Does Netflix get special priority from the USPS

[MutteringJohn]

I don't know how this is possible. I recently joined Netflix DVD only subscription. I dropped off a DVD in a street mailbox Monday morning. The pick-up was 2pm. Netflix received the DVD sometime past midnight. I thought the Post Office doesn't deliver until next day. Netflix must have some amazing deal with Post Office where the mail is taking back to the branch, then delivered to the Post Office distribution center and they allow Netflix to send their own truck to the distribution center to pick up DVD returns. I know in some big cities USPS was thinking about offering same day delivery but that would be an expensive service.

[nicksgt]

I've been a member for probably 5 years and its always been like that...yesterday I mailed a disc, got an email at like 4 am that they received it

What I can't figure out is how they receive mail in the morning and send it out in the afternoon...I didn't think USPS would come to you twice in the same day...although I guess since its a po box maybe that's how they do it..they just send an employee really early in the morning to do pickup

[FlaFlaFlunkie]

I think it has something to do with the number of post office boxes they have and that their return rentals are scanned and uploaded into their system immediately, triggering the process of the next DVD to mail.

My only fault with them is they don't do a good enough job checking DVDs before they mail them back out. Roughly 30-50% of the DVDs I get from them are damaged, scratched or freeze up at various points through the movie.

[nicksgt]

I think it has something to do with the number of post office boxes they have and that their return rentals are scanned and uploaded into their system immediately, triggering the process of the next DVD to mail.

My only fault with them is they don't do a good enough job checking DVDs before they mail them back out. Roughly 30-50% of the DVDs I get from them are damaged, scratched or freeze up at various points through the movie.

Absolutely agree....I get a ton of scratched discs..last week I got one that was literally split in half

[Kamie]

Absolutely agree....I get a ton of scratched discs..last week I got one that was literally split in half

Really? We have the deal where we have 3 DVDs at home at once, and I can count the number of times on one hand that we received a damaged DVD over the past 5 years or so.

[MutteringJohn]

The mailers are flimsy. It doesn't surprise me that many of DVD's get damaged.

[FlaFlaFlunkie]

Really? We have the deal where we have 3 DVDs at home at once, and I can count the number of times on one hand that we received a damaged DVD over the past 5 years or so.

Yeah, for the first couple of years, I had virtually no problems, but over the past 2 years I've gotten so many damaged discs, I actually called to complain on 2 separate occasions and got a free month each time I called. It's good customer service but I'd prefer they spend more money on checking the discs, even if it slows down delivery by a day.

Paranormal Activity was damaged 10 fucking minutes from the ending. That happened on another movie too. The last five or ten minutes, the disc froze.

[newcastlefan]

they are probably reported electronically as soon as the mailers are scanned by the PO. If they barcode the address labels the PO systems will handle them without any human involvement. Problem is that only works for address labels the PO scanners can read. When they can't the items bounce around within USPS for weeks because no human can access the items once they are in the system, like my package mailed Jan 24th...

[tfresca]

There have been stories written about this. hundreds of low paid workers scanning these envelopes across the country. It's an incredibly efficient operation. If they have a disc center in your state the turn around is 24-48 hours. It's kind of amazing. If you have a scratched disc call them up they usually give you free movies, like two or three discs at a time as compensation. Redbox does the same thing, at least they used to.

[Franklin]

they are probably reported electronically as soon as the mailers are scanned by the PO. If they barcode the address labels the PO systems will handle them without any human involvement. Problem is that only works for address labels the PO scanners can read. When they can't the items bounce around within USPS for weeks because no human can access the items once they are in the system, like my package mailed Jan 24th...

The post office doesn't scan Netflix envelopes.

[Kamie]

Yeah, for the first couple of years, I had virtually no problems, but over the past 2 years I've gotten so many damaged discs, I actually called to complain on 2 separate occasions and got a free month each time I called. It's good customer service but I'd prefer they spend more money on checking the discs, even if it slows down delivery by a day.

Paranormal Activity was damaged 10 fucking minutes from the ending. That happened on another movie too. The last five or ten minutes, the disc froze.

THAT would piss me off. It's one thing if the disc is damaged and you can't play it, but to not be able to see the end????

[FlaFlaFlunkie]

THAT would piss me off. It's one thing if the disc is damaged and you can't play it, but to not be able to see the end????

...which is what made me call to complain, both times, resulting in the free month of service, but yeah, it's a really fucking annoying thing to have happen...twice.

[Kilroy]

I've had Netflix for probably 7 years and only twice have I gotten a damaged or un-playable disc.

[FlaFlaFlunkie]

I've had Netflix for probably 7 years and only twice have I gotten a damaged or un-playable disc.

Consider yourself lucky, but perhaps it also has something to do with the frequency with which you receive discs.

I'm on the 3-DVDs-at-a-time plan, but at the time the damaged disc thing happened, I was on the 6-DVD plan. I cut back to 3 about 2 years ago to cutback my expenses because I thought layoffs were going to start at my company.

[nicksgt]

Yeah, for the first couple of years, I had virtually no problems, but over the past 2 years I've gotten so many damaged discs, I actually called to complain on 2 separate occasions and got a free month each time I called. It's good customer service but I'd prefer they spend more money on checking the discs, even if it slows down delivery by a day.

Paranormal Activity was damaged 10 fucking minutes from the ending. That happened on another movie too. The last five or ten minutes, the disc froze.

same here...of the last 10-15 movies i have had, i bet i have had to report 5 of them as having damaged discs...this last one took the cake though..i realize it got damaged in the mail but to get a disc that is literally cracked in half is crazy...

kamie. its possible fla fla and i have just been really unlucky..i think part of the problem at least for me is that i work a million hours a week and have a toddler at home so i dont get to watch many movies..i am just now getting to movies from 2009 in my queue, so its possible that i have this issue because i am getting older discs

[newcastlefan]

The post office doesn't scan Netflix envelopes.

according to them (as of last Thursday when I last spoke with the local pm) they scan everything now.

[Kilroy]

Consider yourself lucky, but perhaps it also has something to do with the frequency with which you receive discs.

I'm on the 3-DVDs-at-a-time plan, but at the time the damaged disc thing happened, I was on the 6-DVD plan. I cut back to 3 about 2 years ago to cutback my expenses because I thought layoffs were going to start at my company.

I've been on the 3-DVDs at a time plan since I started. Seriously, this thread is the first I've ever heard anyone complain about damaged discs from Netflix, I've never heard that from friends or family about their Netflix dvds either. Maybe it's just where you live, maybe the people that get discs from your Netflix distributor are just animals..lol..

[FlaFlaFlunkie]

I've been on the 3-DVDs at a time plan since I started. Seriously, this thread is the first I've ever heard anyone complain about damaged discs from Netflix, I've never heard that from friends or family about their Netflix dvds either. Maybe it's just where you live, maybe the people that get discs from your Netflix distributor are just animals..lol..

I sometimes wonder what else is on those discs.

[Kilroy]

yeah, I don't want to think about that..lol..

There were a few porno versions of Netflix that were out there years ago, my buddy talked about joining one and I pointed that out to him, "Do you really want to handle those discs?" lol..

[FlaFlaFlunkie]

I said the same thing to the dudes in my I.T. department when they were carrying on about all the porn on someone's computer they were working on. They were all like "ooh!" and "ahhh!" and I was all like "Ew! You're touching his keyboard?"

Killed that little perv session.