Thursday, August 14, 2008
Thursday Morning Shipping Update
Hi, it’s Andy again. Unfortunately, we continue to experience significant shipping issues as of Thursday morning. We were able to ship some DVDs from about half of our distribution centers yesterday but we haven’t yet been able to resume shipping this morning. Our engineers continue to work around the clock to restore normal operations. In the meantime, we’re notifying affected customers via personal email and we’ve posted a notice on the Netflix Web site. We’re as frustrated about this as you are and we once again apologize for the inconvenience. In any case, I’ll update you again later today. Thanks for your patience.
173 comments:
Thanks for the update.
Patience? I've run out of patience and I would cancel and go to Blockbuster but they say I've already got an account with them, which isn't true. I'm sure it's my address.
This is unacceptable and as it's been a week, the credit better be at least 25% of my monthly fees.
"Around the clock" ~ yeah, and you've got a bridge in Brooklyn you'd like to sell me.
I'm sure other users have also commented on this issue, but I would like to point out that customer service reps on the phone have been offensively standoffish concerning this issue. Whereas reps were very friendly and helpful in the past, they've been outrightly rude in the past few days. It's been a shocking shift in tone.
Ok this way nuts..I pay 50.00 a month to get movies,I am disabled and just can't get up to go to video store.I left Blockbuster because yopu offer more,they only allow 3 movies at a time,I understand your delema,but I am noe thinking of going back so I have movies for weekend,I can not watch movies on my computer because for some reason will not down load the player needed to play movies online and I can't watch new releases or movies in my Q anyway...when I call rep seem nasty..This is all unacceptable I am sure alot will agree with me.I really do not want to go to Blockbuster but so far I see no other choice..and I had to down grade for next month as well to 5 instead of 8.but so far I am leaning that way so I can have movies over weekend....You guys used to be on the ball,what has happened,reps are getting meaner,and qshipping is sssucking...a week so far and no movies..come on ...
Okay, I have not received any personal email about the issue. All the information I have, I actively sought out myself. If they don't get any movies shipped to me today, that pushes it into next week week for me--small town, slow mail. I want to be understanding, but I also want Netflix to do what they say they're going to do. Send the emails with the explanation, get the system back up etc. The other thing I wonder is, if half of yor distribtution centers are running, then send me a movie from there. You never seem to have any problem with shipping my movies from Timbktu when it is on my timeline.
This is a test to see how long it takes these posts to appear. It is now 11:20 Central time.
On a positive note, I actually received a DVD today from the Melville, NY location. My Netflix Queue however still shows three DVD's as shipping Wednesday. Ooops, it's Thursday, so things are still screwed up pretty bad it would seem. But you still might get a DVD. Let's just hope the next message isn't a warning about compromised CC numbers...bet that sends a shiver. ;-D
If you receive a DVD, it might be informative to post from where.
Sabertooth
Well nuts!
I already know I'm not getting anything.
What good is it to know others are? (All though I'm happy they are)
What I want to know is when am I. Even a hint would be appreciated-or even those who are getting theirs...
I appreciate the email and the update.
Maybe offer your customer service people chocolate?
>>What I want to know is when am I. <<
Agreed, you (all of us) deserve to know more. But, with little information coming from official channels, knowing the extent of the outage may gives us a clue about how bad things are and also when the situation starts improving. It can't hurt to get more information from the community.
Sabertooth
We got 1 DVD from Raleigh, NC yesterday, but still have 3 DVDs in "shipping mode" that have been like that for the past few days. Maybe we will all get lucky and get our DVDs by the weekend. Sorry to hear the reps on the phone are getting cranky; I guess I'll just keep waiting and not call...
you know good point some places are shipping movies and yet I am not getting any,I live near the philadelphia one and that one is down,so why not send me movies from somewhere else you have before
Well nuts!
I already know I'm not getting anything.
What good is it to know others are? (All though I'm happy they are)
What I want to know is when am I. Even a hint would be appreciated-or even those who are getting theirs...
I've got FOUR discs that haven't shipped.
No "personal" email yet.
