You Aren't Fooling Us, Blockbuster!
Be prepared to switch to Netflix, Blockbuster members!
Back in 2004, Blockbuster announced that they were doing away with late fees for the convenience of their customers. Now, after suffering a 17% decrease in revenue due to the change, Blockbuster is bringing them back - but calling them something else!
As of Monday, Blockbuster will cut the rental period of movies from seven to five and charge people $1-per-day late-fee charged for each additional day for up to 10 days. A spokesperson for the company explain:
"If a customer is keeping a release out past the initial rental agreement, they are keeping that title away from somebody else. This is not a late fee. This is an additional daily rate."
Call it by any other name, but it is still just as douchey!
Meanwhile, Netflix continues to offer no late fees and welcomes wrong Blockbuster patrons with open arms!
Tags: blockbuster, scam
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Why the hell would anybody want to rent out a movie when you can just order it on pay per view or buy it through iTunes?
really, they did away with the no late fees 6 months ago in canada. now 2 nights are 3.99 and a buck a day if late. you still have the option ofno late fees if you pay 5.99.
People still go to blockbuster?? wow…
YES! Bring on the Blockbuster hate. I work for this shiteous company and it just needs to die already. Trust me, it treats its employees as badly as its customers.
oh please, blockbuster has a whole set of options for their customers if this one doesnt work for them. if people can't take responsibility for their choices for getting a rental back in on time, they have their own issues and probably shouldn't be renting in the first place.
and yes, they treat their employees like shit, and pretty much have no idea what they're doing.
blockbuster is LAME. i can't believe they are still in business. hope they go down hard. once their clients move over to netflix they'll see they wasted their time with blockbuster.
I work at Blockbuster and we still have late fees on two-day rentals but thats so more people can rent them. But people still rent out of blockbuster cause they do alot of deals now of days.
And to the person who hates where they work, My blockbuster is great and treats employees pretty awesome. But were franchise, so if Blockbuster ends we'll stay open and just change our name.
I've been a loyal Netflix user for years but now we're being hit with this dumb ass 28 day rule where Warner Brothers movies won't be available from Netflix for 28 days. Where the wild things are isn't available until the 30th when it came out today. Where's the article about that BS???
This sounds like a plug for NetFlix to me! I agree with lovethebbs, people have options…use them. NetFlix is a bigger pain in the ass to me then BB. But I personally watch most movies online or OnDemand. I work there prior to the sale to Viacom and it was a great company and very active in the community.
I'm sticking with blockbuster (for now). I have a 19.99 plan with unlimited movie rentals per month (3 at a time) and 5 free in store rentals (1.99 after 5) and no late fees. I just won't get another movie till I return it.
Or you could just return your dvd on time. Just a thought…
I have been a loyal Netflix customer for years and since then, I am proud to say, I have not set foot in a Blockbuster!
It boggles my mind everytime someone argues with me on this. Why did the system change? Because of all the asshole who decided that "no late fees" meant they could keep the movie as long as they want. How hard is it to rent a movie, watch it and return it? Dont you have you return your movies to Netflix in order to get a new one? So leaving it sitting on the coffee table for weeks isnt going to magically turn it into a new movie, it requires some effort on the customers part. Blockbuster makes it's money by renting movies out. Ergo, customers keep movies forever just because "they can"= it's not on the shelf to rent to someone else = you SHOULD be charged extra at a certain point for losing them profit due to your lazy ass not wanting to walk 3 blocks to return a movie. The people who are complaining and "leaving" for netflix are the same assholes who caused the problem in the first place.
didn't blockbuster already have this rule for a few months not…and anyway i like picking my movies immediately netflix is cool too if you just want to wait, i do both.
Does anyone even rent movies anymore? I'm not very tech savy and I havn't rented a movie in ages. You don't need to leave your house to do it anymore. These places are going the way of the dinosaur anyhow, let them jack up prices. It's just going to make them die out that much quicker!
Netflix, here I come.
WOW Perez, you are such a douche, i thought this was a "Celebrity Gossip" site(even though you get all your "gossip" from "OhNoTheyDidn't"…but now youre bashing Blockbuster?? you're pathetic…bring your shit back on time you fat lazy ass! is netflix paying you to plug their shit now??
NETFLIX ROCKS!
Re: xhellokitty77x – oh my god, bless your sweet little heart. are you getting this upset because perez was mean to a CORPORATION? is blockbuster your babydaddy or something? why are you so emotionally attached to blockbuster that you get this mad when somebody says something about them? try forming relationships with people instead of giant, soulless corporations. i think you'll find your life is a lot richer if you do.
