Posts about Blockbuster
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—>Chicago Now reports an Illinois woman is suing Blockbuster for sexual harassment because her manager allegedly twice demanded she show him her breasts in order to be considered for a promotion. He also demanded she sit on his lap for computer training. More »
—>Blockbuster is apparently "celebrating the end of late fees" with... late fees! More »
—>Back in the day there used to be these things called VHS tapes. They used to cost a lot of money — so there were these places you could go to rent them. The last surviving relic of this bygone era, Blockbuster Video (also known as the company that was almost stupid enough to buy Circuit City), announced in a regulatory filing today that it plans to close over 800 stores by the end of next year. This is nearly twice the number they previously announced. More »
—>Brian signed up for Blockbuster Total Access, which lets you rent movies by mail and return them in store. More »
—>Looking for a way to stop the hemorrhaging, Blockbuster is offering a clever little promotion to lure mega-movie geeks back into its dusty aisles for one more fling. The Summer Escape Pass offers all-you-can watch for $10 a week. More »
—>Valerie just wants to cancel her Blockbuster Online subscription. They tell her to click... but there's nothing there. More »
—>Robert's recent experience with his local Blockbuster just underscores how ill-equipped the rental chain is to compete against Netflix and new-star-on-the-block Redbox. Whether Robert has caught them deliberately throttling his account, or he's just the victim of a poorly implemented system, it's not the kind of customer experience you should have to settle for anymore. More »
—>What do you do when the foundation to your business is crumbling and bankrupcty lurks like the Grim Reaper just outside your drop box? If you're Blockbuster, apparently you charge customers more at the register than what's displayed on the product, at least in California. More »
If we owned a Blockbuster franchise, we'd seriously think about just renting out the space to a bunch of Redbox kiosks. Blockbuster reported a 42% drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2009, which CEO Jim Keyes blamed on people going out to watch movies at theaters instead. Regarding the Redbox threat, Keyes said they hope to have 3,000 kiosks functioning by the end of the year. Redbox, on the other hand, has about 12,000. [Reuters] More »
—>With its ubiquitous DVD rental kiosks, Redbox has been known to toy with our emotions. The machines have taken up all the choice grocery store spots where your favorite stale gumball machines used to sit. And company execs taunted us by dreaming up that awesome Free Movie Mondays promotion only to vow to take it away by the end of the summer. More »
—>PC Mag has assembled a list of instructions on how to wipe your account from a long list of websites, including Classmates.com (you'll have to call), Windows Live ID (it's complicated), and Friendster (ha ha ha). In many cases, canceling is as straightforward as clicking a link and authorizing the cancellation, but it's nice to see all the phone numbers and tips collected in one spot. More »
—>Blockbuster's stock just dropped 79% this afternoon after Bloomberg published a story that said the company hired the firm Kirkland & Ellis "to evaluate restructuring options, including a possible pre-packaged bankruptcy." Blockbuster says they've only hired the firm for "refinancing and capital raising initiatives," and that they do not intend to file for bankruptcy. More »
—>Blockbuster's Total Access subscription service—their bid for relevance in the Netflix era—used to ship the next movie in your queue as soon as you dropped it off at a Blockbuster store in exchange for a free rental. Now the next movie won't ship until you return that free store rental—in other words, now it will count as the next movie in your queue. Of course, in Blockbuster marketing-speak, that's considered a great new benefit. More »
—>HackingNetflix has sent word that Blockbuster will be testing video game rentals through their Netflix-variant "TotalAccess". More »
—>Reuters says that Blockbuster will begin offering 99 cent rentals for the first time ever, according to CEO Jim Keyes. The details of which movies will be 99 cents have not been announced, but Keyes did say that the price point would include "thousands of DVDs, including many classic older movies." More »
Something we noticed while looking up info on Blockbuster.com today: the $25 cash back promo they've got going with PayPal is still being promoted on the front page of their site, but the fine print says it expired on August 31st. You probably shouldn't take advantage of that "offer" until Blockbuster clears up the expiration question. More »
