Netflix (DVD Delivery Discussion Only)

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Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1476 Post by Perkins Cobb »

So, based D50's helpful link above, I did some Googling and I suspect that this is what suddenly started doing a number on many of us this month. Fuck.
“The Postal Service will initially focus on stabilizing the operating window changes that will occur in all plants beginning today, Jan. 5,” said Sarah Ninivaggi, a postal spokeswoman. Postal customers will, in many cases, see their mail delivered more slowly when the consolidations are completed, with overnight delivery reduced the most dramatically.
Edit: This and this suggest that first class mail (which includes Netflix) will change from one-day delivery to a system where it might show up after one day (20%), two days (35%), or three days (44%). (I guess you never get the other 1% at all.) Small sample size, of course, but those percentages roughly match my experience over the last three weeks.

"Network rationalization plan" is the keyword if you want to look up more about it. I dimly remember reading about it, but the slowdown of ordinary mail delivery sort of got lost amid the hysteria of losing Saturday delivery (which I would now happily sacrifice to get my Netflix back on track the other five days). The only thing that leaves me not-quite-convinced that this is the culprit is that Classicflix discs don't seem to be taking appreciably longer to reach me, although that may be because they were so friggin' slow already.

Not sure yet how I'll compensate for this. If I can no longer turn discs around within a week, I may have to get a second Netflix account in the short term (Is that even possible?), and then start getting used to buying and reselling more stuff just to see it.
Last edited by Perkins Cobb on Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:25 pm
Location: SLC, UT

Re: Netflix

#1477 Post by swo17 »

What would a second account benefit you that just upping your discs-at-a-time wouldn't? A second account would cost you more too.
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1478 Post by Perkins Cobb »

I'm already getting 8.
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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:25 pm
Location: SLC, UT

Re: Netflix

#1479 Post by swo17 »

Oh. In that case, I don't see why you couldn't start another account, although it would seem like a real hassle to maintain two queues. Though it might increase your chances of getting some of those "long waits" if you have them at the top of the queue for two separate accounts.
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1480 Post by Perkins Cobb »

Oh, yeah, it would definitely be a hassle, and an unnecessary expense. But if I have to assume more than a one-week turnaround for each disc, then I guess I would need one queue feeding the first and third weekends of the month, and another queue feeding the second and fourth? I could shut off one intermittently when I know I'm going to dip into the kevyip, I guess. Still thinking through this.
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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:25 pm
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Re: Netflix

#1481 Post by swo17 »

Do you tend to get all or most of your 8 sent around the same time so you can watch them over the weekend and then send them all back at the first of the week? I try as much as possible to space out when I mail things back. I figure it increases my chances of getting one of the "waits" at the top of my queue if they're mailing something out to me every (or most every) day. Though it's getting more difficult to time these things now...
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1482 Post by Perkins Cobb »

Yeah, the reason I have eight (and now maybe more than eight!) is that most of the viewing gets crammed in between Thursday night and Sunday, so I kind of need everything at once, in mail terms. If I could enjoy movies on weeknights, I'd be much more Netflix-compatible, but new-ish TV episodes are about all I can handle during the work week. And often I tend to "program" a weekend with films from a certain director or country or period or whatever, which makes it even more of a challenge to wrangle Netflix discs. Sometimes I'll go "fishing" for Very Long Wait discs, but most of the time I'll prioritize stuff I have some confidence of actually receiving.

(Plus I sometimes need to rewatch something, or part of something, or take a screengrab, for something I'm writing, which also plays havoc with the queue, and makes these new delays especially worrisome in terms of deadlines. Also, with single layer discs, the content tends to get ... retained after the disc itself goes back. Which I never bothered doing back when Netflix didn't suck.)
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D50
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:00 am
Location: USA

Re: Netflix

#1483 Post by D50 »

_____________

February 2016

99 Homes (2015) ***
Room (2015) ***
The Martian (2015) ***
_____________
March 2016

Jafar Panahi's Taxi (2015) 3/1/2016 ***
Bridge of Spies (2015) 3/1/2016 ***
James White (2015) 3/1/2016 ***
Room (2015) 3/1/2016 ***
The Tribe (2015) 3/8/2016 ***
Spectre (2015) 3/8/2016 ***
The Forbidden Room (2015) 3/8/2016 ***
The Wonders (2015) 3/8/2016 ***
Victoria (2015) 3/8/2016 ***
Crimson Peak (2015) 3/8/2016 ***
Carol (2015) ***
Cartel Land (2015) ***
Concussion (2015) ***
Creed (2015) ***
Steve Jobs (2015) ***
The Pearl Button (2015) ***
Anomalisa (2015) ***