It's been like this for the past year…
Re: tigrrrlilly – Re: tigrrrlilly – so let me get this straight, because I think Perez is a fat lazy douchebag and that he's lame because he has nothing else better to do than bitch about blockbuster on his "celebrity gossip" website, i have no relationships?? yeah that makes sense…
just download movies for free off the internet like the rest of us
I have managed a Blockbuster for over 12 years and I know the company, for all you haters out there, GET OVER IT. The raving lunatics are the ones who rent and think they have the right to keep the movies for the price of a rental. The late fees are a just a way of getting people to get off their lazy asses and bring back what does not belong to them. You would not believe the lies people come up with so that they do not have to pay. And as for you Mr. Hilton you can have your Netflix…………….we do not need you.
Actually, Netflix doesnt have a physical store you can go into to rent something, but the mail in rental system blockbuster has thats like Netflix DOES NOT have a return policy, just like Netflix. So one might say Blockbuster has the upper hand since you can keep the mail out dvd's for as long as you want, like Netflix, BUT then you can send it back, and go to the store that day and get a movie while you wait for your next movie by mail. This is the same price, but you get more flexibility and more DVD's. Who wants to wait around for the next movie to come by mail, when you can do that ANDDDD go pick it up that night if it hasn't come yet!? Just get your lazy ass back to the store and return it!
wow. thanks for this info perez! i was actually just going to switch to blockbuster from netflix because of all the constant long wait times they have on new releases. seriously, my top 15 movies on my netflix list are on a short to very long wait, and that's just crap. i'm also noticing with netflix now that there are some new releases that they are not getting for a month after they are released on dvd. what the hell is up with that? i guess there are negatives to both, but i DEFINITELY wouldn't want to get trapped into paying more. lame.
Blockbuster already switched back to late charges with that brilliant cover story here in Canada over a year ago…
Check out your local library, many of them have DVD's that you can check out for free.
I'll wait for on demand PPV before I rent….I suck at returning movies…so does my hubby. No Netflix OR Blockbuster for me. TY.
Blockbuster never did away with late fees. You've obviously never rented from Blockbuster. If you keep a release after the rental period, they send a bill for the full (new) cost of the DVD or game. If you decide to keep it, then you can pay for the DVD. If you decide to return it, they remove the charge, but then charge you a restocking fee.
i swear to bob blockbuster ALSO HAS the by mail option which also doesnt have due dates.. blockbuster also has vending machines and it also has dowloads where u can dowloads the new releases.. soo it isnt just about the stores with blockbusters .. you have options with blockbuster
When BB did away with late fees they gave a grace period of 10 extra days per movie for free..that's 10 extra DAYS FOR FREE and even if you kept it past that 10 extra days and it sold to you if your brought it back before 10 more extra days you got all your money back except for $1.31 cents restocking fee, so that meant you had the movie for 20 extra days for an extra $1.31 The only problem was everyone now kept all the movies for those 27 days and no one else could rent them so us customers lost out. I'd rather go into a store and immediately get my movie then wait for the mail and with these new rates maybe I will be able too. I've stood in line many a time and heard complaints about having to pay a $1.31 for 20 extra days and the last few days I've heard "I'm going to Netflix" or "That's why you are closing", but what I don't understand is why can't people bring their movies back in 5 days? I always did! I like my BB and the employees are helpful at my location…I understand some always aren't helpful and I've run into a few of those, but lately it's been cool…
What's douchey about it? Oh yeah, I forgot in America if you buy a house you can't afford, eat too many cheeseburgers so you can't fit in an airplane seat, or keep a rented video all week, you must be a VICTIM.
Most of the Nation may not and probably will not use Netflix. In our myopic view this scenario is ridiculous without understanding that most don't read perez or look to the internet for advertising. It seems so simple but as this carefully sheltered blog has showed us before, it really is not that simple. While I don't agree with late fees (as most despise and rightfully so), the vast majority of our great nation still rely on bbuster for their movie rentals. I hope someday all will convert to the beauty that is netflix but let's not insult the mass that still rely on bbuster for that escape. And let's not forget about the jobs lost if bbuster goes under. Sorry for the diatribe.
they shouldve closed back in 95
seriously who goes there?
Been years since I've been to Blockbuster.
There is something better than Netflicks. It's www.redbox.com. They only charge $1 a day on movies. Its those red machines in stores. Check out the website.
