First, let me say thanks to those of you that posted your comments on HIV testing yesterday… it was interesting to see that most people just don’t think that much about it; other than for insurance/cost reasons. Perhaps that will spawn another post at some point down the road. But for now, I want to talk about Netflix.
I remember when I joined Netflix, I was so super excited; I had unlimited rentals at my fingertips, and I was going to be able to rent without going to a store. No more Blockbuster (!)… and, I would be able to get everything I wanted, and as much as I wanted for a little less than $20 a month. Sweet!
BUT… It was all a lie. Netflix has duped us all, and I for one am pretty pissed off about it. Let me explain. First of all, before I get into it, Netflix has the right to change their policies at any time, so if any of this comes as a shock, or sounds like something you didn’t see in your agreement with Netflix, then you should check again, because they changed the policies on you, and it is in there now.
Alright, when I signed up, like many people, I believed that I was signing up for unlimited rentals for around $20 a month. An awesome deal, right? Hell yeah! I would even pay a little more, to be honest, because I realize what I am getting. But the problem is that the “unlimited” part quickly changed just after I signed up. The first month, I think we rented like 30 movies. It was awesome… everything we wanted was right there in the queue, just waiting to be sent home, and we were filled with glee when it would be at the house 1 day later.
But no more. Now, whenever I put something on my queue, especially if it is a new release (which, let’s face it, that is what people want to rent), then the SECOND it comes out, instead of being available as “now”, it says “short wait”, “long wait”, or “very long wait”. At first, I thought that this was just me. I thought, “maybe they don’t have enough copies”; which, I also thought was bullshit. I can do that math… If the local blockbuster can guarantee a movie to be there, they must have thousands of copies; so why doesn’t a national company like Netflix have even more; especially if they are the direct competitor of said Blockbuster? Well, it just didn’t make sense… and then I read things like this, and this. According to these articles, I am not the only one experiencing something called “throttling”. That is when Netflix decides that you are a “heavy renter” and pretty much blacklists you, so that you can’t get the new releases until way after everyone else. In fact, they give preference to new customers, and people that hardly rent.
So let me get this straight, Netflix is giving preference to customers? That, by itself is wrong. Secondly, they are not honoring the agreement they made with you (which they changed, remember), because they determined you are heavy renter? WTF? How can you be a heavy renter when you are supposed to be guaranteed unlimited rentals? That doesn’t even make sense Netflix! So basically, If you are out there renting to your heart’s content, you are risking being “throttled” by Netflix, and you will be lucky to get any new releases in a timely fashion. To top that off, many people have even complained that they don’t have as quick of a turn around time anymore, either. I just think that this is a horrible tactic by Netflix to entice new customers, while shitting on their loyal ones. We pay that $20 a month, so why do we get blacklisted for taking advantage of the service you promised? I think that it is wrong to say that you are offering one thing, and then completely renege on that. It is too bad that apparently, the Blockbuster service is doing the same thing, or I would switch in a heartbeat (even though I harbor a deep seeded hatred for Blockbuster due to their years of fucking customers with late fees).
If it really is about saving money (which, can there be any other reason that a business does something other than to make or save money?), then why not charge us a little more? Or offer a plan where you don’t do this bullshit; because I for one didn’t sign up for unlimited rentals so that I would have to eventually give in and drive to Blockbuster in order to watch a movie I want to see. Come on Netflix, quit being such a sneaky little bitch; if you are going to do this, put it on the main page, and tell people up front when they sign up, otherwise you are technically lying.
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