I have been a long time reader of consumerist, and hoped I would never have to send in anything to you guys. Leave it to Blockbuster to force me to do this.
I have been using Blockbuster Online for almost a year now. It has been ups and downs. I have been shipped the wrong movie countless times, but just took the pain of not being able to watch my movie and sent it back. I have received enough “wrong” movies to deserve a few months of free service, but I don’t even complain I just figure “Nature of the Business”.
Now to my issue…. I had rented the classic “Apocalypse Now” and watched Disc One (which by the way Blockbuster online doesn’t tell you it is 2 discs on some of the choices so it is hit or miss.). So I went to my queue to put disc 2 on the list so I can enjoy the end of the movie. To my dismay, I log in to my account to find my queue EMPTY. I had 20-30 movies in the queue…. all gone!
So I email Blockbuster asking what happened to my movies? and can they do anything to recover the list! This is when the Mania ensues…. The respondent from Blockbuster was rude at best. Won’t acknowledge I even have a problem. Basically accuses me of erasing all of my movies (why would someone do that?) or that I gave my password to someone else and they did it. The most scathing part is that in her first response she in so many words “scolds” me for having an empty queue! I am also a big fan of the “Always here to help” signature on the end of the emails….
It is a ridiculous response, and considering their situation they should be doing jumping jacks to keep customers. Instead they respond with nonsense. They sent me two “surveys” after each response which I filled out “Extremely Dissatisfied” on every question.
Here is a copy of the Emails for your reading enjoyment. Hopefully people reading this will choose to not use Blockbuster, or even better someone from Blockbuster will read this and go to the customer service office and rattle some cages of their customer service agents.
My first email:
“All the movies I had in my queue are gone? What happened can I get the list back?”Blockbusters Response:
“Hello Martin,Thanks for contacting BLOCKBUSTER Online Customer Care.
I’ve checked that your queue is empty. Unfortunately, we would not be able to recover the list of movies that you have. You may just try to add movies again. Please remember that we use your queue to provide service and ask that you keep 30-40 “Available” movies listed at all times to ensure there are no interruptions.
Always here to help,
Regina
Customer Care Associate
BLOCKBUSTER Online”My Response:
“Regina,
That isn’t a good answer.
1. What happened to everything I had in there? Where did they go?
2. I don’t like the attitude of your response. You basically scolded me for not having 30-40 movies available. I DID have movies in there, the complete list is GONE.
3. If you can’t recover my list, I want SEVERAL months credit to my account. There was months of picking movies in there. I will never be able to remember all the movies my Wife and I put in there.Please provide a better response. Your response was sub-par at best.
Marty”Blockbuster 2nd Response:
“Hello Marty,
Please note that your queue can only be accessed with your own personal password. We don’t have the ability to modify or manage titles to your queue. You are also solely responsible for all activities that occur on your account or through use of your password by yourself or by other persons. Please make sure that your password is secured so no one can add or delete a movie in your queue without your knowledge. Thanks for your understanding.
Always here to help,
Regina
Customer Care Associate
BLOCKBUSTER Online”My 3rd Response:
Regina,
Can you please give this to a manager? You are not even answering my questions!
I did NOT delete anything from my queue, and I am the ONLY person with the password. Why would I delete my movies that a spent months putting the list together.
Please give this to someone who can give me a real answer. Otherwise I will have to cancel and go to Netflix. This is ridiculous that you aren’t taking me seriously. I didn’t delete anything and now after 2 communications from you… I still have not even gotten as little as and APOLOGY.
Regards,
Marty
Marty, why are you complaining to Consumerist when it’s obvious that you deleted the movies in the queue yourself. Oh wait, no. It’s not actually that obvious.
Our advice? Netflix? The local library?
(Photo:Maulleigh)
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Dude, she totally answered your question.
@nursethalia: No, she totally didn’t. He asked “what happened” and the CSR ignored that part completely in the first e-mail and then blamed it on him in the second.
Yes, he should have explained the problem better but should blaming the customer be the first and only response?
i think in this case Marty overreacted quite a bit. If there’s nothing that she can do about it, what else is there to discuss? I don’t really get how that was bad service…
I have been with netflix for some time now, and for a while i did a test drive on blockbuster. netflix is far, far superior. i highly reccomend it.