Mr. Rendich:
You are frustrated and so are we. We have signed up for Netflix for the great customer service and fast delivery times you provide. If there is an interruption in service like this one, Netflix should provide specific remedies in their personal e-mail to customers such as we continue to experience shipping issues and to make up for lack of DVD shipments we will credit your account 25% of your monthly bill, etc. I've already signed up for Blockbuster and will be testing your delivery times. We're in NH and Blockbuster's nearest shipment center in Worcester, MA and yours is in Manchester, NH. Who ever delivers our DVDs fastest over the next month for our two a time plan will get our business.
My attitude has been a little mellower than others:
"Netflix has been pretty flawless for the year-and-a-half I've been a member...seems like they deserve a break for a couple of days.
On the plus side, it gives me more times to catch up on my backlog of OTHER stuff I need to watch... Not to mention the Olympic coverage...
Like Scott said, I'm okay with being patient. Netflix has been a wonderful company for the years that I've been a member, and they obviously don't WANT to deliver anyone's movies late. Things happen, and I understand that.
What I -am- concerned about is that since Tuesday, Andy or Steve or whoever it is has been promising personal emails, and I haven't received one yet. Even if it is just to say "Thank you for your patience and we still value you..." that would make me feel better, because right now I'm wondering if y'all have lost me in the shuffle.
Bad things happen, and I understand that. Just don't promise something until you know you can deliver.
All that is well and good but it is still unacceptable. It has been over a week since I was notified of anything and no information makes me angry. Funny, you are never late taking payments.
The reps on the phone are rude. They must be outsourced because they do not care about your problem and I have talked to three and all said if you do not like netflix then cancel it. They must be on the new response cards when customers call. Maybe they can start shipping once people start canceling their service.
It would be nice if there was a news story about this happening. I don't understand the secret, secret mode the company is in. Netflix is ripping off thousands of customers yet nothing has been said by the news. That's just wrong.
See:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26200588
Here's a WSJ article about the problems:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121873058128341109.html
Is it plugged in?
No worries about the movies. I'm keeping myself entertained with the Olympics.
Yeah Andy, one of the first rules in damage control and PR is that you don't set a date for mitigation completion unless you are 100% sure that you're prepared to hit it.
On Wednesday morning, "We will ship your next available movie today." And then on Wednesday afternoon, "We will ship your next available movie Thursday." And then on Thursday, "We will ship your next available movie Friday." I had cued up some films on vacation with me and my family tomorrow, but that clearly isn't going to work. Glad I sent them all in on SATURDAY of last week.
This is incompetence and a total lack of any visible communications strategy to your customers. A few blog posts that are largely hidden in your site navigation does not an apology make.
Yeah, you may "just" be shipping movies, but you may be underestimating the importance that your customers place on a reliable service.
Hopefully Netflix realizes the value of professional communication with its largest stakeholders-the members-and has a plan to to at least provide better communication next time.
I just noticed that the paragraph says "This is Andy" but the blogger is Steve. Looks like the lies just keep on coming.
What the hell, people? They are just movies and they are crediting everyone's accounts. What's the big deal? Crap happens.
I never recieved the e-mail,I noticed it today when I sighned on to check if movies were being sent out....Personaly I think they should refund atleas 25% or cut next payment by 25%.Thia is crazy,you pay a good amount of money and then you don't get crap for a week,yet others are recieving movies why not ship movies from other places...Come Netflix has had a week to fix this stuff...I know this I bet alot of customers will drop them anf go to Blockbuster online.I don't want to but hey ya have to do what you feel is the right thing to do....but yea never got e-mail...
Guys.. we're talking about MOVIES here! Netflix has already said we'll get credits to our accounts for the service outage.
Go outside and have some fun this weekend!
As a Netflix subscriber I'm amazed at how many people are getting so hysterically pissed off because they're not getting their movies. Offended because you didn't get a personal email? Are you kidding? That would make you feel better? Would you like them to send you a cookie too and tuck you in bed? If you're so pissed then just switch to Blockbuster or take your lazy ass off the couch and go rent a movie. There should definitely be some kind of reimbursement, no doubt, but damn...stop whining like babies about it.
