, when one can simply drive two miles to rent the same DVD for $1 any time of the day?
If Blockbuster management is even remotely competent, they have begun plans to install competing DVD vending machines all over the country. If Blockbuster is not in even competition with Redbox by the end of 2009, Redbox and similar companies like The New Release (www.thenewrelease.com) and DVDPlay (www.dvdplay.com) are likely to tear into Blockbuster’s market share and drive the company down the road to obsolescence—a trip that is long overdue.
Blockbuster has partially stayed alive by offering an online service comparable to Netflix. Like Netflix, Blockbuster’s online service is not very good and has angered numerous subscribers with dishonest business practices. The online service has proven to be a flawed venture for Blockbuster and will probably be discontinued or significantly overhauled at some point.
Blockbuster’s final hope for survival has been their online stores. Independent video rental stores have been scarce for several years now, so Blockbuster has been one of the few place people can visit to personally rent DVDs. Redbox may be the company who is about to change that.
Redbox (www.redbox.com), a company started in 2002 by McDonald’s Ventures LLC and now equally owned by Coinstar, poses a tremendous threat to Blockbuster’s stores. Redbox is a network of over 10,000 DVD rental vending machines (or kiosks), which are located at McDonald’s restaurants and drug stores around the nation. The vending machines are normally accessible 24 hours per day, every day of the year. They offer mostly new and recent releases for $1 per night. Basically, anyone with a credit card can go find a recent DVD at any time of the day for just $1.
The one thing Blockbuster had going for it was allowing for people to spontaneously rent new releases. Redbox offers the same option in more locations, with better hours, and at a much better price. Why would anyone drive four miles to rent The Dark Knight for $3 to $5 during rigid store hours, when one can simply drive two miles to rent the same DVD for $1 any time of the day?
If Blockbuster management is even remotely competent, they have begun plans to install competing DVD vending machines all over the country. If Blockbuster is not in even competition with Redbox by the end of 2009, Redbox and similar companies like The New Release (www.thenewrelease.com) and DVDPlay (www.dvdplay.com) are likely to tear into Blockbuster’s market share and drive the company down the road to obsolescence—a trip that is long overdue.
12/22/2008
The Brazen Return of Blockbuster Late Fees
If you have visited a Blockbuster store in the last few days, you have probably noticed that Blockbuster has managed to eliminate the seven-day return grace period and slip late fees back onto the menu. The fees are not called late fees, but that is what they are. At Blockbuster stores, you now have the option of renting videos on a daily or weekly basis. (Although, it should be pointed out that Blockbuster thinks a week is five days.)
The daily rentals are less expensive than the weekly rentals, but both rates come with extra charges for each day the renter keeps a DVD beyond its return date. The weekly rate gives the renter a few extra days to return a DVD, but since it costs a couple of dollars more, choosing the weekly rate is effectively the same thing as choosing to prepay late fees at a discounted rate.
This most recent pricing structure is essentially a return to Blockbuster’s original pricing structure where customers rented videos for short time periods and then paid late fees when the videos were not returned by the deadline. The only significant difference is that the new structure effectively allows customers to pay their late fees in advance. The old late fee structure is one of the main things that customers used to hate about Blockbuster. It seems that this new structure also has the potential for angering customers who are not diligent about returning videos on time.
The good news is that Blockbuster’s new pricing structure is fair, in that it allows customers who wish to rent DVDs for only one night to do so at a lower price while still allowing others to pay more to keep DVDs for days. The bad news is this structure presents a significant problem for Blockbuster. A few years ago, Blockbuster spent a lot of time and money bragging about the end of late fees. If late fees were so awful a few years ago, how are they perfectly fine now? Certainly, many customers are going to see through this hypocrisy.
Another problem with this new pricing structure is that it reveals a considerable problem at Blockbuster. Blockbuster has made several major changes to their pricing and policies over the last five years, and they can just not seem to find a structure that is both attractive to customers and also profitable. Furthermore, the frequent changes at Blockbuster make rental prices and policies seem arbitrary and capricious. At some point, Blockbuster’s customers are likely to get fed up with all of the changes and seek out more stable and consistent alternatives for video rental.
The daily rentals are less expensive than the weekly rentals, but both rates come with extra charges for each day the renter keeps a DVD beyond its return date. The weekly rate gives the renter a few extra days to return a DVD, but since it costs a couple of dollars more, choosing the weekly rate is effectively the same thing as choosing to prepay late fees at a discounted rate.
This most recent pricing structure is essentially a return to Blockbuster’s original pricing structure where customers rented videos for short time periods and then paid late fees when the videos were not returned by the deadline. The only significant difference is that the new structure effectively allows customers to pay their late fees in advance. The old late fee structure is one of the main things that customers used to hate about Blockbuster. It seems that this new structure also has the potential for angering customers who are not diligent about returning videos on time.
