I used a Redbox for the first time.

[AdjectiveZord]

Originally Posted by KAWLIGA

With Blockbuster, you don't have to wait 28 days to watch your movies.

Did you completely ignore the part of the story where I said that I rented "The Other Guys" ON THE DAY IT CAME OUT?

For $1.

[bEZ]

Originally Posted by AdjectiveZord

No, it's not obvious in the slightest? Why is it more easier for kiosk to do? Because everything is automated? The stores have employees for that.

Let's say Jim Face orders "Moviedude II: The Revenge of Villainguy" from the online to be picked up in the store. When Jim Face orders this, why can't the store employees go out to the shelf, grab the disk and set it aside?

I mean, think about it, if the guy is paying already online, he rented the movie, its on his account, its just not in his hands. Lets say he orders the movie but the SL is there by themselves and doesn't have a chance to go get it. No biggie. Because even if someone else brings the disk up, it won't let it check it out to them because someone else already paid for it and it's now rented out on their account, its just being held at the store.

Sure, if that's the last copy its going to make the customer at the counter mad, but what can you do? It's been paid for. And maybe that customer will now start to use the BBV online ordering system for himself since he now knows it'll help him get the best movies when he wants them.

I mean seriously though, even a simple e-mail reminder system that says "That movie you ask about every weekend has been checked back in" would be a 200% improvement to the way we do things now.

Okay, and how would we be notified of this?? would we have to check box office every 10 mins?? would we have to go to the back to the fax machine every few mins?? There are many shifts where i'm the only one in the store and just don't have time to even check box office or got to the back.

What if the movie someone orders is already in the hand of a customer(this would be very likely to happen on a saturday night)...who gets the movie??

What if we can't find the movie?? If there is only one copy I always tell customers who call to hold while I look for it to make sure it's there.. I really don't think using the phone to get a movie put on hold is that much more complicated than doing it online.

I'm not saying that it can't be implemented, it obviously can be, but i think it would cause more complications than conveninence....at least at this point in time.

Also, while we are completely archaic in some aspects, Blockbuster does have a lot of cool features now, and is certainly attempting to make things better,

for instance I want to rent Terminator 2:
I go to Blockbuster.com and search and see, that i can buy the DVD online, I can buy the download or rent the download... but i want to go to the store to get it, so i enter in my zip code, and see that my local store has it for rent on DVD and blu-ray... couldn't do that even 1 year ago, so you can't say blockbuster isn't trying.

Also if you have an online membership, it always shows if any of the movies in your queue are available in a local store(and how many copies)...

and i'm pretty sure blockbuster already has a system in place where you can get due date reminders sent to your e-mail.

[BUYMECAR]

i'm seeing the middle ground of this discussion.

yes, blockbuster should be trying to make more efforts to streamline both online and in-store services by syncing the accounts.

yes, blockbuster already does this to a very TINY minimum. online and in-store accounts can be synced to each other. online customers can then view their in-store account information online. does the online customer have control over any of the information? no. can they do anything with it? no. so it's rather pointless apart from feeling secure about your in-store account.

yes, blockbuster has existing resources to implement this. they could do something as simple as an automated phone system that would call the store employees and read out the customer # and part # after the online customer requests to have the in-store item held on the Blockbuster website. it will then prompt the employees with a 1 or 2 dial option... 1 if the item is available and ready, 2 if the item is not. 1, the store employee should have the item up and the customer account up... print a hist and hold. 2, the call ends but the customer will receive an automated call saying that the item is not currently available.

no, blockbuster does not have financial resources to fully implement and test something like this.

[djblade]

guys guys redbox sucks so much no matter what you say. The only pro about redbox is that they charge $1 a day. Emails isn't a big thing too because people don't check them often. Pretty much geeks and business people check there emails everyday/hour. Also, there a lot of movies you have to wait 28 days for too.

[Nicholas R Miller]

The Other Guys is from Sony, they have a 28 day wait with Netflix but not Redbox. At least not yet. It seems the studios have benifited well from the 28 day wait so I wouldn't be surprised if Sony, Paramount, Summit and Lionsgate use their out-clause that they have in place on their current deals with Redbox and Netflix. There is a big possibility that by mid-2011 most studios if not all will develop a 28 day wait for both. This would be incredibly bad for Redbox but have a minimal (if any) effect on Netflix since they have a huge customer base and a big catalog and TV selection.

[AdjectiveZord]

I really don't think the 28 day wait thing is a big deal at all. The fact that Blockbuster is hedging their bets on it is really stupid. People already 3-4 months for the movies to go from the theater to the store to rent it. Three more weeks won't make that big of a difference to a person who just hits up the Redbox whenever they go grocery shopping, because there's still new movies coming in every week. Besides, the 28 day thing wasn't designed to favor Blockbuster, it was designed to favor DVD sales over rentals. Blockbuster just gets a free pass because they do revenue sharing on the rentals with the studios, which is why our prices are so high.

Blockbuster ought to just cease sharing the revenue for rentals with these studios and lower its prices. Sure Blockbuster will have to wait 28 days like everyone else, but it'll at least be on equal footing with its competitors and be in a position to offer a better value to its customers, making it a more competitive company overall. Blockbuster could also still offer the retail copy on the day it comes out, helping to appease both movie studios that desire more retail revenue and the fringe customers who absolutely HAVE to have something on the day it comes out.


In this shitty economy where people don't have as much money for frivolities as they used to the focus should be on creating a good value. Now that I don't get the free rentals from Blockbuster, I'm finding new ways of being entertained for less. When Blockbuster is a good value, such as the Game Pass, I support the company. When other places offer a better value, such as Netflix and Rebox, I go with them. People are loyal to the brand that is going to give them the best value for how much they are paying.

But with Netflix and Redbox helping to redefine the movie renting as a low-cost yet high-tech industry. Blockbuster's failure to keep up, or their dependence on their high-cost stores to pimp their low-cost online makes them in a position where it's hard to keep up. In a few short years the competition has swept into town and changed the game. Blockbuster HAS to change or die, that's just the reality of it.

[itirnitii]

I think a large amount of people that go to Redbox rent on a whim while they are already doing something else (shopping). They don't have a clue what new movies are actually out and probably don't care all that much. Walk up to the box, see what they have, get a movie for $1 with no hassle. For me, it's always an impulse buy while I'm at walgreens.

I'd take waiting 28 days over overpaying to hear some sales pitch at Blockbuster any day.

[MaximusX7]

At my store, were surround by people that are of low income, so going to redbox makes more sense for them.

I have alot of new customers that are PISSED that they have to come to blockbuster just to get a movie they can't pick up for a dollar.

Like this guy who came in said to me, "You guys are worst then the homeless, you just try to get every damn dime you can outta me."

[bEZ]

I think it's obvious that Redbox is a better option than paying $5 per new release...especially if you only plan to keep it for a day... but there's nothing Blockbuster stores can really do about that, I don't think we'd survive charging a dollar a day... It's sad to say but we are just a victim of changing of the times... along with many other industries that have dissapeared in the last decade or so.

[Flantanella]

28 day delay could been very useful for BBI, of course those cocks fucked it up again that it really doesnt make a difference. Plus thats what torrents are for if you really want to see a movie