My love-hate (mostly love) relationship with redbox.
I probably visit a redbox at least once a week, and depending on the season it can be several times a week. You just can’t beat the convenience and price that they offer, which really makes me wonder what their impact has been on rental stores like Blockbuster. I have probably only been to a Blockbuster two or three times in the last year since I started using redbox. It’s usually after driving up to one of their locations, seeing a line of 8-10 people, and deciding that it’s worth the extra $3.50 to not wait in line.
I rented a movie at the redbox tonight and despite how much I like their service, I was reminded of a couple of frustrations that I commonly have when using them. There are a few things that I really wish they would change/improve with their kiosks and website.
- Add a return slot on the side of the machine that allows people to drop their movies off without standing in the rental line. I realize that this would require some re-engineering of the kiosks, but it would be so worth it.
- Maybe create dual station kiosks for high-traffic locations. This would obviously also require some re-engineering, but I think it would also make sense.
- PLEASE create a mobile version of the website (ideally at m.redbox.com) that can be easily and quickly accessed using a phone. It’s a joke trying to use it on my Treo.
I’m sure I’m not the first person to think of these things, and maybe the folks over at redbox are already working on such improvements. I really like using their service, and I’m happy that they appear to be succeeding. I’m just hoping that they will adapt to their popularity by enhancing the capabilities of their website, and release 2nd generation kiosks that move the lines a lot faster.
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I agree. I’ve barely ever used Redbox and, actually, rent hardly any movies, but that seems to be the major complaints from most Redbox users. One other option, although it’s pretty much Blockbuster prices these days and the selection isn’t yet great, is renting movies via iTunes. They download pretty fast and look good, although it’s probably easier for me because my computer screen and computer speakers are about as good as the TVs are around here.