Hi, just wondering if this outage affects your ability to receive/mark as received movies we've returned as well. I suspect if it does that there will be a backlog of movies waiting to be scanned back in and that might cause further delays in shipments for people, so you might want to clarify that too if true.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1412419520080814
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10202905?nclick_check=1
I expect a major-ass credit for this. Unbelievable.
And, the recommendation I got for customer service that I stream on my computer? Completely worthless because I have a Mac and I have NO DESIRE to install the crap that Microsoft makes on it.
Provide me with a Mac-based player. And ship my damn DVDs.
yup, I'm looking for my month's credit.... Major F* up on your part.
Feel free to sign up with Blockbuster. No one is holding a gun to your head to stay with Netflix.
Try borrowing movies from your local library if you need them that bad. My local library has quite a nice selection of DVD's including Freedom Writer sephora. Although I got it from Netflix.
I'll stay loyal to Netflix. They've been great to me. Hmmm, maybe they could use me as an engineer ;)
I can only imagine the chaos their engineers are going through to find and correct this problem.
Geez everybody, get a grip! Oh Boo-Hoo, you aren't getting any movies! I'm sure there are more important things going on in the world right now than some whiny people actually having to pick up a book. Netflix is trying to fix the problem and who cares if I get a "personal email." Don't you think sending out millions of useless emails might bog down the system they are trying to fix just a teeny bit? I've been with Netflix for five years. So far I've received 718 discs from them at a savings of over $1300 versus my local video store. I can give them a few days to get back on their feet. Maybe I'll finally get the kid's play room sorted out!
I think that I will kiss my netflic envelope when I see it again!
This is really frustrating. I have 5 movies awaiting shipment that I would have loved to have had for the weekend, now that won't be happening.
I understand things happen but it shouldn't take this long to be fixed and I'm sure the credit received, if that actually happens, will not be enough to compensate the frustration.
And as far as watching movies on their site, I DON'T THINK SO!, it's a horrible selection of movies.
It looks like I picked the wrong week to start my free trial :)
Anyways, I hope you guys get this resolved soon.
Brad said we're talking about MOVIES here! Netflix has already said we'll get credits to our accounts for the service outage.
Go outside and have some fun this weekend!
Assuming there a little, aren't you. Who says everyone here can go outside. It's going to be over 100 degrees this weekend with a code red ozone alert, aka, it's not safe to go outside.
People paid for something they aren't getting, they have every right to complain. Why don't you, Brad, step outside and leave us to relieve our frustration.
And to the jerk hiding behind the anonymous banner that said this:
or take your lazy ass off the couch and go rent a movie. There should definitely be some kind of reimbursement, no doubt, but damn...stop whining like babies about it.
You're assuming that there are rental places near everyone. That's not always true so take the advice I gave Brad, get off your lazy ass and back away from the keyboard.
Can we get another update on how much longer it will be till the system is back up and running? No rush, Just a simple request.
After talking to customer service I truly felt even more frustrated. They told me work was still proceeding on fixing the problem with shipping. When I asked what the problem was she said knowbody knows. How can that be? After 3 days someone has to know what the problem is and how to fix it. This isn't rocket science! I hope this isn't a sign Netflix is going out of business....or just a sign knowbody knows whats going on. In either case the customers know somthing is terribly wrong.
well, I haven't got a single disc the whole week and doesn't look like things are changing.
It's hard to imaging this kind of system failure, do they even have a backup system. Their IT department really needs to be reogranized. OR maybe they outsource their IT?
Netflix SUCKS! I am canceling and getting Blockbuster at the end of the month.
From the CNBC site:
_______________
Netflix engineers, he tells me, are working "feverishly around the clock" to get this issue solved, but at this point, they're not sure what the problem is, or how, necessarily to fix it
________________
How can that be? Somebody 'knows' what's going on, it's just not being shared 'yet'.
Sure, I miss my movies. But, stuff happens. I'm sure the Netflix folks hate it more than we do.