You have until 9pm to return the movie and my red box is only 2 blocks away.
I really like the service and wanted to share it with you all
Blockbuster can suck my dick. I've had nothing but bad experiences with them. They'll called and harrass you if a movie is ONE day late. And the whole no late fees thing is BS and it always has been. And when that whole thing first started, you couldn't get a straight answer from any of the employees regarding how long you get to keep the movie and if you really will be charged some kind of fee. AND there policies are different from store to store. UGH! I got netflix about a year ago and haven't looked back.
A lot of people are going to identify it as late fees, call it whatever, but what they don't realize is that redbox charges people 1 dollar a day, and even with a 5 day rental period, people still fail to bring em back on time!!! so i don't get why everyone is complaining…seriously, they're late up to 20 days and yet if they went ahead and rented movies from precious redbox, they won't get a refund because there is NO customer service!!! it's practically a robot!!
Re: lovethebbs – YES THEY DO. I work at blockbuster and I couldn't agree more.
I work for BBV and if you cant watch a 2 hour movie in 6 days you have problems. If you can't get in back in time your problem. You should be charged for being lazy! As for you netflix people…I bet Netflix never told you that they can't get Warner Brothers movies for the first 6 weeks out. So while my customers are enjoying the Hangover your customers are waiting for the postman. I happen to enjoy working for the company!
Re: evetseel – THANK YOU! im right there with you!
Fuck Blockbuster. Fuck 'em, fuck 'em, fuck 'em. I gave them so much business… crazy business… and after I hadn't gone in a couple weeks they actually sent me a collection notice for a whopping $3.00 in late fees. I would have paid it when I came in next as always. But… fuck 'em. I haven't gone back since. Really smart customer friendly service guys. Die, die, die, Blockbuster. Die.
OH NO NOT THE LATE FEE!
Why not just do the responsible thing and turn the DVD in on time?
The late fee was started because people had no incentive to turn their VCR tapes in on time. So other customers that wanted to watch that movie could not because someone else continually had it. They added a late fee, and suddenly VCR tapes started coming in on time like they should.
The only money Block Buster was making was from lazy, caring only for themselves, crybabies.
I say let them charge.
Re: evetseel – AMEN!
Basically Perez is saying "HOW DARE THEY EXPECT ME TO TAKE BACK SOMETHING TO THEM THAT I PROMISED I WOULD IN THE AGREEMENT?!?! ON TOP OF THAT, HOW DAER THEY CHARGE ME LATE FEES!
Basically if the movies aren't in, blockbuster CAN'T rent them out to other people, therefore are losing money when people don't return them on time. BB compensates for that by charging late fees. BB isn't FORCING these fees on anyone. Just people too lazy to turn their DVDs in on time, making others angry because they can't rent the movie they want, and therefore causing BB to lose sales.
Kids today always want something for nothing at the expense of others.
For those of you who have awesome tv's and blu-ray players, good luck getting new releases on Netflix in blu-ray. I've had movies in my queue for over a month on "very long wait" so I went to Blockbuster and BAM…a dozen copies on the shelf. On Demand is great to but they also can take awhile getting certain movies, especially the big ones.
The point is Blockbuster has something going on that Netflix and PPV don't and that's same day as retail release availability on blu-ray and video game rentals.
Oh, and no matter what Blockbuster does, someone is going to complain. "Why didn't you guys call and tell me my movies were late?" "Why are you asking me to update my phone number…I don't want you guys calling me!" "How come I have to pay late fees?" "Why don't you have any more copies of this brand new release even though it's a saturday night and you don't have late fees?"
Re: KellyM_in_CA – You are an idiot.
Re: solomogwai – If you got a letter from collections you hadnt gone in at least 3 months buddy. Blockbuster doesnt waste it's money having letters sent out unless theyre pretty sure you've forgotten that you owe them money or theyre fairly convinced you're not gonna come back on your own. And i bet you marched right into the store and ripped into the poor employees there who had nothing to do with it, didnt you?
MOST of us there care about our customers, and understand that without them we have no jobs, so we do everything within our power to help them out, unfortunately there are too many assholes out there who assume that every CSR is personally responsible for all of their problems are go out of their way to ruin our day. And most of us the customers who say that they were treated badly really mean that whatever employee pissed them off wouldnt magically solve their problem for them. Didnt return a movie for 4 months and omg you have to pay for it? What a bunch of assholes that wont just ignore the balance and let you rent another movie to keep forever!