_____________
?

Brooklyn (2015) ***
Phoenix (2015) ***
Sembene! (2015) ***

*** new

02/09/15
Last edited by D50 on Tue Feb 09, 2016 1:21 pm, edited 124 times in total.
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Valin Kenobi
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:25 pm
Location: Flyover Country

Re: Netflix

#1484 Post by Valin Kenobi »

Sent in something the other day. Yesterday (Sunday) my queue said they would send the next on Monday. Today it says "We will send your next available DVD as soon as possible."

Image

I have a bunch of "Very long wait" items at the top, but come on, send me SOMETHING.
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D50
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:00 am
Location: USA

Re: Netflix

#1485 Post by D50 »

Valin Kenobi wrote:Sent in something the other day. Yesterday (Sunday) my queue said they would send the next on Monday. Today it says "We will send your next available DVD as soon as possible."
My weekend returns have to go out in either Friday's or Saturday's outgoing mail for them to receive it on Monday, then Monday morning it says it was received, then a little later it shows dvd X shipping, then later that same morning it shows the est. arrival date. Mine shows Tuesday 2/3/2015, but it could be Wednesday too since I get the 1-2 day lottery as of the last few weeks.
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Valin Kenobi
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:25 pm
Location: Flyover Country

Re: Netflix

#1486 Post by Valin Kenobi »

Generally mine register as received at the same time the next is posted, so listing two separate operations is a bad sign. My next one shipped today with estimated arrival tomorrow, so we'll see I guess.
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1487 Post by Perkins Cobb »

Still happening here. Five discs shipped on Monday, estimated arrival Tuesday, and still not here, so they'll be at least two days late.

Real-world consequences: I just confirmed an interview with an actor for Monday, and will be cramming on his work over the weekend. A month ago I could've used Netflix for most of that prep; now I'll have to spend a much bigger chunk of what I'll make on that piece Amazon Prime-ing discs to myself, just to watch a few scenes and then resell, if I can.
Noiradelic
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 4:45 am

Re: Netflix

#1488 Post by Noiradelic »

Maybe in some instances, streaming individual films from Amazon or iTunes would be more efficient?
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Valin Kenobi
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:25 pm
Location: Flyover Country

Re: Netflix

#1489 Post by Valin Kenobi »

My Wednesday movie didn't arrive Wednesday or Thursday. I clicked "report problem" and "haven't received the DVD yet" and got this curious reply:

"The estimated arrival date for The Last Starfighter is 02/04/15.

Note that in some cases there are postal or shipping delays. This problem can be reported on or after 02/06/15."

Looks like I'm trying again tomorrow. :roll:
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1490 Post by Perkins Cobb »

Last night I called them to report that five discs were three days late (and counting), and their response was to put my account on hold after the call ended, thus blocking any new discs from shipping today. Whee!
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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:25 pm
Location: SLC, UT

Re: Netflix

#1491 Post by swo17 »

Weird. Last time I called with a complaint (that my replacement for a cracked disc was the very same cracked disc), they sent me three extra films from my queue.
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Cash Flagg
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:15 am

Re: Netflix

#1492 Post by Cash Flagg »

I double-checked my shipping history, and so far in 2015 I have received a grand total of six discs, each of which was shipped back the morning after receiving/watching it. Normally, after five weeks, I would have received ten on my single disc plan.
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1493 Post by Perkins Cobb »

swo17 wrote:Weird. Last time I called with a complaint (that my replacement for a cracked disc was the very same cracked disc), they sent me three extra films from my queue.
Well, they've changed that script, because the cheery pod person I just talked to agreed to send two extra discs to compensate for the two that should've shipped out today (but didn't because the bogus account hold blocked it) only after ten minutes of evasive maneuvers. And then he announced that I would have to call back again after the account hold magically disappears (this allegedly takes an hour) and have the same conversation with a new discmonkey in order to actually get the extra two DVDs!