I received 2 DVDs today from the New Brunswick NJ location.
My "Recent Activity" on the Netflix page still reads "Shipping Wednesday." But apparently they did in fact ship on Wednesday.
People, you act like you don't have a life, PLEASE chill! Things happen, nothing is perfect.
Blogger Jmat said...
Try borrowing movies from your local library if you need them that bad. My local library has quite a nice selection of DVD's including Freedom Writer sephora. Although I got it from Netflix.
Well, isn't that nice for you. Our library doesn't, as I've said repeatedly. And Blockbuster isn't an option for me. For whatever reason, they seem to think I've already got an account although how I'm paying for it and where they are sending the movies is beyond me.
I'm still pissed that Netflix didn't sign with the PS3.....
Once I get over that anger, I'll start getting pissed about this outage...
That's how I'm 'queued' up right now.
:)
Last week we had an issue with our queue...it said a movie was shipped back and recieved but we still had it at home, then we got the next one in the queue a day later...it righted itself once the other movie was shipped back but I'm wondering if they had this issue start up last week sometime...
to the ass clowns who are complaining to about the ones here waiting a week for movies...Some of us,can't go outside and some of us can't walk,let alone go to a libaray.Read a book sure,then what when done.We pay for a service that is guaranteed for movies to be shipped.Now its kinda fishy no one knows what the problem is,and yet some people are geting movies here,hell I can get movies from Philly,N.J.,or N.Y...but I am not getting diddly...to those who are complaining about us mad about this shipping proplem,Why not get a life,and go suck your mommas.....well you get the pic...I intend to stick it out but still a heads up would have been nice instead of signing on and seeing it on the site.Netflix put this here so we the customers can say what we feel,so how about those who are telling us to go out read a book and stuff...SHUT THE HELL UP...yea thier movies but some of us pay alot for a guaranteed service..so back off the rest of us and again piss off
sephora, you are one miserable, nasty person.
I was simply suggesting a way to get your daughter the movie she needs to see but you are intent on being miserable.
I feel sorry for your daughter if you are this miserable with her.
It seems like they've been having some problems here and there, especially judging from other folks' comments about queue reorganization and movies disappearing. I know I can never organize our queue at home on the weekends, but we have a Mac. Doesn't seem like Netflix is very Mac user friendly...
jmat ~ you don't know me so shut up. Judging someone from a few comments is really self-righteous and I feel sorry for your family and even strangers who come in contact with you.
I have not received an email on anything that is going. I should have had my movies on Tuesday. Will you give us a discount on services this month…? I doubt it!
I'm not terribly upset but I will be if it means no movies by the weekend. I know it's 'just movies' but I joined Netflix to find movies that Blockbuster doesn't have so I can't just pop down there. And saying we should read a book is missing the point slightly; if we're to read a book we might as well cancel our accounts.
Also, I notice that the credit was only mentioned once in Steve/Andy/whoever's blog post, and not repeated for the last two posts. Nor was any statement made about how much credit would be given. So that can only slightly mollify me.
So I'm slightly okay, but the balance between okay and p'ed off is shifting daily. If I have to go a whole seven days without my movies I will have to look into blockbuster.
I mean, do you think they'd be this nice if we delayed payment and promised an 'extra' once we decided to send it in?
It's certainly nice that all of the people who are saying "chill out" and "it's just movies" have money to throw away for a service that does not deliver as advertised. I do not.
If I do not receive adequate compensation for this debacle, I will cancel my account. Goodbye.
angloam's comment above is also spot on: I mean, do you think they'd be this nice if we delayed payment and promised an 'extra' once we decided to send it in?
If I delayed my payment to Netflix due to a glitch in my personal accounting system, and said "I currently do not know where the problem is", but promise to send Netflix a "personalized email" explaining the problem, and giving them a 'credit' whenever I figure out my problem, would that seriously fly with them? Laugh.
After calling customer service I am more upset then ever. After three days they told me they didn't know what was causing the shipment problems. This isn't rocket science. How can they now know, and have it fixed after 3 days?
