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Netflix going down hill? Anyone had this happen?

Started by alanp, June 06, 2009, 04:19:18 PM

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alanp

I am not renewing the next month of Netflix.  I'm putting the account on a pause.  Hopefully they will do something about it. But I doubt they will.

I've had them for four years and last November, they totally changed the ways they cross ship movies.  So those 90,000 movies they like to brag about..... Not really anymore.... More like what the local tastes dictate in your area just like the brick and mortar store. 

I had gotten so used to having them ship horror/scifi/wrestling/comedy gems from all over the place; I didn't mind the extra days waiting on them to be delivered because they simply brought me goodies I couldn't have rented anywhere else. 

They decided to put together a system where they ship all of the disks in your plan (in my case 3 at a time) only from your nearest shipping center(s).  This was done to reduce the turn around time.  What if the nearest center doesn't have what you are looking for?  They only do 'cross shipments' as a bonus rental in very specific situations.  The algorithm sends you a bonus disk from another center when, the #1 or #2 disk in your queue is predicted to have a deficit of copies for a predicted 7 days, another center must have a surplus of copies for a predicted 7 days, and there must no bonus disks already out.  So only at a time.  It's hard to get into that situation because, during that 3 day period last year when nothing shipped, they were spreading out their inventory.   And those hard to find titles were spread thin.

This killed my level of service since I almost never got something from the nearest distribution center.  I've called, complained, they sometimes offer a 'courtesy disk' which doesn't have the same limitations that will move out a top pic regardless of where it is.

Instead of putting movies in the queue in the order you want to watch them, the new way is to stack movies with a short wait on top.  They are the most likely to meet the specific criteria to create the cross shipment.  This can help you get an extra for some of you life hackers but didn't really fix my problem.  Also, on a daily basis rotate a different short wait title to the top of the queue.

When they first made this change, I one day looked at my queue and the top 25 movies in my queue had ALL changed from available now to some type of a wait.  Except for a few that   I had been waiting for months for a turn renting movies on a very long wait.  Those titles were spread so thin netflix just stopped offering them!!!!  So I didn't get to rent Stephen King's Golden Years or the Witch Who Came From the Sea.  This has happened to me over times 20 times in only 7 months!

To make things more frustrating, they don't always predict a wait until they have attempted to ship it to you.  A movie can sit at the bottom of the queue for months as available now.  It is probably available now.......... somewhere.  So you move it to the top and attempted to check it out, and only then does it discover your local center doesn't have it.  Then you get to add it to the list of movies on a short wait at the top of the queue.

Have any of you had this problem since last November?

X

Not a single problem here. I don't actaully care about the discs. I get the two a month plan for the heck of it, but the majority of my netflix viewing is over Xbox live streaming.

Rico

I've used them for many years and not had any big troubles.  Once in a great while a disc might arrive damaged, but that's about it.  With that said, I will say the wait for some films can be very long.  I have a big queue of about 200 or so and it isn't a huge deal.  There is a little trick to getting new releases.  Ship a movie back on Friday or Saturday.  It usually gets logged in on Monday.  New stuff is out on Tuesday.  I almost always have a brand new release at the top of my queue the week it comes out and I usually get it this way.  They will ship these on Monday and they show up on Tuesday.  This works almost all the time.  But, you have to time things.  For me, it's still the best deal around to rent stuff.

sheldor

Really?  I haven't noticed any problems - all my movies get to me in a day.
Quote from: Rico on June 06, 2009, 05:06:51 PM
I've used them for many years and not had any big troubles.  Once in a great while a disc might arrive damaged, but that's about it.  With that said, I will say the wait for some films can be very long.  I have a big queue of about 200 or so and it isn't a huge deal.  There is a little trick to getting new releases.  Ship a movie back on Friday or Saturday.  It usually gets logged in on Monday.  New stuff is out on Tuesday.  I almost always have a brand new release at the top of my queue the week it comes out and I usually get it this way.  They will ship these on Monday and they show up on Tuesday.  This works almost all the time.  But, you have to time things.  For me, it's still the best deal around to rent stuff.

OMG!  200????!!!  I got like 8 in my Q.  No wonder you don't have time to watch the shows.

Rico got me hooked on Netflix and I had one issue returning a movie.  It was lost and I was expecting them to charge me for the movie but it was nice they didn't.  I've been very happy with them and I haven't notice any limited selection.  Sometimes if a movie just came out, they send me an email if it will take longer then one day for arrival.

Rico

When I come across something that looks interesting I just add it to the queue.  Frankly most of the time I just shuffle things to the top when I get inclined to see something.  It doesn't mean I have any more movies at home - just have a lot on my list to see - someday.

sheldor

I need to get the prisoner on my list.  I barely remember the series and netflix is a great way to catch up.  There was another show - The Champions?  Way back in the 60's

Bromptonboy

I haven't had any issues with Netflix.  Like Marikinro, I had lost a movie once while it was being returned, and they didn't charge me.
Things will only get better as they put more and more content online so you can do a 'Play Now'.  Between Netflix and Hulu, I am thinking of dropping cable TV.
Pete

Allen

I've used them for about a year. There is only one shipping center in our area - but we live kind of out in the boonies. We have gotten used to having things shipped in two days instead of the one they brag about. But with only one exception we've never had any that couldn't be delivered from the local depot. We do, however experience some wait for new releases, but usually it's no more than having it skipped one delivery and delivered the next - so long as I kept it at the top of my queue.

That being said, it sounds like your tastes are way different than mine. Some of your's may be much rarer than the ones I look for. I have noticed that some of these rarer ones have started turning up on the instant view, though. But even then, I've never had a movie that came to mind, no matter how bizarre, that I hadn't been able to get.

But, then again, I have heard that Netflix is having trouble. A price hike may be in the near future, with Blu-Ray going even higher. Some distribution centers may be closed. This may be all rumore, but I think Hulu has them nervous.
When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. - Mark Twain

alanp

Well I put the account on pause for the time being.  I'm giving blockbuster a go even though I do hate that company.  Also I found I could try it out for a full month with the code bbstore.  Code works and they did have things I wanted netflix no longer offers.

Allen

Good! I'm glad they have some of the "harder to find" movies you want. Do they still have the plan where you can take the movie you got in the mail and exchange it at a physical store for a new one? I thought that was cool, except where I live it's a 40 mile drive to the nearest Blockbuster!
When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. - Mark Twain

alanp

Yeah I'm in that boat two as far as distance from the store.  I've added most of my netflix 'saved section' to the blockbuster queue and just got my first batch today.