From the AP: “Late Fees Return at Some Blockbusters” –
Randy Hargrove, a spokesman for Dallas-based Blockbuster Inc., said the decision to cancel the “no late fees” policy is made by independent franchises. About 4,600 company-owned Blockbuster locations will continue the program, he said.
Tom Barzizza, vice president of Flicks Management Inc., which owns 30 Blockbuster franchises in the mid-South … said it was important to reimpose the fees.
“It’s a mechanism by which we can get customers to bring the movies back,” he said. “With the lack of any kind of late-fee structure the movies weren’t coming back. Customers would come in and there wouldn’t be any movies for them to rent.”
As with the “End of Late Fees” campaign, consumers are complaining to the government.
“At this point we are contacting the other states who we worked with before when we had the settlement with Blockbuster,” said Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe. “The first questions you’d ask in a situation like this is, ‘What does this mean under the settlement we already have?’ and ‘Was this something that was publicized on their (Blockbuster’s) part?’”
Randy Hargrove’s got a tough job. We wish him well, and offer these tips on handling PR crises.
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