Complaint Review: Blockbuster Video

First of all one thing I have to say is even though I am a blockbuster employee, if my movies are late I also have to pay an extened viewing fee if my movies are not returned on time. But unlike the consumer, I cannot remove the extending viewing fee from my account. We do get sick and tired of listening to the customer complain about their extended viewing fees when we know that they are valid. All employees are required to check in the movies that are in the drop box before noon. They log the times that we check in the movies in the computer so they can see if we are doing our job. At noon we stop checking in the movies until 5pm. If for any reason you think that your movie is late, bring it into the store and most employees will credit it off for you anyway(unless it is ridiculosly late). We believe in being fair to the customer and not argue about a few dollars. And most of us would like it very much if you would stop complaining about the employees that work for the company. All we are doing is our job. It is just like any employee of anyother company. If Mcdonalds screws up your order in one way or another and tries to make it beter for you, you keep going back right? And with the "late fees" as you all call them, you are going to have those with any rental company. Whether it is a video rental, car rental, furniture rental. You make you payment late, bring your car back late, or return your movie late they are all going to charge you for the compensation of not being able to either rent the product out to another consumer or get their money. You pay you rent late and your lanlord charges you extra every day that it is late!!!! Not Blockbuster, we charge you by the rental period. If your movie is 1 full day late you will pay for another rental period of the movie, whether it is 2 days or 7. We do not believe in charging by the day. If the movie was late on our end and we made the mistake, we will credit all monies on your account and try to compensate you. Blockbuster is for the customer, not against. I hope all of you will ermember that the next time you want to complain about our company policies and procedures. Would you like me to go into your work and complain about the service when you are trying your best? I think not. So have the same respect. Hollywood video will charge you for your rental being late also.
But I do not see you being so harsh on them! But if you do not like our company then do not come in and it will make it a happier place for all of us that do work there.

Yes there was a class-action lawsuit concerning late fees. Guess what people are STILL complaining! Before the lawsuit late fees were added daily. Meaning, if you paid 4.10 for the movie and it was late you were charged 4.10 DAILY until it was returned. Now it is a weekly charge of the late fee. If it is a five day movie, you are only charged the 4.10 for the five day rental period. And people still complain.

As for long lines. The lines would not be as long if the customer was prepared for the transaction. Have your card ready, identification ready, coupons or whatever else you will need. Things go a lot faster if you don't have to dig through your wallet or your purse! It is all about common sense. I could go on and on about how customers cause the most problems. They create thier own problems. We just get paid to put up with them.

I have worked for BBV for three years and I am currently working for HWV.

Yes there was a class-action lawsuit concerning late fees. Guess what people are STILL complaining! Before the lawsuit late fees were added daily. Meaning, if you paid 4.10 for the movie and it was late you were charged 4.10 DAILY until it was returned. Now it is a weekly charge of the late fee. If it is a five day movie, you are only charged the 4.10 for the five day rental period. And people still complain.

As for long lines. The lines would not be as long if the customer was prepared for the transaction. Have your card ready, identification ready, coupons or whatever else you will need. Things go a lot faster if you don't have to dig through your wallet or your purse! It is all about common sense. I could go on and on about how customers cause the most problems. They create thier own problems. We just get paid to put up with them.

I have worked for BBV for three years and I am currently working for HWV.

I work for blockbuster and i used to love my job but in the four years i have worked there i have in countered more horrifying customers then emplyees. I have been followed home by a man who was angry of a four doller late fee. I have been caughed on by a man who was sick mad because i would not rent to someone who was not on his account and made him come in. I have been cussed out i can't even count the number of times. i have never added a late fee to anyones account. in fact if a customer disputes a late fee i remove it and just remind them when movies are due. And for everyone who thinks we rip you off with the whole noon return time well it's not your company and blockbuster has the right to set when movies are do there their movies. If it was at midnight people would still complain so i look at it this way if you don't like return days and times buy the movie instead then you don't have anything to worry about. otherwise buy the company or open your own and set what ever return time you want.!

Let's see...

