Those of you who have Netflix know that you can put your queue into several separate queues. For example, in our household we have the 3-out-at-a-time plan, so we have three queues: one is MY queue, for cool DVDs such as Firefly and Gilmore Girls; one is PAUL’S queue, for movies no one would want to see; and one is our JOINT queue, for the one in a million movie we both want to see, and also for the kids’ movies. When PAUL returns one of HIS movies, he gets the next movie from HIS queue. When I return one of MY movies, I get the next movie from MY queue. This keeps things fair and orderly, and Paul and I are both firstborns so we appreciate this.
Why can’t we just do an ABC pattern in one main queue, so it goes mine, Paul’s, kids’, mine, Paul’s, kids’, etc.? Well, for one thing it’s a pain to have to do that, especially if you want to reorder your movies: if I’m watching all the DVDs of The Wire, and suddenly I want to watch The Chorus, I have to change every third movie all the way down the queue. For another thing, the ABC pattern means that slowpokes get unfair benefits: if I’m taking forever to watch movie A, and Paul and the kids both return their movies, I get my next A movie when I haven’t even finished my first one. Meanwhile, Paul has to wait for HIS next movie until I return MINE. Unfair. So the multiple-queue system is awesome.
Netflix is canceling that feature. They reassure us that it is to improve the site for all their customers. OH YES. I can TOTALLY see how taking away a feature EVERYONE LOVES improves things for everyone! Yes, it’s totally clear to me now!
Paul is threatening to completely cancel our Netflix account. I can’t see doing that, because we don’t have cable so this is how we watch ALL TV AND MOVIES. But I am SERIOUSLY PISSED and LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. Well, or looking for other options.
[Edit: I was looking for a way to write to Netflix to throw a freakin’ FIT politely complain, but I kept getting routed to a phone number, and with five children in the house I don’t use the phone AT ALL. Kristin found the way to the email form, so I’m including her instructions here: “At the very bottom of the page in teeny tiny print, click ‘contact us’. Then under ‘Requests and Suggestions’ click ‘suggestions’ and it’ll give you an email form.” THANK YOU, Kristin. I wrote, and I suggest anyone else who hates this change write too.]
[Edit:
Dear Swistle,
You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are.
We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you.
-Your friends at Netflix
Well!]
Gah! We are currently on the one-movie-at-a-time plan for budgetary reasons, but I love that feature! What the heck, Netflix? Swistle and Paul aren’t the only firstborns who need to keep the peace–trust me.
I’m really bummed about this – my husband and I both keep a list on our account so we can always have one of his choices and one of mine. I don’t understand Why they’re getting rid of this feature.
Bombard Netflix with complaints. You can’t be the only ones who use the feature, live and love the feature.
We had Netflix for awhile, but couldn’t find the time to watch the movies with all the sports on that we watch.
I didn’t even know this feature existed and I’m going to miss it already!
Do they say HOW it is supposed to improve things? Because I can’t twist this around to anything GOOD. We have the three at a time plan, too, but I control it ALL. Still, separate queues is a good way to organize things and be fair. That way the kids always have a movie and my husband and I have two in rotation.
I got that email too and am pretty unhappy with it. My husband’s movies are all boring to me. So when I get two of mine then I can brace myself for a crap movie to arrive next. But now his crap movies are going to be all entwined with my good ones.
Argh. But I have no choice because as much as I hate this, I despise Blockbuster more. I hate Block-buster like I hate Hell-Mart.
I could not agree more!
I had no idea that this feature existed, and now I’m mad because we won’t get to try it out! And it would be so USEFUL.
I’m bummed. I was thinking how cool that sounded as you were describing it and thinking that I needed to go right now! and fix ours that way. I guess now I won’t. That is unacceptable.
We don’t do an ABC pattern, but do prioritize the next movie each time we send one in, so I just bumped a Leap Frog movie as we send in Ocean’s Thirteen today. We “take turns”, but I am the master of the queue.
I would write them a STRONGLY WORDED letter and suggest that you will switch to One Of Their Competitors if they take away this beloved feature.
I like your system of fairness, though.
does the nearly-identical blockbuster online dvd rental system have the multiples queues? because then you really COULD switch to a competitor. a lot of my buds have the blockbuster one and luuurrve it, because they like the option of being able to return a movie in-store and getting a new one ON THE SPOT.
It’s because of the cost of gas.
I kid, I kid!
I’m not sure why they would go to the trouble of unprogramming something that was already programmed unless they were having major problems with it. Have you contacted them to find out?
I read their “why” and I wasn’t ticked off for you until I did. That is a non-reason. I’d cancel and go with Blockbuster out of spite.
