PGHFlyer

I returned a movie in store on Friday and expected a replacement to ship that day or today, but nothing did. I filed a complaint and the response I received said that their distribution center only works from Monday to Friday. This is also now in their Help FAQ on the site.

First of all this is BS since USPS works on Saturday, but isn't this a change? I could almost swear I had activity on Saturdays in the past...............

EdTheRipper

I believe Blockbuster used to ship on Saturdays but it's possible that they stopped doing so. Netflix doesn't ship on Saturdays either, if that helps any.

TheOne

I don't think they ship on Sat except maybe on occasions.

The online rep said they don't ship Sat but there were a few times they did. But it is rare and haven't happened recently.

nemein

They definitely used to but it has been awhile since they have done it on a regular basis. WRT turning things into the store and expecting a replacement to ship the same day, it's been quite awhile since I've had that happen as well.

DJ_Longfellow

sometimes thet don't ship on Monday also, as that is a high volume return day. I got an e-mail from them before stating that.

DVD Josh

You are right USPS does work on Saturdays. I guess you should too.

fujishig

So that leaves us with a 4 day week? Great.

DJ_Longfellow

Well, it still technically is 5 days, but if they don't ship Monday, you have no right to complain. I e-mailed them on it, and they basically said oh well..we are busy that day.

I've since switched to Netflix, and they don't ship Saturday either.

nemein

um... not sure about the Monday thing. I had two things check in this morning and two replacements are in my queue now/I've received the shipment email.

DJ_Longfellow

It's hit or miss....check the Netflix thread, they are starting to do the same thing. Some people have 3 movies scheduled to ship, one going Monday, two on Tuesday. It's getting bad that both services are starting to suck a bit.

PGHFlyer

Looks like you can only expect shipping on Tuesday - Thursday (3 days a week) because they count Friday as a weekend and don't count Monday because it is too busy.

Here was my response that I received from 2 different inquiries:

"Basically when you return a movie to a Blockbuster Store, it is scanned at the store and so, a slot is freed in your account. Moreover, that movie title is not "checked in" until it is physically received at the shipping center. This explains why you would see the movie title still checked out for a few business days after it scans at the Blockbuster Store. Keep in mind that the scanning system at the Blockbuster Stores and the check-in system at the shipping centers are separate. Also, for movies that have been shipped back on weekends, including Fridays, you may expect to receive the next shipment on a Tuesday, since Mondays are the biggest turn-out days for DVDs, and lesser turn-in for the returns.

To clarify our process, we send out new titles generally at the end of the next business day after any items are reported or checked in (check-in scans can be at either a store or at the actual shipping center.) They are automatically selected based on other customer's requests for the same titles, priority, distribution center location, the number of copies we have, receipt of damaged discs, and postal service performance. Please keep in mind that we do not ship or check-in titles on weekends and on recognized Federal holidays."

nemein

guess I've been lucky then. I do usually see when I turn something into the store it'll be the next day before I get a replacement. However for those I send back in the mail nine times out of ten I get same day turn around, including shipments going out on Monday and Friday. Additionally even though on the website they usually list two day shipping time to me, I usually get it the next day.

FILMCZY

Bottom line: You will only ever get 3 dvds shipped a week from Blockbuster. On the other hand, I have had up to 15 dvds shipped from Netflix in a week.

nemein

I disagree... we are two weeks into the year so far and I've received 12 DVDs from Blockbuster and 12 from Netflix (on the 3 out plan on both). Last year my stats were a little over 20/mn from Blockbuster and a little over 19/mn from Netflix. Maybe it's just me/the way I use the various services though. Personally I'm happy w/ both... for the time being


BTW how do you get 15/wk on the 3 out plan? Even if you get 3 on Monday, watch all of them and get them back into the mail on Monday it'll be Wed before you get the replacement 3. Do it again (watch Wed, returned on Thurs and replacements shipped out) and it'll be Friday when you get those (drop those in the mail and have the swap on Monday and the whole thing starts all over again)... so I can see maybe 9, but how do you get the 15?

FILMCZY

Sorry...I should have mentioned I have the 5-at-a-time plan w/Netflix.

nemein

ah... that makes more sense

FILMCZY

Well I'm back to my original theory about only shipping 3 dvds a week. I returned two movies instore on the 15th. It's now the 18th and the two "available" titles sitting at the top of my queue are just that: SITTING! WTF? The two dvds are documentaries for god sake. It's inconsistencies such as this that really piss me off about these online rental services. Maybe their hoping we'll all abandon their mail service and start using their "instant" download option instead.

Space_Monkey

I've found Friday is the worst day to return a dvd to Blockbuster. They do not ship Saturday and Monday is what their CS has called a limited day. I get pissed every time I return a dvd or they receive it back Friday morning and then nothing new ships out until Tuesday morning. Because then I typically receive it Thursday so I can watch it just to return it on Friday and start the cycle all over again...

I've been a Blockbuster Online member since they started but with the rate increase this month on my 1 dvd at a time plan and the poor shipping turnaround I've been getting recently (on top of the loss of the e-coupons and limitation of the in-store exchanges), I am seriously considering trying Netflix the next time I see a free on month trial.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

They also work Sundays but don't deliver.

FILMCZY

So what's up? It's now day four after i returned two dvds in-store and the two "available" dvds at the top of my queue STILL have not been shipped. Let's do the math: rate increase + sh*tty service = Blockbuster Online.

eatntae

I didn't want to create a new thread about this, so I'll just put it here:

I cancelled my Blockbuster Online account about a week and a half ago. I returned 2 of the 3 mailers I had at my house at the local store and exchanged them for some movies. I was under the impression that they would no longer ship movies to me, so I never bothered to check my queue on the website. Well, today I checked the mail and I had 2 movies waiting for me. I double checked the status of my account on the website and under next billing date it says N/A.

So did they accidentally ship these 2 movies to me, or will they continue to ship until the end of my current billing cycle?