Just fired off my second complaint in 2 days (although I'm still trying to be civil since I'm sure the customer service reps are about ready to jump off a bridge at this point). Are you folks that are getting the three coupons having to come right out and ask for all 3, or are they just getting desperate to keep people around?

I too plan on complaining until this issue is resolved. If their computerized system is this messed up they need to hear from every customer who gets screwed until they put in the money to upgrade it.

This was the first time I got 3 coupons, normally I only get 1. I have never asked them for coupons. I just tell them I am a long time customer and I am getting very frustrated about not getting what I pay for.

Like I said, this must have been a BAD week for those CSRs, because this issue is not limited to just this board. I am seeing similiar complaints on a lot of boards. They have a BIG problem and it just seems to be getting worse by the day. I would imagine they are in full damage control mode now.

It appears you people have the same problems I have right now! I received my last 3 rentals on Friday, returned them to my local BB on Saturday, and my queue is STILL empty since then. I emailed them yesterday and today and their excuse was that my queue (which had ALL "Available" on it) wasn't 30 DVDs deep (maybe 23 but still...)!

Nope. No free rentals. I "officially" received 12 DVDs through the mail this month (One was cracked and the other was the wrong DVD!)! I thought Netflix was slowing down but they seem to have BB beat even WITH the in-store rentals!

They should give *everyone* (even those who has the free trial) an extra week for free!

that's bullshit with not having all "available" or not having 30 movies. the rep gave me that line too when I called. they are doing anything but admit that there is a problem. (they did admit there was a computer issue earlier this week when I called the first time. now they try to blame it on the customer)

I had one jackass tell me that he looked at my queue and I needed to have at least 30, but there was one problem... I ALWAYS have at least 200 in my queue. I actually had over 250 on that particular day.

I got 2 coupons (separate complaints) today, but I'm still going to write again because those were complaints from yesterday that they didn't read. I complained about the shipping, then complained about the lack of response. I have about 5 or 6 coupons now.

I don't mind if they admit they have a problem (and then they give everyone an extra week for free) but to blame the customers, that's LOW of them! Even before this, last week, I only received three rentals after waiting three days with an empty "shipped" queue.

I contacted them this morning about the lack of shipped dvds. After waiting 15 minutes, the CSR I spoke with stated they were just made aware of the "problem" yesterday. She said it was an "isolated" glitch in the system. I explained when they have a problem such as this, then customers should be notified somehow since BBO "promises" shipped dvds within 1 business day. She said the only way they know of such problems is by customers calling in and if there was a problem that customers would be notified (?) I also complained my last three emails were never answered. She stated BBO must not have received them. I explained then why did I immediately receive emails from BBO with a "service code" attached. The recording you listen to while waiting for a CRS states emails will normal be answered within "4 hours". I told the CRS it doesn't look good to customers when numerous "promises" are made then never followed up. She got a bit defensive but I told her not to take it personally, I was only offering suggestions. I did get three free e-coupons though so my suggestion is to call (1-866-692-2789) and complain.

Oh, and yes I did get the "not having 30 or more available movies in my queue" excuse which of course is bullsh*t since I have "short wait" as well as "long wait" titles sent to me all the time.

I received two free coupons today but nothing moved from the queue yet. Maybe we can all demand extended time (a week or two) for their foul up!

Wow. Now even their email service is down. I have tried three times this morning to file a complaint and I keep getting an internal error message. I think the sh*t has hit the BBO fan...

I haven't sent my email for today yet, but will be soon. So we will see.

I actually feel kinda bad for the CSRs, this could not have been a fun week for them. It really isn't their fault they are run by idiots that want "subscribers" at ANY cost.

Now you have Antioco fighting the board for more money, while people in the stores are getting $.10 raises.

Things are not looking good.

Here's an email response I've received earlier this week:

I appreciate you taking the time to notify us. I understand that we promised to ship DVDs to you immediately once your recent returns already checked in. The response to our Total Access program has been so sucessful that the infrastructure orginally designed to maintain the customer demand has been challenged. Due to these, some customers are experiencing delays in the shipping of movies. Please be informed that our technical personnels are already aware of this problem and are now doing everything they can to fix this issue. Rest assured that this setback is only temporary and we are doing everything we can to rectify this situation.

Also, maybe it's slowly being fixed or I just got lucky. Returned 2 DVDs in store yesterday. Reported it as returned but not cleared queue. One new DVD shipped today. But of course it said date DVD to be received is 3/7 (Wednesday). Usually it would be Monday or Tuesday.

And also I should have received a DVD today but I guess mail is slow so hopefully I'll get it Monday. Meanwhile, tomorrow I shall report it as not received yet. The last time I did this on a similiar situation, they didn't ship anything on Monday and took till Tuesday. Sure looks like BBO needs to update their infrastructure (hiring more people to ship out DVD from their distribution centers)

When the CSR looked up my account after I complained, she questioned why I reported them returned without clearing my queue although it showed I returned them in-store. She made it sound like it was my fault I haven't received any dvds this week because I supposedly reported them returned before actually returning them (which isn't the case). BBO may be on to this customer "manipulation" of their system.

