The Bottom of the NetFlix Totem Pole
Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:40PM EDT
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I became a Netflix member in 2002, just a few months after the service began. Over the years I've let it wax and wane, but recently I've been watching again.* Now, my family has a running joke about me... they say that I'm the only one in America who's never ordered a decent DVD from NetFlix. I'm starting to think that they might be right. I never see much of interest on the Netflix new release page, and I check fairly often.
Other Neftlix users tell me to simply use the search bar to search for the movies I want to see, but my already cluttered brain goes numb when faced with a blank movie search field. So for me, Neflix has been a place to turn for the obscure documentary and unattainable foreign films.
But, a guy named Frank Chavez got me thinking about my predicament again. Last month, he won a class action suit against NetFlix, and now he and others are eligble for a one-time, limited-time service upgrade. (After the two year fight Chavez was awarded $2,000 for his time, while the lawyers settled for their $2.5 million in fees, but that's another story.)
As I started poking around to find out more about the case, I stumbled across quite a few longtime users talking about being throttled by Netflix. Throttling means that Netflix purposefully slows down its delivery of your DVD, or sends you a movie that is not the one you were expecting next from your queqe. Some suspect they do this to older members while trying to satisfy their newer trial members.
As a little experiment, I signed my husband up as a new member to see if he'd be presented with better choices of movies and/or better availability. Turns out that Wedding Crashers popped up on his choices; not mine but couldn't find any difference in any availability of the DVDs.
A comment and a question:
a) Overall, I'm a happy Netflix user. Yes, sometimes the movies take longer to get to me than one day, but Neflix has been great about letting me slide when disks break or get lost in shipping.
b) Now, about this throttling. I have no idea what to believe. Is Netflix really putting a newbie before me when it comes to getting that movie? Here's what Neflix says in its FAQ about delivery.
"We endeavor to ship to you the movies listed highest in your queue; however when availability is limited, we may ship you movies lower on your queue."
For more reading, see this week's Consumer Reports and ABC look at Neflix and its competitors.
Anyone else out there having their share of rental problems? Let me know.
*(Disclosure: My NetFlix account is a complimentary one.)
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7 Posted by veiledbiz_lady on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:33PM EDT Report Abuse
I love Netflix over driving to the store. BUT I visit Blockbuster's site to see the new release page because I too get a blank mind when looking for new movies. Netflix never has a good preview webpage. But they were always easier to get movie info and recommendations over the BBuster service. I had both then quit BB. Yes, I also experience Slow service sometimes. Then, I had Twilight on my wait list for awhile and it was in my mailbox that SATURDAY it was released. Not bad.
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8 Posted by mg_07860 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:17PM EDT Report Abuse
I'm going to fall in with Hipposelect and etorre. My wife and I have been netflix subscribers since maybe 2000, and have never experienced that. Like etorre, we often have new releases floating on our queue for months before the release date. There are only so many discs of each selection available, it makes sense to get on the line early. Also, I wonder if it isn't also an issue of selection at -and distance to- your nearest shipping facility. We moved in 2006 to Phoenix, and our ship/return transit time is now 1 day -whereas it was 2 days in northern NJ.
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9 Posted by gjsullivan135 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:09PM EDT Report Abuse
I thought the shipping speed of my selections was an isolated incident due to my location (Charlotte, NC) but I see that it is a prevailing theme for NFLX. Overall, I am a satisfied customer (1 movie unlimited), though I was a more satisfied customer directly after I joined. It was once possible to see two or three movies each week using the 1 movie unlimited plan. Now I typically view 2x month. At $10/month, my breakeven is 3 movies (vs. renting at Blockbuster). Netflix has a great "account hold" policy. 90 days without being billed, provided you've returned all movies. You maintain your queue during the hold period. A great solution. I have to ask... have you considered calculating your Netflix costs? As I said, unless NFLX ships 3 movies in one month, Blockbuster is cheaper. And of course, the PUBLIC LIBRARY is always free.
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10 Posted by dmhodgy45 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse
I complained to Netflix via phone that I was not getting new released movies and I was told Netflix favored new customers and those who were on the one a month plan. I asked the Netflix person to define "SHORT WAIT" and "LONG WAIT". He said two days for short wait and a week for long wait. I told him I have had movies as short wait on my queue for six months. I was told that they now have over 6 million customers and cannot satisfy everyone.With this arrogance, it sounds like they do not have to satisfy anyone. Perhaps the answer is to resign at the end of the month and then sign up again a week later.Perhaps the new program at Blockbuster will wake them up.
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11 Posted by bwlian on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse
Your throttling comments shocked me - because it is 100% true in our experience. My wife and I have been members for a year but become heavier users in the past 6 months. During this time we have both noticed a significant increase in wait times for movies. To the point that it has become a joke between us, but I thought it was just us. We've routinely had "long waits" stretch to 45 days (and longer). Based on other comments in this here, I assume different locations have different circumstances. We're a suburb of NYC so I find it hard to imagine there are consistent and unexpected logisitical issues. We will be seeking an alternative service based on this thread.