I'm torn, because it's probably time to just throw in the towel and redirect that money towards purchases, and yet it feels like shedding disc customers is what they actually want and I don't want to give them the satisfaction.
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swo17
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Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:25 pm
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Re: Netflix

#1494 Post by swo17 »

Me neither! And I refuse to get a streaming account from them for the same reason, even though there are some exclusives there that I'd kind of like to watch.

It's still the best way for me to get new releases at least, especially since there seem to be few others vying for them, so I'm typically able to get them on release day (or, technically, one month after this, but you know what I mean).
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1495 Post by Perkins Cobb »

Yeah, new releases would take the biggest hit (mainly because I've already gradually gotten accustomed to having to find many catalog titles elsewhere). If I had to I could get most of those from Redbox and the library, but the catch is I'd have to watch a lot of Blu-available releases on DVD. Not cool.
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Valin Kenobi
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:25 pm
Location: Flyover Country

Re: Netflix

#1496 Post by Valin Kenobi »

So my Wednesday movie finally arrived today, and my Friday movie hasn't arrived yet. I called their help line, describing these as well as the last one that took forever to arrive. The cheery pod person agreed it was way too long to wait and said he was filing a report on the Wednesday one and I should call back if the other one doesn't arrive on Monday. Granted these were both "Long Wait" items, but three days from the estimates they themselves provided is ridiculous.

He said it was a problem happening nationwide and ascribed it to the postal service switching to 2-3 day delivery like Perkins described above, so it takes longer for discs coming and going. He did say they were trying to find a solution with the postal service that would get back to next-day delivery, so that's something. I would assume the only way to do this would be to pay more for their postage, which would in turn make the subscription fee go up.

I also asked about closing distribution centers, and he said they had consolidated some but my local one was still around so that wouldn't be the cause of the problems.

Only time will tell, I guess.
Perkins Cobb wrote:I'm torn, because it's probably time to just throw in the towel and redirect that money towards purchases, and yet it feels like shedding disc customers is what they actually want and I don't want to give them the satisfaction.
That's exactly how I feel. I have streaming and I love it, but I don't want to give them the satisfaction of dropping discs like they've been pushing for years, nor can I afford to pay-per-stream everything I watch, or buy and resell.

OTOH, I have begun slowly shortening my DVD queue and maintaining the list on my computer, in case one day it's deleted without warning when they finally decide discs are too much hassle.
Last edited by Valin Kenobi on Sun Feb 08, 2015 5:26 am, edited 3 times in total.
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1497 Post by Perkins Cobb »

I should also point out that the discs I've been complaining about most recently shipped on Monday and arrived on Friday -- four days late, and one day longer than the worst-case estimate I've seen given in all the published descriptions of the USPS's new approach to processing first-class mail.
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Valin Kenobi
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:25 pm
Location: Flyover Country

Re: Netflix

#1498 Post by Valin Kenobi »

Fair enough. I'm trying to resist ascribing malign intent to the support guy, who was cheerful and pleasant if not particularly useful, but I also can't help interpreting all this as Netflix exploiting a chance to further disincentivize the discs when the post office hands them a tailor-made excuse.
Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:49 pm

Re: Netflix

#1499 Post by Perkins Cobb »

One of the phone monkeys gave me the same spiel, too, albeit in very vague terms. So far I've gotten only one openly surly woman (who did manage to spectacularly bungle my queue for me, though) on the help line and three of those cheery and, indeed, totally useless Stepford husbands. Kevin McCarthy must be running around flagging down cars somewhere near their call center.
Numero Trois
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:23 am
Location: Florida

Re: Netflix

#1500 Post by Numero Trois »

swo17 wrote:Weird. Last time I called with a complaint (that my replacement for a cracked disc was the very same cracked disc),
I had that happen several times with Richard Brody's Liability Crisis. After a certain point I started holding on to the discs rather than sending them back. Soon enough I had over six copies of that disc all cracked in a similar way. Eventually I gave up and bought the damn thing.

After not using the site for a year they recently sent me a free DVD rentals-for-a-month offer. But that was only after I ignored a similar streaming offer that they sent me a few months back. So they're not quite yet done with discs.

I just wish there was a way of downloading to a spreadsheet all the ratings I've left on there.
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