Anyones Netflix service starting to suck? - Page 7

jasonnaper · 01-25-05, 09:51 PM

Philadelphia Netflix is still as good as ever...

ltrain · 01-25-05, 10:07 PM

I've noticed a slow decline in turn-around with my service. When I first joined up again (right around Christmas) the service was fantastic. Sometimes it was only one day in between sending one back and receiving the next movie in my queue. Just last week I returned three movies which took several days for them to receive. (Even though the distribution center is only an hour and a half away) Supposedly my new three shipped out on Friday, but I haven't received them yet (as of Tuesday night).

As far as new releases go, many of mine are also on a "very long wait", but some are not. I know some people only use Netflix for new releases, but I like to have a mixture of new stuff and catalog titles that I may have missed previously. This is my third go-around with Netflix.

flashburn · 01-25-05, 10:17 PM

I have also started to notice a slowdown in service. I think I will probably stick with them, maybe give Blockbuster a shot later down the line.

nightmaster · 01-25-05, 10:49 PM

I'm getting the treatment everyone else is.....a disc will check in on a monday morning and I get an e-mail notification it's replacement will ship tuesday night. I think their agenda is to keep their customers on a pace of one cycle per week, though I may be completely wrong. Thing is, as long as I do get a cycle per week then I really can't complain because I'm getting my money's worth....I'm on the 5 at a time plan, so for $30 a month that's 20 rentals at $1.50 each. I live in a small town and the things I tend to rent are NEVER going to show up in my local video store- documentaries, concerts, older films, TV on DVD...stuff I want to check out before plunking down $20 or more to buy.

I tried Blockbuster a few months ago and they do have some advantages- they carry double-dips of lots of titles, even some superbits, for example, to check out and see if they're worth the price, whereas Netflix seems to have a policy of carrying whatever version came out first- but they were so slow I wasn't even seeing one cycle per week from them. They blather about opening new distribution centers all the time but a friend of mine is still with them, and his discs are going 250 miles each way. If they ever DO manage to incorporate their rental stores into the process by using them for distribution as well, Netflix is going to be in trouble.

BigDan · 01-25-05, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justwantmymovies

Did it ever get better after that??

Hasn't yet.

BigDan · 01-25-05, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justwantmymovies

;-) Well, Maybe because they don't have enough employees??? Maybe they are cheating you??? My guess is they have so many new customers they can't keep up with the load. Possibly the system allocates a movie for you, but the guy actually sending it to you can't get to it until the system automatically sets it to tomorrow??

I'm actually pretty sure that's what the problem is. Say they can process 500 discs per day (I'm sure it's more than that), but have 700 discs per day to ship out to meet customer demand. They prioritize to give low-volume renters the highest priority, so heavier renters will almost always be shunted to the next day.

Personally, I think that if they can't handle the load, they shouldn't have added the customers. Not being able to service the customer base will begin to cost them customers who would've been profitable. And it will take quite a bit of very costly advertising and marketing to win over new consumers once that reputation takes hold (especially since it's only going to get worse if the desire to grow to 4 million subscribers continues. It's possibly only a matter of time before delays in shipments are regular occurences for lighter renters, too).

Chew · 01-26-05, 06:32 AM

I'm in the same boat, the last several weeks Netflix has been receiving my returns on Monday and not shipping out new until Tuesday night.

On the plus side, I get them Wednesday.

As for Blockbuster, I'm still haven't gotten a disc shipped on Saturday.

As much as I'm annoyed with Netflix slowing me down so much, the fact Blockbuster takes sooooo long to get to me still makes Netflix better. (Blockbuster is one state over, Netflix is about 2 hours from here)

unclehulot · 01-26-05, 08:59 AM

They told me in an email that the shipping delay until the next day was becuase "some titles are shipped from a different distribution center". So, they contact the other distribution center by what.....carrier pigeon?! Welles Fargo? It's still not a BAD turnaround (try Nicheflix, and you'll learn to be REALLY patient... or go mad!), just that I would pay $21.99 for the service I WAS getting rather than $17.99 to have it slowed down.

peon73 · 01-26-05, 11:59 AM

how do we find out where their distribution centers are? my service has gotten very bad like everyone elses. i've gotten to the point where i'll just rent new releases at the local store and just use netflix for older / tv-shows series. just started getting seinfeld series after being in my queue for god knows how long

justwantmymovies · 01-26-05, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peon73

how do we find out where their distribution centers are? my service has gotten very bad like everyone elses. i've gotten to the point where i'll just rent new releases at the local store and just use netflix for older / tv-shows series. just started getting seinfeld series after being in my queue for god knows how long

