225 Comments

• Digg
• Bury

<a class="user" href="http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/02/netflix_lawsuit_sett.html&quot;&gt;http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/02/netflix_lawsuit_sett.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a class="user" href="http://www.netflix.com/Settlement&quot;&gt;http://www.netflix.com/Settlement&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a class="user" href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051101-5515.html&quot;&gt;http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051101-5515.html&lt;/a&gt;

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

I was looking into joining Blockbuster this weekend. Guess they made the decision for me. Netflix it is.

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

Blcokbuster lost their advantage the second they put a limit on how many movies you could trade in. One of the reasons I like these online rentals is cause I don't have to pay attention to details like limits on rentals and due dates...

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

Here is a poll, Blockbuster or Netflix: <a class="user" href="http://www.apopularitycontest.com/display_poll.php?ID=4669&quot;&gt;http://www.apopularitycontest.com/display_poll.php?ID=4669&lt;/a&gt;

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

It seems some people are being forced to change, while others aren't. The email from this article says "We will not automatically renew your subscription on your next billing date. If you choose to continue, please select a new plan."Someone above reported their email saying: "Your new plan will go into effect on your regular monthly billing date following August 31, 2007. If we don't hear from you by August 31, 2007, we will automatically move you to the new BLOCKBUSTER Total Access plan referenced below as 'Your New Plan'."Other have received email saying nothing will change for them. It seems that BB is doing different things to different people.

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

I know this is turning into the "we know it isn't going to do any good, but it makes me feel better" thread, but I wanna, too!!I've gotten the same, canned responses others of you have, but here's my version of what we've all been lobbing their way..."I'm trying very hard to maintain a degree of professionalism in my communication with Blockbuster, because of the increasing absurdity of the situation regarding the change in plan pricing for the Total Access exchange program.I do not find pre-packaged, canned responses to specific questions even remotely acceptable, something about which you'll find me to be consistent, if you look at my previous customer care contacts. So, imagine the frustration of not only learning that I would be expected to pay an additional $7 per month to maintain my current level of service (which I was directly told by employees of my local BB store would not happen to existing customers), while other "preferred" customers would not have to change the price point for the same service, but then to receive a pre-packaged, canned response to my initial question, which has absolutely no bearing on what was asked, which is this:Why are there now two tiers of online customer, the "preferred" who continues to pay $17.99 per month for unlimited, 3-at-a-time mailers and unlimited in-store exchanges, and the apparently "low-rent" customer like me, who now has to pay $24.99 for the same service features? As you may be aware, the Internet conspiracy theorists are going nuts over this, accusing BB of penalizing online customers who use the in-store exchange option "too much" (in which case, you need to look up what the word "unlimited" means), and rewarding those who are, in essence, saving BB money by not using the in-store option, and are thereby not cutting into store revenues.In addition, your own employees are frustrated by the lack of information they're receiving, with regard to the price restructuring. They passed along what they were led to believe was valid information about "grandfathering" in existing online customers, and not raising their rates, and have been given no new information on the restructure since, except for the mandate to "stop pushing online" to in-store customers, and instead, emphasize in-store plans, like BB Rewards. I showed them both the email I had received about my plan changing, and a copy of the one sent to "preferred" customers, indicating that their monthly fee would not be changing. They had never seen either, nor were they even aware that customer tiering was taking place. How can you expect your own front-line employees to preserve or even defend the crumbling reputation of your company, when they don't have the information necessary even to address a customer's concerns?Here is what needs to happen in order to keep me from letting my service (which, let me remind you, I've had since BB online was in Beta) expire on the 28th, and follow the stream of customers over to the structurally sound Netflix: I expect a specific, personally written response to each and every one of my concerns (which, for those of you just tuning in, means you have to read each and every one of them), a clearly defined set of criteria for what delineates a "preferred" customer from a "non-preferred" ("questionable?" "rejected?" "disfavored?" "inferior?" "disliked?" if you're going to make a distinction, then at least give the rest of us a catchy label that shows us how you feel about us...), and an explanation of whether or not a customer's "status" is a permanent state, or if there's a way to transition from one to the other.I hope that my concerns are clear, and that you take them, and me, seriously and respectfully enough to respond in an appropriate manner. It's your move, BB."UGH. Just...big...ugh...

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

Me too. They didn't respond.

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

That sucks that some got to keep there old plan,, I canceled my account as soon as i found that out,, then i email them about it they still will not answer why some got to keep there old planhere is there email The communication was to let you know that we no longer offer the membership plan formerly associated with your account, and to encourage you to continue your membership by selecting one of our new plan options. Because we did not want to make the decision on your behalf, we felt it best to stop automatic renewal of your membership until you've had time to review our plan options and select the one that best suits your rental needs. If you choose to reactivate your membership after selecting a new plan type, we will automatically renew on a monthly basis. You can find the details of what we have to offer in "My Account" section once you've successfully signed in. Click on "Re-Subscribe" in the Subscription Plan section.We cannot disclose the parameters we use to designate whom plan will be changed or not. Please call us at 866-692-2789 Monday through Friday 8:00AM - 6:00PM Central, so that we can assist you further with your concern.Respectfully,AnalizaCustomer Care AssociateBLOCKBUSTER Online

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

I just canceled my account,,,,, i hope everyone does the same then the will rethink there stupid rate change and allowing some to keep it

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

love how the email presents it. Hey our service is so great and easy. Hey look at these great new movies coming out. Hey were going to raise the rate $2 a month.LOL. What a joke. What is great is that they were making a lot of money off of me because I have been getting very few movies lately.

• Reply

• Digg
• Bury

Here is mine:To continue to bring you the unmatched convenience of both online and in-store DVD rentals, your monthly subscription fee will change slightly from $17.99 to $19.99. This adjustment† will go into effect on your next billing cycle on or after December 27, 2007. The benefits of your subscription plan will remain the same...and it's a value of $34.99!

• Reply