28 October 2003
Netflix Is Starting to Suck
I've been a Netflix subscriber for almost two years and have recommended it to all my pals. Lately, though, their service has disappointed me.
When I first subscribed under the "three movies out" plan, the turnaround time was consistently prompt. If I put a movie in the mail one day, the very next day they received and acknowledged the return and shipped the next movie in my queue. That meant that I received the next movie exactly two days after sending back the previous one. They even processed my queue on Saturdays!
This summer, the turnaround time has slowed considerably. Now they never process my queue on Saturdays. It takes up to two days for them to acknowledge a returned movie, then another one to three days to send me the next one. Aside from being mildly frustrating to a cinephile, this also reduces the value of their service.
Netflix charges a flat monthly fee: $19.95 for the "three movies out" plan, and $29.95 for my current plan, "five movies out". The price per movie (PPM) depends on (a) the rate at which you watch the movies and (b) the rate at which Netflix processes your queue.
I did some math to find out how much more expensive Netflix has become since they've become slack. Assuming that I watch all movies the night they arrive and return all of them the next day (the best case, though obviously not realistic), here's how it works out:
Plan Old PPM New PPM 3 movies out $.78 $1.02-1.28 5 movies out $.69 $.92-1.15
Since I have other hobbies and even some friends, the PPM is actually a little higher (and still pretty cheap), but you can still see that it's increased as a result of the decline in service.
Now I'm considering switching to Greencine, a similar service based here in SF. Their rates are identical to those of Netflix, and they have some great features that Netflix lacks: many more esoteric titles, user profiles, discussion groups, user reviews, and local events. Those alone might be enough to lure me away from Netflix, even though I haven't yet determined whether Greencine is more prompt.