potnoodlez

I am in my 4th month with Blockbuster Online. The service was great for around 3 1/2 months. I live about 45 minutes away from their nearest warehouse. It would take a day for them to receive a dvd I returned. It would normally take me two days to receive one from them. However, the past few weeks service has completely slowed down. Now it takes 3-5 days for them to "receive" the dvds I return. Their site still estimates it will take 2 days for me to receive a dvd they ship but it may actually take 3-4 days.

So now I am wondering if Blockbuster is purporesly doing this since I am a high volume renter because I have seen all of the complaints about Netflix doing it. Has anyone else had a similar problem with BBO?

BigDan

I had a lot of trouble with Blockbuster taking forever to check in returns when I was a customer of theirs. Fortunately, I could report the disc as returned after three days from when the disc shipped to me and they'd send out a new one.

I got the feeling there was a glitch in their system that resulted in many discs not showing up as returned when they were. There were times when it would be months before a disc would show up as checked in.

tonyc3742

My service with BBO has been great for the past 3-5 months. Just this week, however, I dropped a disk in the mail Tues, I believe, and just now got it rec'd and a new one sent out. Normally I get notice that its replacement was sent the next day.
I'm hoping it was a fluke postal service slowdown.

When I did report things as 'not arrived yet' when I sent them back, I noticed it took them a *long time* to show as received.

TheOne

I've joined in July and so far, it's been pretty good. Usually average around 20 movies a month.

So far only had maybe 2 times where I've sent in a disc and it took them 2 days to receive it instead of 1 day. In the beginning I would get a disc the next day or at latest the next day (2 days). Now it usually take 2 days or sometimes 3 days. Today got 2 discs that were estimated to had been received by me yesterday. (Shipped 11/1, estimated receive date 11/3, actual received 11/4).

I am curious too about other member's experiences since I am a high volume renter too and am wondering if BBO will start "throttling".

What I do if by the 3rd day, I would report it as not received yet even though I may receive it the next day (maybe). But I'm wondering if I do too much of that will they drop me. Can't beat about 20 movies a month and 2 in store rentals. Cheaper than having the satellite movie package and get to see the new movies sooner.

BigDan

I reported nearly every single disc I rented as returned on the day it should've showed up at their facility. In the six months or so I was a member, that amounted to dozens of discs, they never once contacted me about it.

TheOne

That's good to know. I did about 3 or 4 times reporting a disc didn't show up after the estimated arrival date to my house have passed. I have to wait till until the next day to report it since it would say 3 days have not passed. Unless it's a weekend. Then it seemed to let you report a disc haven't arrived at your home on that date instead of the next day.

calhoun07

They actually use warehouses? I know that they also use stores to ship online rentals from. If a DVD you're looking for isn't available from one store, they will forward your request to another store. I guess that might delay a DVD getting to you faster if they have to send it to more stores along the way.

And, no, not every store is set up to ship out online rentals, just certain ones, but they have several across the nation.

BigDan

Originally, Blockbuster online was essentially a clone of Netflix in how it was set up (in terms of using a network of distribution centers across the country). None of the discs came from the stores. It's only been since this summer that they started shipping some discs from stores. However, the last time I used them (which was a couple of months ago), I got far more from the local distribution center than from individual stores (andwhen I did get discs from a store, I never got a disc from the same store twice, leading me to believe that my account wasn't assigned to a particular store but was handled centrally... which would lead me to believe that some central database selects the store that has a disc and sends the order to ship that disc to the customer rather than the order starting at a store that may or may not have the title and then passed along to different stores until they find one that has it).

potnoodlez

I returned a disc a couple months ago but after a week it hadn't showed up as checked in so I reported it. It didn't finally show up as checked in until about 3 weeks later. I thought it was an anomaly but now all of my discs are taking forever to be checked in. I don't know if it is a mail service slow down or what.

I just reported one last night and another finally showed as checked in today. The third still hadn't so I reported that one, too. If It is BBO purposely doing it, I hope reporting it will show them that this won't be tolerated.

As for stores, it seems like they rarely ship from them. Only two of my dvds have came from an actual store. They were both local stores and I received those dvds in a day. Which makes me wonder why it takes two days for me to receive dvds from the local distribution center.

BigDan

I got an email tonight 11/17 saying that "Wicker Park", which I rented and returned in January, was received by Blockbuster today.

potnoodlez

I emailed BB about the slowdown and this is what I got as a response:

We appreciate you taking the time to submit this feedback. I apologize for the service delays you have experienced. Because of loyal members like you, BLOCKBUSTER Online has surpassed our growth expectations. While we're thrilled so many movie fans have turned to BLOCKBUSTER Online, The Movie Store At Your Door, we know our rapid growth may have impacted our service to you. We recognize the need to continuously improve and we are taking the following steps to do just that:

FASTER SHIPPING

The U.S. Postal Service will now notify us when the envelope containing the DVD you are returning has been scanned in. This means we will send you your next movie before we actually receive the returned one. This means quicker turnaround times for you.
We are adding 10 new shipping locations in the coming months to speed more movies to your door.

MORE COPIES

We are buying more copies of both new releases and old favorites. This should reduce the time you wait for your favorite titles.
Please know that we are working very hard to improve in this area. Thank you for your patience as we work to resolve your concerns.


Your Friends at BLOCKBUSTER Online

dvde

I have been with them for 3 months and I must say that I'm not impressed. They do in fact throttle me, because I'm within a few miles from where they ship and it usually takes a few days for dvd's to get to me after they receive my returns (which always get to them the next day). Not only do they throttle me, but new releases are NEVER available to me. I make sure I always return the dvd's on Monday, so they get them on Tuesday. That way I should get the new releases, but that's never the case! Everytime a new release is suppose to be released, the wait goes from the date it's suppose to be released to coming soon on that day and it stays like that for a while, then it goes to long wait. Blockbuster is a joke and I'm glad to see that they will probably file bankruptcy and hopefully go under. It's time for me to try someone else after this month.

al_bundy

I'm about 10 DVD per month on average and I don't have a problem. You do have to watch when you mail them though. If I mail them in the morning from near my house, then they get it the next day and ship a new one the same day. if I mail it after work, than it takes an extra day because the mail pick up isn't till the next day.

Delivery is usually the next day, but sometimes it takes 2 days. Probably the post office.

potnoodlez

I haven't changed how/when I mail them out at all. I always had the mail carrier pick them up when he delivers the mail. I could understand if it took an extra day but it takes an extra 2-3 days which concerns me. The last dvd I mailed out took the normal 1 day so hopefully it will be back to normal from now on.