Cross-posted from kyouryuu's LJ

[lbd_nytetrayn]

So, ranking one level above Internet advertisers in intellect ranking are the executives of our antitrust-inspiring video rental chain, Blockbuster Video. Blockbuster has been blasting the airwaves with their bold proclamation of "No more late fees!" Now, you can keep a video for as long as you want. However, if you keep it for longer than a week, you are charged a small fortune in fees. Wait a minute - isn't that the very definition of a late fee? Not so, says a Blockbuster official, "The fact is there are no longer late fees at Blockbuster."

It's amusing from the CNN article that it's the "company" quoted. Hell, only an idiot would ascribe their name to something so blatantly wrong.

Myself, I've always been repulsed by Blockbuster Video. Seems like every other time I go there, they try to do some song and dance about why they are owed more.

In fairness, it's not a late fee. Late fees accrue, build over time. In this case, if the customer can't return a video a week after it's due, then they're just charged the cost to replace said video. And if that doesn't suit them, then they've got 30 days to bring the damn thing back and get their money/charge taken care of, minus a restocking fee($1.75 here).

It's not like it's kept hidden from anyone. We have a ton of literature on the thing, more fliers than we can give away. Usually the people who raise a fuss are the same ones who don't want automated phone calls coming their way to let them know that their rental is overdue, and that if they don't return it soon, they're going to have a lot of charges(before), or that they'll be charged for the movie(now).

A particular memory is returning a video that was deemed late. When asked how it was late - it was brought back within 5 days

Is this before or after No Late Fees?

- it was said that the day of rental counted as a day.

Why not? If you rent it on a Tuesday, you can come in when we open and get something. Should that not be counted?

And if you REALLY want to abuse the system, go in just before midnight, and wait for the clock to roll over. Then you can get a full day out of it, rather than have a few minutes count as a day.

Kinda' makes you wonder what a video marked as a "1 Day Rental" means.

Might mean you're at the wrong store; the smallest increment of time I've seen is a two-night rental.

Another time, I was charged for a late fee even though I returned the video before midnight. Why, you ask? Because in the mythical kingdom of Blockbusterland, days end at noon, not midnight.

It used to be midnight. Then they rolled it back to 10am the next day, and after that, noon the following day. Didn't really help.

But don't remember that. I'm sure the policy is different these days and changes whenever they need to extort more cash from the customer.

Or you could check your receipt. Unless the US is doing something really different, it should say what day and time your rental is due back. Really, we bend over backwards for people a lot on stuff, and people still just want to do what they want. Don't want to get out before midnight? Then we'll make it so you can drop it off by 10/noon the next morning. But then people complain about having to get up or not being able to make it before work. So what do we do? We get rid of the late charges, and give people a week to bring the thing back, which is all we really want. We want what's ours to come back so someone else can get it.

If people weren't trying to run out the clock all the time on their rentals, there'd be less of a problem.

Personally, I hate the No Late Fees thing because it encourages irresponsibility in the customers. One lady, before Christmas, had rented one DVD before "No Late Fees" started in the US, January 1st. Of course, here in Canada, it wasn't going into effect until about a month later.

So she returns the case for a two-night rental, telling us she'd hold onto the movie until January 2nd. And she wasn't worried about late charges. Hmm...

Fortunately, I'm not the only one who finds their policies confusing. The New Jersey Attorney General is suing Blockbuster for their fraudulant advertising. And I, for one, wish him luck.

Let me know how that turns out, I'm curious to see how it goes. But it wouldn't be so confusing if people weren't out to try and beat us at this whole thing. No matter what we do, it's simply not good enough. Now the big complaint is that a lot of our stuff isn't in stock, and we don't know when it's coming back. And really, that's not our fault. We know when it's DUE back, but with or without late fees, it doesn't matter until the person who rented it brings it back into the store so we can actually rent it to someone else. Before, late charges were simply recouping the money we would be missing by the video not being back in time for someone else to rent it.

It's all pretty much just common sense.

I'm not really out to take up for BBV. As I've said before, it's a good job, but as a customer, I really hate the place, but that's more due to selection and purchase-related matters than rentals.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

Comments

[thenekomancer.livejournal.com]

It is kind of misleading, in a way. When I first heard about TEOLF I looked it up myself and found the regulations for it. Weren't too hard to find. In a sense it is a late fee, because if the video is late (after a week) you are charged a fee (the price of the video). Of course you get to keep the video then and have 30 days to return it, so BBV looks at it as a purchase rather than a late fee. I don't think there's anything wrong with this at all.

