Blockbuster About to Bite Big One... Muhahaha!

[SeerSGB]

My god... I worked in a video store for four years (small chain) and the second a movie dropped in the box you took it out and checked it in! Just letting it pile up?! That's insane!

We were told by the DM to check tapes/DVDs in three times a week. I think (as in IRC) OFFFICIAL policy was to check in the drop-box three times a day (before opening, midday, after close). We had a weird DM. He was all about the late fees. He would actually tell us if a customer beat late fees, still let the fees sit on the account and let the system auto-generate a collection notice.

Now, I'm not saying that was BB OFFICIAL policy, or what he was doing was sanctioned in any way. That was just what that one DM wanted.

I'm kind of sad to see Blockbuster go, but only in the same way I'm sad to see Hollywood Video go. I grew up in a time when movie night meant going to the local supermarket, renting a VHS tape, then renting the VCR, ordering a pizza and the family watches a movie together.

Me too, buddy. The first movie that I remember renting along with the VCR was Back to the Future. The place that I rented from, Curtis Mathes, had the most beautiful older woman working behind the counter. She was probably 19 and I was much younger but she still got a lot of repeat business. Good times.

My god... I worked in a video store for four years (small chain) and the second a movie dropped in the box you took it out and checked it in! Just letting it pile up?! That's insane!

I agree. That's terrible. I worked at a video store for a looong time (a small chain that was taken over by Movie Gallery) and whenever we weren't waiting on a customer, we were checking the drop box, putting movies away and straightening them )and cleaning). After Movie Gallery bought Hollywood Video, I helped out at Hollywood one night when they were short-handed. The place was run like some of those stories up above: the drop box was only checked 2 or 3 times a day and employees were arguing with the customers about late fees to the point where the customers were leaving the store without renting anything or paying the late fees. One night was all I could take of that place. They must have had 300 movies stacked up behind the counter while the customers couldn't find any New Releases to rent.

What my BB-Manager did was go out on the used rack or even new-for-sale and just open one up and store use it and rent it out if we didn't have what the customer wanted. Then when we checked tapes in, if we had surplus she'd keep what the inventory said we should have had on-hand for rent, sale a few, then split up the rest among the employees. And I know that wasn't OFFICIAL in any way.

In fact when lose-prevention started asking questions about our high store-use rate for new movies and why inventory showed us hellishly short on some stuff, I ratted the boss out. Nothing came of it though. Just a letter from corporate saying to stop doing it, which she didn't obey.

 

[Mr Light]

Damn... now I'm starting to think that Blockbuster IS evil!

 

[Starbreaker]

All Blockbuster had to do to stay in business was charge $1 a day for movies like everybody else. Problem solved.

Err, no, because presumably they have overhead costs they have to accommodate, costs that mail-order services don't have. You can't stay in business if you charge too little to break even.

I for one would lament the loss of Blockbuster. It was good having a place to rent new titles rather than having to wait a month or longer to get them from Netflix. And no company should ever have a monopoly. Netflix is a good service overall, but they're often lacking in titles I want to see. I have a number of things in my Netflix queue that became unavailable before they rose to the top, I guess because the disks were lost or stolen by earlier renters, and not a single one of them has ever been restocked. It would be good to have alternative rental providers with different selections.

Well, not literally, but I still think people prefer to go pick up a movie, look at the back of a case, ask if it's good or not, etc. If you can get twenty people to come rent a movie for a dollar a night instead of one or two at $5 for a week, I think you've done good.

It's not like Netflix is automated either. They have people that work the call center (best customer service ever), truck drivers, guys that check DVDs, etc.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Well, not literally, but I still think people prefer to go pick up a movie, look at the back of a case, ask if it's good or not, etc. If you can get twenty people to come rent a movie for a dollar a night instead of one or two at $5 for a week, I think you've done good.

It's not like Netflix is automated either. They have people that work the call center (best customer service ever), truck drivers, guys that check DVDs, etc.

With Netflix, you can read the "back of the box", see reviews, and even play the trailer. And if it's available for streaming, watch as much of it as you like.

Netflix also does recommendations based on what you have viewed and rented.

It's fantastic.

 

[Starbreaker]

I know. Old people hate that though.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I know. Old people hate that though.

Good thing there's less and less of 'em.

 

[Data Holmes]

Whether you're a fan of BB or not, you've gotta feel for the employees. Although I have picked up several video games very cheaply at the Liquidation Sales for ones that have already gone.

As someone who currently works for BB, I thank you for the sentiment.

 

[Canadave]

Well, not literally, but I still think people prefer to go pick up a movie, look at the back of a case, ask if it's good or not, etc. If you can get twenty people to come rent a movie for a dollar a night instead of one or two at $5 for a week, I think you've done good.

It's not like Netflix is automated either. They have people that work the call center (best customer service ever), truck drivers, guys that check DVDs, etc.

