Dear Dash,

As you may know, Blu-ray movies are more expensive than standard definition movies. As a result, we're going to start charging $1 a month (plus applicable taxes), in addition to your monthly membership charge, for unlimited access to Blu-ray movies.

The additional charge for unlimited Blu-ray access will be automatically added to your next billing statement on or after November 5th, 2008 and will be referenced in your Membership Terms and Details. If you wish to continue getting Blu-ray movies for $1 a month more, you don't need to do anything. If not, you can remove Blu-ray access anytime by visiting Your Account at the Netflix website.

If you have questions about this change or need any assistance, please call us anytime at 1-888-638-3549.

-The Netflix Team

Price change for access to Blu-ray movies [The Official Netflix Blog] (Thanks to Dash!) (Photo: corsec67)

We'd love to see Netflix roll out a reminder service, but since that would directly impact their bottom line, we have a feeling it won't be showing up on the official site any time soon.

Here's what the typical data screen looks like, if you're curious:

Holy crap, I kept Michael Clayton for 58 days, and I only watched it once! Maybe I should just cancel Netflix and read more books.

FeedFlix.com

I just got "The Rules Of Attraction" from Netflix and it's a screener disc. As a matter of fact, 3 or 4 times through the movie, 5-10 minute sections of the movie have "This is the property of Lion's Gate Films, This disc is not to be sold or rented". Interestingly, it was a 2 sided DVD and when I watched the 2nd side, it was a test pattern. No extras, no subtitles, no language options. Just the movie with legal disclaimers overlaid throughout.

While that's certainly not an appropriate disc to be mailing out, we have no way of knowing how it entered the Netflix supply chain—it's possible that a previous customer switched out the discs at some point, or that a supplier accidentally included it. We think you should contact Netflix and report the issue so they can remove the disc from circulation and send you a proper copy of the movie.

You can find Netflix's phone number under the "Help" section—in the lower right corner of the page, under "Contact Customer Service," click on "Website Questions and Inquiries." You'll be given a customer ID number along with the phone number to call.

(Photo: Getty)

"IMPORTANT: Your DVD Shipments Have Likely Been Delayed

We're sorry to report that since Tuesday we've been experiencing issues with our shipping system, so many of you have not received DVDs in a timely manner and many of you have not received emails letting you know we got a DVD back from you.
We pride ourselves in delighting you, and we've let you down. We apologize and are working around the clock to restore normal operations. To all of you whose shipments have been delayed, we'll be automatically applying a credit to your next billing statement. Or, if you are new to Netflix and your first shipments have been delayed, we recognize that this is not a good way to begin your Netflix membership and we'll automatically extend your free trial.
Our goal is to ship DVDs as soon as possible and to keep you updated. Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience we've caused you and thank you for your patience.
The Netflix Team"

I actually didn't even notice that my Netflix had been delayed until checking the website, but I appreciate that they are straightforward about the issue. -Kristin

Unlike the J. Crew "We've made some mistakes..." notice, Netflix here acknowledges the cause of the problem, that the company is working to fix it, and offers customers compensation. -Brent

I'm HAPPY about how well the service provider is handling the outage, mostly because other service providers handle things like this SO poorly. -Steve

While my personal experience hasn't been affected by this shipping delay, I am still pleased by their efforts to publicly own up to an error. Not to mention their effort to smooth things over for anyone bothered by the hiccup. I have always been pleased with Netflix and their customer service, and this is just another instance that tells me I've chosen to give my business to a great company. -Annie

1- they admit they messed up (I hadn't even noticed)
2- they said they were sorry
3- they will be crediting me for the error

I'm left happy, even if I need to wait an extra day or two for the new Harold and Kumar movie. -B.

If something did happen, I haven't noticed. Thank you once again Netflix for rising above my expectations. You quickly own up to a problem and provide the appropriate compensation without making me get into a verbal fist fight with a CSR. -Eric

Way to go, Netflix. Now fix your site!

(Photo: corsec67 )

In order to use the new service, users will need to be an Xbox Gold-level member which costs $50 a year. Naturally, they will also need a Netflix membership, but it has to be above the base $4.99 membership level.

The article says,

Confirming another pervasive rumor, the software upgrade will let users create avatars (which look a heck of a lot like Miis on the Nintendo Wii) and invite their friends to a “Live Party.” The Netflix partnership means that users can also invite their friends to watch movies with them too — something that has a few attendees here pretty excited.

“I like the idea of being able to be in a game, talking with friends and someone will say something like ‘I’ve never seen Office Space.’ And thinking that I could go, stop the game and make that person watch ‘Office Space’ with me,” says Edie Sellers, contributor to podcast site GameHounds.

Netflix has been like a pure virginal daughter to us at The Consumerist. We feel as if Microsoft, the biggest slimeball in town, is whisking away our daughter for a wild trip to Vegas where we know she will ultimately be deflowered. Their union fills us with worry and a sense of dread which emanates from the pit of our stomach. Don't you hurt our daughter, Microsoft, or we'll f'ng kill you.

Microsoft partners with Netflix on Xbox Live [MSNBC]
(Photo: Getty)

For users of Profiles, I have good news to report: we will keep the feature with no plans to discontinue it.

