A suggestion for Netflix. (1 Viewer)

[Ross Williams]

I've been a happy Netflix user for years now. I've only slightly looked into Blockbuster's and Wal Mart's online rental sites. It seems like Netflix has a much better selection than both. (I'm really into foreign and independent films.)

My mom has been testing out the various sites. She told me that Blockbuster got her the DVD's much quicker. That it was because the USPS tells Blockbuster that a DVD is being returned, thus eliminating the wait time for it being sent back. For those of us two days from the delivery center, that means a lot.

So I suggested to Netflix that they do the same. I'm writing this to get more Netflix customers to try the same thing. It will benifit us all.

Go to: http://www.netflix.com/ContactUs - and click on Suggestions.

 

[EricSchulz]

Many years ago, Netflix offered a feature in the "Your Account" area similar to this. If I dropped off a DVD in the mail today (let's say "Harry Potter"), I could go to a listing of my movies that were out and check this as returned. They would then ship the next movie in my Queue.



I have heard this before somewhere...and it sounds bogus to me. I have not seen a Blockbuster envelope, but Netflix has nothing on its envelopes that gives any clue as to who the sender is...and I seriously doubt that the USPS has time to contact Blockbuster EVERY time that a movie is in the mail. Anyone have any verifiable evidence on this?

 

[Mark-W]

Netflix has become very fast at delivery DVDs to my area. They openned a shipping location in Salem, Oregon, so all of us in the Portland area seem to just have a one-day lag between when we mail the DVD and when NetFlix gets it.

So, if I mail a DVD on Monday, I often have another in my mail on Wednesday.

Has anyone else had an decrease in lag time like I have?

 

[Phil L]

I usually have a one day lag.

My number one suggestion is that they start shipping Saturdays.

 

[EricSchulz]

Same here since the Milwaukee DC opened up!

 

[Will.MA]

I get Saturday shipments delivered in Boston on Monday.

 

[Jeff_Standley]

When I lived in the Portland area I had only a one day lag also, it was great. I have recently moved to the other side of Oregon (La Grande) and now have a 2 day wait. The DVD's are still coming from the Salem location so the addition of a tracking number to alert them of an incoming DVD would be great.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

The envelopes could be barcoded with pretty much any information necessary. Since they're already being run through a scanner for sorting purposes, it's likely they can scan custom information for BB or Netflix as well.

Just a thought...

 

[Phil L]

They ship the DVD on a Saturday? My understanding is that they only ship M-F. I've never had a disc shipped on a Saturday.

 

[Matt Stone]

Same here too (Lafayette, IN). They opened up a center in Indy not too long ago.

 

[Brook K]

Netflix used to ship Saturdays, that's another thing they cut back on in addition to the "check-in" feature. Probably a combination of the expense of operating locations an extra day and decreasing the amount of movies (and postage consumed) per member.

Still there's a Netflix location right here in Duluth, GA (Atlanta metro) so I generally get 5 and sometimes 6 movies a week.

 

[Brett_M]

Netflix already does this, I believe. They have many more regional distribution centers than they used to. I have one here in Michigan. As soon as they disc is scanned in at the distribution hub, they send the next available disc from your queue. It may take longer depending on where the disc you want is coming from. Overall, I have a 2 or 3 day turn around.

How long does Blockbuster take? (I'll never switch to Blockbuster but I was just wondering.)

 

[Greg*go]

I've only had Netflix since October, but this has been the case for me (as long as I get to the mailbox before the pick up.

 

[Ray H]

Netflix is good IMHO. They generally receive the discs the day after I've sent them out and I receive a new disc the day after that.

Don't know about the USPS & Blockbuster thing. I was on a trial up until yesterday, and only once did they seem to do something like this. Not exactly sure what it was (so I'm assuming it's this), but they sent out 2 discs when my three discs were still out. Generally, they took about 3 days to receive a disc.

My only suggestions to Netflix would be to ship on Saturday and maybe carry multiple editions of movies. I was in the middle of getting those Ultimate Matrix Collection discs from Blockbuster. Unfortunately, Netflix only has the regular versions.

 

[Jacob McCraw]

I have a 2 day turnaround since they opened a hub in Greensboro, NC. I have gotten so used to it that if it's not marked returned the next day I worry and want to report the thing lost. I hate when I can't rent videos!

 

[Will.MA]

Not unless something has changed recently. It may have though because up until about three months ago I'd consistently have one day turn around. Now sometimes I get one or two titles a day or two after others are received when all were shipped from NF on the same day. Perhaps the titles which lagged behind the others are sent from a different hub? My primary distro center is just outside Boston so that's why I ususally get one day turn around. Anyhoo, I sent out two disks today that NF will receive tomorrow. We'll see if they send out the next movies in queue for Monday delivery.

 

[Gary Burdick]

I've been on my BBV trial for over a week now and as far as I can tell they don't scan my dvds. Takes 1-3 days for them to get them back, and the place is 2 hours away. DVDs take 1-6 days to get to my house. Hopefully I'll get another month when I try to cancel so I can see if it's just the Holidays causing the slowdown.

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

When I first used Netflix a few years ago, they had a "in the mail" section on their user page. I could click it and let them know I just mailed a DVD back, and they would send my new one, even before the other one had arrived. That feature disappeared a few years ago.

Eventually I cancelled their service because the lag time was too long (this was before they opened a local regional distribution center.) One day in the paper, there was a good sized article about a new distribution center in the same city I live in (Tacoma, WA) so I resigned up. Now I only have the one day lag - mail movie on Wednesday, have a new on in my hand on Friday. Can't get any better than that. (Unless I bought it on Tuesday.)

 

[Jon Martin]

Do you have the Worcester MA shipment center? I've used Netflix for a couple years now and they do not ship on Saturday. They ship on Fridays and Monday, but not on Saturday.

Doesn't bother me since if you mail it on Friday, they get it and on Monday, normally ship the new releases for that week.

 

[Keith I]

Here's another thread regarding their turnaround time:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=215804

However, I think that's what Netflix is doing for me at least. I put two discs in the mail yesterday and I got e-mail from Netflix saying they received them already? That's one day from Honolulu to San Jose during the busiest shipping week of the year? I don't think so.

So I think the Netflix does have some sort of scanning system that communicates with USPS to tell them that I did return the discs. I've received the next item the next day! Even with this system, that seems impossible! But since the new price kicked in, I've gotten my discs 1-2 days earlier now.

But of course, it could be different for other parts of the USA.