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Anyone experiencing Netflix problems?

post #1 of 72
2/21/05 at 9:36am
Thread Starter 
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced problems with Netflix as of late?

I've been with them for many years now & it looks like their popularity has hindered their service. I live about 5 miles or so from their Chicagoland shipping hub & up until the past month my turnaround was anywhere to 1 to 3 days. Now it takes in excess of 1 week. I've also noticed them checking in titles I've returned but holding shipment for 1 to 2 days later of my next title.

Another member pointed out a blurb (which must be a fairly recent addition) on the Netflix Help page


In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service. As a result, those members who receive the most movies may experience next-day shipping and receive movies lower in their Queue more often than our other members. By prioritizing in this way, we help assure a balanced experience for all our members. Those that rent a lot of movies get a great value and those with lighter viewing habits are able to count on our service to meet their limited needs.


This is not the service that they promise in their advertisements. Rent as many titles as you can a month is what they used to promise. What they seem to be doing is penalizing me for getting to many titles in a month. Not surprisingly, I don't see any mention of this practice when they try to entice new members into signing up.

I'm getting close to giving up & dropping this service which is a shame. It was fantastic when it worked but now I'm not sure it's worth it anymore.

Anyone else having problems?
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post #2 of 72
2/21/05 at 10:22am
I've been singing their praises for 21 days now, since I just became a member on February 1st. I've gotten lightning service and incredibly quick turnaround, renting something like 12 titles already.

But this news is not very comforting, and I've already suspected that my most recent order was delayed slightly more than the first few were! I really hope they're not holding back on discs when they feel you're getting too many movies for your money!!

Waiting a week? That's unacceptable -- but the only thing you can do then is be damn sure you're getting 3 (I have the 3 at a time plan) and then you can at least hope for 12 per month, which is still a good value.

EDITED TO ADD: Hmmm -- there's another Netflix thread here (Netflix vs. Blockbuster) and it sounds like Netflix is still pretty fast according to other people.
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post #3 of 72
2/21/05 at 10:46am
It is an annoying policy for us movie fanatics, and it's not cool for them not to be more up front about it. But I could live with the occasional one-day delay, if that eventually kicks in at some point (I just signed up less than two weeks ago). But a week-long wait is way beyond unacceptable.

Jim, are you on the standard 3-at-a-time plan?
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post #4 of 72
2/21/05 at 2:54pm
I've received 21 titles in around a month. The first shipment took around 3 days for me to get but since then I've gotten everything a day after shipment. On Friday I got a shipping notice that said the titles would show up today but I got them on Saturday. It's been that way since that first shipment.

I originally signed up for the 3 out at a time but upgraded to the 5 at a time.
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post #5 of 72
2/21/05 at 3:00pm
I have been on the 5/time plan for about six months. If I send back a movie on Monday, they have it posted as received and a new title shipped on Tuesday by noon and I usually have the shipped movie in my mail on Thursday, Friday at the latest. I generally average between 15-20 movies a month.
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post #6 of 72
2/21/05 at 5:01pm
Thread Starter 

Jim, are you on the standard 3-at-a-time plan?


Yep
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post #7 of 72
2/22/05 at 3:15pm
I have the 3-at-a-time plan, but I have a question. I seem to get the new titles fast whenever I send all three back at the same time. If you send only 1 completed disc back while you still have 2 unwatched at home, do they send you 1 for 1, or do they wait till you've sent all 3 back before sending more (3 for 3)?
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post #8 of 72
2/22/05 at 3:55pm
If you send only 1 completed disc back while you still have 2 unwatched at home, do they send you 1 for 1, or do they wait till you've sent all 3 back before sending more (3 for 3)?


They send 1 for 1. I am on 5/time, and I got Saw in the mail today, have three sitting here already, and another on the way back to Netflix.
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post #9 of 72
2/24/05 at 9:12am
I am now dealing with idiotic customer service people. Howard's End has a new 2-disc Home Vision release that came out in the last month or so, and an old 1-disc Columbia release. Netflix is offering the 2nd bonus disc from the HV release, but they still picture the old Columbia disc for the movie itself. So I e-mailed Customer Service to see whether the movie disc is from the new or old release. These morons have e-mailed me back twice, two different people, without answering my damn question!

More generally speaking, Netflix doesn't seem so great about replacing older releases with new SEs, or better versions (like when Criterion puts out a version of something that's been released by someone else earlier).
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post #10 of 72
3/1/05 at 7:05pm
Here's my latest good experience with Netflix: I returned Alien vs. Predator on Monday, I have Exorcist: The Beginning on the way...and that was released today!
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post #11 of 72
3/3/05 at 2:09pm
Well, here I am in my second month with Netflix and they're already starting to drag their feet in sending me my rentals. February was sensational -- I rented about 15 films, and as soon as I mailed them back I received the next bunch in a heartbeat. BUT NOW...

I sent one film back on February 28th. They received it March 1st (the next day). Now I've been waiting for the next rental and it's March 3rd. My account says the next film is "due on March 7th"!!

