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Netflix Makes It Easy To Reach a Human
msblack writes "In a move that goes against the prevailing trends of outsourcing and non-interactive customer support, Netflix has forsaken e-mail as a means of resolving customer problems. According to the NYTimes article, Netflix set up a call center in Portland OR, shunning other popular US call center cities (because Portland natives were perceived to sound friendlier) or off-shoring. 'It's very interesting and counter to everything anybody else is doing,' said Tom Adams, a market researcher in Carmel, California. 'Everyone else is making it almost impossible to find a human.'"
Good enough for me - I just signed up. People always complain that everybody is outsourcing and service is bad and all. Well, here is your chance to put your money where your mouth is. I know I just did.
Peter.
But a few months ago, I decided to get back into it. At the time, I decided to try out both Blockbuster and Netflix at the same time, just to see how they stacked up. In the end, there was no comparison. Blockbuster's only advantage was their store exchange feature (where you can return your rental in a store and pick out a new DVD from the store). But it was completely outweighed by the terrible quality of every other aspect of their service.
Blockbuster was SLOW. Netflix, for me has a two day turnaround--I drop a DVD in the mail and 2 days later a new one. Blockbuster's turnaround was several days at best, much longer at worst.
Blockbuster's queue system is weak. It's nowhere nearly as sophisticated as Netflix's. Moving things around in Blockbuster's queue is a pain and it lacks features like getting a summary of the movie just by hovering your cursor over it and dragging-and-dropping movies to change their order.
Blockbuster's selection is a JOKE compared to Netflix. This is especially important to me as an indie film fan.
Blockbuster throttled me almost from day one. Movies would sit at the top of my queue with "Available" status, yet they would ship out a movie that was 6th on my list, and it would take them several days to do even THAT.
To me, this news of better customer service is just another way that Netflix shows that they've really got their stuff together. Blockbuster may have the store model down, but their online store leaves MUCH to be desired.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
One important point which is ignored in TFA is that the use of simple to-the-point web forms for common issues (such as lost/damaged discs, excessive delays, or incorrect mailings) means that the typical user never has to call or email in the first place. Unlike a lot of other websites, these forms actually don't suck, either. In case you're a user and haven't found them yet, they're all accessible off of your account page.
Also, Netflix users frequently receive emails which are "checking up" on movie arrival times in order to provide an accurate estimate of when shipped discs will arrive. Having changed addresses twice with our family account, my wife and I have been very grateful for this "getting things right" mentality.
Misery loves company. Online misery loves unsuspecting random strangers.
And that, my friends, is probably the best 'customer support' of all.
Fact: Everything I say is fiction.
John Waters used to do a stand-up routine where he would talk about the funny stuff he overheard in Baltimore. One of my favorite ones was one he overheard in a grocery store one day. He was standing behind a family in line and the little son turns to the Dad and says "Dad, why is mommy crying?" to which the father replies "Because you're a little asshole!"
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Last time I called Sprint (I usually email, but I needed somethign ASAP) I got this female on the line who said her name was Michelle. She was very obviously Indian trying to put on an american accent by not rolling her 'r's and with less "clicking" of her 't's and 'd's. I went ahead and gave her my information. The moment she saw my name was clearly Indian, she dropped all pretences of an accent.
:))
The other time I had fun was when I got this rep (don't remember what it was for) who put me on hold, but forgot to mute and I heard him talking to his buddies in Hindi. I went ahead and asked him if he was talking in Hindi and he panicked and said in his strongest Indian accent, "No sir, that must have been some disturbance on the line. We are located in Washington". I still find it funny that he felt the need to tell me where their call center was
Cheers!
Atheist: Buddhist in a Prius
Another thing they did recently
I was really surprised. Most companies I would have expected to just bump me up one level of service (to the 4-at-a-time plan or something) while keeping me at the same price level, making me call them up to downgrade to my old level of service in order to save money. They didn't; they just dropped the price, and I didn't have to do a thing.
It's a little ridiculous that I get surprised by a company doing what ought to be the right and obvious thing, but that's how things work these days. Anyway, kudos to Netflix and whoever is in charge there. Hope they can keep it up.
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