—>Blockbuster debited Anthony's PayPal account two days in a row for the same monthly plan. PayPal won't help—they say it's between Blockbuster and Anthony, offering further proof that PayPal is a great service only as long as nothing goes wrong. More »
—>Blockbuster has finished snooping around Circuit City's medicine cabinet and the verdict is in: Blockbuster has changed its mind. More »
—>Netflix announced today that they will not be removing the beloved profiles function that let users set up separate movie queues. Hooray! Speaking from personal experience, when two people share one netflix account, having two queues is essential to maintaining domestic tranquility. Looks like they listened to the 1270 people who left comments on the blog post announcing the feature's removal. An email to subscribers also thanked them for the customer emails and calls that advocated for keeping the profiles. The news was released on the Netflix community blog by one of the Netflix website production managers. Full announcement, inside... More »
—>Netlfix announced yesterday that they'll be eliminating the ability to set up separate queues or "profiles" within one account. Some customers, like reader Stephen are hopping mad about it. More »
—>At their shareholders meeting Wednesday, Blockbuster announced that they would soon begin testing a "ATM"-style machine that consumers could use to download movies "on the go." More »
—>For every debit or credit card transaction at Blockbuster, the company will now debit $1 to "test" your card. If the transaction goes through, they'll then debit the full amount of your purchase. Blockbuster tells us your dollar will be returned in 3-10 business days. Reader Jason says he rented a game on Thursday and hasn't gotten the dollar Blockbuster borrowed back yet. Will he get it before the 10 days is up? More »
—>Before the days of Netflix and the internet there was the "video store." According to The Onion, Blockbuster was "a specialty shop where customers would exchange money for the short term use of videos in an archaic system called "renting." Now we can visit the Blockbuster Living Museum to relive those days of yore. Watch The Onion video, inside... More »
—>Blockbuster has recently drawn the ire of movie enthusiasts by inking "exclusive" rental deals with the likes of IFC. The upshot of this deal is that Blockbuster will retain the exclusive physical rental distribution rights for IFC titles for three years after each street date. Why is this important? Because Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes wants to buy Circuit City for the following reason: More »
—>Facebook's Beacon has finally resulted in a lawsuit. A Texas woman has sued Blockbuster for participating in Beacon, claiming that "Blockbuster violated the federal Videotape Privacy Protection Act by sharing information about her movie rentals and sales with Facebook without first obtaining her written consent," says MediaPost. More »
—>Andrew is having some trouble with Blockbuster: the 360 and Wii games he rented were unplayable, and the store manager refused to refund his debit card or apply the cost of the unused rentals to a purchase, saying "It's not store policy." She even tried to upsell Anrew to their Game Plan, saying, "Five bucks additional wouldn't have killed you, with what you spent on the games previously." What? He finally convinced her to credit his debit account—"however, she terminated my ability to rent games from the store" as a consequence. Andrew, don't you understand? Blockbuster needs that money if they're ever going to buy Circuit City. Here's Andrew's story: More »
Blockbuster has offered to buy Circuit City for a little over $1 billion, with the goal of creating "a chain that could sell portable devices and entertainment for them, much like Apple Inc.'s stores." [Chicago Tribune] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!) More »
—>Hacking Netflix reports that many Blockbuster locations don't use a centralized network to keep tabs on Total Access usage. The tip was originally reported by Kevin Tostado, who took down his post after a ball-busting conversation with Blockbuster in which they asked him to cease and desist. Fortunately, Google's marvelously efficient spiders reached Kevin's site before Blockbuster and preserved the post. More »
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Long time reader, first time tipper. I'm sure you've heard plenty about Blockbuster and their shady Total Access dealings, but I thought I'd send along my experience with them. More »
—>IFC has inked a "devilish" multi-year exclusive distribution deal with Blockbuster, says Chicago Sun-Times blogger and editor of RogerEbert.com, Jim Emerson. More »
—>Reader and commenter Salviati writes in to share his personal experience with Blockbuster and his theory for why they will never survive fierce competition from Netflix and the new Apple video rentals. More »
Looks like in addition to bad service Blockbuster wants another 2 bucks per customer who were grandfathered in by the old pricing system. More »