The problem is mostly in the marketing. It'd be more accurate to say rather "We let you rent the video for so damn long you shouldn't have to be late with it." But of course, the corporate brass new that exuberantly crying out "The end of late fees!!" like the word of God would be a much greater way to compel customers. I'm sure they also knew that some people would be downright stupid and think they could keep the movies as long as they please with no charge. And heck, technically you have a total of 37 days renting time, but I'm sure that "What, I have to pay for this!?" factor of said idiots is more than enough to get them into a complaining frenzy.

Yes, the problems of this are mostly on the valued customers. I know because I've done retail. Incidentally I don't do business with BBV anymore but that's more my mom's choosing. Many years back, if I remember right, nearly a quarter of the time I rented games from them they would claim I never returned the instruction manuals, which was BS. Later on she finally terminated the account because they were trying to charge her late for a movie (don't know if she actually was late or not, according to their timings). But, as you know, a little bit before that I rented The Iron Giant, and ended up not returning it ever. I still don't know what I did return, but they didn't make any fuss. Fair trade-off IMO.

[lbd-nytetrayn.livejournal.com]

Heh.

I still think people should be held accountable for the manuals. BBV disagrees now, it seems. So to that end, I've decided to hold onto any manuals for games I might be interested in purchasing, be it used or whatever, to minimize risk.

I'd say there is still A fee, but not a LATE fee, as you're charged for apparently deciding to keep the movie. 7 days is more than enough, and we damn sure aren't making any more money off of it while it's out of the store now. Before, we were simply accounting for transactions we couldn't make due to absence of product. Now, we just assume that if it's not back after a week, it's not coming back at all. Fair enough, I'd say, and I believe this way is less damaging to one's credit.

Let's face it, though, nothing is free, and BBV isn't Kazaa, we can't just give all our movies away for nothing like some people want.

Not to say there aren't some folks who aren't terribly bright working at some BBVs(we've got a good set at mine, fortunately), but some peoples' demands are just unreasonable.

On top of all that, I think this sprang up from "it'd be cheaper for me to just buy the damn thing" when someone finds out the movie they kept out for two months pulled up a huge charge. Now, they've got that option.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

[thenekomancer.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was curious about that while I was out. How much DO they charge for the movies if you "decide" to buy them? Don't they cost a good hundred dollars since it's generally a lucrative business? After all, if you could buy movies at general store price, and rent them out indefinitely, you'd be rich pretty fast.

[lbd-nytetrayn.livejournal.com]

Back after the first lawsuit we weren't allowed to call them "late fees". We had to call them "extended viewing fees" and corporate actually let us know that the term "late fees" being used in a store when caught by a mystery shop could be an actual fireable offence.

I heard about that. American insanity at its best. Or worst.

And it was kinda fun to tell some customers "Your tape has been extensively viewed." and getting a blank look in return.

Never happened to me, though I wish it did.

But all they got from that law suit, that BIG deal over the term "late fees" was cupons. For free rentals. The lawyers made off with the money and the people who were getting "ripped off" by the big bad company got cupons.

Serves them right.

Everybody wants something for nothing.

Getting closer to "everyone wants everyone else to be their slaves and suck their balls, and like it."

LBD "Nytetrayn"

[lbd-nytetrayn.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry, you're not dragging me anywhere. There's a reason I differentiate between the terms "customer" and "client" now. Society just continues to get lazier and expect more for nothing. I've known this ever since I started working. Like, any work.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

[stevencwatts.livejournal.com]

To me it's all semantics. Is it a fee? Yes. Why do they charge it? Because you're late. How is that not a late fee?

Now granted, I think it takes a particularly stupid and irresponsible person not to be able to return the movies within 2 weeks, much less another month. But the purpose of late fees was always to restock if needed. Saying that upfront and changing the name doesn't change the fact that it is a fee accrued through the action of being late. Late fee.

Not that it affects me, though. I use Netflix most of the time, and Hollywood Video for my more instant gratification. Those two are the reason Blockbuster started this campaign to start with, they were getting their asses whooped.

[stevencwatts.livejournal.com]

Not to keep ranting, but something hit me on my way driving home about this whole "controversy." Correct me if I'm wrong on any of this, since I obviously don't work there and may not be quite as informed:

1. The usual rental fee is about $4.50.
2. The old policy for late fees was to charge the rental fee again, as if the video had been renewed. I.E. if a video is kept one day past the 7-day limit, a person is charged 9 bucks and might as well keep it for 6 more days, since they already paid for it.
3. The usual cost of a movie, for purchase, is around $20 (though Blockbuster no doubt gets discounts for buying in bulk).

So keeping all of this in mind, and with a little help from our friend the calculator...

Old Policy:
Original Rental Fee: $4.50
After a month: $4.50 x 4 = $18
Total Fee: $22.50

New Policy:
Original Rental Fee: $4.50
After two weeks: $1.75
After a full month: $20 (retail price of item)
Total Fee: $26.25

So for a month, the new policy actually charges you more. The only way you're saving is if you keep it for more than a month, at which point Blockbuster has adopted the charitable stance of "okay, okay, we won't charge you for more than the actual retail price of the thing you took."