No, you know what's douchey? PEOPLE WHO DON'T RETURN THE MOVIES THEY RENTED.
I DONE WITH BALL BUSTERS GLAD YOU MENTIONED IT HERE. They started these new rules last year and have seriously screwed us everytime we rented. They even even LOST 2 dvds I returned on two different occasions, then CHARGED ME over $30. ea, but I could turn around and buy it on preowned for 9.99 and 14.99. I am 100% sure the movies were returned, Id swear on anything. THEY ARE JUST DOUCHE BAGS my family is done with BALL BUSTERS, we quit in JAN. I see bankruptcy for (BALL) BLOCK BUSTER no doubt!!!
They've already done something similiar here in Canada awhile ago, lol! But in all honesty, a lot of people were abusing the "no-late fee" deal. I knew people who would keep newly released dvds for weeks! Which is really unfair to the general public. So am I upset over this? No, not one bit. But then again I don't really rent movies frequently and usually prefer to buy them instead.
Netflix is pretty much amazing. WAY better
I work for Blockbuster and personally I think trying to call Late Fees different names is stupid, but I would like to keep my job and job security comes from people coming back and getting as many movies as possible. For that to happen we need movies in the store so if some asshole decides that he/she wants to keep the movie for 3 weeks we can't make money unless we charge that idiot for thinking he owns the movie. And no they weren't 7 day rentals technically, you pay for 5 days and you got a 4 day grace period on the 10th day is when you would be charged for it. We make more off of the "late fees, additional daily fee, additional daily rate" whatever it's called since people like to keep the movies like they can buy a BRAND NEW movie for only $3. And if you like to keep your movies for more than 5 days than you might as well buy the fucking thing. If I can watch my movies in 5 days between working and have an infant than any moron that comes in can manage to or just wait till you can MANAGE to find time to watch it. It's common since, Blockbuster is a company, companies are open for the purpose of making money so it makes since for us to make it off peoples laziness. And Netflix DOES NOT hurt our feelings. We have many options that give everyone an option that fits their life, you might want to do some research on a companies decision before you go off on a tangent thinking you know what the fuck you're talking about. =)
Re: tigrrrlilly – Listen GENIUS when you make good with the company you work for that means that you'll get somewhere which means you'll have a job and you'll get to stay out of the unemployment line and actually get to hold your head up saying that you work for a living without government assistance! And as far as your dumbass reason for making friends with people, why don't you ask your friends to pay your bills and tell me how far that gets you!
Re: poorlittlerichiegirl – EVERYONE goes to BB! From police officers to retired teachers. Some people do enjoy some human interaction instead of clicking on a computer screen. Get your head out of your ass and your ass off your computer chair and join the world
Re: solomogwai – Are you serious? All over $3. Apparently if you were hurting for $3 than you weren't giving them "mad business" you cheap fuck!
Re: littlemissashley – honey, i have no idea why you are so upset because we don't all love blockbuster like you do. i think you need some help. you're getting all wound up over nothing really, just calm down. smoke a bowl or something, just relax. it's just a job, buddy. no big deal, ok.
I STILL GO TO BLOCKBUSTERS BITCHES!!!!! LOL just kidding. I have a Net Flick like set up, but I like going to the store so I can get my movies faster. The people at my Blockbuster are super cool and really nice and helpful. And if the online people fuck up, they immediatly send my 3 coupons for free movies by e-mail.
NETFLIX FUCKIN RULES THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok…. ha ha… I have never, ever been on this site before… First of all I would like to say that a lot of companies are suffering from a huge decrease in revenue due to the current economy. While it's true that Blockbuster did do away with late fees in 2004 the new and IMPROVED rental plan is actually great. The daily rental fee plan has ACTUALLY been in affect at several stores throughout the nation for almost an entire year now… so this isn't really any "NEW" news. The customer's actually really love the plan. The ONLY difference is if you decide that you need to keep the rental longer than you had originally intended, you can keep it another day for a buck, as opposed to HOLLYWOOD VIDEO where on the sixth day the computer automatically checks the rental back out to you for another $4.91 or however much you had initally paid for that movie. Even if you bring it back on the 6th day.