We were persuaded by the well-reasoned, sincere responses of loyal members who very much value this feature. As someone who enjoys helping his four-year-old daughter manage her one-DVD-at-a-time, G-rated sub-account, I identified with these thoughtful pleas to maintain Profiles.

Because of an ongoing desire to make our website easier to use, we believed taking a feature away that is only used by a very small minority would help us improve the site for everyone. Listening to our members, we realized that users of this feature often describe it as an essential part of their Netflix experience. Simplicity is only one virtue and it can certainly be outweighed by utility.

As for improving Profiles, there are no definite plans in place yet, but, like everything at Netflix, we seek to make it better and we are open to suggestions. Non-users of the feature and new members will be able to access Profiles in 2-3 weeks. Existing users will be able to continue their use, uninterrupted.

We apologize for any inconvenience the previous announcement caused.

Enjoy.

-Todd

Emails from Consumerist readers sharing the good news hit our mailbox moments after the news was released. Here's how some of our readers are reacting:

Rick: "Sounds like Netflix got the message. Personally, I never used profiles, but it's nice to see that they are willing to say, OK, we made you mad, so we're going to make things right. I like the tone of this message — not too sappy, silly, or over-apologetic. Most companies insult your intelligence one way or another with their apologies."

Sonya: "Yay!"

Keith: "Netflix does take us seriously :)"

Di: "I wonder how many people have already sold thier soul to Blockbuster over this. Oh well."

Steven: "We win I guess!"

Profiles feature NOT going away [Netflix Community Blog] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
PREVIOUSLY: Netflix Eliminates User Profiles, Infuriates Customers
(Photo: Maulleigh)

• An Xbox 360
• Windows Vista with Vista Media Center (it's included by default in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate)
• A Netflix subscription
• The freeware vmcNetflix plug-in

Incredible shrinking service. Every single person I know uses Netflix uses profiles. For those out there who don't, you can create profiles for different people using the same account, and allow those people to maintain their own list of movies. For example, I get two discs at a time from my queue, my wife gets one at a time from hers, but we pay for just one 3-disc at a time account.

I called Netflix to tell them that if they do this, I will cancel service with them - I made it clear to the poor guy that answered the phone I wasn't going to yell at him, I just wanted to lodge my protest. It seems he's taken LOTS of such calls. He told me to log into my account, click on the Contact Us link, and go to Suggestions and put the information in there. Apparently that page sends information to the correct people. I certainly hope every Consumerist reader who is a Netflix user does just that. Netflix has been one of the better companies I've dealt with, and I believe that if their userbase tells them "no, you are being dumb, stop it", they just might. This also might be the point where they have realized they have Blockbuster just about beat and are starting to abuse their customers. I hope not, because I'd rather they not let Blockbuster up off the mat.

Here's the email Neflix sent out, announcing the discontinuation of profiles:

Important News Regarding Netflix Profiles

Dear ,

We wanted to let you know we will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account, effective September 1, 2008.

Each additional Profile Queue will be unavailable after September 1, 2008. Before then, we recommend you consolidate any of your Profile Queues to your main account Queue or print them out.

While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers.

If you have any questions, please go to http://www.netflix.com/Help?p_faqid=3962 or call us anytime at 1 (888) 638-3549. We apologize for any inconvenience.

- The Netflix Team

The ability to have "his and hers", or a kids queue, is pretty essential to the Netflix service for some people. However, according to Netflix's FAQ, they will be emailing people a copy of their queues so they can rebuild their selections. Will this drive you back to the arms of Blockbuster?

The Associated Press says:

The design, which [CEO] Keyes said is likely to change with testing, offers a range of features to help customers make movie choices, including previews and recommendations. Keyes said the company is working to reduce the download time for movies to about 30 seconds.

At first the system will only be compatible with the an Archos portable device, but will eventually be an "open system," able to recognize a wide variety of devices. Blockbuster says that even if they don't manage to acquire Circuit City, "transforming" their stores with these movie ATMs is their goal.

"With or without Circuit City's acquisition, we think we have a terrific opportunity to transform our stores," Keyes said. Blockbusters' presentation also included mock-ups of small movie download kiosks for other locations such as airports.

Will a digital download kiosk save Blockbuster? Or are you perfectly content with Netflix and their new box?

Blockbuster unveils in-store kiosk prototype [AP]
Blockbuster Annual Meeting Presentation [Blockbuster]

It all started in the '80s, when corporations birthed the phone tree out of a desire to cut costs and, understandably, gain some distance from their outlandishly outfitted customers. They took the need for space too far, even as America cleaned up its act, forgetting that bad customer service is a bad business decision.

“I’ve listened to thousands of people interacting with machines,” Mr. Rolandi said. “You hear sighs of resignation. You hear people swear. If businesses knew what I knew, they would not design them this way. Many people do not take into account the emotional state of the customer. When you call someone for customer service, you’ve got a problem and you’re probably in a bad mood. You hear someone telling you your call is so important that we won’t let you talk to a human. Then they slap people with too many options, and eventually, you’re in a fight with the system. When you do get a customer representative, you’re loaded for bear.”

