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| - Why review Blockbuster?
...I've been a Netflix member for about ten years now (8 out at a time...movie geek here). So, why take the time to review this infamous struggling movie rental giant? Well...because there are still people renting here, and the few people that are left need to know how shitty this place is, and more importantly what they are missing out on.
First, let me just preface this by saying that I've probably been to Blockbuster more than the average folk. Growing up it was the main place we rented, then as I got older I'd do their Rewards program and monthly rental deals where they'd allow you to have unlimited in store rentals for a monthly fee...recently I even tried their online service just to see what it was all about. I say all this because I feel like this qualifies me to give Blockbuster one star.
Where to begin? I'm just gonna start listing stuff off here, because there are too many to discuss in a readable paragraph, and I may miss some points here...
-Selection. Blockbuster continues to disappoint when it comes to selection of independent and foreign films. The few that they do have seem to be rarely available. I know some people aren't into the lesser known titles, but for many people including me this is big time deal breaker. A vast majority of the lesser known titles that I'm interested in are only available on Netflix or an independently owned stores (like DVD Paradise in Chandler).
-Customer Service. Blockbuster fails here big time...I've been to multiple locations including this one, and have been seriously underwhelmed. Just as an example...I went to rent the TV series 'OZ' there quite a while ago, and one of the employees gave away an important plot point from a future season which I was not on yet. It should have been obvious by me renting season 2, that I wasn't up to date with the show. NOT COOL.
-Price. Big time fail. They keep jacking up their prices for in store rentals. Why would I go here when I can get a great deal on Netflix for unlimited rentals and unlimited online streaming? It just doesn't make any sense.
-Online Service. Blockbusters online rental service is an utter joke. It started off as a great deal because you could exchange your online movies for free rentals in store. Regardless of this, the selection of movies online was extremely lacking. Many lesser known and even popular titles would stay on "Very long wait" for weeks or even months. In fact for the four months or so that I tried their online service I had about half of my queue in various stages of being unavailable. It got to the point where I was throwing in movies I wasn't going to even watch so that I could use them for free in store exchanges. Then they got rid of free in store exchanges, and there was zero reason to even consider signing up for their online service.
-"Blockbuster Exclusives". Generally these titles are straight to video stinkers that no self respecting person would waste money on. If you want to spend your time watching Weekend at Bernies 9 starring Cory Feldman or Scorpion King 4: The Uprising starring Tom Selleck...then be my guest; me personally...I'd rather die.
...so basically what I'm trying to say is that Blockbuster's time is done. It sucks. Blockbuster is like an old boxer who is way past his prime...trying to step back into the ring to make a paycheck so he can pay his child support. Netflix is the young and fresh champion who respects the crowd and scores an easy first round knockout. You can't help but feel a bit bad for Blockbuster, but it has no one to blame but itself. They didn't evolve to consumer needs, while other companies did. Now they are barely surviving with a faint heartbeat, trying to stay afloat by basically copycating other services (like Redbox). They thought they were invisible because they had the market cornered for so long...I guess this is a lesson to what can happen when a business gets cocky.
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