If you don't like turning in videos at noon, turn them in at midnight the night before- just like the old deadline. There is no law stating that you have to keep the movie until the last possible minute.

Blockbuster stores choose what videos to stock based on what rents in that particular store- so blame the heathens around you for renting crap. Blockbuster is not a library or a film education facilty and has no reason to stock movies that don't rent.

Those empty registers are just that- empty. Theres no money in them. Putting money in them and getting someone on them takes a good ten minutes of counting money and that sort of thing. It also takes a manager- who is likely working one of thos registers herself. In the world on modern retail, the registers are computerized and track every single thing an employee does. And the employee is accountable for everything that happens on that register. So people can't just hop on registers whenever they feel like it. They need to be assigned registers which they keep for the entire day.

And don't you think Blockbuster thought about that stack of movies sitting there at noon? Scanning in movies before noon is the number one priority- even before renting movies to people. But if it does not get done, there are numerous safegaurds- includeing a substancial grace period- in place.

Let's see...

If you don't like turning in videos at noon, turn them in at midnight the night before- just like the old deadline. There is no law stating that you have to keep the movie until the last possible minute.

Blockbuster stores choose what videos to stock based on what rents in that particular store- so blame the heathens around you for renting crap. Blockbuster is not a library or a film education facilty and has no reason to stock movies that don't rent.

Those empty registers are just that- empty. Theres no money in them. Putting money in them and getting someone on them takes a good ten minutes of counting money and that sort of thing. It also takes a manager- who is likely working one of thos registers herself. In the world on modern retail, the registers are computerized and track every single thing an employee does. And the employee is accountable for everything that happens on that register. So people can't just hop on registers whenever they feel like it. They need to be assigned registers which they keep for the entire day.

And don't you think Blockbuster thought about that stack of movies sitting there at noon? Scanning in movies before noon is the number one priority- even before renting movies to people. But if it does not get done, there are numerous safegaurds- includeing a substancial grace period- in place.

Let's see...

If you don't like turning in videos at noon, turn them in at midnight the night before- just like the old deadline. There is no law stating that you have to keep the movie until the last possible minute.

Blockbuster stores choose what videos to stock based on what rents in that particular store- so blame the heathens around you for renting crap. Blockbuster is not a library or a film education facilty and has no reason to stock movies that don't rent.

Those empty registers are just that- empty. Theres no money in them. Putting money in them and getting someone on them takes a good ten minutes of counting money and that sort of thing. It also takes a manager- who is likely working one of thos registers herself. In the world on modern retail, the registers are computerized and track every single thing an employee does. And the employee is accountable for everything that happens on that register. So people can't just hop on registers whenever they feel like it. They need to be assigned registers which they keep for the entire day.

And don't you think Blockbuster thought about that stack of movies sitting there at noon? Scanning in movies before noon is the number one priority- even before renting movies to people. But if it does not get done, there are numerous safegaurds- includeing a substancial grace period- in place.

I just have to say I have been working at BB for a good 3 years, and if anyone even had a clue to what it was like you would be horrified.

Customer service is hard, especially when there are people who come in and complain about a late fee, and I look into their acct. and it shows that all 5 movies were checked in at exactly 14:34, but they sware they returned at 9am!

I just have to say that we are not stupid people, most of us work there because it is a job that is flexible with our school hours, and it is all a team effort in everything.

To be honest I have lost faith in people since working there, I have heard every excuse in the book, that I could make money in selling one! People always have a life story to why their movies are late. Then we have those people who like to call on the weekends to ask what the new releases are for the week, even though there are about 25 people waiting in line, they insist on having my full attention right away.

Not to mention those people who come in at 4pm asking us to checkin the movie right away in the middle of checkout...try thinking about you working there, how would you handle it???

Oh and, the part about smoking drugs in the back room, I would hope not, there is no way, because there are cameras even in that room monitoring every move.

Seems like most of these people are in the dark.
Obviously, they don't watch the news either or
they'd know BLOCKBUSTER is the proud target
of a class-action lawsuit for their shoddy
practices of fining customers rediculous late
fees. I myself have been fined twice the cost of renting a movie even though I turned it in the evening before it was due. Wake up folks.
Take some responsibility. And if you can't,
at least keep your mouth shut. You only end
up making yourself look stupid.