Since your profile says you are in Brea, the closest one to you is Santa Ana ;-)
Should take a day, max.

sikegrad · 01-26-05, 02:06 PM

My service has been crap since mid December, but at least I'm getting the first new release in my queue every Tuesday. I put 3 movies in the mail this past Friday, and they received 1 on Monday and the other two on Tuesday. At least I'm getting all new releases, but it's getting a bit annoying. Been a member since May 04, and I only avergage 3 movies a week to coincide with the new releases. The distribution center is only 30-miles away, so I know it's not the Post Office. I figure that there may have been a lot of "gift" subscriptions, so hopefully things will return to normal next month.

sikegrad · 01-31-05, 11:18 AM

I put 3 movies in the mail to be returned on Friday, and today Ray, Vanity Fair, and The Grudge is shipping out. Maybe things are starting to turn around.

taa455 · 01-31-05, 12:47 PM

My service went from bad to worse this past week. They got all my returns from the previous week on Monday, yet I did not receive any replacements until Saturday. That's 5 days. Mail time had been 2 days prior to the recent slowdown. On Saturday I received 2 out of 3 discs. The 3rd is still not here. Maybe it will arrive today, a full week after they received the last return.

justwantmymovies · 01-31-05, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taa455

My service went from bad to worse this past week. They got all my returns from the previous week on Monday, yet I did not receive any replacements until Saturday. That's 5 days. Mail time had been 2 days prior to the recent slowdown. On Saturday I received 2 out of 3 discs. The 3rd is still not here. Maybe it will arrive today, a full week after they received the last return.

That's pretty bad. Were they newer titles?

aukevin · 01-31-05, 01:28 PM

I've noticed some of mine have been getting wait times lately. I'm still waiting on The Village, it's been a very long wait since it came out. I have gotten Sky Captain and Mean Creek is shipping today. My distribution center is only 2 hours away in Birmingham, AL.

I tried Blockbuster recently and their wait times are WAAAYY longer than Netflix, IMO. I decided that even if Netflix is a couple bucks more and I don't get the 2 free rentals, it is still worth it because overall, I get better service (available movies and faster ship times) than with Blockbuster online.

taa455 · 01-31-05, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justwantmymovies

That's pretty bad. Were they newer titles?

The titles were Sky Captain, Garden State and Before Sunrise. Sky Captain was the only title released last week. Before Sunrise is the title that is still yet to arrive.

justwantmymovies · 01-31-05, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taa455

The titles were Sky Captain, Garden State and Before Sunrise. Sky Captain was the only title released last week. Before Sunrise is the title that is still yet to arrive.

OK, Well, I am with you now....

Sent back NetFlix and WalMart movies at the same time. Both Dist Centers are in the same Zip Code.

Walmart recieved and shipped out next set of movies before 9am this morn.
NetFlix has not even registered the DVD's as recvd.....

I guess it is SUCKING!

MasterofDVD · 01-31-05, 05:08 PM

It seems like it is now taking 1 day to have my movies ship each way. Netflix sometimes take 1 or 2 two days to process my return and ship out a new title. If Netflix only shipped on Saturdays I'd be very happy.

The Blockbuster free trial was crap. In just under 2 weeks I received 4 movies and the local shipping center isn't really THAT far away from me. I won't try them again until they add more shipping location or start to ship from their stores.

I might try Wal-Mart next but for now I will stick with NetFlix. I might even upgrade to the 5 movie plan to catch up a little faster on some older releases I missed.

justwantmymovies · 01-31-05, 05:11 PM

I tried Walmart to check and have been pleasantly surprised... Plus their dist center is like a couple cities away... Pretty close ;-)

nemein · 01-31-05, 09:54 PM

Well I never heard anything back from my email complaint but magically one of the titles at the top of my queue that was in "Very Long Wait" mode shipped the day after I sent it. Today they sent me one of the "did you get it" emails for that title. Also the two titles that were recevied today had the replacements (both new releases for this week) ship today as well. I wonder how long it'll last

aukevin · 01-31-05, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemein

Well I never heard anything back from my email complaint but magically one of the titles at the top of my queue that was in "Very Long Wait" mode shipped the day after I sent it. Today they sent me one of the "did you get it" emails for that title. Also the two titles that were recevied today had the replacements (both new releases for this week) ship today as well. I wonder how long it'll last

ha, samed things happened to me. I guess I'll email them some more complaints and see if I get The Village anytime soon.

taa455 · 02-02-05, 11:13 AM

So far so good this week. They got my return in two days and shipped the next on the same day. That's how it used to be and I'll be very happy if it stays that way.

justwantmymovies · 02-02-05, 11:17 AM

5 days for NetFlix, 2 for Walmart... Same Zip Code..... NetFlix is SUCKING!!!

