Fuck Blockbuster (962 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 0.2 on 6 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by ~JP (View user info) at 2005-02-07 18:01:35 EST
Blockbuster has introduced a new program to pacify all those people who bitch about exorbitant late fees. Instead, they've found a much better way to screw us while pretending they've done something noble.
This no more late fees thing intrigued me, as I'm one of those dumb people who bitches about late fees. It used to cost more to keep a movie an extra two days than to rent it a second time. As you know, it's a huge inconvenience to Blockbuster and their customers when one of the twenty-thousand copies of "Anchorman" is missing for an extra couple of days. But I digress.
The FAQs on the Blockbuster website gave me the answer I was looking for. I knew Blockbuster couldn't possibly be doing something good for the customer, and I found the catch. From the Blockbuster Online FAQ section:
"If you still have a movie or game seven (7) days after the due date shown on your receipt, we will convert your rental to a sale. The movie or game will be sold to you at the selling price in effect at the time of rental, which is either the retail price, or, when available, at the previously-rented selling price, less the initial rental fee you paid."
So, let me get this straight. There's no longer a late fee, unless you're late in returning your movie. Check this out, we can do a little math and see how this new policy stacks up against the old one. Let's say you pay around $5 to rent the movie, and then you accidentally keep it for an extra week. At about $2 per day, that gives you $14 in late fees plus the initial $5 to rent, correct? So, under the old system, if you returned your movie a week late, it'd cost you almost $20. Under the new system, if you return your movie a week late, it'll cost you about $20.
Despite the fact that nobody's actually going to save much money, I can't help but think this system is significantly worse. I mean, what if you make some horrible mistake like renting "Gigli" and then you forget about it? You don't want that filth lying around your home any more than you want a cockroach gnawing on your eyelids.
Not only that, they've made the process of returning movies on the eighth day more hellish than ever. Because your "rental" is converted to a "sale" in the computer, they have to change that back and then check the movie in. Apparently, this is a very expensive process:
"BLOCKBUSTER incurs processing, administrative and other costs when we have to convert rental product to a sale, as well as when you return the product after that sale. The restocking fee helps to cover that cost."
Administrative costs? This has to be a joke. I have to ask, who's the administrator here? The CEO of Blockbuster? The difference between "sale" and "rental" is a word at the top of the computer screen that, while it may be insanely hard to change, doesn't incur any "administrative" costs. And nobody knows what a "processing" fee is because nobody knows what fucking process is being done. In fact, the only "process" I can think of is the guy putting the little blue box back on the shelf. That deserves a fee, for sure.
Along those lines, I wonder what the restocking fee actually is. I'll bet it's like half the cost of the movie.
In other news, Blockbuster has announced that this program is already undergoing significant transformation. Soon, you won't be forced to buy the movie at all. Instead, you get a severe bludgeoning in place of your free rental. If you're more than a week late returning the movie, they just shove it up your ass (yet another advantage to renting DVDs instead of VHS tapes). No more of this pansy-ass "late fee" bullshit.
And yes, in case you're wondering, I'm aware and how totally insignificant this rant is. Meh.
User Reviews
Submitted by someone (user info) at 2005-02-08 00:20:10 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
It's a great system. Keep a movie for over a month and its YOUR fault, jeez....one or two days overdue is all it takes me, at most. Plus you can keep the movie, so its not like it's a total waste.
Submitted by cheruboo (user info) at 2005-02-07 18:29:50 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
JP, eat a dick. What you neglected to mention was the fact that if you bring it back withint 30 days, they take off that retail sale and instead charge you $1.75 "processing fee" ....so basically keeping a movie for a month will cost you $1.75, quit your bitching fuckface.
Submitted by project_nessa (user info) at 2005-02-07 18:29:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
The restocking fee is 1.25, which is waaaaaay better than the old system. And they can only charge you a for the DVD after a week if yuo have a card in their system, which you can make sure you don't by never using one.
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2005-02-07 18:14:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Go to Hollywood Video.
Submitted by L-Gizzle (user info) at 2005-02-07 18:08:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Plus two for "fuck blockbuster" because i used to work there, but your info is a little incomplete.
Yes, if you keep the movie 7 days past the due date they charge you for the movie. If you do end up returning it after the 7 days, you don't get charged for the movie, but you get the processing fee. However, I asked a few friends who still work there, and the processing fee is only a couple of bucks. And yes, there is actually a whole process they have to go through. When the movie gets converted to a sale, the computer takes it out of inventory. If returned, they then have to receive the item back into inventory, and get a brand new barcode/serial number for that particular copy. Doesn't seem like much, but it takes about 5 - 10 minutes per movie(stupid slow computer system). Nice to see I learned all of this useless bullshit from working there.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2005-02-07 18:05:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Good rant.