I got so annoyed that I called customer service. I told them how it was very odd that I received all my movies VERY quickly all during February, and that I rented something like 15, but now in March they seem to recognize me as a "big renter" and therefore seem to be spacing their shipments out, letting me have fewer per month. The woman I spoke to said that, although I'm located in New York, the next disc I'm waiting on is being sent all the way from California. She told me that discs are shipped from all over the U.S. - California, Arizona, New York, wherever -- but I was of the understanding that all the DVDs were always pretty much shipped from the same location right close to where you live?

I just notice a definite decline in service and speed, now that they sucked me in as a member and they can see I'm a losing investment for them because I rent too many movies each month.
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post #12 of 72
3/3/05 at 2:46pm
Joe:

Where did you see this:
My account says the next film is "due on March 7th"!!


I have been a member for years and never seen a date listed as to when the next movie ships, other than possibly "We will ship your next movie tomorrow". Was this listed in the Queue? or somewhere else?
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post #13 of 72
3/3/05 at 2:50pm
Eric - there is an estimated "time of arrival." which is what I was referring to. Yes - it was in the Queue. Says they received the last one back on March 1, and that I should see the next arrive on March 7.

Since you've been a member for years, how does it work for you? Speedy/slow...?
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post #14 of 72
3/3/05 at 2:56pm
Joe,
Sometimes they will send you a disc from a different distribution center if the closest one doesn't have the disc available for you. It means you have to wait a little longer but at least you'll get it. They do this to me sometimes, but usually it's pretty speedy. And the estimated date of arrival is simply an estimate. If the mail system is going well, the disc will arrive sooner. Since you say you are only in your second month, hang in there for six months to a year and see how it goes on average. Glitches do happen from time to time, but it smooths out long term

Dana
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post #15 of 72
3/3/05 at 3:03pm
Yes, I will certainly stick it out... but it just seems strange that they were so fast and consistent all during February; send three movies back on Monday, receive three more by Wednesday ...
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post #16 of 72
3/3/05 at 3:56pm
Joe:

Check out post #11. I received Exorcist: The Beginning on Wed. That's one day after street date. Looking at my queue, it states that I should receive it by 3/4/05...so I got it two days before they said I should expect it. My guess is that whatever DVD you have coming by the 7th is coming from another distribution center. The majority of your DVDs will come from the closest DC, but occasionally they will ship one from another DC since it is at the top of your queue.
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post #17 of 72
3/3/05 at 5:22pm
Last week was a slow week for me. It took them 2 days to receive the disc(s) I sent back when it usually only took 1 day. It also took 2 days for the disc(s) to reach me when it usually just took one.

However, this week has been back to normal. On Sat. I mailed back 3 discs, which they got on Monday and they shipped me three movies on Monday, including one that was being released on Tuesday. I got those titles in on Tuesday and had them in the mail on Wednesday. They received the titles today and shipped my new discs today.

Perhaps they were just having a slow week. Either way, I really can't complain except now I have way too many movies to watch with Netflix, DVD-R, TCM and new buys.
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post #18 of 72
3/3/05 at 7:58pm
Michael,
Last week and this week had some bad weather so maybe the mail got slowed down because of that. Netflix seemed really slow for me the first week or so of February

Dana
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post #19 of 72
3/4/05 at 1:32pm
Oh, come on. This is ridiculous. I still haven't received my next movie today (Friday) after mailing the other one early Monday morning! This is pathetic, and Netflix had better shape up or else I'm shipping out. This is totally unacceptable and it's bogus and false advertising. Ordinarily I would have gotten a disc in the mail by Wednesday after mailing the first back on a Monday. It's a scam.
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post #20 of 72
3/4/05 at 6:23pm
I'm not sure I'd call 15 rentals a month for $18 a scam even if you have to wait an extra day or two.

Does your account say when the movie was mailed? Also, where are your movies shipping from?

To add onto my last post, two movies shipped on Thursday and they both arrived on Friday. Everything seems back to normal after that one slow week. As Dana said, weather was bad plus you had a Holiday on Monday.
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post #21 of 72
3/4/05 at 9:49pm
This is totally unacceptable and it's bogus and false advertising


What's false advertising? How many DVDs at-a-time are you signed up for? I don't understand why you are so upset that ONE DVD is taking longer than usual. It happens. Relax...
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post #22 of 72
3/5/05 at 3:28am
I'll relax when I see that the service for March is exactly the same as it had been for February when these guys were so eager to rope me in and please me. So far it's March 5th and I haven't gotten any DVDs yet after mailing back February 28th (!)
I sent back another yesterday morning so let's see how that goes).

No matter what, it can't be denied that in my case something has suddenly changed in the speed process during this second month.

Quote:
I'm not sure I'd call 15 rentals a month for $18 a scam even if you have to wait an extra day or two.