I can only imagine they are cutting costs. Maybe letting the people go that develop that part of the site.
That is highly annoying. We’re on the four at a time plan and I hadn’t realized there was a multiple queue feature- I spend lots of time reordering our one huge queue. Which I guess I will keep doing now if they get rid of the cool feature I was thinking of trying as I started reading your post.
GAH! Netflix is our only TV source (we don’t have cable and haven’t bothered setting up the antenna – we just rent seasons of TV when they’re on DVD). The multiple queue thing is what let this work for exactly the reasons you described – there are DVDs I like, DVDs my husband likes, and shows we’ll watch together. I was actually planning to upgrade our subscription so one of the queues (I name no names) could have more than one DVD out at a time.
As a Product Manager, I’m shocked that a feature that works and that offers so much value to the customer base is being taken away without any indication that it will be replaced with something BETTER. I wonder if it’s really costly or difficult technically for Netflix to maintain. There’s a definite lack of sensitivity to customer needs in the announcement to boot, given the whole “you cannot keep your queues/you cannot keep your ratings/too bad for you” tone.
I can’t imagine yanking such a useful feature out of one of my own products – I’d probably get fired!
This could do some serious damage to my marriage, because it’s totally obvious what I am going to have to do (take control of the queue in my iron grip and never let it go.)
My husband just keeps alternating his requests for Taxi Driver, Harold and Maude, and Chinatown. He never watches any of them, I finally send them back, then he forgets and they arrive again. Clearly I can no longer allow such irresponsible use of the queue.
This makes it very hard to continue my love of Netflix. Hopefully not of my husband.
WHAT? And it looks like they’re not going to put the dvds in your secondary queues into the main one when they eliminate them. Thanks a lot Netflix, all that extra work really WILL improve your site for me.
This is all highly reminiscent of Ebay telling me every time they do things like raise fees or eliminate my ability to give negative feedback to buyers that they’re doing it to “serve me better.” Kind of like abusers telling their victims they hit them for their own good.
Dude, that sucks!! It sounds like “to serve you better” means to “suck you for more money”!
JERKS
We switched to Blockbuster because the kids have to TOUCH the movies, thank you very much. But the one thing that drives me nuts is that they DON’T have that feature! They should definitely keep it, and you know they’re really doing it so they can lay off a few programmers or something. Stupid.
Yeah, I just got done sending the most pissy email EVER to Netflix. “Thank you for apologizing for any inconvenience. Allow me to apologize for any inconvenience that I may cause you when I cancel your service.”
Mothereffers. I’ve been a customer for years. They have until September to change their minds. If not, I’m flying to coop to Blockbuster. Everyone else who is equally irritated should call/write and tell them so.
Kristin
Geez, I have a netflix account but was clueless about this multiple que feature. As you explained it, I got all happy about it, only to have my visions of his and hers ques completely trashed! BAH!
I’m guilty of taking FOREVER to return my movies. I’ve had the same movie since January. Mind you we’ve watched it only the one time, and don’t want to rewatch it. I think maybe I’ll return it today.
I got that email. Totally pissed! We keep our kids on a seperate one, SOOO much easier.
We canceled Netflix not too long ago because they pulled the “slow down” on us. The first few months were great, and then all of a sudden it would take weeks between returning one movie and getting another. Drove me crazy.
I just did a quick search on “Netflix alternatives” and found a blog post that lists some other services, along with some very helpful comments in the comments thread:
http://www.jerrykindall.com/2004/04/26_netflix_competitors.asp
Ok Swistle- I have one word of advice for you- ROKU
http://www.roku.com/products/netflixplayer/index.php
Crap, I didn’t know Netflix had this feature – we REALLY could have used it (I say as I stare at “Balls of Fury” for the third week in a row) now it’s going away. ARGH!
Also, The Wire is the best series I’ve seen in forever – we watched the entire thing on DVD, so I don’t think I can cancel Netflix until after Season Five is out and we’ve consumed it as quickly as we physically can. Damn you Netflix…
OMG, I am trying to write to Netflix about this, and their site keeps routing me to a PHONE NUMBER. Hello, I am NOT going to CALL. I want to WRITE. I know the writing option EXISTS, or used to, because I wrote them a strong letter when the DVD delivery slowed way down (they were in a lawsuit about that at the time). If anyone finds the form for WRITING, post the link!
SWISTLE: At the very bottom of the page in teeny tiny print, click “contact us”. Then under “Requests and Suggestions” click “suggestions” and it’ll give you an email form. It took me ten minutes to find it. If there’s something more direct that anyone has found I’d appreciate the link.