There is actually a method to the madness. Have you ever been to a video store that didn't have the rental that you were looking for because it was all checked out?? Well, imagine if there was no initiative to bring back your movie if you went over your rental term on every movie… yea.. that's great for you as an individual… if you got in that video store before they ran out of copies… but if you didn't.. then you would have to wait until that customer decided to bring back that movie, because there was no reason for them to bring it back on time. The dollar a day is not only a convenience for the customer should they NEED to keep it an additional day… but also an initiative to bring that movie back for customers that want to see it too. I mean really, do you need to keep a movie for 5 days before you decide to watch it and bring it back?? Ok, well, if you do that's ok.. but imagine if everyone did that. The 7 days with several days grace period meant that every customer could rent out however many movies for up to about 10 days… unless there are super stores with an insane amount of inventory(which is a pointless in this economy) how do you expect to satisfy everyone??
Re: littlemissashley – Obviously you weren't trained very well. It's an unfortunate thing to have someone on staff that doesn't really understand what Blockbuster tries to do for it's customers.
Re: Tweedledork – I love you
While on the choose your terms method that many Blockbuster stores are switching to now, you can basically have your cake and eat it too… if you are going to watch the movie tonight or tomorrow.. then just rent for a day… can't bring it back… that's fine! It's just a buck to keep it one more day. It's simple, easy, and it makes sense..
People just forget that Blockbuster is a company and needs to find a rental method that satisfies the customer's needs AS WELL AS the business needs. With so thousands upon thousand of different national and local businesses closing their doors, how does "Perez Hilton" expect a business that is striving so hard to meet budget and satisfy customers to stick around?
Netflix is an online only rental experience and cannot replace the in store video experience. In store you can browse, talk to other people in person and find out what they like, recommend and prefer… what they have heard about the movies and find out what's new… without having to sit in front of a computer and read through info, blogs, ratings. It's a social experience that can't be replaced. You can browse for your favortie candies, popcorn, soda and make it a great entertainment night for the family. Not only that, but you can catch some great deals on movies for sale like the 5 movies for $20 bucks deal. Nothing online or through the mail can substitute a trip with the family to the local Blockbuster for a great movie night, talking and laughing with the cashiers about movie opinions and having the family pick out movies together, or split up and meet back in the middle with their choices. All I'm saying is… I'm sure Blockbuster isn't trying to be "shady" or as you say it "douchey". They are just trying to make everyone happy on all sides of the table. If you want to look at "douchey" rental terms, just take a quick peak at Hollywood video's rates and monthly plans. They are outrageous. Just my opinion.
Re: amyhearts – Please… understand that Perez has NO concept of what he's actually saying lol.
Re: inSTL – Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about. Thank you for dropping the general Blockbuster haters I.Q. to an official 2. Thank you
Bottom line here, call it a late fee, an EVF, or an "you're an asshole" tax (and god do i wish we could charge those), if you keep a company's product longer than the amount of time it was offered to you and you agreed to by PAYING FOR IT, there should be a penalty involved. If you dont pay your mortgage on time, you are charged a penalty. Why? Because that company has lost out on profit thanks to you! THIS IS NOT A HARD CONCEPT TO GRASP. So how is asking for 1 dollar because you just HAD to keep your copy of All About Steve for an extra day completely unreasonable when they could have rented out that movie to someone else with bad taste in movies for 5 dollars? The company just lost 4 dollars due to your laziness, so just own it and either bring your shit back on time or, do what most customers do, get pissed, call us names and swear you're never coming back and then show back up the next week to do it all again.
Re: Tweedledork – Like I said before… I love you… Where do you work? I would love to know!
Re: Anonymousnancy – Somewhere in Canada, if i reveal more the blockbuster gods may smite me
I work at Blockbuster I've been there for about 5 years now. Let me honestly say, its not that HARD to return something ontime. How long does it really take to watch a movie? Do people just watch a movie 20 minutes a day or something? It's really not that difficult. People bitch and moan about paying late fees and charges yet.. they can't get off their asses to return something. If people are so skeptical about blockbuster "losing" their DVD's then go in the store and hand to an employee to check in. How HARD is that? The reason everyone is bitching about this new policy is because everyone got way too comfortable with the grace period they gave people with the old policy. I think the NO MORE LATEFEE policy shouldn't have happened at all. It only made people believe they can do whatever they want to something that doesn't belong to them. Even if you look at it this policy is just like REDBOX. It's 5 dollars to rent a DVD, but if you keep a REDBOX movie out for 5 days you still pay 5 dollars even after that its a dollar a day. The bottom line is, its just pure laziness. It doesn't take rocket science to bring a movie back, and god knows you don't need anymore than 5 days to watch a movie. If it's gonna take you longer than that to watch a movie then you shouldn't be renting anything at all. But I still agree with Blockbuster treating their employees like shit cause thats true. :]