The good news is that Blockbuster’s new pricing structure is fair, in that it allows customers who wish to rent DVDs for only one night to do so at a lower price while still allowing others to pay more to keep DVDs for days. The bad news is this structure presents a significant problem for Blockbuster. A few years ago, Blockbuster spent a lot of time and money bragging about the end of late fees. If late fees were so awful a few years ago, how are they perfectly fine now? Certainly, many customers are going to see through this hypocrisy.
Another problem with this new pricing structure is that it reveals a considerable problem at Blockbuster. Blockbuster has made several major changes to their pricing and policies over the last five years, and they can just not seem to find a structure that is both attractive to customers and also profitable. Furthermore, the frequent changes at Blockbuster make rental prices and policies seem arbitrary and capricious. At some point, Blockbuster’s customers are likely to get fed up with all of the changes and seek out more stable and consistent alternatives for video rental.
5/11/2008
Received at Store but Not in Cyberspace
When you return your Blockbuster Online DVD to a Blockbuster store, Blockbuster’s computer system is supposed to update your account immediately to record that you have returned an online DVD. Theoretically, as soon as a Blockbuster store employee scans your DVD into Blockbuster’s system, a queue slot should become available, and another DVD should ship in the near future.
The problem is, when you return a DVD at a store, you cannot always count on Blockbuster’s system to acknowledge the return. Even though you can stand at the counter at a Blockbuster store and watch a Blockbuster employee scan your returned online DVD into the system, sometimes the DVD’s status will not be updated in your queue. It would be fair to assume that, if your queue shows the DVD as not returned, one of your queue slots will remain occupied until the system is updated or the DVD is eventually scanned at a distribution center. This delay could last for days, meaning you will not be able to use your full subscriber benefits during that period.
To make certain Blockbuster’s system has recorded the return of your online DVD, check your queue after you return each online DVD to a store. If the system has recorded your return, a “Received at Store” tag should appear next to the DVD’s title in the “MOVIE(S) SHIPPED” section of your queue. If you have returned a DVD and you do not see the “Received at Store” tag, assume the system has not recorded your return. You will have to contact Blockbuster Online to resolve this problem or report it by clicking on the title’s “Report” link under the “DVD PROBLEM” column.
The problem is, when you return a DVD at a store, you cannot always count on Blockbuster’s system to acknowledge the return. Even though you can stand at the counter at a Blockbuster store and watch a Blockbuster employee scan your returned online DVD into the system, sometimes the DVD’s status will not be updated in your queue. It would be fair to assume that, if your queue shows the DVD as not returned, one of your queue slots will remain occupied until the system is updated or the DVD is eventually scanned at a distribution center. This delay could last for days, meaning you will not be able to use your full subscriber benefits during that period.
To make certain Blockbuster’s system has recorded the return of your online DVD, check your queue after you return each online DVD to a store. If the system has recorded your return, a “Received at Store” tag should appear next to the DVD’s title in the “MOVIE(S) SHIPPED” section of your queue. If you have returned a DVD and you do not see the “Received at Store” tag, assume the system has not recorded your return. You will have to contact Blockbuster Online to resolve this problem or report it by clicking on the title’s “Report” link under the “DVD PROBLEM” column.
4/07/2008
Duplicate Title Notification Is Not Reliable
Under normal circumstances, if you rent a DVD from a Blockbuster store and that same title happens to be in your queue, a duplicate title notification should pop up on your computer screen the next time you log into your Blockbuster Online account. When you get the notification, you have the opportunity to delete the title from your queue or leave it there. You also have the option of having titles automatically deleted from your queue as you rent them.
This is a nice and convenient account feature, but use it with caution. This duplicate title notification is not reliable. It seems to work most of the time, but the software often misses some rentals and can mistakenly leave a title in your queue. The risk is that you could rent a title at a Blockbuster store and then have that same title shipped to you from your online account the next day. Assuming you do not want to watch the same title twice in a week, you will want to take some precautions.
When you get home from your Blockbuster store, log into your online account. Hopefully, you will get a duplicate title notification, and you can delete the title from your queue. Otherwise, you will need to manually delete the duplicate title from your queue. If you do not make sure the title is out of your queue, there is a very high chance the duplicate title will be shipped to you before you realize the mistake.
This is a nice and convenient account feature, but use it with caution. This duplicate title notification is not reliable. It seems to work most of the time, but the software often misses some rentals and can mistakenly leave a title in your queue. The risk is that you could rent a title at a Blockbuster store and then have that same title shipped to you from your online account the next day. Assuming you do not want to watch the same title twice in a week, you will want to take some precautions.
When you get home from your Blockbuster store, log into your online account. Hopefully, you will get a duplicate title notification, and you can delete the title from your queue. Otherwise, you will need to manually delete the duplicate title from your queue. If you do not make sure the title is out of your queue, there is a very high chance the duplicate title will be shipped to you before you realize the mistake.
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