Blockbuster Eliminating Due Dates on In-Store Exchanges; Counting In-Store Exchanges as Part of Plan

Blockbuster is quietly testing the elimination of  due dates for in-store exchanges in two markets, and will roll this out to all customers in March. Blockbuster is also updating the website so that in-store rentals will appear in a customer's queue and rental history, helping to eliminate duplicate rentals.

The final change is that Blockbuster is now counting the in-store exchange as one of the plan DVDs, and won't ship the next movie in a customer's queue until they return the in-store exchange.

 

The full text of the e-mail (thanks to Geoff for sending this in):

Hi Geoff,

Coming soon, there will be no more due dates for your free in-store movie exchanges!

• In other words, as long as you are an active BLOCKBUSTER Total Access subscriber, you can keep your free in-store exchanges as long as you like.
• In order to eliminate due dates, the free in-store exchange from participating BLOCKBUSTER® stores will now count towards the number of DVDs you may have out under your BLOCKBUSTER Total Access plan. Once you've returned your in-store exchange, we'll then ship you the next available movie in your queue.
• Your free in-store exchanges will now show up on your Queue page and in your Rental History, making it easy to keep track of the movies you've rented.

As always, you can continue to return your online rentals through the mail or drop them off at the counter of a participating BLOCKBUSTER store to have your next online DVD shipped.

BLOCKBUSTER Total Access is the ONLY service that offers online DVD rentals plus the convenience of free in-store exchanges.

And as a BLOCKBUSTER Total Access subscriber you'll continue to enjoy these other great benefits:
• Access to over 90,000 titles
• Free shipping and postage for subscriber rentals
• A 10% subscriber discount on the purchase of previously viewed DVDs at blockbuster.com
• A variety of plans to meet your lifestyle and budget
• Thousands of participating store locations nationwide
• Discounted in-store game rentals with exchange

We look forward to providing you with more of the movies and entertainment you love throughout 2009 and beyond.

BLOCKBUSTER - America's Best Entertainment Value  

What do you think of the change?

Comments

[FredFredrickson]

Is it possible they're grandfathering some people? I haven't received an email about this yet- but I'm also still grandfathered (slightly) from their earlier plans. I'm at 3-out unlimited, unlimited in-store exchanges for $19.95.

I was grandfathered in the first change at $17.99, and later at the second price change, I was upped to $19.95, while others were changed to $35 for the same plan.

Is it possible that they're only doing this for new sign-ups and current heavy-renters?

Or is it possible this is only for heavy renters? Blockbuster's new signup page says nothing about this change-over. It seems fishy that they'd leave their signup page devoid of this info, if they're really planning to convert everybody in less than a week...

[Scammed_By_Blockbuster]

This is just the latest ploy by Blockbuster to stick it to the customer. Blockbuster can put whatever spin on it they want to the bottom line is they took away the “free” exchanges from Total Access accounts. I am converting to a Blockbuster By Mail account. The current terms mean Blockbuster By Mail gives me the same value as my existing Total Access account for a lower monthly fee.

Blockbuster is a slimy company. Since I joined Blockbuster Online, Blockbuster almost doubled the price if I wanted to keep the same deal I signed up for. Then the raised my monthly fee anyway. Customer Service has tried to tell me numerous times the next business day after Saturday is Tuesday. Now Blockbuster has again degraded the value my account by a huge amount. No wonder Netflix is doing better.

A Blockbuster store employee told me the “end of late fees” feature will be going away next. Even Blockbuster employees are telling customers “Total Access” is not TOTAL ACCESS anymore. Blockbusters amateurish attempt to disguise the elimination of the “free” exchanges would be laughable if it were not so pathetic.

[Scammed_By_Blockbuster]

This is just the latest ploy by Blockbuster to stick it to the customer. Blockbuster can put whatever spin on it they want to the bottom line is they took away the “free” exchanges from Total Access accounts. I am converting to a Blockbuster By Mail account. The current terms mean Blockbuster By Mail gives me the same value as my existing Total Access account for a lower monthly fee.

Blockbuster is a slimy company. Since I joined Blockbuster Online, Blockbuster almost doubled the price if I wanted to keep the same deal I signed up for. Then the raised my monthly fee anyway. Customer Service has tried to tell me numerous times the next business day after Saturday is Tuesday. Now Blockbuster has again degraded the value my account by a huge amount. No wonder Netflix is doing better.

A Blockbuster store employee told me the “end of late fees” feature will be going away next. Even Blockbuster employees are telling customers “Total Access” is not TOTAL ACCESS anymore. Blockbusters amateurish attempt to disguise the elimination of the “free” exchanges would be laughable if it were not so pathetic.