So wouldn't a more apt name for this new policy be "No More Price Gouging Once You've Already Paid Enough To Make Up For The Lost Item"? Considering that's all it really is, and that it took Netflix and similar organizations scaring the shit out of them to even adopt such a policy, I have to say it's hard to really see it as revolutionary or altruistic whatsoever.

[lbd-nytetrayn.livejournal.com]

1. The usual rental fee is about $4.50.
2. The old policy for late fees was to charge the rental fee again, as if the video had been renewed. I.E. if a video is kept one day past the 7-day limit, a person is charged 9 bucks and might as well keep it for 6 more days, since they already paid for it.
3. The usual cost of a movie, for purchase, is around $20 (though Blockbuster no doubt gets discounts for buying in bulk).

Can't speak for America. I said what I know of our fees and how it worked here, which as far as I know was the same. No doubt it was probably like that at some point, but in Blockbuster's constant attempt to fondle movie-renter's balls a little more, it was probably changed.

New Policy:
Original Rental Fee: $4.50
After two weeks: $1.75
After a full month: $20 (retail price of item)
Total Fee: $26.25

Negative. This is closer to how it works(going with Canuck-buck rates). For ease of reference, this is for a 1-week BBV "Favorites"(i.e. "old") movie:

New Policy:
Original Rental Fee: $3.99(for 1 week rental)
7 days after due date: $0.00
8th day after due date: Price of the movie; if available in our previously-viewed section, it charges that price. Otherwise, it's the charge of a new item.

Now, let's say it was 20 dollars(which would be closer to a "new" price, but for the sake of argument) to purchase the video. Your rental fee(in this case, $3.99) is deducted from that cost. So you'd be paying the difference, about $16.01. If you choose, you have 30 days from the point the charges were added to return it, and get your $16.01 back, but withOUT the extra $1.75(likely less in the US) it costs for us to reenter it into our systems, and try and make room on the shelf again.

So your total cost, if you return it within 7 days of the due date, is $3.99(not counting taxes, don't want to go there). If you keep it, your total is $20. If you return it after being charged, then your total is $5.74($3.99 + $1.75).

Here's another way to look at it: return it to us within a reasonable time, and only pay the rental fee. ;)

Really, the way people go on about this, it honestly(and I'm not leveling accusations or judging people here) sounds like people just want to take our movies and keep them forever without a second thought...

LBD "Nytetrayn"

[stevencwatts.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not saying people aren't being whiny bitches. I really don't see the big deal of returning a movie anyway, and if they understand the policy abiding by it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I'm just saying that the name of the promotion itself is misleading, and as late fees (in both libraries and rental places) were always in place for the specific purpose of replacing lost items, simply renaming "late fees" to something more fitting to their intended purpose really isn't getting rid of them.

[lbd-nytetrayn.livejournal.com]

In truth, ever since a lawsuit happened in the States(whereupon "late fees" was deemed demoralizing and insulting, because it implied that the plaintiff was "late" returning their movies), we've called them "extended viewing fees."

This is the first I've seen lately of "late fees" at BBV.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

[lbd-nytetrayn.livejournal.com]

To me it's all semantics. Is it a fee? Yes. Why do they charge it? Because you're late. How is that not a late fee?

Negative. We charge it because you're not returning it. We never claimed "no more fees," that's just absurd.

But the purpose of late fees was always to restock if needed.

Not as it was told to me; it was to make up for the potential money loss from the movie not being there that day.

For example: 2-night movie, $4.99 for a rental(old rate, easier to work with). Late one day, we charged you about $2.50. Two days, about $5. And so on. 7-night and 3-night rentals used similar math, dividing the rental cost by the number of days the rental was for, and so on.

So if another person was unable to rent the video because it wasn't there, then we still would get our money(theoretically). Of course, that's no longer the case; people can bring movies back pretty much whenever now, and we have no way of knowing when they'll be back(we didn't before, either, but it's worse now). So we're having to order more copies.

Saying that upfront and changing the name doesn't change the fact that it is a fee accrued through the action of being late. Late fee.

Again, I disagree. The fee paid for the movie is for keeping it. Forever. Except if you decide to return it to us. We're no longer getting paid for the purchase of the movie, but at least we get something for our troubles.

Yeah, it is kind of semantics, but at the same time, not. Really, people just want something for nothing, like video rental stores are a physical version of Kazaa. IMO, if you can't return the movie in time, then don't rent it, that's what I say, and that's also what I do.

With Red, the odds of me seeing a movie within two nights are VERY slim, so I typically won't rent them. If I NEED to rent something, I go for the one-week rentals.

LBD "Nytetrayn"