I'm finally done with Ball Buster. (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

The Last Blockbuster VHS I rented was around 1997. "Do it yourself, Mr.Bean." I havn't used my BB Card since, assuming I still have it. I was a DVD Supporter almost from day 1, and stopped renting as soon as I bought my first player that same year. .

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Dick, I also agree. The studios should make it real simple for us, for J6P and for themselves:

OAR = DVD

P&S = VHS

End of story.

 

[John J Nelson]

if J6P had no option but to rent or buy an OAR DVD, he would, period.

This is pretty much the situation in the UK now. P&S DVDs are virtually nonexistent. The ONLY dual WS/P&S release I can think of over here was Harry Pothead, and the WS sales thrashed the P&S version. I don't think the studio will bother with a P&S version of COS
-- J.

 

[BrentPollard]

Yes, there should never have been a choice. That is why I kinda miss the LD days. I could go into my local shop and many times there would be 10 people renting VHS versions of the latest movie, and I would be the only one renting a WS LD. I tossed my B.B. card out of frustration after several years of seeing B.B. slowly begin to cater to the mass market. I know that they have a business to run but I don't have to continue to give my money to a company that I don't agree with. I spent nearly 3 years trying to educate the clerks and patrons. But the decisions are being made upstairs, so educating clerks while making me feel good made no diff. I try not to buy too many DVD's I have maybe 60 or so. I only buy what I will watch repeatedly, so renting is a big thing for our family. I get frustrated finding it more and more difficult to find what I want.

 

[Matt Hamand]

The problem with the "If only OAR was available they wouldn't stop buying/renting" (that is not anyone's actual quote, just a paraphrase of what I feel is a certain mindset here) attitude is that even if it was true it doesn't take into account customer complaints.

In retail if a customer complains the retailer has to listen and give it some consideration. Retailers that ignore customer complaints soon find themselves out of business. So if a customer, or worse, many customers, complain about black bars the retailer has to listen.

Likewise if a customer complains about the lack of an OAR option the retailer has to listen. This is why, when questioned, most retailers will express a preference for dual AR editions. The problem is that because the majority of DVD releases are OAR only, there are less complaints from this end.

I don't quite know what the solution to this is. I suspect it will have to do with a combination of low price widescreen TVs and consumer education. I'm afraid that as long as most people have 4:3 TVs all the consumer education in the world will not help.

But vilifying retailers for listening to their customers is not helpful in any way.

Matt

 

[MarcinL]

Well in Uk and pretty much the rest of Europe, they all have 16X9 Tv sets so no wonder nobody watched PAN&SCAN, instead of us messing with HDTV for 6 years we should have come out with 16X9 TV's back in 94 and 95, and change the whole system overnight I still have the 31" Proscan 16X9 that i bought from CC in 95 after 2 months it was gone, and I have not seen another Widescreen Tube TV since till now and of course now its HDTV, but for last 7 years I have been watching LD's and DVD's on my 16X9 and I love it!!!!! I hate RPTV sets, the burn ins and the fact that u cant watch it during the day. I have one in the basement, and the NBC logo is completely burned in on it!!!!!!!!!

 

[Qui-Gon John]

MarcinL - Sounds like you needed to calibrate it, too much contrast. If you have it adjusted properly and take ordinary care, you should not have burn-in.

Matt - I don't know. Blockbuster has ignored my complaints and they're still thriving. I mailed a letter complaining about a number of issues to their corporate office, addressed to Mel Marmazin himself on 10/29/02 and so far, not even the courtesy of a response.

 

[David James]

Matt:
Excellent post, and I agree completely. Your reasoning and civility are a breath of fresh air.

 

[Richard Waller]

This is pretty much the situation in the UK now. P&S DVDs are virtually nonexistent.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Tonight I went in to rent a flick and saw 40 copies of Goldmember with 0 in W.S.

I had the same problem at my local BB! Except, what really got me is I could turn around and buy a widescreen copy! So, I know they can order WS versions.. they just choose to rent P&S.

 

[Matt Hamand]

John:
As I mentioned in my post I believe that the reason why Blockbuster, among others, pays more attention to anti-OAR (For lack of a better term. I doubt to many people are actually against the idea.) complaints is because there are simply more of them.

If there are more complaints about OAR, and there are many more OAR releases so it stands to reason, then those will be the ones that get noticed and responded to. I'm pretty sure your letter was read, but at the end of the day I would guess that the "anti-black bars" pile of letters is simply taller than the "where's my OAR?" pile of letters.

For what it's worth my Blockbuster has been buying OAR only lately. At least I think they have. I only go in there once a month or so to browse the PV stuff.

