Blockbuster continues fight to become irrelevant with new Total Access policy change

I just found out about this change when my new movie didn’t ship. I am now dropping blockbuster. I have been with them for 4 or 5 years now and every year they make the deal worse. I used to try to convince people blockbuster was better then netflix, now I will be a netflix member

Hello!!! With BB if you get a movie in the mail and watch it Friday, take it ot the store and exchange it Saturday you won’t get a movie by Tuesday unless you return it Saturday!! It won’t release until you return the store rental!!

Since I live one block away from a Blockbuster Store (the only one in my city, since they closed four others), their plan was great (even though a bit higher than Netflix). I never got any notice that they were changing their plan. This makes their plan not worth it. I will be changing over to Netflix before my next billing cycle. It’s to bad, looks like Blockbustera are on the way out.

This is the last straw in the camel’s back. I am cancelling my BB account, open for 3 years, this billing period. What’s worse, I never got any notice of this change.

Not much to add except that I found out about the change when I called customer service because my movie had not shipped after a week. I told them that I had not been notified of the change (the truth) and they are comping me for my next monthly payment. I figure I will use that “free month” and then switch to Netflix.

RIP BB – this company continues to tank, and screw the customer! First it was the removal of their originally much ballyhooed “NO DUE DATE” rentals from stores, now this Total Access crap change…..bye bye, will do redbox, or maybe netflix. You will see this company go under by end of year. What a bunch of losers.
That all being “vented”, will say that originally, was the best deal around..sadly, no more!

I wonder home many more trips to the local store this policy change has caused and what the secondary costs are. More trips = more gas = less cash in the wallet. Also, the impact to global warming needs to be considered and did Blockbuster even consider the environmental impact of their decision. I for one make 3 additional trips now to return a store rental and get a new one shipped and I am sure that others are doing the same.

I’ve been with BB for 4 years, yes the in store exchanges were a great deal but since they stared to count them as part of your que they lost me. Not to mention ove the past month now that more and more people are just throwing them in the mail box the turn around time has gone from 3-4 days to 15 days. I’ve asked C/S to clear my que due to this long delay and no one seems to care about it, finally I cancelled last week and yes went to NF. Time will tell which one is better sincet they’re both on the same platform now, I only hope the turnaround time is better than 2 weeks.

This new policy change is not what I was originally signed up for. They promoted that you would be able to get 3 movies in the mail and then do an in store exchange and immediately receive and ship your next 3 movies in your queue, thereby having 6 movies to chose from. Now you only get 3 movies = 50% reduction of services, but still have to pay 100% of the original policy price. This is totally unfair and I feel cheated. We should all complain about BB to the BBB and of course show our discontent by not doing business with dis-honest companies. They’ve given me a free month of service to try out the new policy, but I will be canceling at the end of the month and going back to Netflix. They were much faster (2 day turnaround) and great customer service. Will use Redbox for only $1 if I need a movie fix.

I would have to agree that the new Blockbuster policy sucks. I have called several times to argue my point and demanding to them to revisit this new policy. Their response to me is that I have the same plan. How can I have the same plan if it doesn’t function in the same way? I don’t think that the answer is to leave blockbuster, but to demand that they honor their contract. They are expecting us to leave because they are not making any money the way the current system works. The take it from the back policy is going to have to change. If enough of us complain and complain then something will be done. The better business bureau probably have better things to do than deal this, however when customers are being taken advantage of… it becomes their job!!

I was with Blockbuster Online when the 5 at a time plan was cheaper and you had UNLIMITED returns. Then the price kept going up, the movies were throttled and the UNLIMITED became 5/month. All the while they kept charging more for less. Now with the EXCHANGES being treated the same as ONLINE RENTALS, there’s no point not to chose BB over Netflix.

It might have made since then since an EXCHANGE now counts as an ONLINE RENTAL to bring back unlimited exchanges but since it’s only 5 now there’s no freaking point to BB vs NETFLIX.

Way to go morons!