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12 Posted by coasterman1234 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:28PM EDT Report Abuse
My service was being throttled for a few weeks about this time last year. DVD/BDs would routinely take two and three days to ship (as in ship from the Netflix facility, not as in for me to get them in the mail). I called them, and specifically brought up their notorious throttling history, and the lawsuit, and of course, I got the usual "we do not do that". However, the next week the problem was "magically" fixed and hasn't happened since.
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13 Posted by jettnjettnow on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:34PM EDT Report Abuse
We have had Netflix for going a year and have had great service so far! We are also only an hour from one of the outlet cities so that may be a factor, but overall We have been pleased.We do sometimes get random things from Our queue, and have things on short and long wait, but thats just part of it...We want everything on Our queue, so it doesn't bother Us to get things listed further down.Everything eventually, is shipped to Us!
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14 Posted by bsn309 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:14PM EDT Report Abuse
I've wondered what the deal is? I have on average 10 movies at the top of my queue that are either short or long wait. I've been a Netflix customer for about 4 years, I never had to wait when I first joined. Dare I say it but Blockbuster is starting to look bettter and better!
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15 Posted by bepcinc on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:05PM EDT Report Abuse
Until recently I've been very happy with Netflix. I would get movies a few days after they would be available. Now, 8 out of 9 movies in my que are Short, Long, or Very Long Wait.
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16 Posted by bimbokay on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse
My queue is huge (over 400) because when I read/hear about a movie that interests me, I simply add it. A few years ago I thought my wait for a popular movie had been too long and asked the Netflix administrators. I was advised to keep the movie I'm particularly interested in in the #1 spot...that our first choices are usually given priority. It seems to work for me. I feel bad if I hold a movie more than 4-5 days without watching it, and send it back so you guys don't have to wait longer than you should. I can always order it again.
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17 Posted by buylowonce on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse
"As a little experiment, I signed my husband up as a new member to see if he'd be presented with better choices of movies and/or better availability. Turns out that Wedding Crashers popped up on his choices; not mine but couldn't find any difference in any availability of the DVDs." I don't understand what you're saying here. Wedding Crashers showed up when you searched using his account, but it didn't show up for your account? Isn't that a difference in availability? "Now, about this throttling. I have no idea what to believe." Then maybe you should've done a little more research, and actually gotten some information about throttling. What's the point of writing this article if you don't have anything useful to say?
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18 Posted by joeyanks12 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:38PM EDT Report Abuse
I was an original and long time Netflix customer. I would watch movies and tv shows on the train to and from work so I was definitely getting my monies worth. And then it happened. The movies starting coming two days slower than usual and the new releases never came off VERY LONG WAIT. I wrote and complained to no end but was assured that there was no funny business. So I did the next best thing to wasting my time suing Netflix, I switched to Blockbuster and have been pretty happy with the service. Plus I like the fact that I can return a movie to the store and not have to wait for another to come in the mail.
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19 Posted by marylouklimczyk on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:10PM EDT Report Abuse
I was a longtime unlimited 3 a month Netflix member. I finally closed my account when I definitely noticed a "movie slowdown". Movies would not ship right away after returns were received (distribution point 2 hours from my house). Movies would sit on a "long wait", not days or weeks, but months. Why keep a $18/mo service when I can stop on the way out of the local Walmart and get that new movie the day it comes out for $1.07? I got not even an apology when I complained about this over the phone. When I recently received a 1 a month gift certificate (for 1 month of service), I experienced the same draggy service. What also annoys me is that I gave gift months to 2 relatives who ultimately became members, so loyal customers also generate more business for this shifty company.
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20 Posted by kalicechang on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:46PM EDT Report Abuse
The throttling is blatant. I was a satisfied customer until recently. At some point I must have hit the frequent renter mark, and suddenly everything I order has an associated wait. Even a "short wait" means weeks of delay. There really is no incentive. If I really want to watch a movie that is a new release, I end up going to redbox for a buck. The best thing about it, is complain to netflix: they don't care, because a frequent renter is a losing proposition. All I can say is that it is a very poor service model which will probably backfire on the company because other models eg redbox will become more attractive.
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6 Posted by etorres58 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:56PM EDT Report Abuse
I have been using Netflix services since 1999, and I totally agree with Hipposelect's posting. Sure I don't always get the movies in the top of my queue, but is 10 years I've been getting them about 85% of the time. Perhaps people don't realized that you can't put a new release in your queue a day before it's releases and expect to get it on the next day. Netlix has a huge membership base so people need to be realistic to know not everyone is going to get the new releases all the time. I have been successful because I add new releases to my queue months before the actual release date.