David:
Thanks. This is my first substantial participation in a thread outside the Bargains forum. I'm trying to amke a good impression.

Matt

 

[Qui-Gon John]

You gotta admit, that's pretty shitty for a major corporation to not even send a reply to someone who writes their CEO.

I was also complaining about the new layout (VHS mixed in with DVD), how long movies are considered 'new releases', and I think a couple other issues.

 

[Matt Hamand]

John

Yes it is disappointing that you got no response. However, if you were expecting a personal response from the CEO promising to address your complaints I would prepare for disappointment. Writing to the CEO of large corporations doesn't seem to me like it would be an effective way to cause change. Unless you are a major stockholder.

If you were lucky they sent your letter to the customer relations department, where it was read, and the complaints added to whatever database of customer comments they have running.

In my wildest dreams they have some kind of cool database with all kinds of fields and checkboxes so that they can keep track of who is writing letters, the demographics, and what the complaint is.

In my worst nightmare there's a guy in a cubicle with a notepad that says "Full Frame" and "Widescreen" with a line down the middle and hatch marks under the appropriate heading.

Matt

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Actually, in the past I have written letters to several companies, addressed to the CEO's. What happens most of the time is the CEO sees it, delegates to one of his subordinates to take care of the problem and I usually get a letter thanking me for taking the time to write and more often than not, a resolution to the problem, if applicable. One example, Best Buy, the store would not let me return an ink cartridge that did not perform as one would have expected based on what it was purchased for. After writing to the CEO I got a letter saying take it to the store and I would be refunded for this. It's business protocol for a corporation to at least send a reply to such a letter, even if that only says thank you for writing and we will keep your concerns in mind.

 

[Oswald Pascual]

Blockbusters Official Response
Thank you for your e-mail. Customer feedback is very important to us and we are
glad you took the time to write.

The movie studios determine whether or not to release their DVDs in standard
(full-screen) or wide-screen versions. It is our preference, and the preference
of our customers that because of the versatility and storage capacity of DVD
technology, DVDs include both versions on one disc. In the past, when the
studios have chosen to release separate standard and wide-screen version DVDs,
it has caused confusion amongst our customers. To minimize our customer
dissatisfaction, we have chosen to carry only one version of a title on DVD, and
our research has shown that more customers prefer the standard than the
wide-screen version. We take your comments and suggestions as a welcome show of
interest and loyalty. We are forwarding your comments to the appropriate
department for their review.

At Blockbuster, we realize that nothing is more important than our members are
and we value your good will and continued support. Thank you for your interest
in Blockbuster. If you need further assistance, please contact your local
Blockbuster store. Our employees are empowered, authorized, and expected to
take care of customers.

Sincerely,
Blockbuster Consumer Services

Then they wonder why rentals are down?

 

[JohnRice]

Well, I'm one who doesn't fall for the belief that BB is the root of all evil on the DVD world, but this sentence irritates me. For one, if they really wanted to minimize customer dissatisfaction, they would carry both versions of movies with two versions released. OK, this might cause the slightest bit of confusion for some renters the first time they came to the issue, but they seem to be using "confusion" and "dissatisfaction" interchangeably. It only takes a few brain cells, and possibly a very simple sign, to explain the difference to most anybody.

It also is blatantly false, because there are some dual release movies they carry only in WS. I'm sure it has nothing to do with what sort of deal the studio offers them on particular versions. I'm quite sure BB wouldn't let their policy be dictated by greed.

In the end, my reaction to that letter is that they are saying, "Thank you for your feedback. Even though we claim to be interested in fulfilling our customers' wishes, we really don't give a shit and will say whatever we can come up with to cover our asses."

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I can't conceive of a possible valid business reason as to why BB would choose not to carry both Widescreen and Pan and Scan versions, instead of just the latter.

Confusion my ass. Ignorance is more like it.

 

[Clint B]

Is there any way to tell whether or not a local BB is a corporate store or a franchise store (besides asking the mgr., of course)?

 

[Travis_W]

I know why they don't carry both versions and it's pretty crappy. When their clerks put movies back that have already been rented they may put the WS ver. behind a FF ver. . My local Family Video carries both versions but the usually get more FF than WS...which is why I choose Hollywood Video.
We should have known Blockbuster would do this when it took two years for them to get DVDs in the first place and the fact that they never carried laserdiscs.

 

[Oswald Pascual]

If DVD's keep coming out at current prices, is the market opening back up for the Ma & Pa stores to be able to compete? It looks like Ballbuster has ben unable to get the studios to raise the price on new releases like they did with VHS.