With Netflix, you can read the "back of the box", see reviews, and even play the trailer. And if it's available for streaming, watch as much of it as you like.

Netflix also does recommendations based on what you have viewed and rented.

It's fantastic.

You know what, though? I'm 23, and I much prefer being able to go into a store, and wander around for twenty minutes, picking up movies and putting them back down, before eventually working out what I want to watch that night. That's impossible to do with online rentals, sadly, which is why (as I mentioned upthread) I'll staunchly support my local video rental place for as long as I can.

 

[Amaris]

Well, not literally, but I still think people prefer to go pick up a movie, look at the back of a case, ask if it's good or not, etc. If you can get twenty people to come rent a movie for a dollar a night instead of one or two at $5 for a week, I think you've done good.

It's not like Netflix is automated either. They have people that work the call center (best customer service ever), truck drivers, guys that check DVDs, etc.

With Netflix, you can read the "back of the box", see reviews, and even play the trailer. And if it's available for streaming, watch as much of it as you like.

Netflix also does recommendations based on what you have viewed and rented.

It's fantastic.

You know what, though? I'm 23, and I much prefer being able to go into a store, and wander around for twenty minutes, picking up movies and putting them back down, before eventually working out what I want to watch that night. That's impossible to do with online rentals, sadly, which is why (as I mentioned upthread) I'll staunchly support my local video rental place for as long as I can.

I'm that way with books and bookstores. I know I can get it online cheap or even instantly, but sometimes, I just like to browse through physical books in a bookstore, and I'm only 30.

 

[Canadave]

With Netflix, you can read the "back of the box", see reviews, and even play the trailer. And if it's available for streaming, watch as much of it as you like.

Netflix also does recommendations based on what you have viewed and rented.

It's fantastic.

You know what, though? I'm 23, and I much prefer being able to go into a store, and wander around for twenty minutes, picking up movies and putting them back down, before eventually working out what I want to watch that night. That's impossible to do with online rentals, sadly, which is why (as I mentioned upthread) I'll staunchly support my local video rental place for as long as I can.

I'm that way with books and bookstores. I know I can get it online cheap or even instantly, but sometimes, I just like to browse through physical books in a bookstore, and I'm only 30.

Yeah, I think being able to pick something up and look at it helps me decide. I generally only order stuff online when I know exactly what I want in advance.

 

[Goliath]

^It's all part of the "shopping" experience.

I love being able to buy stuff online. But there's a serendipity factor to actual, physical shopping that online retailers have not yet been able to duplicate.

 

[Terengo]

The few people I know who still used Blockbuster complained of being charged late fees even when they weren't late, or being charged for an entire dvd when only late one day. Apparently, this was a common complaint where I used to live, and the bad word of mouth killed the business.

I've hated Blockbuster for years, ever since they charged me for a video that was about a week late and then refused to remove the charge when I brought the item back (in perfect working condition). I work in a library, and if we tried that kind of sh*t with our patrons, we'd be run out of town.

 

[cultcross]

Skipped video stores entirely, never belonged to one IRL, the sort of prices Blockbuster charge, Amazon marketplace could get you the film to own for the same price if it wasn't brand new. First time I rented a movie was online when I joined LoveFilm last year. Nothing but good things to say about them, really.

 

[Scout101]

I've hated Blockbuster for years, ever since they charged me for a video that was about a week late and then refused to remove the charge when I brought the item back (in perfect working condition). I work in a library, and if we tried that kind of sh*t with our patrons, we'd be run out of town.

Plenty of reasons to hate stupid businesses, but when it's YOUR fault, that's not a good one. Movie was a week late, your fault. They followed their stated policy for late movies, which you were told about upfront. Reason they charge that is because they can't rent it to someone else while YOU still have it, so they are losing money. Why would they remove the late charge, it was still late? Bringing it back eventually doesn't let them rent it that missing week.

And libraries do EXACTLY the same thing, just different prices. Library late fees are a fairly old practice, it's just a smaller dollar amount. Free to rent, usually, although technically supported by my taxes, so I still pay, but the late fee is incentive to return it so someone else can borrow it.

Why is lack of responsibility on your part Blockbuster's fault?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Didn't go to Blockbuster for years when they sent me a letter from a collection agency over a late fee. I totally agree it's my fault but every place I've ever gone just has you pay it when you get your next movies. I'm talking about a one day late fee on two movies not massive abuse of the system. That seriously was like 10 years of business they lost. Even sent a nasty letter which is rare for me.

However, that said being one of the last survivor of video stores around here I sucked it up and rejoined one a while back. I got one of those flat fee deals where you can rent whatever you want for as long as you want two at a time (DVD, games, Blu-Ray). I do enjoy perusing the shelves and talking to the guys there who I've come to know over time about what I watched and how I enjoyed it and their opinions and recommendations. I think I'd miss that going with Netflix exclusively.