Estimated · 02-14-05, 06:39 PM

I'm done with netflix. it's just gotten worse and worse. i've yet to get anything other then an auto reply from their customer service and now it's taking over a week to turn around three movies. I've started my blockbuster trial and it's good so far. they have a center near me (same city as netflix) and turn around has been good. we'll see how they do in the long run.....

phr33k · 02-14-05, 07:20 PM

I take back every bad thing i said about netflix when making this thread.. my netflix service has been wonderful!! for the past 6 weeks the new release dvds ship out on monday and i get them on tuesday! the dvds only take one day to get to my house... so ill be having netflix for a loooong time

01-25-05, 09:51 PM	#151
jasonnaper Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Warminster, PA Posts: 291	Philadelphia Netflix is still as good as ever... __________________ There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness.

01-25-05, 10:17 PM	#153
flashburn DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Deltona, FL Posts: 5,091	I have also started to notice a slowdown in service. I think I will probably stick with them, maybe give Blockbuster a shot later down the line. __________________ CHOO CHOO! Xbox Live Gamertag: FlasHBurN2012 Wii Friend Code: 4299 0825 5929 9227 My Ever Growing HD DVD, Blu-ray, and DVD Collection

01-25-05, 10:49 PM	#154
nightmaster DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Archives, Indiana Posts: 1,754	I'm getting the treatment everyone else is.....a disc will check in on a monday morning and I get an e-mail notification it's replacement will ship tuesday night. I think their agenda is to keep their customers on a pace of one cycle per week, though I may be completely wrong. Thing is, as long as I do get a cycle per week then I really can't complain because I'm getting my money's worth....I'm on the 5 at a time plan, so for $30 a month that's 20 rentals at $1.50 each. I live in a small town and the things I tend to rent are NEVER going to show up in my local video store- documentaries, concerts, older films, TV on DVD...stuff I want to check out before plunking down $20 or more to buy. I tried Blockbuster a few months ago and they do have some advantages- they carry double-dips of lots of titles, even some superbits, for example, to check out and see if they're worth the price, whereas Netflix seems to have a policy of carrying whatever version came out first- but they were so slow I wasn't even seeing one cycle per week from them. They blather about opening new distribution centers all the time but a friend of mine is still with them, and his discs are going 250 miles each way. If they ever DO manage to incorporate their rental stores into the process by using them for distribution as well, Netflix is going to be in trouble. Last edited by nightmaster; 01-25-05 at 11:01 PM.

01-26-05, 06:32 AM	#157
Chew DVD Talk Legend Join Date: May 1999 Location: South of Titletown Posts: 15,195	I'm in the same boat, the last several weeks Netflix has been receiving my returns on Monday and not shipping out new until Tuesday night. On the plus side, I get them Wednesday. As for Blockbuster, I'm still haven't gotten a disc shipped on Saturday. As much as I'm annoyed with Netflix slowing me down so much, the fact Blockbuster takes sooooo long to get to me still makes Netflix better. (Blockbuster is one state over, Netflix is about 2 hours from here) __________________ XBL Gamertag: chew1138 PSN Gamertag: chew1138

01-26-05, 11:59 AM	#159
peon73 DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jun 1999 Location: L.A., CA Posts: 1,100	how do we find out where their distribution centers are? my service has gotten very bad like everyone elses. i've gotten to the point where i'll just rent new releases at the local store and just use netflix for older / tv-shows series. just started getting seinfeld series after being in my queue for god knows how long __________________ Aloha & Mahalo

01-25-05, 10:07 PM	#152
ltrain Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Vermont Posts: 330	I've noticed a slow decline in turn-around with my service. When I first joined up again (right around Christmas) the service was fantastic. Sometimes it was only one day in between sending one back and receiving the next movie in my queue. Just last week I returned three movies which took several days for them to receive. (Even though the distribution center is only an hour and a half away) Supposedly my new three shipped out on Friday, but I haven't received them yet (as of Tuesday night). As far as new releases go, many of mine are also on a "very long wait", but some are not. I know some people only use Netflix for new releases, but I like to have a mixture of new stuff and catalog titles that I may have missed previously. This is my third go-around with Netflix.

01-26-05, 08:59 AM	#158
unclehulot Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 251	They told me in an email that the shipping delay until the next day was becuase "some titles are shipped from a different distribution center". So, they contact the other distribution center by what.....carrier pigeon?! Welles Fargo? It's still not a BAD turnaround (try Nicheflix, and you'll learn to be REALLY patient... or go mad!), just that I would pay $21.99 for the service I WAS getting rather than $17.99 to have it slowed down.

