Letters to the Editor
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I find the responses here really weird
First of all, how exclusive does a person have to be that they only shop at one video chain? Right now, I've recently moved and am too worried about finances to rent movies, but back in my old city, I shopped at Hollywood Video, Blockbuster, and a smaller local store. All were great in different ways. I got free movies from Blockbuster after so many rentals. Hollywood Video still stuck me with late fees, but one store in particular had a great foreign and classics section. The small local store has out-of-the-mainstream selections I appreciated but AS WAS THE NORM BEFORE BLOCKBUSTER IMPROVED THINGS the movies were due back the very next day.
Blockbuster did a great job of changing the way rentals worked, of giving people essentially a three-day weekend to watch a movie (really can't find time in three days to watch a single flick? participating in UN peace talks or something?), and providing a superior collection. That they fell behind probably was to be expected. I don't care for the censored movies business, but again it's not my only outlet. Why are people of the mindset that one company has to be everything for them. It seems a bit extreme.
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I'll Never Use Blockbuster Again
For me it's both personal and political. While I don't have any illusions that Netflix is a small business, compared to Blockbuster, and especially considering the latter's supposed "family values" bent, I guess it is. More personally, though, several years ago I had an experience with Blockbuster that made me swear I would never give them another penny of my money no matter what. I had a movie out that was due at noon. I meant to take an early lunch from work so I could return it in time, but got slammed unexpectedly so didn't get to Blockbuster until 12:10. The punk behind the counter refused to take my sob story into account, in spite of the fact that I'd been a loyal customer for years, and insisted on charging me the late fee for the 10 minute lapse. I requested to speak with someone who had the authority to waive the fee, and he said that he did have the authority but he just wouldn't do it. I threw the video on the counter, walked out, and never looked back. I have been a member of Netflix for about 6 years, I think, and have never had any problems. 'Nuff said.
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api
i agree with the commenters protesting manjoo's use of "won't let me leave" and "locked in." however, i'm annoyed by netflix's apparent comfort with the boring ways we can use our ratings and queues.
i've started rating movies on a site called flixster, and it has one killer feature that netflix should have had years ago: the movie night planner. you and your friends can easily see what movies you mutually want to see. the way i see it, blockbuster and netflix should be in a race to see who can get flixster to develop an app for them, because whoever gets it first will have my loyalty, blockbuster's brutal late fee policies of yore notwithstanding.
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I avoid BB because of their "family values" and the Christian Right agenda
Sure BB has calmed down the Fundie stuff but why would I give my $$$ to an enterprise that is very much against the cultural values I have? I won't.
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I Worked At Blockbusters In '99
And I cannot tell you what a disorganized, half-assed operation it was. It simply defies description.
When I heard that BB was going to "go after" Netflix I laughed out loud. What a crude joke. So now on-line customers could enjoy the same scratched and unwatchable DVDs that I had thrown across my living room for years!
Hollywood Video is no better, by the way.
Netflix has routinely gotten my DVDs to me in 2 - 3 days. I have only had to send back three because they were unwatchable, and their selection is mind-boggling - 80,000+ films available at almost any time.
And Mr. Manjoo is remiss in not mentioning Netflix's newest innovation, an AI mod that takes information about your favorite films and then learns and predicts what films you'll most enjoy. I was skeptical, but the results have been spoooookyyyyyy.
It is my sincere hope that Netflix buries both Hollywood Video and Blockbuster, because they both SUCK.
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Weird?
Why are people of the mindset that one company has to be everything for them.
Because when I'm already paying $80/month for cable, and $12/month for TiVo, I don't want to also pay multiple monthly fees to different video rental plans. If I'm going to rent-by-mail (and that's the big draw for people with busy lives -- I can barely get to the grocery store, let alone a video store), I'm going to choose one provider and one monthly fee. I've been with Netflix for years and don't see any reason to change that at the moment.
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I'm happy with BB
I've not had any bad experiences with BB online or in my area.
As a previous poster said, you don't have to go the store, it's just an option. And it allows you to have a movie in between the mailings and allows them to send you a movie the minute you get to BB, which in my case is right next door to my grocery store, so no special trip.
The only movies that have been slow/yet to get to me are a couple of Mystery Science Theater shows, but I don't have them at the top of my queu anyway.
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I, Too, Will Never Again Use BB
One time, back when bb still had late fees, I spaced out bringing a dvd back, and by the time I remembered about it, the late fee was quite high. I brought it in, explained how I had spaced it out and moaned about the size of the late fee, but no break was offered.
As soon as I had paid the fee and the register recorded the transaction, the clerk told me that I could have bought the disc for a fraction of the late fee. Needless to say, I was furious. No way would he reverse the transaction and let me buy the disc. I have not been back since and will not ever go back.