Disturbing Blockbuster Situation (1 Viewer)

[troy evans]

This was the basis for my own Blockbuster complaint. I had rented "Soldier" w/Kurt Russell and "Seven" w/Brad Pitt. I got a call a week after I returned them to the store saying that they did not have them back yet. I had actually handed them to someone I was familiar with at the store and she confirmed for me that they were brought back. Turns out that there's also a movie from the 80's called "Soldier" w/Ken Wahl and a movie from the 70's called "Seven" which is an old Andy Sidaris spy flick. So, they were put back in the wrong place and not scanned back into the system to boot. I received an apology which I was initially happy with. When I asked about getting the late fees credited to my account the lady said "what do you mean?" I explained that since this whole inccident was obviously not my fault that the late fees should be removed and refunded or credited. She said that the movies were still technically late though. I was stunned! I left the store after getting her full name and store identification # and relayed to her that corporate would be hearing about this, to which she shrugged her shoulders. After telling the consumer relations guy my experience he informed me that she on the policy of the late fees acted accordingly. I hung up the phone and now and for good do my business with "Hollywood Video". Jason, you're not alone. This seems to be a "Blockbuster" problem, where as I've had friends who had bad experiences with them as well.

 

[nolesrule]

Wow. I worked at Blockbuster for a few summers during college, and if we (any employee) put a movie back on the shelf without checking it in, we always credited back the automated late fees when the movie was finally checked in because it was our mistake.

That was in the mid-90s. I wonder when the policy changed to screw over the customer at all costs.

 

[Michelle Schmid]

Wait--let me understand the whole situation. You canceled your membership and still had a movie out. You got an initial cancelation email that said you had until 9/23/07 to return said movie. Since they gave you lots of time to watch the movie you ignored the fact that you canceled their service (and they really don't owe you anything at that point regardless of the reason why you canceled) and decided to do other things, then go on vacation, then let another couple of weeks pass before you return their property. I agree with your "ethical" post earlier--this doesn't seem quite right. However, the email said 9/23 so you are still "right" in that respect.

However, from what I just read above, they have not actually charged you the restocking fee yet, correct? You still have their property, they have charged you full purchase price for the movie, and only when you return the movie (which you have not yet done) will they credit you the purchase price and possibly deduct the restocking fee? What were you mad about??? It sounds to me like they haven't done anything yet except send out an auto-generated email reminding you to return their property in accordance w/the initial agreement you had.

Why don't you actually watch the movie, return their property, and see what happens? Perhaps the person who checks in the movie will just shrug and credit the entire amount. If not, then you call customer service (or walk into the local store with the letter--you say they know you there, they can probably help much faster w/this) and explain about the letter. I know I'd be much more willing to work with a customer who had actually had something done to them rather than one who thinks something could happen to them.

(Oh yeah, if you're going to argue that the email stating 9/23 voids any initial contract you had w/them because "rules change, etc." they can return the argument that the newest email further voids the initial email and the rules have changed again. Going by "the latest information" as you specify above puts them squarely back in the "we can charge you the restocking fee" camp. Be careful taking that tack)

 

[Jason Roer]

Michelle,

The supervisor specifically said to me the restocking fee would NOT be waived when I returned the disc. That is what I was angry about. She told me that Blockbuster had made the error, said she was sorry, and then said I was going to have to pay for it anyway - there was nothing that could be done. And according to Troy - basically the same thing happened to him, except it was with 2 films instead of one. And he said this happened to some of his friends as well. So I'm not the only one. Regardless, I will simply chose to take my business to Netflix when my wife and I are ready to begin renting films again.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[Jason Roer]

WOW! I'm speechless. So the woman you handed the discs back to confirmed you had and the manager still wouldn't give you the money back? I can understand (to some very small extent) my situation - it was happening over the phone and they would need to see the e-mail to confirm they had made an error, but you were face to face. Can't say I blame you for taking your business elsewhere. The sad thing is they really don't care. I don't understand why these major corporations think they can just readily lose customers in this manner.

Just think, if they had refunded your late fees (a grand total of 3 bucks or so) they would have had your business for quite some time and made probably thousands of dollars in rentals from you over the course of a few years. And in my situation, even if they truly couldn't refund the restocking fee due to some glitch in the system - if they had given me a single coupon for a rental, I would have gone back to them instead of fleeing for Netflix.

Again, Blockbuster would have made thousands from me over time. So for a grand total of like 6 dollars, they have lost thousands. That's terible business. And we aren't alone. There are probably many more situations like ours and then you have to factor in our friends. The bad press we give Blockbuster is sure to have some of our friends thinking twice about renting from them.