[Stomper]

I'm not sure what "scammed" is talking about above, but it seems like this move is a good thing unless you have a limited number of rentals per month (which I assume is rare).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they are removing their "restocking fee" (aka late fee) for total access customers. I say, "it's about time". I cant count how many times I have had to return an unwatched movie because I was on the edge of getting charged a fee. If I read this update correctly, since there wont be a due date for the movie, there wont be a fee if you keep it for two or three weeks.

I'm not a burn and return user, so that 10 day time limit is actually pretty annoying.

[wmu_girl]

I just signed into my account to see no movies mailed out. I was never told that the plan was changing. I am tired of blockbuster changing the plans are offering less movies. I am switching to netflix. Blockbuster did not change the price of the plans even though you can't get as many movies now for the price.

[jjanoch]

First of all, if it takes you 10+ days to watch one movie...then maybe the Total Access isn't the right package for you...but it is your money. If that is your problem then sure this new policy seems like a good thing for you. But for me, they have just cut my movies in half....but were nice enough to leave the price the same. I guess it sounds better to them, then leaving the services the same, and asking for double the money.

Blockbuster Total Access has just gone from a decent deal (not great, not the best) to now WORSE than their competition. And to top it off, they don't even have the BALLS to tell their customers, they just slid it in hoping that people wouldn't notice.

Well heck I noticed the very first day they pulled this switch on me, and it will lose them my business. I know they don't care about one client, but hopefully thousands of people will realize this and follow suit. But I really don't care, I am done with Total Access, which means no more movies through the mail, and now more visits to their store. I pass by 2 video stores on my way to Blockbuster, both with same selection and cheaper prices...no way they get .01 more of my money.

[Stomper]

Wow, I did not fully understand the changes that were about to happen. Now, I see what everyone is complaining about.

As I think, "what is taking so long to ship my next movie?" It suddenly hits me. They arent going to ship my next movie until I return the in store rental. Where before, I could usually have two movies (a mailed movie and a store rental), they have now locked it down to either one, but not both. Ouch.

I thought they were merely turning off the 10 day limit on the in store rentals.

So now I have to make twice as many trips to the store to get the same number of movies. For me, thats not all the great since the nearest store is 20 min away (40 min round trip).

[leonardodicrapio]

"So now I have to make twice as many trips to the store to get the same number of movies. For me, thats not all the great since the nearest store is 20 min away (40 min round trip)."

You're probably not figuring in the amount of gasoline you are spending getting to and from the store. I know gas is now "only" around $2 per gallon, but when gas was over $4 (close to $5) per gallon it should have been a very big factor in your exchange decisions.

[Rich B]

Were did the "Total Access" get a movie at the store while you wait for your next one to be sent? That was the drawing point for their plan, now that that"s gone, coupled with the poor customer service who will stick with them. They need some help at the top of management or their out of business this year.

[dani79]

I don't know if anyone else follows the news as much as I do, but Blockbuster is on the verge of bankruptcy, aka, no bailout for them. Goodbye. I also have the "Total Access" plan and I think it sucks that they are not going to be sending out my next movies until the store rentals are returned, but I guess if you think of it their way, more rentals returned quicker equals more movies to be rented. It will give everyone a bigger selection. This can't be all bad, because maybe this way there won't be such a long wait on the new movies through the mail either. I like
Blockbuster. Yes, maybe its a little bit more money but its nice to be able to exchange in store if you don't like a movie instead of waiting for the next movie in the mail.

[The alMIGHTY N]

I was guilty of the same knee jerk reaction to this change in service. Then, I read that Blockbuster's C-level executives expected and apparently were banking on angry customers to leave. Apparently, one goal of these new restrictions was to weed out the least profitable customers. They are not interested in competing with NetFlix but are looking to return the company to profitability. Instead of cancelling my membership, I'm going to rent more aggressively even if it costs me a little bit more time and gas money.

[scotsman262]

I used to recommend this company and its online plan. NO MORE. I have downgraded my account and will cause them every expense I can think of including constant complaints and calls to thier help desk. We will not forget this BETRAYAL of customers who helped start this new program.
1. Cause a disturbance in the store protesting the new plan. Play stupid and get loud messing up thier business.
2.Find out the managers and District managers Numbers and call them a lot to complain.
3 be creative and punish Blockbuster.

[ezeblazin]

Okay guys...Blockbuster is not out to piss you off so calm down...

Yes it sucks, just like it sucked when they made previous limitations to their online plans, but as someone else stated, this company has to return to profitability, so they have to make some changes that not everyone will like.

It's either make changes to the company, or the company may disappear altogether and i dont see why anyone would want that.

