On-line DVD rentals – I do not know if you have heard of this or have been a member. It was started by NetFlix years ago. The way it works is you have a monthly subscription fee and you can rent as many DVDs as you can watch and return in a month. You can have out at one time as little as 3 and as many as 8 DVDs depending on how much you are willing to pay in monthly fees.
When Netflix first opened, within couple of months I became a member and was enjoying its benefits gratefully. I was member of the service for about a year before I had to discontinue it because I moved to Buffalo, NY. I lived in the college dorms there and I did not want to keep the membership. There was plenty for me to do and watch there. Recently Blockbuster started a program very similar to the one Netflix has, but with few minor differences. One, it is cheaper and two, every month I receive two coupons for free in store rentals of any movie or video game. This is sweet, just like with Netflix, within a month I became a member.
Everything was going good for a while, until recently, when some of my DVDs just stopped coming. Due to few factor, like where I live, the time I worked, and how I receive my mail, provided an opportunity for someone to enjoy some free DVDs. Well, I wrote the following email to Blockbuster:
03.21.05
To whom it may concern,
I have been a customer of Blockbuster Online for a while now. I am very pleased with the option Blockbuster offers me – being able to rent videos both online and in-store.
I am having a problem receiving the DVDs. It started couple of weeks ago. One of the envelopes did not arrive. The one before it and one after it did, but on those days I was home during the day. I have not yet received the DVDs which were supposed to arrive on the 16th and 17th of March. I live in an apartment complex. The mail boxes here are too small for the postman to fit the envelopes in them without breaking the discs. There is a big box where all envelopes, which do not fit in the mail boxes, are place in. This box is easily accessible by anyone.
Up to two weeks ago I did not used to work during the day, so I was able to check my mail right after the mailman came by. But since then I have been working during the day and do not have the opportunity to check my mail right after it is dropped off. The earliest I can check it is when I come home in the evening. There is a great chance that someone from the apartment complex might be taking the DVDs before I am able to pick them up.
I am writhing this to you to inform you of what might be happening. I do not want to lose my membership due to missing DVDs. I enjoy the service very much. As some sort of a solution to the above described situation I am have acquired a mail box at the local post office.
Alexandar Tzanov
PO Box 597052
Chicago, IL 60659-7052Please let me know what is next.
You can contact me at …@titanfusion.net or on my cell phone (315) 415-9247. Due to the nature of my work, I am not always able to answer my phone. Please leave a message with a phone number I can call back.
Sincerely,
Alexandar Tzanov
This was their reply:
Dear Alexandar
Thank you for contacting Blockbuster Online Customer Service.
We are pleased that you have provided us with this valuable information. If you have acquired a mail box at the local post office that would be a solution this dilemma. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.
Always here to help,
Your Friends at BLOCKBUSTER Online
I think it is wonderful that the company was understanding, and was not going to suspend or otherwise fine my membership. This is another reason I would remain a member of this service. As far as the missing DVDs, let’s hope they were simply misplaced / lost in the mail, but if they were stolen, well whoever did it I do not have much to say about him or her. Yes, it cost me some extra money for renting out a mail box at the Post Office, but it is only $ 20.00 for six months. I can deal with this without problems.
I do recommend, for anyone who is willing to try an on-line service, to try the Blockbuster movie rental. It is great, free rentals at the stores and the DVDs, send in the mail, arrive within couple of days, at the most. If you calculate what you pay a month to what you receive/rent, you simply make it back and more. Some other reasons why I prefer to rent the DVDs instead of taking that money and buying one every month are storage and time damage. One, I do not have a place to put all the DVDs if I was buying them, nor would I be able to transport them. Ninety percent of my DVDs are sitting packed in boxes back in New York, while I am actually living here. So what is the point of me having them if I am not able to watch them? Yeah, I would continue to buy DVDs in the future, but I would only buy ones I really value, the rest I can rent at any time. Also, with time the DVDs get scratched, the recording surface is damaged, and there is other structural damage. Oh yeah, not to forget that the movie industry likes to re-release DVDs every few months or years with new and extended feature. So, unless you really value the product, you are better off renting it when you need it.