The saddest part is this is not unique to Blockbuster. It really seems that we are entirely disposable in the eyes of the major corporations these days. We have a tremendous overpopulation problem and if a customer is lost - oh well - there's another 100 around the corner.

Troy - I'm sorry for your annoyance - I share your frustration. But the way to look at it is - it sure does make a fun story to tell! It's led to some great discussions already for me. I'm sure you've had the same experience.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[JohnRice]

FWIW, I had the exact same thing happen as Troy. I went in to rent a movie and was asked " You still have The Sweet Hereafter out, which is past due. BTW, this was before their "no return date" thing. At that time, it just showed as never having been returned. So, I asked them, "how many copies are you supposed to have?" because I knew they just had one. Then I asked them to see if it was on the shelf, which it was. I knew this because I'd seen it there. So, I pointed out that I obviously returned it. They cleared it from my account without any hassle.

Have I slipped into a Shakespearean play? Much Ado About.....

 

[Jason Roer]

John, this is obviously not "much ado about nothing" as both Troy and I, and apparently some of his friends, did not have the good forutne you had and are being forced to pay something that even Blockbuster admits is the company's fault and not our own. They still refuse to wipe the charge after this admission. And that is pure and simple disgusting on their part, regardless of the dollar amount.

I don't see how that isn't clear by this point of the thread.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[troy evans]

John, I'm glad you had a better experience than I did. However, you state they were willing to correct thier error, this was not my luck. True, we're only talking about $6 ,but, the point here is why do I have to pay for a mistake that was not my fault? As a customer we all have certain rights and when we follow the rules and do what's asked of us we need to hold accountable retailers who care so much about money that we pay for thier mistakes. That is B.S. and unacceptable in my eyes and why I've dropped them. It seems to me with all the reports of stores closing and more people going to Netflix or just flat out buying thier movies that "Blockbuster" has problems. After what I've read about the choice they made in the format war alone, it becomes obvious they don't care about thier customers nor do they make the best business decissions. Sorry this seems redundant now. Jason, Ididn't see your post which pretty much covers my points here.

 

[JohnRice]

FWIW, I understand. For example. Several months ago I purchased FileMaker Pro Advanced from Buy.com along with a large manual. I had a coupon code for 7% off. Both items were shown on the site to have free shipping. Their own policy states that if the free shipping truck is shown on an item, it ships for free regardless of the price. Well, they actually only put the free shipping on items which are over $25. Still, the policy says it is regardless of price. As it happens, the 7% discount put the book under $25. I figured it was just a glitch in the system and figured they would obviously refund the shipping I was wrongly charged. They refused, since the item was under $25 after the discount, even though I repeatedly pointed out their policy specifically states it says it will ship for free regardless of price. I also added how absurd it was that the coupon actually made the book MORE expensive. They just went on, made up their own policy, and refused to refund the shipping.

I have found one thing can work quite well in this type of situation. Before you get upset, particularly when you are talking to someone in CS, just make a note of the person's name, then calmly inform them you will be reporting this to your State's Attorney General. Then say, "your name is xxx, right"? I have been amazed how often this has instantly gotten the issue resolved, but you have to not get excited and sound like you mean it. If that doesn't shake them, then contact the state AG. I am serious. This is what they are for, particularly things which are minute taken separately, but can be a bigger issue on the whole. A lot of AGs love to rattle big companies like BlockBuster.

I have instantly stopped solicitors which had been calling me 3 or 4 times a day. I had a rebate which had been running me around in circles for months, and once I did this, the check went out that very day, even though they repeatedly said it took 2-3 more weeks to process. It also seems to work best when you are talking to someone on the phone, rather than email.

The flip side is, you are getting seriously worked up over $1.25. Is it worth it? Of course, that is what they rely on. Knowing that it is a rare issue, and they just don't care. They will argue with you over the $1.25 longer than you will, most likely. It is clear they aren't going to budge with your current approach, so maybe you should call in the big guns, or just stop stressing over it. I personally choose to up the ante, or move on.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I had an issue where I rented POTCMC and when I got home and opened the case, there was no DVD in it. I was able to call then go back there and get it straigtened out. Even though they only had my word that it was empty when I opened it. But I did explain to the manager that if I really wanted the movie, I would buy it on sale at one of the retail outlets that had it cheap, like Walmart, Target, etc. and pay much less than what they would charge me for the used rental disc. I guess I was fortunate and she saw the common sense in that.