In the future, please do not give people like this a voice
a) It took months to compile a queue of 20-30 movies? I think it took me hours when I first signed up with Netflix.
b) I have never received an incorrect title with Netflix. In the 2.5 years I’ve been with them I think I’ve only gotten three broken discs and two otherwise unplayable ones, but that’s it problem-wise. Not bad!
Are you kidding me? Do you really think this guy is rational? Seriously…I also doubt that a queue just disappears. I’ve never had this happen. Even so, the comment about “do you think the agent has access to the database transactions to see what happened” was fair and stated with COMMON sense. If the agents could see database transactions, I doubt they would be customer service reps. They were just offering suggestions to keep more movies so you get shipments. Man, people take this stuff too seriously. Give more credit to those who are handling your concern and hearing the SAME THING over and over and over.
I love how the guy demands several months of credit for what, his movie queue being lost? Come on guy, it’s not that hard to figure out some movies that you want to watch. Especially since he said it was only 20-30, now if he had like hundreds listed I could understand that being a lot of work and time to figure out, but not 20-30 movies. I could set up that many in about 10 minutes.
Blockbuster’s responses read like formletters, but I don’t think they’re rude, and as form letters go they’re fairly responsive.
Guymandude -Netflix doesn’t support movies, it rents them. If your computer isn’t capable of playing a standard DVD, that’s not Netflix’s fault. And FYI, DVDs do play on Macs.
This is a lame complaint. I’m not a fan of Blockbuster but I don’t think the response you got was unreasonable. Especially considering the fact that you complain like a spoiled 12 year old.
@ediebeale: How does someone losemoney just by having to reconstruct their queue? Just because you can’t remember a particular movie you wanted 2 months ago doesn’t mean you’re somehow losing money.
I like being able to exchange my blockbuster movies in-store. I can’t do that with netflix.
@HOP: Haah..books…people…good one!!!!
>>I had rented the classic “Apocalypse Now”…
Charlie don’t surf.
>>All the movies I had in my queue are gone? What happened can I get the list back?
Marty can’t write.
>>So I email Blockbuster asking what happened to my movies? and can they do anything to recover the list!
You should have also asked them to add this video to your queue.
>>This is when the Mania ensues…
We regret to inform you that the included exchange does not meet the legal requirements for mania.
>>The respondent from Blockbuster was rude at best.
>>The most scathing part is that in her first response she in so many words “scolds” me for having an empty queue!
No, she wasn’t, and, no, she didn’t. Granted, her response wasn’t the greatest, didn’t include an apology, and failed to mention the potential for any technical (i.e. database) issues on their end (something, as a CSR, she is not likely informed of during training), but I do not personally believe it qualifies as rude. If you were truly “scathed” by the CSR’s suggestion that, since she would not be able to recover your queue, you rebuild it in order to avoid any interruption in service, then you are an even bigger, whinging idiot than this never-should-have-been-posted story makes you out to be.
>>If you can’t recover my list, I want SEVERAL months credit to my account.
Overly dramatic much? Here’s a simple answer for you:
No.
While it is wise to state the actions you would like a company to take in order to retain you as a customer when writing a complaint letter, it is also a good idea to keep your demands reasonable. Unless, of course, you don’t mind not being taken seriously and looking like one of those inane morons who is always threatening gate and ticket agents with lawsuits against airlines when flights are delayed or cancelled.
I am also having a hard time understanding your logic and reasoning in never complaining, requesting credit, or cancelling service after being upon receiving the wrong movies “countless times”, but then demanding “SEVERAL” months of free service when your beloved queue of the complete Ernest collection goes missing. Is there any particular reason as to why? Further, just to satisfy my own curiosity, were you genuinely “pained” when these erroneous shipments were sent to you. I mean, when it happens, rather than watching the movie and then requesting the correct one be sent, thus netting two rentals for the price of one, do you really sit there and go, “OOOHHHH, WOE IS ME! MY MEAGER REQUEST WAS ONLY FOR AMERICAN NINJA 6 AND RECEIVED IRON EAGLE 4 I HAVE!!1 WILL MY SUFFERING NEVER END? CURSE THEE BLOCKBUSTER!!!1! WHY DO YOU MOCK ME SO?!”
>>Your response was sub-par at best.
Not as much as your attempt at effective communication was.
Pro-tip: Stop watching movies and start reading books, preferably those of the educational variety. And if you’re still considering signing up for that Netflix membership, do yourself a favour and get a library card instead.