The popular conception of outsourced call centers ruining our lives isn't quite right. Fewer than 10% of call centers are based offshore. As Americans, we can all be proud of the more than 100,000 call centers we host, excluding telemarketers.

The Times thinks the tide is slowly turning in our favor.

For the first time, American corporations are acknowledging “customer service as something worth paying for rather than just red ink,” said [Jon Anton, director of benchmark research at the Center for Customer Driven Quality at Purdue,] who looks at call centers worldwide and, using a number of criteria, compares how well they work. “If you can satisfy customers and keep them buying, it’s as important as marketing.”

He said that in the last year or so some large companies have been creating a chief customer executive, whose success is measured not on profit, but on customer retention.

Another reason for this change is that the very technology that is driving us crazy is helping people fight back.

Consumers are posting their experiences with customer service online and warning people away from businesses that do not offer a good follow-up with customers. Secondly, there are Web sites that tell customers how to get around an automated system.

The Times cites Netflix as one example of an enlightened company switching its emphasis from automated support to well-trained, empowered call centers. We've lauded Netflix before, but don't know of many other companies that are cutting down phone trees in favor of quality support.

What do you think? Are companies slowly improving their service, or are consumers just getting better at biting back?

Far From Always Being Right, the Customer Is on Hold [NYT]
(Photo: Getty)

If you're the type of Netflix user who enjoys maximizing the value of your membership, you might find the new website FeedFlix interesting. The service scrapes data from your personal Netflix rss feeds and generates interesting graphs about how long you keep rentals, how many you rent per week, and your cost-per-rental. Sure, you could do this all yourself with a spreadsheet, or maybe Yahoo! Pipes, but FeedFlix is free and works instantly.

From the FAQ:

» How does FeedFlix work?

When you enter your Netflix RSS Link, FeedFlix processes your Netflix RSS feeds to get the movies in your Queue, the reviews you have written, the movies Netflix recommends for you etc. We also are able to co-relate your data with that of other FeedFlix users to tell you who else is watching or currently waiting for the same movies as you while still maintaining your (and their) anonymity.

FeedFlix

Netflix rents only studio or filmmaker authorized DVDs – no copies. Netflix has more than 100,000 titles on DVD available for rental, so labeling takes many forms. DVDs marked “for sale only” were purchased legally and legitimately by Netflix for rental to Netflix members. And yes, each DVD is individually inspected before it’s shipped.

Netflix ships 1.9 million DVDs on a typical day out of more than 50 distribution centers across the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii). Occasionally an error occurs and a Netflix member receives the wrong title or a scratched disc. But the probability of a Netflix member receiving a copied disc is very slight. Four copied discs, even less.

Netflix is the #1 rated ecommerce site for customer satisfaction by Nielsen Online and ForeSee Results because of the outstanding convenience, selection and value available to 8.2 million Netflix members. Concerns such as those raised by The Consumerist are extremely rare. But something we’re looking into nonetheless.

Thank you.

PREVIOUSLY: Are These Netflix DVDs Legit?

Hey everybody, I know Netflix is usually pretty cool about problems but today I received a couple discs and for the fourth time now- they're copies. Not even good ones. I called them once again and was 'personally' assured that 'human eyes check every disc that comes back' and that they could not be fakes. Its easy to spot them, the labels are wrong, usually obviously home-made, the menus work incorrectly, etc.. they're shoddy

Here's the brief history of the 4 incidents:
"Bleach" discs 6 & 7 -Early Feb- Netflix apologized, sent me a bonus disc. That's right, ONE bonus disc for two horked ones.

"Full Metal Alchemist" discs 2, 3, 4- End of Feb - Netflix guy questions how i could know if a disc is fake. I offer to send pictures, he says that's not possible. Apologizes and sends bonus disc.

"Full Metal Alchemist" disc 6 - Mid March - This one is from the same batch of fakes as the last. Netflix again questions how I could possibly know its fake. Offer to send pictures of this one, again told no and offered replacement disc.

"Bones" discs 3 & 4 - 4/26/08 - I'm willing to admit i might be wrong on these. If i'm right, these fakes are less obvious but the episodes don't match up. Says 7-10 but its actually 6-9. Even better, Netflix has taken the actual Bones discs which are two-sided, and given me maybe-bootlegs that are one-sided. So, for example, the real disc 2 has episodes 7-10 on side A & 11-12 on side B. But these are one-siders they sent me, so (even if they are not "fakes") i still had to waste a disc just to get the WHOLE one. Shady at best, Netflix.!

Here is a genuine "Bones" disc 2 from Blockbuster. Note the only writing is in the center of the disc. (below)

Left: A genuine "Full Metal Alchemist" disc 3. Right: Suspected fake "Full Metal Alchemist" disc 2. Both are from Netflix. (below)

Muffinman also says the play surfaces look normal and silver to him, not purple colored. We aren't familiar with Netflix' policy on splitting out double discs and whether they should be marked with a Netflix logo is unclear. We have never heard of paper labels being used in any professional application. What say you, Consumerists? Are these discs legit?

