Consumerist
-
incorrect procedure
Man Stabs Himself So He Doesn't Have To Work At Blockbuster
Blockbuster must be a very unpleasant place to work, because police say a Colorado man stabbed himself and blamed "three skinheads or Hispanic males dressed in black." (Really.) According to the cops, the guy eventually admitted that he stabbed himself so he wouldn't have to go to work. More » -
blockbusted
Former Blockbuster Employee Says Manager Made Her Strip For Chance Of Promotion
Chicago Now reports an Illinois woman is suing Blockbuster for sexual harassment because her manager allegedly twice demanded she show him her breasts in order to be considered for a promotion. He also demanded she sit on his lap for computer training. More » -
late fees
Blockbuster Tells Gamer It's Reinstituting Late Fees For Game Rentals At 'Select Stores'
Blockbuster is apparently "celebrating the end of late fees" with... late fees! More » -
blockbuster death watch
Yeah, Blockbuster Is Pretty Much F*#$%$
Back in the day there used to be these things called VHS tapes. They used to cost a lot of money — so there were these places you could go to rent them. The last surviving relic of this bygone era, Blockbuster Video (also known as the company that was almost stupid enough to buy Circuit City), announced in a regulatory filing today that it plans to close over 800 stores by the end of next year. This is nearly twice the number they previously announced. More » -
dvd rentals
Attempt To Cancel Blockbuster Account Does Wonders For Customer Service
Brian signed up for Blockbuster Total Access, which lets you rent movies by mail and return them in store. More » -
cheap stuff
Have Your Way With Blockbuster For $10 A Week
Looking for a way to stop the hemorrhaging, Blockbuster is offering a clever little promotion to lure mega-movie geeks back into its dusty aisles for one more fling. The Summer Escape Pass offers all-you-can watch for $10 a week. More » -
cancel the account
Blockbuster Website Tells You To Click "Cancel" Forgets To Include Button
Valerie just wants to cancel her Blockbuster Online subscription. They tell her to click... but there's nothing there. More » -
movie rentals
Watch Out For Throttling If You're On A Blockbuster Rental Plan
Robert's recent experience with his local Blockbuster just underscores how ill-equipped the rental chain is to compete against Netflix and new-star-on-the-block Redbox. Whether Robert has caught them deliberately throttling his account, or he's just the victim of a poorly implemented system, it's not the kind of customer experience you should have to settle for anymore. More » -
-
fines
Blockbuster Busted For Overcharging Customers, Must Pay $300k
What do you do when the foundation to your business is crumbling and bankrupcty lurks like the Grim Reaper just outside your drop box? If you're Blockbuster, apparently you charge customers more at the register than what's displayed on the product, at least in California. More » -
If we owned a Blockbuster franchise, we'd seriously think about just renting out the space to a bunch of Redbox kiosks. Blockbuster reported a 42% drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2009, which CEO Jim Keyes blamed on people going out to watch movies at theaters instead. Regarding the Redbox threat, Keyes said they hope to have 3,000 kiosks functioning by the end of the year. Redbox, on the other hand, has about 12,000. [Reuters]
MORE » -
market destruction
Redbox Kiosks Crank Out Cheap DVD Rentals, Doom For Hollywood
With its ubiquitous DVD rental kiosks, Redbox has been known to toy with our emotions. The machines have taken up all the choice grocery store spots where your favorite stale gumball machines used to sit. And company execs taunted us by dreaming up that awesome Free Movie Mondays promotion only to vow to take it away by the end of the summer. More » -
funny
This Blockbuster Has Pretty Much Given Up
We guess when you're hurting as much as they are, you pick your battles.
(Thanks to Jess!) -
tips
How To Delete Your Online Accounts
PC Mag has assembled a list of instructions on how to wipe your account from a long list of websites, including Classmates.com (you'll have to call), Windows Live ID (it's complicated), and Friendster (ha ha ha). In many cases, canceling is as straightforward as clicking a link and authorizing the cancellation, but it's nice to see all the phone numbers and tips collected in one spot. More » -
blockbuster
Blockbuster's Stock Nosedives On News It Is Investigating Bankruptcy
Blockbuster's stock just dropped 79% this afternoon after Bloomberg published a story that said the company hired the firm Kirkland & Ellis "to evaluate restructuring options, including a possible pre-packaged bankruptcy." Blockbuster says they've only hired the firm for "refinancing and capital raising initiatives," and that they do not intend to file for bankruptcy. More » -
blockbuster
Blockbuster Reduces Total Access Benefits, Disguises Change As "No More Due Dates!"
Blockbuster's Total Access subscription service—their bid for relevance in the Netflix era—used to ship the next movie in your queue as soon as you dropped it off at a Blockbuster store in exchange for a free rental. Now the next movie won't ship until you return that free store rental—in other words, now it will count as the next movie in your queue. Of course, in Blockbuster marketing-speak, that's considered a great new benefit. More » -
blockbuster
Blockbuster To Add Video Games to TotalAccess Service, Netflix Yawns
HackingNetflix has sent word that Blockbuster will be testing video game rentals through their Netflix-variant "TotalAccess". More » -
blockbuster
Blockbuster Will Offer 99 Cent DVD Rentals
Reuters says that Blockbuster will begin offering 99 cent rentals for the first time ever, according to CEO Jim Keyes. The details of which movies will be 99 cents have not been announced, but Keyes did say that the price point would include "thousands of DVDs, including many classic older movies." More » -
Something we noticed while looking up info on Blockbuster.com today: the $25 cash back promo they've got going with PayPal is still being promoted on the front page of their site, but the fine print says it expired on August 31st. You probably shouldn't take advantage of that "offer" until Blockbuster clears up the expiration question.
MORE »
blockbuster
New York, 9:10 PM
Sat Nov 7
13 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
Co-Executive Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Executive Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Carey Greenberg-Berger
Email | AIM
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Assistant Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Comments Moderator:
Email | AIM
Contributing Editors:
Lucy Bayly | Email
Phil Villarreal | Email