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their email: nausia_x_ten@ucky.com
Their name: Mousy
Their relationship to the company: Supporter

Rebuttal:
I work at Blockbuster and I know that when I'm on shift with my friends, we'll go in the back room and smoke dope with the manager. We've charged people for late charges for all kinds of reasons; hardly ever do we do this because they are actually late. One guy had 7 movies when he walked in around midnight, we hear this guy "hello" "hello". We were all in the men's room smoking some stuff. I didn't scan the guy's movies or nothing
just took them and hurried back to the men's room. They were all smiling at me. "Sorry" Joe held out empty palms, and laughed letting out a bunch of smoke. I was pissed, so I put all 7 of that guys rentals in my car and took them home the next day. The rest of the night I kept scanning movies and placing them in his name- 'Robert Alannin.' What do you think about that bobby boy????

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: sharkbait@lycos.com

Their name: Mike



Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion



Rebuttal:

Last week a guy hit me during heavy traffic here in San Diego. The guy was weaving in and out of traffic when he smacked into the left side of my car. He pulled over in front of a nearby blockbuster. When I got out to exchange information...he took off on foot towards the blockbuster. So I gave chase. I grabbed him by the arm right in front of the blockbuster video return slot. He elbowed me in the face. He sighed as he dropped his

movies into the slot. When he turned to face me all calm...I laid him out. What's blockbuster doing? . Torturing people with late movies? "Hey this is late...draw and quarter that guy"

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: texaco12@aol.com

Their name: anon



Their relationship to the company: Supporter



Rebuttal:

We do know the concept of time. However when you have to handle Direct TV questions and sales, phone calls, and BS complaints about the noon thing that they thought was at night you have to do as much as you can at once. And for your information, there is a grace period in the computer to allow us to scan the tapes from the drop box. They arent collecting dust they are scanned and 9 times out of 10 they simply havent been run back out onto the floor.

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: Trashlink@usa.net

Their name: Trashlink



Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion



Rebuttal:

GREAT!!!!! Some of the BB employees understand the concept of time!



Now all you need to do is explain to the employees that the pile of tapes in the corner collecting dust have to be SCANNED BEFORE the big hand reaches the 12..



That way the computer thingy understands that the little black tape was dropped of before the big hand reached the 12 on your Mickey Mouse watches!

This email is a rebuttal to RipOff #4843.

It was sent by Texaco at texaco12@triad.rr.com.



Blockbuster Blockheads ..the place sucks. *REBUTTALS employee says, it's the fault of the employee (#4843)

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: texaco12@triad.rr.com

Their name: Texaco



Their relationship to the company: Supporter



Rebuttal:

I am an AM at a BB and simply have this to say. Noon is when the hand on your watch both are at 12 and the sun is up. MIDNIGHT is when the same thing happens and its dark outside. Common sense folks. If you have problems with the NOON thing then bring them back the night before at midnight like it used to be. In my store it says that the tapes are due by NOON no less than 7 times from the counter to the exit door. A drunk

monkey could pick up on that fact.



And since when did you start thinking that your 8 year old wants to go to BB at 11:30 at night? (I'm sorry, did you think it was 12 in the afternoon? get some sense.) If you have 5 movies checked in late, all at the same time, chances are your trying to lie and we know it. call our DM and kiss our a*s. We honestly don't care if you threaten to go to Hollywood because you always come right back.



We don't add late fees because we are tired of the people who actually have them bitching at us. Why would we want to increase our stress??? Gee, we give you guys 12 hours more to bring the movies back and you complain even more than before. Granted sometimes a movie slips through teh check-in

and we don't scan it. That is our faukt and I for one will admit that. but I'm sorry, if your have $75 bucks in late fee credits then your trying to rip us off and we don't take it. Our computers show us everything about your rental history. The time you take your movies and when you bring them back. we even see how many of those Eros "B" porno movies you rent. Hense the reason so many of you lately are bringing in newborns.