Netflix sending bootlegs? [Consumerist Forums]

Long time reader, first time tipper. I'm sure you've heard plenty about Blockbuster and their shady Total Access dealings, but I thought I'd send along my experience with them.

My girlfriend and I have been using the service for a few years now, almost since day-one, and while it was pretty easy going for the first year or so, things started to get strange last summer. Her account was inexplicably put on hold when she had to change her debit card number. The CSRs told us that it was going to be a week or two to authenticate the new card, but months went by and nothing changed.

Then, a month ago, out of the blue, two DVDs showed up in our mail and the service was reinstated. No explanation, no nothing, but there was a nice debit from her account in the form of $16.99. We took the mailers into the local branch, got them replaced with a couple more movies, and it looked like everything was back to normal.

Then today, she checked her Q to see if the next movies had shipped - they had not. She checked My Account, and sure enough, the account was cancelled, and the only option open to her was to re-subscribe. I wondered if it was just a glitch because of the old debit card issue. I logged into her account to re-sign up, and I'm presented with the new options. (see the photo below) Just notice our current plan, and those not available to us.

Our $16.99 account will now run us back $34.99. A $18 price bump. Or we can stay at the same price-level, and get a crippled in-store exchange program (which for us was the main advantage of going over to Netflix). What a great way to treat a couple of loyal customers.

Thanks Blockbuster, but I don't know if we're going to take you up on the new offer, or the Mario-Kart pre-order offer either.

Thanks for listening Consumerist. Keep fighting the good fight.

Reader Eric says:

Consumerist,

This is why I love netflix. They had a shipping problem on monday. They didn't make excuses or just try to slide by. They fessed up, and without my even saying a word to anyone at netflix, I receive this prompt email telling me that they are sorry and are trying to make amends. This is an example of good customer service.

Eric

We're Sorry Your DVD Was Delayed

Dear Eric,

As you may have heard, our shipping system was unexpectedly down for most of Monday. We should have shipped your DVDs but were unable to. Your DVDs were shipped today, Tuesday, March 25th, instead.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. We will issue a 5% credit to your account in the next few days. You don't need to do anything. The credit will be automatically applied to your next billing statement.

Again, we apologize for the delay and thank you for your understanding. If you need further assistance, please call us at 1 (888) 638-3549.

-The Netflix Team

The funny thing is, if they hadn't sent this, I would have never noticed a delay.

But I think it's important to recognize companies that are getting it right.

Thank you,

Brad

Got this message in my inbox today....apparently Netflix had some shipping problems and they delayed the shipment of my movie by one day. Big deal, right? I probably wouldn't even have noticed it, since I barely have time to watch my Netflix movies anyway. Well, Netflix still found it appropriate to give me a credit on my account because of the problem. Apparently they think that *they* should be the ones to be charged late fees, not their customers! Just another reason that I give them my business instead of Blockbuster.

Reader Ryan says:

This is great service. I wasn't even aware there was a problem, and yet they fessed up to it and gave me a discount that I didn't even ask for (or frankly, think was warranted). Good work Netflix.

Reader Elana says:

Sometimes it's nice to see a company do something unexpected. To be honest, I didn't even notice the shipping delay from Monday and wouldn't have. The movie was my husband's. He works odd hours and often doesn't
get to his movies for a week or more, so a delay is no big deal. We didn't complain or contact Netflix. Instead, I was totally unaware of the problem.

This morning, I received this message, the only notification I had of the issue. The approximately $.50 refund wasn't necessary, but it's appreciated!

Good job, Netflix.

(Photo:Marike79)

See now, that wasn't so hard, was it?

From IFC/Blockbuster's press release:

Under the terms of the agreement, IFC and Blockbuster will share rental revenues from IFC titles. Blockbuster will have an exclusive 60-day rental window, including both the physical and digital rental distribution channels, for each title as it becomes available. During this period no title will be available on a retail basis in any format. After the 60-day period, the IFC titles will be available on a non-exclusive basis both for retail and digital distribution. However, Blockbuster will retain the exclusive physical rental distribution rights for IFC titles for three years after each street date.

Considering Blockbusters' draconian NC-17 policy, the retailer seems like an odd choice for IFC, says Emerson:

If you were to check into the availability of films on DVD at Blockbuster Online, among the titles you will not find are "Crash" (David Cronenberg,1997), "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" (Russ Meyer, 1970 — screenplay by Roger Ebert), or "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" (Kirby Dick, 2006), an IFC Films release. They're not even listed, because they were rated NC-17 and Blockbuster will not make such films available through their stores or online service. (See David Edelstein's article, "Blame Blockbuster, not the MPAA.)

You will also not find the theatrical releases of Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution," Takeshi Miike's "Audition," John Waters' "A Dirty Shame," Peter Jackson's "Dead-Alive," Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers," Abel Ferrara's "The Bad Lieutenant" and many other films that are only available in cut versions (in some cases heavily cut versions) that have been re-submitted to the MPAA for an R rating just so they could make it onto Blockbuster's shelves during their first few months of release. You tell me if 2001's "L.I.E.," directed by Michael Cuesta ("Six Feet Under," "Dexter"), starring Paul Dano and Brian Cox, is available from Blockbuster Online. There's no box art, no description, no credits info, but there's a page for it here.