Either the company is going out of business or it simply just doesn't know how to keep it running smothly. Either way we customers are really in trouble. I have notived the service getting worse since they don't purchase enough new releases. You can wait up to 3 or 4 months to see a movie. I should know i have over 35 in my list waiting to ship. This is terrible customer service.
Whine. *snarl* Complaint. *snarl* Mention of how many DVDs I have waiting. Whine. Threat to defect to GreenCine/Blockbuster/Bittorrent. Whine. Off-topic mention of New Releases/Macintosh/BlueRay. *Snarl* Demand for huge refund. Whine.
There, that's the preliminaries out of the way so I can ask a question.
So, any idea which distribution centers are having problems? And is there any hope of shipping from the others, or would that just end up taking longer to sort out?
I've been on Netflix pretty much since you opened your doors. Reading through the comments, I think you should know its a small minority who seem to have nothing better to do than just complain about something. I love the service and I have no problems waiting - a glitch was bound to happen sometime. In the many years of service, I would say having a 99.99% record of good service is about as good as any business can do anywhere. I also have a Blockbuster account and having to deal with some annoying teenager who never heard of the DVD I would ask for is alot worse than this small delay.
Just called Roku customer service. The gentlemen on the phone was very nice and I told him about my Roku not working because of NF issues and he was not aware of that problem. So I think the right hand does know what the left hand is doing. So, I told him that the my Roku was not working and that I had just purchased it and he was happy enough to give me a RMA to send it back. So now I'm set to turn off my account and send back the Roku. I will miss the Roku and its features but right now it's a just a box that is collecting dust. Thanks Netflix for playing.. Off to BlockBusters I go...
Wow, this certainly is a national tragedy! I have a friend in the Philippines who doesn't know how he will bring home the rice to feed his brothers and sick mother, since he hasnt been finding enough glass and plastic bottles in the trash to sell to the junkyard. I'm sure he will feel better about his silly little problem when he hears that Americans arent receiving their dvd's this week! Some people are just so spoiled and disgusting, i feel shame...
For all those who own stock in Netflix... I would like to hear from you when it tanks and you lose your hard earned money. Or, even better yet, how about those poor souls who work at NF. How about them and their jobs, that maybe in jeopardy because of some "Upper Management Yahoo" that didn't do his job...
I've had several subs with BB and stick with NFlix--better movie details, good customer rep (try that with BB-- faster turnaround, better descriptions, more detail (eg CC -- I'd have to look at Nflix detail before I ordered BB movies to see if they were CC). I suggest the seriously disappointed give BB a try (get a yahoo mail account or two). Meanwhile I'm waiting for my movies to be checked in (they should have been there Wed.) doing a little torrent downloading.
Oh my god! It's now the fourth day since i've had a movie fix. I am shaking and i have the chills. My dealer, Pablo Netfix has dissappeared from the corner, leaving me to withdrawals. If i dont see Batman Returns soon, i think im gonna freakin DIE!! Screw World Hunger, send me my dvds! I feel so hopeless and abandoned. Not since Germany, 1939 has a group of people been so violated. Excuse me now, fellow American sufferers, while I vomit. LMFAO!!! P.S. Last night I had an awful dream that they shut off my cellphone!!! I made myself calm down by eating an entire bucket of KFC... just tell yourself, "It's only a dream, it's only a dream..."
I've had Netflix for years and also had Blockbuster for a year simultaneously, I've been shown that Netflix's service has always been superior in the past. Both selection and delivery times, so I think we can understand an outage once in a long while.
IMHO, the gripes I hear are probably more out of frustration due to not knowing the details of why and not having confirmation of a credit presuming it will be resolved, by the weekend, 25% of the monthly fee is fair.
Perhaps it was something ridiculous like the vmware date license bug, or some windows patch Tuesday issue. Just knowing what it was and that X measures are being taken should calm us all down a bit more.
I'm glad I switched from Netflix to Blockbuster two years ago. Netflix was throttling my account, so I took my business to BB and have had no problems with shipping since. Maybe not as many titles to choose from, but by far quicker shipping turnaround, at least in my case. If you are able, give BB a try.
