Experience keeps a tidy school, but fools will learn in no other. Franklin
This gem from the annals of horrible customer retention methods.
Sandra Jones' report
The Dallas-based video rental firm made the new rules "to be consistent with the industry," said company spokeswoman Michelle Metzger. She said the dollar-a-day charge is not a late fee but an "additional daily fee," akin to keeping a rental car for longer than planned.
Coinstar Inc.'s RedBox, a DVD vending machine firm that like Netflix has been cutting into Blockbuster's market share, charges $1 a day for video rentals.
Blockbuster said last week it lost $435 million in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 3 as sales at stores open at least a year fell 15 percent. The company closed hundreds of stores in 2009 as it refocused on kiosks and a mail-order rental business.
Coinstar Inc.'s RedBox, a DVD vending machine firm that like Netflix has been cutting into Blockbuster's market share, charges $1 a day for video rentals.
Blockbuster said last week it lost $435 million in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 3 as sales at stores open at least a year fell 15 percent. The company closed hundreds of stores in 2009 as it refocused on kiosks and a mail-order rental business.
If you lost $435 million, sticking it to your customers is the wrong business model. Does the concept of charging for what has no incremental value seem like a sustainable model? I do not think so.