Does IFC think its core audience doesn't care about the integrity (or lack thereof) with which a company like Blockbuster treats the movies it rents and sells? I mean, if they don't, who does? You'd think the core IFC constituency would be precisely the "movie consumers" who, in principle, would not patronize a place like Blockbuster, any more than they would order a Domino's pizza.

"We're delighted to join with BLOCKBUSTER as we continue our mission of making independent film available to the widest possible audience," said Lisa Schwartz, IFC's senior vice president of sales and business development.

Is Blockbuster trying to start a Netflix/Blockbuster format war?

IFC signs pact with devil Blockbuster [Scanners Blog]
IFC Entertainment and BLOCKBUSTER Sign Two-Year Exclusive Rental Deal (Press Release) [Yahoo!]
(Photo:medialian1)

The company says that the industry has "picked a winner" in the format face-off and will phase out HDDVD by the end of the year.

From Netflix:

"The prolonged period of competition between two formats has prevented clear communication to the consumer regarding the richness of the high-def experience versus standard definition," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix. "We're now at the point where the industry can pursue the migration to a single format, bring clarity to the consumer and accelerate the adoption of high-def. Going forward, we expect that all of the studios will publish in the Blu-ray format and that the price points of high-def DVD players will come down significantly. These factors could well lead to another decade of disc-based movie watching as the consumer's preferred means."

"From the Netflix perspective, focusing on one format will enable us to create the best experience for subscribers who want high- definition to be an important part of how they enjoy our service."

Friend of the blog, film critic Phil Villarreal of the Arizona Star, got the following email from Netflix:

Dear Phil,

You're receiving this email because you have asked to receive high-definition movies in the HD DVD format. As you may have heard, most of the major movie studios have recently decided to release their high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well.

While we will continue to make our current selection of HD DVD titles available to you for the next several months, we will not be adding additional HD DVD titles or reordering replacements.

Toward the end of February, HD DVDs in your Saved Queue will automatically be changed to standard definition DVDs. Then toward the end of this year, all HD DVDs in your Queue will be changed to standard definition DVDs. Don't worry, we will contact you before this happens.

You can click here to change your format preferences.

We're sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call us at 1 (888) 638-3549.

-The Netflix Team

Netflix, Citing a Clear Signal From the Industry, Will Carry High-Def DVDs Only in Blu-ray Format (Press Release) [Netflix]
The death blow for HD DVD? [PhilmGuy]
(Photo:Marike79)

PREVIOUSLY: Why Don't You Weigh In On The Format War?

I am writing to explain why I am no longer a Blockbuster Total Access subscriber and never will be again. Service wasn't always so deplorable at Blockbuster, but in the last several months I have had three very negative experiences with the chain that has caused me to turn from a Blockbuster evangelist, who persuaded my parents and friends to join the Total Access plan, to a disgruntled consumer who won't step into a Blockbuster until they've reformed their customer service attitude.

Keep in mind, I was an easy customer. I auto-paid my monthly bill. I held my movies for weeks and months on end without mailing them back or taking them back to the store for exchanges. I even went for a period of 6.5 months without exchanging my movies (While being charged $17.99 all the while). In the past year I was with Blockbuster, I exchanged only 11 movies in-store. I was as profitable as they could get. But between August and today, I have had three incidences which have convinced me that Blockbuster managers are (1)Incompetent (2)Powerless and (3)Apathetic.

Incident 1: I had exchanged out a set of 3 movies in-store in August. After keeping them out past their initial due date I was billed the price of the movies which is in-line with their policy. As long as they are returned within 30 days, Blockbuster is supposed to refund the charge minus a $1.25 processing fee. However, I got called out-of-town on a business trip, and I left before being able to return the movies. Once I realized the situation, I called my local store and asked if it was necessary to have my wife return the movies while I was gone, or if I could wait a week and return them myself. His answer was that it wouldn't be a problem for me to return the movies after 30 days, but I would be charged the $1.25 fee per movie. Great, I thought, until I got back home. When I tried to return the movies (32 days past their due date), I was told that it was impossible to return the movies, and that I'd have to pay the ridiculously marked-up used price of $40 for the three (the price at Target for all three new was $21). The manager simply wouldn't acknowledge that one of their employees had mis-informed me about my ability to return the movies. I tried to call their corporate customer service, who could only refer me to the district manager. To cut this long story short, I spent 3 weeks calling between the store manager and district manager trying to simply refund the movies, which they still sold on their Used racks. I was repeatedly told it was "Impossible" and "the computer won't allow it". I know the time I spent trying to return the movies was worth more than $40, but I felt like I was being wronged, and didn't want to let the issue go. I finally caved when I received a threatening Credit Agency letter. I thought about writing this letter to The Consumerist back then, but I figured it was partially my fault, even though I thought Blockbuster did a terrible Customer Service job.