Here’s something else to consider: 1) The Blockbuster website has always been, and still is, super SLOW and a nuisance to work with. 2) I had over a dozen movies in my queue for 8 MONTHS, and they were always “very long wait” and I never got them. 3) I put these 17 movies on my Netflix trial queue, and they are ALL “available now”. I have already received 6 of them!
So, I am jumping off the Blockbuster ship (after all these years) and going with Netflix. I will miss the guys at the BB store, but it looks like I won’t have any hassles with NF.

We will be cancelling and filing complaint with BBB. No notice of this change. Bait and switch is illegal!

Yeah this pisses me off, this was the only reason I was staying with BB. There is a branch a mile from our house but we are canceling and going to netflix. BB is dead

it’s simple as that. with the original plan, I can have at most 6 movies on hand. with the new one, three.

so basically, same the price, half the service. you figure

You’re right. BlockBuster had the advantage where I could return a mailed movie for an instore rental and the next movie in my queue would be mailed immediately. I’ve been with Block Buster since their online program started. I just called and canceled my account today. Hello netflix, nice to be your new customer.

What do you mean by ‘game the system’? Customers weren’t gaming the system, that WAS the system. That it was kept me with blockbuster, now I have to leave. See ya…wouldn’t want to be ya.

Do I have my facts straight with the changes? Here’s how I think this is going to work.. I have the 1 out at a time, 3/month plan..unlimited in store exchanges, plus one free bonus rental or game.
Before the change, every month I would get a mailed DVD and each time I would exchange it for an in store movie and get one mailed to me in a few days. So basically I was paying 9.99 plus tax for 7 movies a month (including the one from the free coupon).

Now does the change mean that I only get 4 movies a month(including free coupon)?

Thanks

I have been a member of Blockbuster’s total access, but changed my plan to online only instead of freebies at the store during their last price hike. What I have noticed now is that they seem to ‘hold off’ on sending a new DVD from my queue by 24 hours or so each time. I work nights, so I tend to drop them off at the store right at their opening, and they scan them and my sent movies list is empty by the time I get home. However they do not send any new ones out until the next day – it used to be within an hour or two they would send the new ones out in the mail. That is what is frustrating to me at this point. New releases I can get at Redbox for free with their Monday codes.

Yet, another very upset BB customer leaving iso another video rental business. The in store exchange policy is what did me in. I learned of the change when the employee handed me my movies that I had just received and informed me of it on the way out the door. A letter would’ve been nice. I used to rent children’s movies and shows online and when they were done I’d get ones for me and my wife. Not only was the policy change bad, I got an extra kicker bonus. My movies take about five days to show up now.Should be renamed “Total Horse’s Asscess” progam. Goodbye blockbuster. If you want me back send me a letter in the mail and do away with the policy changes.

Canceld Blockbuster today as they tried to inform me how my customer expierence would now be better because I can’t get 3 dvds mailed to me while I have my 3 in store exchanges.

Very very twisted logic on their part.

They should have been able to kill netflix with their instore exchanges but they fucked it up instead ohh well.

one seriously disapointed never to use blockbuster again customer.

After typing “Blockbuster VS Netflix”, I found several results on the search engine and stumble upon these posts. I now feel better that I am not the only one that feels the same way about blockbuster’s new policy.

What it boils down to is that blockbuster decided to use their store fronts as distribution centers, the only option here over Netflix is that you can pickup a movie right away instead of waiting 2-3 days like Netflix. I dislike that if you have the limited plan, it counts towards your online queue.

Crunching some numbers, the max amount of movies rented at $3.99, and the cost of the plan, it all boils down to a discount of up to 80%. Less of a discount if you decide to wait to watch a movie on monday night then do an instore exchange and return it by midnight or next morning. I just don’t see myself going out of my way just so I can take advantage of “Total Access” plan or so they call it.

Only if Netflix renamed their distribution center to “Store Front”, then they will be on the same plane.

These two companies need to make their next move to VOD, not “pay Per View” and have new releases on vieo. Isn’t there a place called HULU.COM?