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Greencine Vs Netflix
	Topic by: kegsy Posted: June 12, 2003 - 10:16 AM PDT Last Reply: June 20, 2003 - 11:03 PM PDT

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author	topic: Greencine Vs Netflix
kegsy	post #1  on June 12, 2003 - 10:16 AM PDT   This message is basicaly a way for me venting my fustrations about Net 'We Have No Customer Service' Flix and how much superior Green 'We Care About Our Customers' Cine. I have just cancelled my netflix subscriptions, i cant take there crap no more, they are always shipping movies out of order even when the status of the movies at the top of my list are "NOW", they rarly response to customer emails and when they do it is just some generic message from there stupid faq, they never fill requests for dvd's. NetFlix just plain sux because they dont give a shit about there customers they just want to bill your credit card every month no matter how crap the service is. Now i may seem like some sort of ass kisser but this is how i see Greencine since i joined in April. Greencine has a message board this is a HUGE plus, and whats more people who work at greencine responsed to customer complains or concerns. Greencine responds to requests for movies prime example the other day when i requested "Apple" within a couple of hour of asking for it, i got a reply back from some nice lady called Giselle who they had ordered the movie, just outstanding. GC's selection of movies is much better. As that felt so good bitching about NF, ppl can only take so much crap from a company. I'm sure there are many other ppl out there that have had bad experiances with NF. Sorry for all the spelling mistakes :)
underdog	post #2  on June 12, 2003 - 3:29 PM PDT   Well, this just made our day here at GreenCine! Thank you. Btw, we did just get The Apple in, but are going to check it out first to make sure it's watchable. It's one of those funky imports, but as it was kind of low budget to begin with it may be hard to tell what's a good presentation. Perhaps you can be our first reviewer if we make it live. :-) Craig P Associate Editor GreenCine craig@greencine.com
NLee	post #3  on June 12, 2003 - 4:03 PM PDT   > On June 12, 2003 - 10:16 AM PST kegsy wrote: > --------------------------------- > I have just cancelled my netflix subscriptions, i cant take there crap no more, they are always shipping movies out of order even when the status of the movies at the top of my list are "NOW< I have been trying to figure out the algorithm GreenCine uses to allocate movies to customers, and compare it to the way NetFlix does it. Here are my thoughts: If I have to write a program to allocate DVD discs to rental customers, there are two different algorithms I can think of right now. One is "disc-driven" and the other one is "customer-driven". Let assume that some company called "NF" uses the "disc-driven" algorithm. When a particular DVD is returned to NF, NF will try to push the same disc out of the door again by selecting the next customer to send it to. The way to determine who's the (un)lucky guy for this disc depends on factors such as: 1. Whether you are a trial-member (you'll get priority if you're a potential customer) 2. How many movies you checked out last month (you get punished for checking out too many movies) The above algorithm allows maximum utilization from a given number of DVD inventry. However, it ignores the customer's preference in his rental queue. That explains why NF always ship movies out of sequence to you. Next, let's assume that another company called "GC" uses the "customer-driven" algorithm. When a disc returned by you arrived at GC, GC tries to find the next disc for you by looking at your rental queue. Start from the top, the first movie with "Available" status will be the one selectd and shipped to you. This algorithm is able to preserve the preference of your rental queue - provided that most items near the top of your queue are "Available". So there you have it. Two beautiful algorithms presented at no charge. Of course, it is just my speculation that company "NF" is "disc-driven" and company "GC" is "customer-driven". After all, even I could be wrong occassionally. ^_^
kegsy	post #4  on June 12, 2003 - 4:06 PM PDT   It's just plain annoying dealing with nf. Thanks for the getting "The Apple" you dont have it in your database yet, but as soon as your do i'll add it to the top of my queue, i just upgraded to 8 at a time so i should have 5 more movies shipping to me tomorrow hopefully.