Incident 2: This one was much shorter. Me, my wife, and her friend walking into a Blockbuster with three return envelopes to exchange. My wife, who had never exchanged movies before, didn't know to hold onto the envelopes until checkout and sat them on top of the counter as she walked in (thinking that she wasn't allowed to walk around the store with them). About two minutes later, I realized she wasn't holding them any longer and walked back to the counter to pick them up. Too late. The clerk had already checked them in without pausing even for a second to see if someone was planning to use them. Again, the clerk and manager claimed that they were powerless slaves to the computer and wouldn't be unable to let us use the credit towards any new movies since they were already checked-in. Still sore after the treatment I had received a month earlier, I didn't want to let this go, but they wouldn't budge. I explained that I was a long-term customer who rarely redeemed my credits, but they stood firm. We ended up paying for two movies and left.

Incident 3: Today. I tightly clutched my return envelopes as I slowly browsed the shelves for three new movies to exchange. Finally, I settle on two movies and a Wii game. Last year, I was able to use a return envelope to pick-up a Wii game without a problem. Well apparently things have now changed. After scanning my three envelopes, they scanned the three items I had brought up. $5.34. "Excuse me, this should be an even exchange." Apparently not. Now the returned movie only counts as $4 off a $9 game rental. Oh well, I thought, "Just take it off and I'll grab another movie". Nope - Apparently each credit gets automatically applied to a specific item and can't be re-transfered to another item. On top of that, they wouldn't remove the game from my checkout and insisted that I HAD to pay for the game, even though I hadn't payed yet and the transaction was unfinished. They insisted that the transaction WAS finished and now I had to pay for it (Which doesn't make any sense. How can the transaction be over before I am even told what the cost will be). After much debate with the manager, they agreed to take the game off the transaction (as a "Favor"), but they couldn't do anything about applying the credit to another movie. By this time I had already decided that I would be writing this letter when I got home, and canceling my year-long subscription to Blockbuster Total Access.

It no longer surprises me that Blockbuster is failing as a company. They are closing many stores and hemorrhaging cash. Many analysts don't even expect them to survive more than a few years. They may not be able to compete with the price and selection of Netflix or the new Apple video rentals, but they had one thing strongly going for them - availability. I knew that if I really needed to, I could go down the street and pick up a physical movie and talk to a real person if I needed to. Now my mindset has changed. Clearly, Blockbuster has decided that their employees and even managers are too incompetent to run their own stores and must be treated like trained monkeys. Even when I found a sympathetic ear, they were simply powerless to over-ride the computer for even simple tasks. Oh well, now that Netflix has unlimited downloads at less than half of the price I was paying at Blockbuster, maybe this is exactly the incentive I needed to make the change.

Should he switch?

(Photo:medalian1)

Releasing the data and just removing the names does nothing for privacy," Shmatikov told SecurityFocus. "If you know their name and a few records, then you can identify that person in the other (private) database."

While Netflix's dataset did not include names, instead using an anonymous identifier for each user, the collection of movie ratings — combined with a public database of ratings — is enough to identify the people, the researchers argued in a paper published soon after Netflix released the data, but which only recently came to light. Narayanan and Shmatikov demonstrated the danger by using public reviews published by a "few dozen" people in the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) to identify movie ratings of two of the users in Netflix's data.

Exposing movie ratings that the reviewer thought were private could expose significant details about the person. For example, the researchers found that one of the people had strong — ostensibly private — opinions about some liberal and gay-themed films and also had ratings for some religious films.

More generally, the research demonstrated that information that a person believes to be benign could be used to identify them in other private databases.

From the research paper:

Does privacy of Netflix ratings matter? The privacy question is not "Does the average Netflix subscriber
care about the privacy of his movie viewing history?," but "Are there any Netflix subscribers whose privacy
can be compromised by analyzing the Netflix Prize dataset?" The answer to the latter question is, undoubtedly,
yes. As shown by our experiments with cross-correlating non-anonymous records from the Internet Movie Database with anonymized Netflix records (see below), it is possible to learn sensitive non-public information about a person's political or even sexual preferences. We assert that even if the vast majority of Netflix subscribers did not care about the privacy of their movie ratings (which is not obvious by any means), our analysis would still indicate serious privacy issues with the Netflix Prize dataset.

Researchers reverse Netflix anonymization [SecurityFocus] (Thanks, Scott!)
How To Break Anonymity Of Netflix Prize Dataset [ARXIV]
(Photo:Maulleigh)

In addition, Netflix also offers prior season episodes of other popular NBC series including "30 Rock," "Friday Night Lights" and "The Office." For these shows, Netflix subscribers will have the option of enjoying them on DVD or watching them instantly on their PCs at Netflix.com.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution and be part of their innovative distribution strategy," said Robert Kyncl, Vice President of Content Acquisition for Netflix. "We have a shared interest in granting fans expanded access to and strengthening the network's key franchises."

"We are excited to establish Netflix as a part of our off-network syndication strategy for 'Heroes', " said Frances Manfredi, Executive Vice President & General Sales Manager, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution. "This deal reflects the changing landscape of the entertainment marketplace and our objective of finding new buyers that complement our traditional customers."