 

[varybarry]

Qui-Gon John, I had the same situation. My manager was unfortunately less compliant, so I had to go buy a used DVD and give put it in the Blockbuster case.

 

[mylan]

The clerks at my Blockbuster never fail to open the case after removing the anti-theft device. I've heard horror stories over some of BB's tactics but luckily i've been fortunate.

 

[William Creamer]

A few years ago I also got a call a week after I had returned a film saying it was overdue. I never liked using the drop off box so I always made a point to hand in DVD's in person. I went down to the store, made them count the inventory on hand, where they discovered the error, and removed the charge, but I immediately canceled my account, and never looked back. I use Netflix now, like so many others.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

They usually do, but they must not have this time and I must've not even realized it. In fact, I opened it within 5 minutes of coming home and noticed it missing. Called them right away, then went back up there.

But it does make you worry, if you drop it in the box, and some nit-wit scres up scanning it in, or worse, steals it themselves, you could be liable for it. They need a better system.

 

[RickER]

The almost exact thing happened to me. Returned a tape the same day i rented it, at the local Blockbuster. A week later when i am renting something else they tell me i owe them $100 for a tape i didnt return the week before. Thank god it was some crap, and not a new release. They only had one copy, and i found it sitting on the shelf. They never checked it back in. What if it was a release that had 100 copies!? They said it didnt happen much. I also canceled, and told them what to do with that tape i HAD returned. That was 15 years ago, never set foot in a rental place since. However, I joined NetFlix last month, and love it.

 

[nolesrule]

I really don't understand how someone screws up checking in a title. It was a simple procedure.

1. Open it up to make sure the contents match the case.
2. Put the terminal in checkin mode
3. scan the barcode

I used to do them in batches of 10 VHS when I worked for BBV.

Well, I guess the one way to screw it up would be to not actually check it in when you pull it out of the return box, and that used to be a no no.

 

[mylan]

You scared me there for a minute, until I read the last part !
I don't like using the drop box either but I will do it on occasion, probably the one that'll bite me on the ass. I've been known to go in and hand them in to an associate but they usually put them down anyway.
On a side note, anyone else get the e-mails saying your movie(s) are due back?

 

[RickER]

Yea i had to add the last part of my post. Didnt want anyone thinking i still watched TAPE! I never bought tapes. Back in the day i was an LD guy. But at $35 to $70 or more you didnt blind buy LDs like you can now with $5 DVDs. My VCR was for renting, and of course time shift taping TV shows. Now i dont even own a VCR, TiVo made it obsolete.

 

[JasonSmith]

Jason, I don't know if anyone has suggested this yet, but here goes. I assume that Blockbuster's online service requires a credit card on file, and I assume the $1.25 will / has been charged to your credit card. If this charge took place less than 30 days ago, contact your issuing bank at the 1-800 number on the back of your card. Inform them you want to launch a charge back dispute. Fax or e-mail them the e-mail stating the movie was not due back until 9-23-07. They will immediately reverse the $1.25 fee (If it is Visa, Master Card, AmEx or Discover). Also, a charge back dispute will cost Blockbuster typically $15.00 when found in error.

 

[Jonathon M]

I work in an independent store in Western Australia. There is the owner, and myself. That's the total staff, and we pride ourselves on doing well. I remember getting the "return the disc, not the case" concept drilled into me when I started, and with good reason. Occasionally there's a misplaced disc, or something thats a snafu, but we get through it, and because there's only two of us, we know most of the customers pretty well.

However, I can safely say that we don't take kindly to attitude from customers. A woman came to rent something and hadn't been back in over a year, since she returned 4 weeklies 62 days late. She was confused, and we decided to let her rent that night anyway, skipping the late till next time, as the boss was just heading off. She returned today, returned the new release, and wanted to sort things out with the boss, who wasn't on at that shift. My boss remembers her as renting the titles that were late, but hey, he could be wrong. She did however, complain that there was no phone call, nor letter stating that the discs were late. I was happily able to recite phone calls (no answer), by date and time, and the date of a letter sent. Suddenly she was grasping at straws as to why she didn't get contacted, and all the while being as helpful and polite as I could, it gave me great pleasure to have those details on hand to tell her.

We look after our customers. If they're short a dollar or two, we make a note and they can pay on return. Our lates are reasonable, and if it's a big late fee, we're happy to discount it even more if paid off in one shot. We have a customer who runs an account with us (like a tab, I guess you would say in the US), and we're as helpful as we can be with any problem customers have, even if it is clearly something like their player, as opposed to our discs.

Just a tale from the other side of the counter, and certainly not aimed negatively at Jason.