I presume those of you who are saying matter-of-factly that Netflix should know what the problem is by now, and that they should know how to fix it, are software engineers yourselves? Because if not, you would sound awfully stupid right now acting like you understand the complexity of a system that has had years of development by experienced professionals.
Ok...but I still haven't received a personal email. Which leads me to believe that you don't think I had any movies returned this week or were supposed to be shipped back to me. I'm already 4-in-the-hole.
Wow, this certainly is a national tragedy! I have a friend in the Philippines who doesn't know how he will bring home the rice to feed his brothers and sick mother, since he hasnt been finding enough glass and plastic bottles in the trash to sell to the junkyard. I'm sure he will feel better about his silly little problem when he hears that Americans arent receiving their dvd's this week! Some people are just so spoiled and disgusting, i feel shame...
Well then maybe you should give up your Netflix subscription, and the money you pay for your internet connection and send him money rather than inadequately trying to make others feel bad and venting about an irritating situation.
When is this personal e-mail to subscribers set to go out?
Does this outage have anything to do with the Netflix settlement that was supposed to go into effect with the next billing cycle? That I got an e-mail about. A lot of people involved in that class action law suit were being upped a tier of membership for free for one month.
What I can't grasp in all of this is the people trying to make others feel bad for wanting to get what we paid for. As previously stated, it's not like I could not pay and still receive DVDs but they can take our money and not send what's already been paid for. That's my issue, I've already paid for the service, it's a month in advance, not like other things, dinner out, where you pay after you've gotten what you should be paying for.
Still, my utter disbelief is those trying to make others feel bad for venting. That's just wrong.
I received an email Monday saying my next DVD would ship Tuesday. As we know NOTHING shipped Tuesday. I never received a "personalized email" saying I was getting a credit. And what kind of credit would it be??? They are being very vague with both what the problem is and what the credit is. How can you get a credit on one DVD when the plans are all the DVD's you can watch in a month? Netflix you are doing a terrible customer service job during this. I'd leave but Blockbuster is even worse.
"I presume those of you who are saying matter-of-factly that Netflix should know what the problem is by now, and that they should know how to fix it, are software engineers yourselves? Because if not…"
I've been in the business over 40 years and this is a huge faux pas. The technology is available and proven, management woes the likely culprit given fast growth.
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!
Web talk say 10% for two days delays. That is of course nice, but I ask are you going to stay open on Saturday and try to catch-up? (Assuming it's working by then⋯)
While I'm usually the first to complain about things like this, I've decided to hold off for now. I've tried blockbuster before and their service sucked compared to Netflix. 99.9% of the time Netflix is great so I think we need to roll with this one a bit and give them a few more days to try and fix it. Seriously - life is too short to get this upset over late dvd's.
Billions of movies shipped a few days of problems i can forgive it thank you netflix.
Wow, I had no idea there was a problem until I heard it on TV. Yes. TV. Remember that box or wall-screen attached to the DVD player you put your Netflix discs into? Don't have a TV anymore? You can watch TV on your computer now. What to watch? How about, gee, the Olympics? Oh, and books. Love that idea. You know all those movies you watch based on the books you haven't read? You can use this opportunity to go to your library and check out a book. You can get DVDs from your library too.
The number juvenile tantrums and melodramatic cries of injury over this after so short a downtime would be a more disturbing reflection of how self-indulgent and spoiled our society has become,
except for two things:
- I expect a lot of BlockBuster employees are dropping in here to pose as "angry Netfix customers who are moving to Blockbuster." (BTW, my and others' experiences with BB has been wrought with continual frustrations and pathetic customer service.)
- Angry people are always more vocal (and repetitively so) than happy or patient ones, and Netflix has millions of customers. So, taking that into account, judging by the proportion of complainers to reasonable people here, I'd wager that the vast majority of Netflix customers are taking this in stride at this point. Because stuff happens, and since Netflix has earned our trust through great performance and customer service, we're willing to cut them some slack and be patient.