—>I have been a long time reader of consumerist, and hoped I would never have to send in anything to you guys. Leave it to Blockbuster to force me to do this. More »
—>We're ready to call Netflix the winner of this battle of the video war, based on Blockbusters remarkably sad third quarter numbers and the flood of pissed off emails we've been getting from Blockbuster's (former) customers. More »
—>Can someone tell us what the hell is going on with Blockbuster? Some readers are writing in saying that they're being allowed to keep their plan but are warned that if they change it they'll be kicked off and charged more. Other readers are saying that their plan has been completely canceled and they have to choose another one. Still other people are on the same plan but now are not receiving coupons. We've gotten about 20 emails about this issue, but are at a loss to understand it. More »
—>A Blockbuster manager responded to reader Sarah's refusal to sign up for Blockbuster's rewards program by declaring: "Fucking customers, I'm tired of everyone not listening when they don't even know what they're talking about." Sarah had politely declined to enroll in the program several times before the outburst. More »
—>Netflix is investing in superior customer service to differentiate themselves from Blockbuster as the two rental giants remain locked in a vicious price war. The company has completely shunned email-based support, instead relying on 200 friendly Oregonians to answer calls around the clock. Netflix CSRs, unlike most, are not given target call durations, and are encouraged to "err on the side of generosity" when dispensing compensation. They have one shockingly simple goal: satisfy the customer. More »
—>Netflix has dropped the price of their 3 movie at a time service... again, says Consumerist's sister site Gizmodo. We don't really know what else to say about it because it was only a few weeks ago that we posted the last Netflix price-cut. More »
—>This Blockbuster coupon cannot be redeemed for free rentals, soda, or popcorn. It is a waste of toner and time. From Snopes: More »
—>Blockbuster has purchased Movielink, an ailing movie download service cobbled together by film studios to combat online piracy. The deal will give Blockbuster access to movies from Sony, Universal, Paramount, MGM, and Warner Brothers. Netflix's download service, by contrast, offers a limited selection of mostly older movies. The deal is the latest salvo fired in the consumer-friendly war of the movie rental services. No word yet on how long hackers might take to crack the new download service. More »
—>Blockbuster would like you to know that you are a valued customer... and that you have until yesterday to change your plan before the new pricing goes into effect. More »
—>The consumer-friendly price war between Netflix and Blockbuster rages on this week as Netflix cuts the price of its two most popular subscription plans by $1. The cost of Netflix's 3-DVD plan will drop to $16.99, while the 1-DVD plan will fall to $8.99. The price drops will make Netflix plans $1 cheaper than comparable Blockbuster plans featuring Total Access. Both retailers slashed the price of their 2-DVD options last month to $13.99. The latest move from Netflix is meant to drain much-needed cash from Blockbuster. From the Chicago Tribune:
Stepping up its attack on Netflix also has been hurting Blockbuster, which has had to spend more heavily on DVDs to ensure sure its stores have enough discs to keep up with the additional demand from its roughly 3 million online subscribers. The company lost $49 million in the first quarter. More »
—>Netflix has reduced the cost of its 2-DVD plan by $1 to $13.99, matching a move made by Blockbuster earlier this month. Blockbuster had expected to be dancing triumphantly atop the battered and bankrupt corpse of its rival by now, but Netflix's staying power is causing Blockbuster to re-think its strategy. By the end of the year, Blockbuster will raise the price of its Total Access service, which allows subscribers access to its retail locations.
The company said in the filing that it planned to modify its popular Total Access plan before the end of the year to "strike the appropriate balance between continued subscriber growth and enhanced profitability."Netflix's email to subscribers, after the jump: More »
—>The AP is reporting that Blockbuster will be closing 282 stores nationwide and will beef up spending on its online DVD rental service in order to compete with industry-leader Netflix. From the AP:
"Traffic is just not what it used to be when Blockbuster was the big rooster in the hen house," said Andy Cross, senior analyst with The Motley Fool. More »
—>Poor Tinky. All he wanted was for Blockbuster to send him volume two of the Japanese anime Fushingi Yuugi. He ordered the DVD three times, but Blockbuster will only send a Chinese bootleg of Tenchi in Tokyo.