NETFLIX AND NBC UNIVERSAL ANNOUNCE ONLINE DEAL FOR 'HEROES' AND OTHER POPULAR SERIES (Press Release) [Netflix]
(Photo:ikibalam)

Blockbuster managed to lose $35 million in the third quarter, and its customers have been writing in to complain about benefits being cut from their "Total Access" packages.

Not good.

From Forbes:

Chairman Jim Keyes announced that Blockbuster will reduce the number of people currently employed by the company in an effort to reduce annualized overhead costs by approximately $45 million.

As if any more proof was need that Blockbuster Total Access program essentially failed to compete effectively against Netflix (nasdaq: NFLX - news - people ), Keyes noted that "the company will no longer be narrowly focused on its online subscriber count but instead will concentrate on the growth of, and report on, its total membership."

The current plan calls for offering three magazines for $4.95 a month, five magazines for $7.95 a month or seven magazines for $9.95 a month — with about 20% of the available magazines priced at a premium.

"You pay by credit card and get charged every month until you tell us to stop," Mr. Wolfe said. "If you want to switch at any point, you can switch off Newsweek for Time or something like that. You go online and make these changes. It's a solution that really addresses more of what consumers want, which is control and flexibility."

Maghound: a Netflix for Magazines? [AdvertisingAge]
(Photo: emdot)

They're all arriving with an identical crack near the outside edge.

Some of them play; some of them don't.

He's documented the cracked discs for us:

9/13/2007 - Casino Royale (Not recognized by player)

9/17/2007 - Casino Royale

9/18/2007 - Flags of Our Fathers (Would not play)

9/18/2007 - The Holiday

9/21/2007 - The Holiday

9/27/2007 - The Holiday

9/27/2007 - Planet Earth: Complete Collection: Disc 1

10/02/2007 - Happy Feet

10/02/2007 - Babel

10/04/2007 - Happy Feet (Played OK)

10/04/2007 - Babel (Played OK)

10/09/2007 - Babel (Played OK)

12 cracked out of 19 as of 2007-10-09

Cracked Netflix Blu-Ray Disc Problem [Mars Box]

In August I put my Netflix account on hold, my wife was starting back to school and things were *very* tight for that month. I arranged for the subscription to resume on September 18th, 3 days after payday, so that I could cover the $18.35 fee.

With the dollar$ in short supply I was carefully managing my savings account to keep it in the black. Well, imagine my surprise on September 11th when I discovered my account was overdrawn by $11.45. How could that have happened?

Oh I see ...And then to add to my woes, the bank had to charge me a $22 insufficient funds fee ...So I called up Netflix and explained the situation. "Yes" they agreed, my account was on hold, and "yes", I should not have been charged until September 18th.

I asked for an immediate refund to my bank account of the $18.35 and the $22 overdraft charge. I stated that I did not want the balance credited to my Netflix account, and that an immediate and complete refund was the only solution that would satisfy me. They agreed to refund the $18.35 on the spot, but were hesitant to pay me for the overdraft. After a few minutes the customer service rep came back on the line, apologized for the mix-up, and agreed to cover the $22 as well. They would issue the refund within 24 hours, and depending on my bank, I should have the money within a few days. I thanked him for "doing the right thing".

The balance was in my checking account the following day. Now this is customer service, this is how you keep customers.

p.s. As far as their initial mistake, I understand errors will happen and I can't expect anyone to be perfect. The fact that they so willingly owned up to it and remedied the situation before any further damage occurred made this this seem like an extraordinary customer service experience, when in fact this should be standard service for consumers across the board.

From the New York Times:

The Hillsboro operation, which occupies about 30,000 square feet of a low building in an office park, is intended to keep the red envelopes coming. Michael Osier, vice president for information technology operations and customer service, said he rejected cities like Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, which are known as call-center capitals, because of their high employee turnover rates. He settled on the greater Portland area because of the genial attitude on the part of most service workers.

"In hotels and coffee shops and the airport, it's amazing how consistent people are in their politeness and empathy," said Mr. Osier, who is based at Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. "There's an operational language in the industry that people are so jaded about — phrases like 'due to high caller volume.' We're very consciously trying to counter that mentality."

Netflix's decision to eliminate the e-mail feature was made after a great deal of research, Mr. Osier said. He looked at two other companies with reputations for superb phone-based customer service, Southwest Airlines and American Express, and saw that customers preferred human interaction over e-mail messages. "My assessment was that a world-class e-mail program was still going to be consistently lower in quality and effectiveness than a phone program," he said.

When Mr. Osier presented his findings in January to fellow executives, Reed Hastings, the Netflix chief executive, sent an enthusiastic message, BlackBerry to BlackBerry, from across the room. Mr. Hastings quickly became a supporter of the e-mail elimination project.

The company has tried to give the service representatives more discretion in deciding when to assuage disgruntled callers with bonus discs and account credits — and they are allowed to err on the side of generosity. More often than not, a month's credit will be issued or a missing disc marked simply as lost, and the customer will not be charged. Netflix places no particular requirements on call duration, preferring that customer service representatives take the time they need to keep a customer happy and loyal.