- elle
I've only been a customer for two months, they haven't exactly "earned my trust" for their "reliable service" as I've had nothing but problems with my queue, wrong movies in sleeves, and now this. They've earned nothing while taking my hard earned money.
uhhh I'm affected and I've yet to receive a "personal" email of any sort.
I still <3 you Netflix!
As a former CSR (not for Netflix) I would say the reason why they're on a short fuse is because every call they're getting is about the same thing : "where's my movie?" wah wah wah. This can wear down on even the nicest person.
The anger expressed in some of these comments because you can't handle an inconvenience such as not having a movie to watch the weekend just plain sad. Think about what you're complaining about.
And perhaps the reason why you haven't received your credit is because it will be calculated based on the days the outage.
Sephora, you're full of crap.
I received four discs today, three from White River Junction, VT, and one from Portland, ME. Anyone else's distribution centers getting discs out the door? Thanks, Netflix!
I just wish they would keep us in the loop with daily emails or notifications on our accounts. I would like some specifics about the nature of the problem, what's being done to fix it, and a timeline for fixing it.
I had no idea they had a problem until I saw the banner on my account when I logged in now. I thought I was getting throtted and I was getting really annoyed that I haven't seen a new movie since I sent back my last two on Sunday and Monday.
Netflix really needs to communicate better with their customer base.
A generic email saying really nothing doesn't help.
THIS IS A GREAT REASON TO NEVER BUY A ROKU BOX.
Why invest in something like Roku when you can't trust the service?
bravo elle! well said. :)
also for all the complainers, maybe you should go elsewhere, especially you sephora.
it'll shorten the wait on those new releases!
Thanks for the update. We're all human, and things happen, so don't worry about all the haters that can't find something else to do when their dvds don't arrive the very next day. Netflix is awesome enough that a few unsatisfied customers won't hurt their business because of a small mess-up. Flame away, bloggers.
I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND DEMANDED THEY HAND DELIVER MY MOVIES TO ME AND THEY JUST LAUGHED AND SAID NO I WANT MY BUCKIT AND MY CHEESEBURGER!!!!!1!!!!1!!!!one!!!!1!
THIS IS WORSE THAN THE HOLOCAUST AND SLAVERY COMBINED!!!!!!
Good lord, people. Get a grip. Yes, it's a bummer that we probably won't receive any red envelopes for the weekend. But compared to what's going on in the rest of the world, I think I can deal, ESPECIALLY since Netflix already promised a credit for the downtime. Now if they go back on their word, THEN it makes sense to get upset, but come on. Get a sense of perspective already. Roll your big butt over to the computer and watch some movies online instead.
Wow, Sephora0128, of all things to fight for, this is the battle you pick?
I've been a Netflix member for 3 years and other than 1 non-working disc, service has been flawless.
Thank goodness I have other hobbies otherwise I would be at a total loss without my Netflix movies!
What's with all these people advising us that we don't have right to bitch? Of course we do! This is America and the freedom to bitch is non-negotiable. So there.
I have been in the business of supporting server infrastructure for many years and I can tell you from experience - they are working around the clock trying to fix this. I am sure all of management is in crisis mode and all hands are on deck. Like any other company, they want to make money. Do you realize how much money they are loosing during this outage? Do you realize how many idle hourly workers are probably being sent home and not being paid.
Sysadmins and programmers have pride in their work. They want nothing more than to have this thing up. I firmly believe this is a big deal to them and they are taking it seriously. I received an email today from them, I am sure others will as well. But realize that producing those emails takes away from someone working the problem. I am also sure all the customer service agents know is that the system is down - give them a little break. IT does not say "tell the customers we are having a commit problem on the oracle database"
Am I happy about it? Nope. But Netflix is doing the right thing here so far so give them time before you judge. Remember - everyone makes mistakes - you will be judged on how you react to fixing those mistakes.