As an aside, BBO may not have to worry about their TA program being so successful after established customers quit because of lack of service.

As of 5pm PT, BBO e-mail still down:

Internal Server Error:
Server id: 1->18
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Please contact the site's support team and inform them of the time of the error and what operation
you were performing when the error occurred.

Thank you for your patience.

Just a status update. Only 1 DVD sent after returning 2 yesterday in store. But of course I reported it as returned but not cleared queue. It would be interesting to see if the 2nd one gets sent Monday.

Also would be interesting if another one gets sent when I report one tomorrow as not received yet since I didn't get it today.

So I will be expecting 2 to go out Monday. But if only 1 goes out, then I'm not sure if it is for the one "reported" as returned or for the one reported as "not received yet".

But of course if nothing gets shipped Monday, time to complain.

Well, good to see that not everybody is getting the old screwjob.

Me? 7 days since I returned my last movie to a store and 5 days with a completely empty queue.

5th email in as many days to complain. In about an hour I will get an email back with a coupon and a cut and paste email saying how they know it is frustrating not getting the service you deserve, how they fowarded my complaint to the proper department, how I need to have 30 "available" movies in my queue. Oh ya, and the queue slots will be freed up immediately.

Sunday afternoon and their e-mail service is still down. Is it just me? Has anyone else been able to send an e-mail to them within the last couple days?

I sent one Friday and Saturday.

So everything seems to be working from here.

What is this crap?

We recommend that you always keep at least 30 "Available" titles in your Queue. We want to offer you the highest level of service by shipping DVDs in the order you have requested them, while ensuring that you receive the best value for your membership each month. Whenever a rental slot is open, we review the first listing in your Queue to determine whether or not it can be shipped from the closest distribution center to you. If the title is not available at this center, the system automatically searches for the requested title at other distribution centers throughout our network. If the top Queue selection falls outside of an acceptable shipping window, we will ship a title that falls lower in the queue. This process helps you receive more titles each month, based on anticipated shipping times, and allows you to experience fewer delays.


Does BBO honestly expect people to constantly keep 30 titles in their queue at all times? How many people can come up with 30 titles weekly? Netflix certainly doesn't have this problem. It appears BBO wants the system to work on THEIR behalf, not the customer. What exactly is an "acceptable shipping window"? I'm paying for the service for the movies I want to watch, not what BBO wants to ship me because it's closer to where I live. Even when Netflix has to ship me a dvd beyond my region it only adds a day or two. Big deal. At least I get what I want. I may just bail out of this sinking BBO ship...

"Acceptable shipping window" is 2 days. They won't send you something if it can't get there in 2 days. So they say.

I had one movie sit at #1 in queue never going out of "available" for 2 months. Finally, I just gave up and bought the movie.

Basically, if a movie you want isn't at your local DC the chances of you getting it are slim.

Maybe this was already answered, but does it matter what time you give them the movies instore? I've returned in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Even though the closest distribution center is 1 hour away from me it always takes 3-4 days turnaround time no matter what time I return them. Also is having a distribution center that close and getting those turnaround times normal?

Well I still haven't had any movies shipped no matter how many times their e-mails tell me they will clear my shipping and send. Not only that, but 2 out of the 5 coupons I tried to use at the store had already been redeemed. I find that amazing since they had a same day date, and I'm pretty damn sure I didn't use them and forget.

So not only can't they send movies correctly, but they can't send coupons correctly. Plus their call center hours are so horrible, I can't even call them because I'm working during the day.

My experience tells me it doesn't matter what time you return. Right now, BBO is having severe growing pains. Their "priority system" of shipping dvds (if you can call it that) obviously is not working. It appears all the new customers who have recently signed for TA have overrun the system and established customers are feeling the brunt of it. BBO wants to make sure the "new" customers are getting priority service while the rest of us sit around with empty shipping queues. When I use my three e-coupons tomorrow in-store, I will be calling again to complain if nothing is shipped by the next business day.

Nothing here either.

As a side note it looks as though they are going ahead with a 2 tiered pricing scheme. I just got an email for a survey and it gave me a sample of the email they are going to send. $21.99 for 3 out WITH TA and $17.99 for 3 out WITHOUT TA.

I think they should be more concerned with actually getting movies out to people before they start quitting.

I'm with ya on that one. I knew the TA program would only last a couple months. Haul in as many as you can, then raise the price. We'll see if it's worth the four extra bucks a month. If the service doesn't improve, I may cancel the online and just keep my in-store Movie Pass: unlimited rentals, 2 out, $28 a month.