Each time, it's been marked in the queue as the wrong disc and sent back. The second time, I sent an email and received a generic response. Today, the third time we've received the same wrong disc, I placed notes on the disc's sleeve and the disc itself, hoping that will get someone's attention [not likely!].If regular customer service won't help fight Chinese bootleggers, Tinky should summon executive customer service in his quest to liberate Fushingi Yuugi. Contact information for Blockbuster Chairman of the Board and CEO John Antioco, after the jump... More »
—>Blockbuster has announced its decision to exclusively rent Sony Blu-Ray DVDs, much to the dismay of HD DVD owners. According to the AP, the decision comes following a test of both formats at 250 stores. Blockbuster found that consumers were choosing Blu-ray over 70% of the time. More »
—>Blockbuster may soon levy a $4-$6 surcharge for Total Access. By allowing DVDs to be exchanged as free in-store rentals, Total Access dangles a potential workout before couch-potatoes who would otherwise return DVDs exclusively by mail. Blockbuster is quietly circulating a survey to gauge potential outrage to a price hike.
One of the ideas is to offer Mail-Only plans, which would allow members to receive and return DVDs only by mail, without the option to return them at a Blockbuster store and exchange them for free in-store DVDs. More »
The woman I spoke to said that Blockbuster's corporate policy is that you should be able to sign up for just a membership, with no fee and no requirement to sign up for Blockbuster Online. She said that franchise stores have the choice to set their own policies, but that all corporate-owned stores should be following that rule. She also confirmed that my local store is corporate-owned, not a franchise, and should therefore be following the rules. More »
The guy at the counter told me that I had to show a driver's license and major credit card (perfectly reasonable), pay a $10 dollar fee (a bit much, but acceptable) and sign up for their Netflix ripoff, Blockbuster Online. Wait, what? I told him that I didn't want to sign up for Blockbuster Online, and he refused to let me start a membership without signing up. And of course I couldn't rent movies without a membership, so I was forced to leave without my movies. More »
—>The New York Times is reporting that Comcast will begin testing a new video on demand service in two cities, Pittsburgh and Denver. Unlike traditional video on-demand that shows movies 30- to 45-days after their release date on DVD, this service will allow movies to be ordered the same date as the DVD release. This puts video on-demand in direct competition with sales and rentals. Each on-demand rental will cost $4, which compares with DVD rental prices. Uh-oh, Blockbuster. Forget the beginning of the end, this is the end of the end. —MEGHANN MARCO More »
The 2006 Deloitte report on gift cards is out, and it's official. Gift cards are the single most popular gift this holiday season. But are they a good buy? Sort of. It seems that due to consumer pressure, and FTC pressure, stores are improving their customer service/disclosure of fees when it comes to gift cards. But that doesn't meant there aren't still a lot of problems. The Montgomery County, Maryland, Office of Consumer Protection which assesses dozens of cards annually, has released their 2006 report. The report evaluates 40 different gift cards, looking for things like whether or not the card can be replaced if lost or stolen, whether the cards have an expiration date, and whether fees are assessed to the card's balance. Basically, you want to avoid the following cards: More »
Blockbuster will give you a free online rental for each Netflix envelope flap you bring into a store. You must have a Blockbuster membership to qualify. The promotions lasts until Dec. 21. It's an effort to get Netflix subscribers to sign up for Blockbuster's Total Access Online service. More »
—>Looks like the 'No Late Fees' policy isn't working out for all Blockbusters, as franchised stores in Arkansas are doing away with the program. While not all Blockbusters chose to participate in the program in the first place, if you live in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, or Tennessee, be sure to ask your local store if they are still doing the 'No Late Fees' program. More »