billbo1970	post #5  on June 12, 2003 - 4:19 PM PDT   That will only be true if your new billing cycle starts tomorrow. Sorry to bust your bubble if that's not the case. Read the FAQ. > On June 12, 2003 - 4:06 PM PST kegsy wrote: > --------------------------------- > It's just plain annoying dealing with nf. > > Thanks for the getting "The Apple" you dont have it in your database yet, but as soon as your do i'll add it to the top of my queue, i just upgraded to 8 at a time so i should have 5 more movies shipping to me tomorrow hopefully. > ---------------------------------
kegsy	post #6  on June 12, 2003 - 4:22 PM PDT   My billing cycle is being reset and the 8 out at a time will take effect starting tomorrow or so customer service tells me. > On June 12, 2003 - 4:19 PM PST billbo1970 wrote: > --------------------------------- > That will only be true if your new billing cycle starts > tomorrow. Sorry to bust your bubble if that's not the > case. Read the FAQ. >
markhl	post #7  on June 12, 2003 - 4:54 PM PDT   Hmm.. perhaps GC should start charging counseling/therapy bills for some of the past Netflix members :)
underdog	post #8  on June 12, 2003 - 5:22 PM PDT   Argh, now I have to burst poor Kegsy's bubble, too. So it turns out that the company selling the DVD of The Apple is doing so illegally. We took a closer look at the DVD itself and it's very obviously a bootleg. :-( Apparently, New Yorker Films owns the rights to this title, and (surprisingly) have not released a DVD version of it yet in this country. For us to release this DVD for rental would incur their wrath of course, so, alas we will have to wait for the legal version to come out. Sorry to get your hopes up prematurely! We will definitely get it when it comes out officially. If it's any consolation, one look at the bootleg and we already knew it shouldn't be rented out -- the subtitles were all wobbly and the picture looked bad. Sorry again! Craig P Associate Editor GreenCine craig@greencine.com
kegsy	post #9  on June 12, 2003 - 6:49 PM PDT   ah such is life, thanks for trying though. i knew i should of taped it when it was on showtime :)
xellos	post #10  on June 12, 2003 - 10:12 PM PDT   I am beginning to think there are 2 netflix out there. the one I subscribe to and the one the rest of you ppl had subscribed to. I have been with netflix off and on for about a year and a half and June is my fouth(possibly final) month with greencine. I can honestly say that - 1) i have never had a DVD sent to me out of order, sadly I can't say the same about Greencine. - 2) During my first subscription with netflix I had about half of my titles in the long and short wait status. During my 2nd and 3rd(current) subscription almost everthing I place in my queue is "Availble NOW." With greencince it is currently at 3/4 long/short wait. - 3) I never had any customer service problems with netflix becuase the one time I had a problem, I got a email response back the next day along with a customer service number to call when I mention in my email that i would perfer to talk to a live person.
kegsy	post #11  on June 13, 2003 - 4:48 AM PDT   There is actually a phone number for netflix? WOW give me the number i'll add them to a telemarkters call list just to annoy them :) j/k
JHeath	post #12  on June 13, 2003 - 9:21 AM PDT   I'm a member of both netflix and greencine. I like them both, in different ways. Greencine, I use to basically get what I can't at NF, it's handy for that. I have more 4 out at NF, mainly because they shipping is super speedy, it usually only takes a 2 to 3 days in and outbound. In total, I have 7 out from both services.
Cinenaut	post #13  on June 13, 2003 - 9:36 AM PDT   I never tried Netflix, I came straight to GreenCine after reading a discussion of Netflix's queueing algorithm on a blog (basically, people who rent less movies get faster shipping). Somebody posted a rave about GC and here I am. If I send a movie on Monday, GC gets it Wednesday and ships the next one the same day. The next one arrives on Friday, so my shipping times are fine. I'm in California, though.
ManikD	post #14  on June 13, 2003 - 10:03 AM PDT   > On June 13, 2003 - 9:36 AM PST Cinenaut wrote: > --------------------------------- > I never tried Netflix, I came straight to GreenCine after reading a discussion of Netflix's queueing algorithm on a blog (basically, people who rent less movies get faster shipping). Somebody posted a rave about GC and here I am. > > If I send a movie on Monday, GC gets it Wednesday and ships the next one the same day. The next one arrives on Friday, so my shipping times are fine. I'm in California, though. > > > --------------------------------- Same here...I live in CA and the shipping schedule sounds just like mine. I too read about GC on couple of messageboards and then on some blogs and I was immediately sold based on their reviews. Of course, I've heard about how fast Netflix ships their discs and plus their amount of subscribers but once I heard GC carried more obscure titles and fantastic customer service, I just had to join. Plus I would be helping out my fellow Californians. :D
syntax	post #15  on June 13, 2003 - 10:43 AM PDT   I'm just here for the chips, er, I mean anime. :)
NLee	post #16  on June 13, 2003 - 10:48 AM PDT   I'm from the East Coast (Rhode Island) and NF does have one big advantge over GC in terms of shipping time. I was with NF for 6-7 months last year. They ship from their service center in MA, so the shipping time is typically two days each way (occassionaly 3 days, or just one day once in a while). That means I can have a turn-around in less than one week. The downside is that I quickly exhausted their pitiful anime collection, and that's why I'm here. When I first joined GC 6 months ago, the shipping time was typically 3 days each way. But recently, after all the hoopla about new envelops and new stamps, shipping takes even longer: typically four days for a disc to come to me (going back is still three days). One thing about Greencine worries me: too many fanatic supporters, and most/all of them are from California. ^_^
Cinenaut	post #17  on June 13, 2003 - 11:14 AM PDT   What's the difference between fanatic supporters and happy customers? > On June 13, 2003 - 10:48 AM PST NLee wrote: > --------------------------------- > One thing about Greencine worries me: too many fanatic supporters, and most/all of them are from California. > ^_^ > > ---------------------------------
NLee	post #18  on June 13, 2003 - 11:18 AM PDT   > On June 13, 2003 - 11:14 AM PST Cinenaut wrote: > --------------------------------- > What's the difference between fanatic supporters and happy customers? 3 or 4 postings a day? Oops, nevermind... ^_^
Cinenaut	post #19  on June 13, 2003 - 11:39 AM PDT   "How many fanatic supporters does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" "Two. One to hold the bulb and one to make three or four posts about it."
syntax	post #20  on June 13, 2003 - 12:59 PM PDT   > On June 13, 2003 - 11:18 AM PST NLee wrote: > --------------------------------- > 3 or 4 postings a day? Oops, nevermind... > ^_^ > --------------------------------- So?

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