So when you come in with a BS excuse as to why you have a late fee, we have heard everything 100 times that day alone. thats it for this rant. if you got a responce send it to me. i garuntee i will have RESPONCE

They filed the following to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: texaco12@triad.rr.com

Their name: Texaco



Their relationship to the company: Supporter



Rebuttal:

I am an AM at a BB and simply have this to say. Noon is when the hand on your watch both are at 12 and the sun is up. MIDNIGHT is when the same thing happens and its dark outside. Common sense folks. If you have problems with the NOON thing then bring them back the night before at midnight like it used to be. In my store it says that the tapes are due by NOON no less than 7 times from the counter to the exit door. A drunk

monkey could pick up on that fact. And since when did you start thinking that your 8 year old wants to go to BB at 11:30 at night? (I'm sorry, did you think it was 12 in the afternoon? get some sense.)



If you have 5 movies checked in late, all at the same time, chances are your trying to lie and we know it. call our DM and kiss our a*s. We honestly don't care if you threaten to go to Hollywood because you always come right back.



We don't add late fees because we are tired of the people who actually have them bitching at us. Why would we want to increase our stress??? Gee, we give you guys 12 hours more to bring the movies back and you complain even more than before. Granted sometimes a movie slips through teh check-in and we don't scan it. That is our fault and I for one will admit that.

but I'm sorry, if your have $75 bucks in late fee credits then your trying to rip us off and we don't take it. Our computers show us everything about your rental history. The time you take your movies and when you bring them back. we even see how many of those Eros "B" porno movies you rent. Hense the reason so many of you lately are bringing in newborns.



So when you come in with a BS excuse as to why you have a late fee, we have heard everything 100 times that day alone. thats it for this rant. if you got a responce send it to me. i garuntee i will have RESPONCE.

They filed the following to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: jellis@methodistcare.com

Their name: Jamie Ellis



Their relationship to the company: Supporter



Rebuttal:

I work at Blockbuster part-time even though I don't need to. As for the late fees, most of the time it is the customer's fault because they either turned them in late because they were not made aware of the noon policy.



Look on the receipts, it's there. Don't get me wrong, there are some occasions where it's the fault of the employee not checking them in or missing movies while checking in. The best solution to all of this is to take the movies inside and have them check them in for you and ask for a receipt. This will eliminate any concerns about late fees being added onto your account. As for customer service, you get what you pay for.



Most of the employees in blockbuster's are made up of highschool kids just there to earn a little extra cash for the summer. Since I started working there part-time, I have come to realize just how cruel people can be.



I don't care if you make $20,000 a year or your a six figure person. They treat these employees like dirt and have no concern about their feelings.



So, next time you are in a blockbuster, put yourself in their shoes or picture your child working there someday and someone yelling at them over a $4.10 late fee. Wouldn't make you to happy, would it?

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: chasity1621@aol.com

Their name: Chasity



Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion



Rebuttal:

I like going to blockbuster because i am a member of the rewards program which allows me to get free rentals, but with late charges being added, let me say this, the blockbuster i go to has a policy that they do not add a late fee unless the movie has not arrived by 2pm.. this gives you an extra 2 hours to rush back and return it (as i always return them the last minute). now with late charges, if you still get them, if you really don't

believe you owe it, just tell the manager, they can dismiss it with a push of a button.

This email is a rebuttal to RipOff #4843.

It was sent by Amy at bartlettamy@home.com.



Blockbuster Blockheads ..the place sucks. (#4843)



They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:



Their email: bartlettamy@home.com

Their name: Amy

Their relationship to the company: Devotee



Rebuttal:

I personally work at Blockbuster, and if you worked there you would understand some of your complaints. As for late-fees added... there is NO WAY for employees to do that.



The reason you get late fees if probably because you hate that NOON-THING, and you don't turn them in on time. I don't live or work anywhere near you do, so I can not say for your store,

but you can complain to corrprate... they have comment cards in the store. If you don't see them, ask.



I will promise you this... I will personally make sure the blockbuster headcourters knows that people around the country are dissappointed, and you should also do so.