Forget on-demand, 3 days is good enough

Somebody please tell me I am grossly missing something with this new Blockbuster Direct Access announcement. Because I think it is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

Let me get this straight. I walk into a Blockbuster store to get a movie. They tell me all of the copies of the movie are rented out (or they don't carry the movie) but they can mail a copy to me which will arrive in 3 days.

In today's gotta-have-it-now world, Blockbuster just took a gigantic step backwards.

Blockbuster Direct Access

4 comments for this blog post so far...

  • #1
    June 24, 2010 at 7:55 am

    Sändra Connor

    This is called: “We are a Big Company. As a Big Company, we have decided to reduce our inventory. This reduction in inventory will save us millions of dollars. It also reduces our service levels in our stores—i.e.: we will run out of popular stuff more often. However, since we are a Big Company, this little PR stunt is designed to fool you into THINKING that the service is actually better. So, please excuse the 3-day wait and be thankful that a Big Company is still willing to take your money, no matter what inconvenience we may cause to you.”

  • #2
    June 24, 2010 at 8:57 am

    Patric Welch

    @Sandra - I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks this is a ridiculous idea. And your explanation is spot on to me.

  • #3
    June 29, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    Tony Burton

    Since we’re griping about DVD rental companies, I’ll tell you that I’m really sick of Netflix’s policy of putting only a small, small sampling of their DVD into their “watch instantly” lineup.  I understand new releases… fine, that’s not such a problem.  But when I’m looking for a movie that is three years or more old, and I’d like to watch it NOW, through their on-demand service, I usually can’t find it.

    If they’re going to brag about this service (being able to watch movies instantly), they should upgrade the number of movies that are available that way.

  • #4
    July 02, 2010 at 10:33 am

    Patric Welch

    @Tony - I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, I don’t think Netflix can do a thing about it. It’s the movie companies that are limiting them. They want people to buy their movies. Much like how Netflix and Redbox both have a 2 week delay to rent movies from some movie companies after a movie is released for sale in the stores.

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