Netflix Confused

[Sandman]

Maybe it's just me... but I've rated over 800 movies and what does Netflix recommend?

NOTHING.

Not a damn thing.


I think that I've broken their program.

[Gunthr]

they're trying to tell you to get out of the house a little more, turn the dvd off and go out and get a little exercise  

[rpm]

Maybe they feel intimidated by your cinematic prowess.

[SOB]

Maybe you just rent too much...it seems they don't like that.

Story Link

Top Netflix customers go to back of line

Firm mails DVDs to big users more slowly to save cash

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE
The Associated Press

February 15, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- Manuel Villanueva says he realizes that he has been getting a pretty good deal since he signed up for Netflix's online DVD-rental service 2 1/2 years ago, but he still feels shortchanged.

That's because the $17.99 monthly fee that he pays to rent as many as three DVDs at a time would amount to a bigger bargain if the company didn't penalize him for returning his movies so quickly.

Netflix typically sends about 13 movies per month to Villanueva's home in Warren, Mich. -- down from the 18 to 22 DVDs he once received before the company's automated system identified him as a heavy renter and began delaying his shipments to protect its profits.

The same Netflix formula also shoves Villanueva to the back of the line for the most-wanted DVDs, so the service can send those popular flicks to new subscribers and infrequent renters.

The little-known practice, called "throttling" by critics, means Netflix customers who pay the same price for the same service often are treated differently, depending on their rental patterns.

"I wouldn't have a problem with it if they didn't advertise 'unlimited rentals,'" Villanueva said.

"The fact is that they go out of their way to make sure you don't go over whatever secret limit they have set up for your account."

Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix didn't publicly acknowledge that it differentiates among customers until revising its "terms of use" in January 2005, four months after a San Francisco subscriber filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company had deceptively promised one-day delivery of most DVDs.

"In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service," Netflix's revised policy now reads. The statement warns that heavy renters are more likely to encounter shipping delays and less likely to immediately be sent their top choices.

Few customers have complained about this "fairness algorithm," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said.

"We have unbelievably high customer-satisfaction ratings," Hastings said.

The service's rapid growth supports his thesis. Netflix added nearly 1.6 million customers last year, giving it 4.2 million through December. During the final three months of 2005, 4 percent of its customers canceled the service, the lowest rate in the company's six-year history.

After collecting consumer opinions about the Web's 40 largest retailers last year, Ann Arbor, Mich., research firm ForeSeeResults rated Netflix as "the cream of the crop in customer satisfaction."

Once considered a passing fancy, Netflix has changed the way many households rent movies and spawned several copycats, including a mail service from Blockbuster.

Netflix's most popular rental plan lets subscribers check out as many as three DVDs at a time for $17.99 per month. After watching a movie, customers return the DVD in a postage-paid envelope. Netflix then sends out the next available DVD on the customer's online wish list.

Because everyone pays a flat fee, Netflix makes more money from customers who watch only four or five DVDs per month. Customers who quickly return their movies to get more erode the company's profit margin because each DVD sent out and returned costs 78 cents in postage.

From Netflix's Terms of Use:

In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service. As a result, those subscribers who receive the most movies may experience that (i) the shipment of their next available DVD occurs at least one business day following return of their previously viewed movie, (ii) delivery takes longer, as the shipments may not be processed from their local distribution center and (iii) they receive movies lower in their queue more often than our other subscribers. Other factors that may affect delivery times, include, but are not limited to, (i) the distance between the distribution center from which your DVD was shipped and your delivery address, (ii) the timing of your placement or adjustment of movies in your queue and (iii) circumstances impacting delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.

I was gonna make a thread about this, but was too lazy.  Since you mentioned it tho...  I haven't really noticed this myself, except for some titles that they're not likely to have many copies of that sometimes ship to me from remote distribution centers.

[Pooh21]

you reviewed Brokeback Mountain 800 times?
no wonder why you broke their software

[LePaul]

Thanks for posting that, SOB.  One of the guys at work mentioned the article but couldnt find where he'd read it.

[Midnight]

I've seen this for sure. WHen I first started netflix, I was getting movies very often. Now I definitely have a delay from the time I return, to the time they ship my next choice. Also, I have 2 movies at the top of my que (poistion 1 and 2) that have been on "long wait" or "very long wait" for over a month. WTF?

[Sandman]

Originally posted by SOB
Maybe you just rent too much...it seems they don't like that.

I was gonna make a thread about this, but was too lazy.  Since you mentioned it tho...  I haven't really noticed this myself, except for some titles that they're not likely to have many copies of that sometimes ship to me from remote distribution centers.

I haven't noticed the problem... I'm not a heavy renter... only 8-10 per month.