And what makes Netflix so much better anyway? Blockbuster has the same mail only plans that netflix has, but has some advantages over them too:

They have a 3.99 plan vs Netflix 4.99 for 2 movies a month

Their 3 at a time plan is 15.99 vs Netflix 16.99

Netflix charges more for Blu-ray enabled accounts($1)

You can return your mailers at a BBV store and they will send out the next film in your queue the next business day(possibly same day?) VS dropping it in a mailbox and waiting for the distribution center to receive it

You can still exchange your mailers for $2 in store movies and it will NOT place a hold on your queue(the next one will release regardless of if you have returned the in-store movie).... Basically, if you had the 34.99 unlimited exchange plan, you can go to the 15.99 mail only plan and still exchange 9-10 in store movies within a month and it will be the same cost.

So if someone would explain to me what makes Netflix the better option id like to know... I know having NC17 titles is a plus for them, but id like to know opinions of others... ive tried both, but will not go back to Netflix because of the blu-ray cost

[jjanoch]

ezeblazin,
First of all, there is nothing I am going to say (or anyone else) to convince you that Netflix is better than Blockbuster. If you are happy with the service and feel that you are getting your monies worth, then who really cares what others think?

But you did make me laugh with your list of comparison between the two services. You have an obvious BB slant, and that is perfectly understandable.

Your first couple of facts are true and fine. Personally I haven't jumped to Blu-Ray yet, so the $1 extra isn't hitting me. But my current thinking is no big deal either. Plus I bet that drops once Blu-Ray is the majority..but that is still years away.

But then you lost me with the comment about returning to the store and getting new movies sent the next day or possibly the same day.

You will never get movies shipped out the same day....ever! The local distribution pulls their work for the day before the stores even open for you to come in and return. So at best your looking at the next day.

But I will next say, personally my local distribution center hasn't been able to ship out movies consistently the next day in months. They upgraded in November and only TWICE (yes I have kept track) did they actually ship out movies the very next day and those were only recently right after they changed policies.

Most times they took 2, and even 3 days on a few occasions to ship out new movies. If they are going to take 2 days, that puts them right on par with Netflix at best. Netflix runs at probably 95% same day turn around for me, check in and ship out new.

But I didn't recently quit Blockbuster because I thought Netflix was better, I quit because Blockbuster has shown me no customer service since November, and made secret moves to their program...in the obvious attempt to get rid of me and customers like me.

But it is their business, and while I can get angry over the cloak & dagger practices they use in bringing out new policies, it is their business. And they have been able to run it up to the brink of bankruptcy, whom am I say anything.
If they are allowed to have no loyalty to me, a customer who has promptly paid my monthly subscription with no hassles, then why should I show any to them. Unlike a previous poster there is no way I am going to spend MORE of my money to try and save their business. Bad management will ruin a company almost every time and BB has had plenty of it, past and present IMHO.
They might have kept me as a customer if they made these changes effective for NEW customers, but as pointed out by others...they wanted people like me gone.

[ezeblazin]

Yes, i am slanted towards BBV and that might have something to do with the fact that i work for them. Although i do try to not be biased.

I was unaware that BBV was not shipping out the next business day after in-store returns as much... i have a 2 per month plan right now and i guess i havent been paying attention to when they are shipping, but i wouldnt doubt that you are right. And same day was just something that i heard before from a customer but i never tried it myself.

And in the same way that you would expect only new customers should be affected by policy changes, i expected the same from Netflix with the Blu-ray rentals...but they raised the price for me too....so paying 5.99 at Netflix for 2 movies vs 3.99 for 2 at bbv just wasnt worth it.

See BBV has the right idea to not punish customers for using blu-ray... the best idea is to encourage customers to use blu, since it will only help packaged media survive.

Another thing that i didnt like about Netflix was that after i cancelled my account i no longer had access to my plan was to switch back and forth between netflix and BBV whenever one became more convenient over the other... and i liked to add the newest blu-ray catalog releases to my queue every tuesday to both bbv and netflix, but since i cant do it for Netflix anymore, it makes it more of a hassle to go back to them.

But i guess i could see using either or...id go back to netflix for awhile if there were a couple nc17 titles i wanted... but for right now BBV works well for me.

But i just dont understand the people that will ditch BBV just because they changed their plans... it's not like their plan was to offer too good to be true plans and then gradually raise the prices and place limits...they wanted total access to blow netflix out of the water and by doing so they lost a lot of money, so they have to figure out a way to stop losing money and unfortunately that means cutbacks... but that doesnt mean these bbv plans arent still better than Netflix plans for many people, especially those who visit the BBV stores anyways.

I can understand switching only if you think you will get more movies for your money with Netflix...or better service

[jjanoch]

I hear you about the Blu-Ray, but I guess I look at them and understand that they require additional stock for what I believe to be a vastly smaller group of users. So an additional charge is understandable to me, and actually a surprise that BBV doesn't charge for.