I’ve got a “suggestion” for them. GRRRRR.
Kristin
What??? NOOOOOOO! I love the split queue- we live by our split queue. Ooooo, this makes me so mad.
But, I also love love love Netflix and the total convenience so what to do now?
One more and I promise I’ll shut up. Netflix said that not many people used it. Seems to me that a lot of people just plain didn’t KNOW about it. Maybe instead of yanking an awesome feature they could have sent a little “Hey! Look at this cool thing we have!” email to everyone.
Kristin
Kristin- THANK YOU! I did it! Now I’m going to take your directions and edit the post to include them, so others can also write. Thanks!
I got on the site today looking for it, since they said they weren’t pulling it until September, and I can’t find where to sign up. I think Kristin is right about people not knowing- I definitely would use it if they would keep it and I could find it!
We are one of the three households in America that doesn’t use Netflix, or any similar service, but I think if we did the multiple queue would have been crucial for us. Especially if we were requesting movies for the three-year-old!
I hope all the outrage works.
I had no idea this existed. It changed my life for about 30 seconds, when you then told me it was sadly no longer. I AM DEFINITELY JOINING THE RALLY TO GET IT BACK.
My husband just snuck out and bought cable. I’m not happy. Now my time with him will be spent watching repeats of shows I’ve already seen on the discovery channel (he always falls asleep, then wants to watch the same show again).
pah.
Oh my, we didn’t know about this feature and were experiencing a great deal of MARITAL STRIFE with regards to our netfix account. We finally had to get two seperate accounts. We figured that an extra $15 per month was cheaper than therapy. Or divorce. Yes, his movies are that bad.
We have two queues at our house, too, and I LOVE IT.
I’m going to email my complaint right now.
Okay, I went and looked at Blockbuster’s site but I didn’t see anything there about multiple queues. That sucks. Maybe they should start the service! I would totally switch then. Especially because if they’re not going to automatically combine my movies (of which I have, literally, 200+ lined up) with the husband’s, I might as well re-type them all in to some other place.
Thank you for the contact info. I am TOTALLY emailing them.
Here’s to the POWER OF SWISTLE.
That “no one used it” business is WEAK. I didn’t use it, because I had NO IDEA. We are constantly struggling with whether to break up a set of discs from a TV series with movies, etc, and this would have been perfect OH I AM SO SAD.
How quickly sad turns to crabby … I just sent them this:
“I just learned, simultaneously, both that Netflix has offered a multiple-queue service, and that said service is being discontinued. If the reason for that change TRULY is that it was little-used, I have to tell you that from our perspective — the fault for that fact lies solely with whoever is responsible for effectively communicating about such features with customers. The service itself is a GREAT idea, one that would have solved our challenges with the basic queue, if only Netflix had been as successful in telling us about its existence as a private, unpaid blogger was in telling us about its cancellation.”
P.S. Not that you are unpaid in GENERAL, Professional Writer Lady! But, this is your personal blog, and taking advantage of that technicality better supported my thesis that their marketers are hacks. :) Ends, means, etc.
I sent an e-mail to them also. This is just a supremely crappy example of customer service. ARGH.
Okay. So first of all, we have Netflix and it’s ALSO because we don’t have cable so you and I are soulmates. . .or something.
Second of all, no I did NOT know about that feature! So you’re going on and on explaining it and I’m mouth-breathing getting ready to bust on over to their site when you finally mention that it’s not to be! No longer available! WTH?
I TOTALLY agree with Squandra. And I’m off to give Netflix a piece of my mind as well.
*slams door*
*walks off in a huff*
I was SO UPSET when we got that email, because J and I use Netflix exactly how you do. One queue for me (episodes of Coach/cartoons), one for J (horror/drama), one for both of us to share (comedies). I WILL GO COMPLAIN.
I couldn’t believe it when the message came about canceling that feature. I can’t imagine why they find it a problem. Nick and I have one list for ourselves, and one list for Zoe. (We get 2 at a time, she gets 1). It’s just such a great feature since Zoe (being almost 3) can watch the same dvd over and over and over and over again for days and days… and we can still keep moving along on our list. Must go add my complaint.
I didn’t get an email from Netflix about this and was very disturbed to read it here! My roommate and I need our own queues! It’s vital!
I found this petition: http://www.savenetflixprofiles.com/
Spread the word!
I have been out of the Swistle loop for too long!
I LOVE Firefly, too. I didn’t know there were other girls out there who love that show! I was so bummed when they cancelled it (even though I only heard about it after it was cancelled). Based on the fact that you like this show, I might just have to watch some of the others you are watching. The Wire? I’ll check it out on Netflix.