In contrast, Blockbuster outsources a portion of its customer service, and when people do call, they are encouraged to use the Web site instead. Its call center is open only during business hours, said Shane Evangelist, senior vice president and general manager for Blockbuster Online, because the majority of customers prefer e-mail support, which is available 24 hours a day. "Our online customers are comfortable using e-mail to communicate," he said.

We'll just say: "Yay."

Netflix Lowers Prices for DVD Rentals by $1 ... Again [Gizmodo]

PREVIOUSLY: Netflix Sticks It To Blockbuster, Cuts Prices Again

Blockbuster buys download service [Mercury News]
(Photo: Magic Lantern Shows)

Reader Melissa writes:

This email arrived in my inbox at 1:23am on July 27th letting me know that Blockbuster is changing their subscription plans. Don't worry they say, because this won't change my current pricing, but any change after July 26th will result in the new price structure. Nice timing there eh?

Whoops! Guess they "accidentally" sent out the email a bit too late.

Blockbuster writes (to Melissa):

Dear Melissa,

We want to let you know about some changes to our BLOCKBUSTER Total Access subscription plans. This information is provided for your reference only - your subscription plan will not be affected by these changes.

Beginning July 26, 2007, there will be a price increase on your current unlimited plan. We will also begin to offer plans which limit the number of in-store exchanges available each month.

As a preferred customer, your plan will not change at this time. Please continue to enjoy your exclusive subscription plan, including no monthly limit on free* movie rentals or discounted game rentals when you exchange in-store, at today's price - far below the published rate available to new subscribers.

At any point, you can log in and review your current subscription plan or see all available plans. Keep in mind that if you want to change your subscription plan at any point after July 26, 2007, your new plan will be subject to prices and terms available at that time.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Your Friends at BLOCKBUSTER

PREVIOUSLY: Netflix Sticks It To Blockbuster, Cuts Prices Again

Stepping up its attack on Netflix also has been hurting Blockbuster, which has had to spend more heavily on DVDs to ensure sure its stores have enough discs to keep up with the additional demand from its roughly 3 million online subscribers. The company lost $49 million in the first quarter.

Blockbuster may not be willing to endure those kinds of losses much longer, especially with the recent hiring of a new CEO, James Keyes. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last month, Blockbuster said it will modify its online service "to strike the appropriate balance between continued subscriber growth and enhanced profitability."

Netflix to lower online DVD rental fees in battle with Blockbuster [Chicago Tribune]
PREVIOUSLY: Netflix Lowers Costs As Blockbuster Prepares To Raise Prices
(Photo: Pascal Vuylsteker)

The company said in the filing that it planned to modify its popular Total Access plan before the end of the year to "strike the appropriate balance between continued subscriber growth and enhanced profitability."

Dear Customer:

Great news! We're lowering the price on our 2 DVDs out at-a-time plan to $13.99 a month plus applicable taxes. Now you can enjoy Netflix for less!

You don't need to do a thing - except pay less. Your membership will automatically move to the lower price and be reflected in your Membership Terms and Details. The lower price will take effect beginning with your statement on or after June 28, 2007.

Membership Terms and Details:

Your $13.99 plan gives you 2 DVDs out at-a-time and you can also watch 14 hours of movies and TV episodes instantly on your PC each month - for no additional charge.

Enjoy!
Your friends at Netflix

Blockbuster Settles Fight With Netflix [NYT]
PREVIOUSLY:Blockbuster To Close 282 Stores
Blockbuster Weighing Charge For Total Access
(Photo: swruler9284)

However, we found ourselves growing annoyed at the lack of appreciation for individual fiscal responsibility. At only one point that we can recall does one lady say something to the effect of, "yeah, I shoulda read the fine print."

Yes, you should have. The bank is not going to manage your money for you. If you live beyond your means, you will some day lose control of your life. You spend other people's money, they're going to want it back. Yes, the credit industry should have stricter screening measures (though the prospect seems unlikely as it's so much more profitable to not), but as long as you believe you are a victim of external circumstances, you will find yourself victimized.

Maxed Out is out on DVD, as well as Netflix's "Watch Now." — BEN POPKEN

The film interviews the victims of predatory lending practices, (not to mention their own greed, and ignorance), as well as the perps.

Reader Nick says, "...it is very good. Everything they say in there is true and its very eye-opening to anyone who thinks that "a little" credit card debt isn't a bad thing."

Move it to the top of the queue. — BEN POPKEN

The film does a good job of character building and establishment, and we enjoyed the realistic, yet polished, cinematography. However, the level of facts and revelations failed to satisfy. Perhaps 35mm isn't big enough to hold a book.

Where's the beef? The movie says there's feces in the meat because they run the lines too fast to properly remove the intestines from the cows and the manure spills. But like Bruce Willis says in the movie, as long as it's cheap, and they cook it enough to kill all the e coli, does it matter? — BEN POPKEN

This must be the one where Moses takes down the Pharaoh and his gang of thugs terrorizing the slums of Egypt. See, he waves his holy .457 magnum and the bullet parts the streetpunk's skin... — BEN POPKEN

Pssst! The Algorithm is Broken [Brief Essays With Pictures]
RELATED: The New IMDB Website Could Use Some Work