I mean with their recent changes to try and improve their bottom line..I won't be surprised to see this area change also.

Now I will admit, you lost me with your description of WHY you don't like Netflix..about losing the access to your plan after you canceled your subscription.

Until my recent change, I also was a member of both services, with a 2-out-at-a-time plan for both Netflix and BBV. I used BBV for my new videos and Netflix for older titles (anything 6+ months from release). I knew that getting the new releases (current week) was easier to get from the store, knowing that rentals are super light on Tues-Thurs so they are almost always there. Where as trying to get them through EITHER BBV or Netflix online is more challenging.

So for me personally, doing any comparison between the mail-only programs isn't worth the time. If you remove the store, I have no use for BBV. As I have stated, I pass 2 other companies on my way to my local BBV, with much cheaper prices.

Also I did catch your comment about working at BBV. I think that is important, not because I think you like them better because of your employment, but because you go to work there I assume at least 4 days a week, the increased demand to visit the store under the new policy doesn't inconvenience you like it does me.

I am the type of user who tries to get the most for my money. Which means I normally watch my movies and return them ASAP so that I can get my next ones ASAP. Under the new policy, BBV has doubled the number of trips I must make to their store. When you add in my time and gas any cost savings you might have on their monthly fee is gone. I think that is an important fact for most users, which doesn't personally effect you. I understand many people don't shoot for as fast a turnaround that I do, but everyone who uses the Total Rewards program is now being asked to go to the store more times than before to try and even come close to the same number of movies as before.

So when you take the whole situation into mind, the total rewards program is not a good deal anymore.

Now if we want to talk about Mail only deals, I guess BBV might be better IF you pass by the BBV store already and can drop off your movies without any extra time or gas being spent.

[Walt D in LV]

I returned a mailed DVD to my local store last Saturday. I understand that Blockbuster takes at least a day, sometimes two, to mail the next DVD in my Queue, but a week? That seemed odd. So, today, when I inquired via the website why I hadn't received the next DVD in my Queue, I was told about this "new" plan. I had never received any notification of it.

Here in Las Vegas, it takes Blockbuster two days to receive a movie, and another two days to get the next one to you. Netflix is one day both ways. So, the exchange of the mailer in the stores was a fantastic way to help even the playing field (although you have to admit, a big reason for doing DVDs-by-mail is so that you don't HAVE to go to the store). Now that they've done away with this service, they will lose my mail business.

I currently have a 1-at-a-time plan, with 2 in-store exchanges per month. The movie I returned last week was sent to me on March 2. So for over three months, I've paid the monthly fee (knowing I had this movie that I could return to the store at any time to get a new movie). I think I'm one of their most valuable customers, especially over the last few months since they've just been collecting free money from me.
I also have an in-store 1-at-a-time Combo pass which is $21.99 (I believe). I go through movies/games maybe one a week/ten days. Still, a valued customer.
I also purchase the Blockbuster Rewards plan each year for $9.95. This gives me a free rental coupon each month. HOWEVER! This is only for older movies. It is EXTREMELY hard to get a movie on this coupon. Sometimes they tell me a DVD has to be out for a year before the coupon will work. Last week, I tried getting Transformers on Blu-ray, and they still made me pay $4.99 to rent it. What?!?

So, it seems the best thing to do is cancel my 1-at-a-time Blockbuster plan, which I can get three extra movies(including Blu-ray) with Netflix, AND save a good amount of time and money not having to go to the store.

Blockbuster is hurting because of this poor customer service and sneaky practices. As I stated, I'm one of their profitable customers, and they're losing me.

Walt D in LV

[BankruptBlockbuster]

Instead of simply posting on a blog, we need to e-mail Blockbuster with our comments (and call them, as well, if someone knows how to get in touch with a real person). While nothing we say will change their policy, they need to realize that we aren't going to quietly take being treated this way. This isn't just a matter of being unhappy with their service. They are underhanded and deceitful. I have been an online customer since the program began. I was with them as they introduced all the things that made the program great (monthly free rental coupons, in-store exchanges, etc.) and I put up with them as they slowly took things away (raised prices, limited exchanges, eliminated coupons, raised prices again). Essentially taking away in-store exchanges was simply the last straw.

I used to tell everyone how wonderful Total Access was. Now I feel like a fool for talking so many people into signing up.

PLEASE contact Blockbuster! Cancel your subscriptions and let them know why. (You can simply cut and paste your message from this blog.) We need to let them know that what they have done to us, their loyal customers, is wrong.

Personally, I hope Blockbuster goes bankrupt. They deserve it more than any other company I know, because they brought it on themselves. Another company will rise up to fill the void, and hopefully learn from Blockbuster's mistakes. (Because let's face it--recession or not, we're always going to watch movies. But we don't have to rent them from Blockbuster!)