01-26-05, 02:06 PM	#161
sikegrad Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 99	My service has been crap since mid December, but at least I'm getting the first new release in my queue every Tuesday. I put 3 movies in the mail this past Friday, and they received 1 on Monday and the other two on Tuesday. At least I'm getting all new releases, but it's getting a bit annoying. Been a member since May 04, and I only avergage 3 movies a week to coincide with the new releases. The distribution center is only 30-miles away, so I know it's not the Post Office. I figure that there may have been a lot of "gift" subscriptions, so hopefully things will return to normal next month.

01-31-05, 11:18 AM	#162
sikegrad Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 99	I put 3 movies in the mail to be returned on Friday, and today Ray, Vanity Fair, and The Grudge is shipping out. Maybe things are starting to turn around.

01-31-05, 12:47 PM	#163
taa455 DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Tennessee, USA Posts: 3,372	My service went from bad to worse this past week. They got all my returns from the previous week on Monday, yet I did not receive any replacements until Saturday. That's 5 days. Mail time had been 2 days prior to the recent slowdown. On Saturday I received 2 out of 3 discs. The 3rd is still not here. Maybe it will arrive today, a full week after they received the last return.

01-31-05, 01:28 PM	#165
aukevin Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 133	I've noticed some of mine have been getting wait times lately. I'm still waiting on The Village, it's been a very long wait since it came out. I have gotten Sky Captain and Mean Creek is shipping today. My distribution center is only 2 hours away in Birmingham, AL. I tried Blockbuster recently and their wait times are WAAAYY longer than Netflix, IMO. I decided that even if Netflix is a couple bucks more and I don't get the 2 free rentals, it is still worth it because overall, I get better service (available movies and faster ship times) than with Blockbuster online. __________________ aukevin DVD Collection

01-31-05, 05:08 PM	#168
MasterofDVD DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Jun 1999 Location: Export, PA Posts: 4,920	It seems like it is now taking 1 day to have my movies ship each way. Netflix sometimes take 1 or 2 two days to process my return and ship out a new title. If Netflix only shipped on Saturdays I'd be very happy. The Blockbuster free trial was crap. In just under 2 weeks I received 4 movies and the local shipping center isn't really THAT far away from me. I won't try them again until they add more shipping location or start to ship from their stores. I might try Wal-Mart next but for now I will stick with NetFlix. I might even upgrade to the 5 movie plan to catch up a little faster on some older releases I missed. __________________ XBOX LIVE GamerTag: MasterofDVD Wii Friends Code: 0068 1644 9997 1870 PSN ID: TheCritic My DVD Profiler Collection / My Gamercard

01-31-05, 05:11 PM	#169
justwantmymovies Cool New Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 31	I tried Walmart to check and have been pleasantly surprised... Plus their dist center is like a couple cities away... Pretty close ;-)

01-31-05, 09:54 PM	#170
nemein Moderator Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: 1bit away from total disaster Posts: 32,174	Well I never heard anything back from my email complaint but magically one of the titles at the top of my queue that was in "Very Long Wait" mode shipped the day after I sent it. Today they sent me one of the "did you get it" emails for that title. Also the two titles that were recevied today had the replacements (both new releases for this week) ship today as well. I wonder how long it'll last __________________ "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." -- Norman Thomas, Socialist Party of America "Do the right thing even if it means dying like a dog when no one's there to see you do it." - Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale My Countdown Counting down to: End of the 5th world age 1265 days 8 hours 43 minutes

02-02-05, 11:13 AM	#172
taa455 DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Tennessee, USA Posts: 3,372	So far so good this week. They got my return in two days and shipped the next on the same day. That's how it used to be and I'll be very happy if it stays that way.

02-02-05, 11:17 AM	#173
justwantmymovies Cool New Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 31	5 days for NetFlix, 2 for Walmart... Same Zip Code..... NetFlix is SUCKING!!!

02-14-05, 06:39 PM	#174
Estimated Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Diego Posts: 60	I'm done with netflix. it's just gotten worse and worse. i've yet to get anything other then an auto reply from their customer service and now it's taking over a week to turn around three movies. I've started my blockbuster trial and it's good so far. they have a center near me (same city as netflix) and turn around has been good. we'll see how they do in the long run.....

02-14-05, 07:20 PM	#175
phr33k Suspended Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 664	I take back every bad thing i said about netflix when making this thread.. my netflix service has been wonderful!! for the past 6 weeks the new release dvds ship out on monday and i get them on tuesday! the dvds only take one day to get to my house... so ill be having netflix for a loooong time