I feel sorry for some of the people posting. You are very angry and should get a grip. First, this isn't your heart medication that is being delayed, they are movies...entertainment. Not life and death. ( Yes, you pay good money, blah blah blah) Second, Netflix brought the "problem" to my attention before I even realized there was one, and then offered a credit. WOW. How many companies do that before you call to complain? I am happy they were honest and took responsibility for the problem. If it takes an extra day or two, so be it. If this became a habit, then I might get upset, but a one time issue is not something to start a fight about. And finally, WHY should they tell us the details of the problem? Is that going to fix it quicker? Are we more qualified to solve their shipping problems than they are? It's really none of our business. I own a store, and if there is a shipping problem with our merchandise, we give a brief explanation (which they did), offer a refund or exchange (which they did in credit form) and apologize (which they did). That's it. I don't explain the details, as they are irrelevant. Now, some of you sound like you should go back to Blockbuster...they have lousy attitudes, too. You will suit each other. Thank you, Netflix, for dealing with this and not trying to cover up a problem. Bravo. I have been a happy customer for years, and have gotten several other families to join, as well. We are all quite pleased with the service, and only wish you'd add video games to the line-up. Thanks!
Yeah, bitchin, because that fixes everything... /snark
And where does bitching get you? Nowhere! You still don't have your movies. You have a right to do a lot of stuff, doesn't mean you should.
While I'm waiting for my DVDs, I'm just sitting back enjoying watching sephora0128 lose it. Someone's wound a bit too tight. I'd love to see how you'd react if something went wrong with something actually important.
"Do you realize how much money they are loosing during this outage? Do you realize how many idle hourly workers are probably being sent home and not being paid.…"
Netflix losing money? Not likely, figure $4 million a day in postage savings (roundtrip), sent home hourlies don't get paid...
If they refund 5% per day, that's just $3 million.
I, for one, received the email- but unlike those who are getting their panties in a wad, already get too much email so one more piece of mail would have not have been amiss. I don't need a chain letter to smooth any ruffled feathers- I certainly don't think Andy sat at his computer and typed it out himself so good grief, get over it. In the meantime, Netflix has said that we'll get a discount and this has only happened twice in the history of their company. What do we expect of companies these days, perfection?
"I've been in the business over 40 years and this is a huge faux pas. The technology is available and proven, management woes the likely culprit given fast growth."
Well, obviously they made a mistake somewhere, but it's a little silly to expect them to always be able to locate it quickly. Their mistake could have been relying on a piece of third party software for something, and in that situation, you might not be able to debug it without the full cooperation of some other software service provider. Yeah, they probably should have had better contingency plans for situations like this, but it might not even have been a management issue--it might just be poor risk management on the part of the architects. There's nothing management can do if they're not properly informed about potential problems with the technology.
At any rate, I'm fairly sure we can take solace in the fact that whoever missed the boat here will have to answer for this, whether it be an IT manager, a software architect, or a vendor.
I tried going outside to talk to people. I failed. Send movie please.
"Netflix losing money? Not likely, figure $4 million a day in postage savings (roundtrip), sent home hourlies don't get paid...
If they refund 5% per day, that's just $3 million."
If the amount they spend per day on postage exceeds their daily revenue, I would argue that they don't have a very economically sound business model. ;)
Here's a sobering thought…
What if Netflix loses your queues? Your rental history?
Might be a good idea to back them up, maybe print to file...
Good Luck
So I did not get my discs because they couldn't send confirmation email? What do they think I need more, the disc or the confirmation email? Either we are not hearing all the truth about the problem or Netflix administration has lost its touch with reality.
I'm dismayed to see angry comments, threats to cancel accounts, etc., in response to a major technical problem that Netflix is undoubtedly making every effort to solve.
This can happen to any company reliant on electronic distribution and communications systems. That means, today, any company with more than three employees.
My experience with Netflix has been close to 100% positive. I don't know how many hundreds of movies I've watched thanks to Netflix. My reaction is to feel concerned about Netflix's losses and their efforts to solve what appears to be a hard problem to fix. It would never have occurred to me to be angry or to feel cheated or betrayed.
Huh, esc?
That makes no sense.
keep_it_simple_engineer,
That's a very good idea. I just saved my lists.
Better safe than sorry.