Yeah, well, that was back in February during my key "sign up month". At the rate they're going in March, the opportunity to have that many rentals arrive at my home by month's end isn't very promising. One thing's for sure - they certainly wasted no time billing my account!
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post #23 of 72
3/5/05 at 8:05pm
Joe, again, when did your last DVD ship and where from? My titles are shipping from Louisville, which is a 40 minute drive so that explains me getting them in one day. If yours are shipping from Chicago or even Louisville then it probably will take 2 days. Whenever it has taken two days it's because they are shipping to me from out of state.
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post #24 of 72
3/6/05 at 2:48am
Mike, I finally got the DVD yesterday (March 5) after sending the old rental back on Feb. 28. Five or Six days is just too long for me to take full advantage of this service and get more for my money, IF it keeps up like that (and I'll have to wait and see - maybe it was a fluke, but the last couple of shipments have been mysteriously delayed after a great start). I don't know for sure where it was being sent from, but when I called to complain, the girl told me it was coming from California (which I don't believe) to me in New York.

But that's not even the point -- why all of a sudden is it so difficult to get the new movie in only a couple of days? That was how the pattern went all through February, and I got nearly 20 films without any delay. So, all of a sudden it's just a "coincidence" that they're now shipping from out of state?
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post #25 of 72
3/6/05 at 3:48am
Joe,
I'm experiencing the same problem that you describe. I live in VT & the distribution center that I used to receive them from was in MA. Now that they've opened a distribution center in VT, after a great start of very rapid turnover, things have slowed down considerably. Unlike before, they now never send out the next dvd on the day that they receive one. The end result is that I'm lucky to receive the same number of dvd's per month that I did back when they were coming from MA! Very disappointing, but where else is there the choice of dvd's that Netflix offers!? I keep going back & forth about whether I'll cancel or not...we'll see!
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post #26 of 72
3/6/05 at 9:02am
A couple of days? I don't honestly see how you can expect the Post Office to operate that fast, much less Netflix.

I've been with Netflix for six years, and I can tell you from personal experience that if you're expecting to see more than one complete turnover in movie sets per week then you're expecting too much. I don't care where your distribution center is located. If you want to see more movies, you're going to have to bump your allocation number (and pay more).

I've tried Blockbuster, Wallmart and DVD Avenue, and all of them averaged longer turnaround times than Netflix.

If your expectations of online rental are that unrealistic, then you need to forget about it and go back to driving to the corner Blockbuster. (Which is something I haven't done in six years, thanks to online rental and realistic expectations.)
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post #27 of 72
3/6/05 at 10:46am
Joe, check the package that the movies are mailed to you in. The address should be on there so you can see where they're being mailed from. I'm back to normal and will be mailing three more tomorrow so I'll post another update here but I'm expecting the same 1-day turnaround.
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post #28 of 72
3/6/05 at 2:54pm
Quote:
A couple of days? I don't honestly see how you can expect the Post Office to operate that fast, much less Netflix. If your expectations of online rental are that unrealistic, then you need to forget about it and go back to driving to the corner Blockbuster.

But Pat -- how can you explain that Netflix did operate that quickly all through February? You see, this is what I'm saying -- I'm not being unrealistic at all; I'm merely going by the pattern they set for themselves for my first month! I'd mail 3 movies on Monday, they'd receive them on Tuesday; they'd ship the next batch out on that same Tuesday, I'd receive the next batch on Wednesday. I'd mail the next three out by Thursday, they'd receive them on Friday AND MAIL THE NEW ONES OUT THE SAME DAY AGAIN, and I'd have the next 3 by Saturday. What seems to change now is that they wait a couple of days before bothering to send the new ones out instead of getting right on it the same day they get the returns.

This was THEIR pattern that they got me used to expecting from them, and my expectations were based on what they did from February 1 through February 28.
"Unrealistic" expectations? Maybe Netflix should mail more slowly right from the get-go instead of making us expect consistency.
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post #29 of 72
3/6/05 at 3:06pm
Quote:
Joe, check the package that the movies are mailed to you in. The address should be on there so you can see where they're being mailed from. I'm back to normal and will be mailing three more tomorrow so I'll post another update here but I'm expecting the same 1-day turnaround.

Where do you mean? Their address is listed as the San Jose, CA. location -- all of my returns which I send back in the pre-paid envelope are going to Melville, NY (not far from me).

Hey, all I know is what I know - the service has slowed down a lot after the first amazing month. If it picks up again I'll be praising them to the heavens, just as I did all through February. Everyone I know can tell you I was raving about Netflix for the whole first month.
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post #30 of 72
3/6/05 at 5:24pm
I can understand your frustration, but I just think that expecting Netflix to have a movie in your box two days after you mailed it is unrealistic. Not in the entire time I've been with Netflix have I ever gotten a movie back that fast, and I live about four miles from the distribution center.

Looking at my account page, I see that over the last 90 days I've gone through 79 movies. I have the 8-movie account type, and that's about 13 weeks, so on average each rental slot is turning over a new movie every six days.

You might as well just get used to it, because like I said above, it's been my experience that the other services are worse. But don't take my word for it, try the other services out. They might work better for your area.
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