The war between Blockbuster and Netflix continues to roll, and surely this is going to be a bitter, drawn-out affair. But while Blockbuster just keeps trying to undercut the competition with lower prices, Netflix is working to increase the value of its services, first by introducing the (
hacked) "View it Now" service, then by expanding its social-networking features. Now, it's doing something completely unlike nearly any other company today:
Getting rid of its unresponsive e-mail-based customer service department and replacing it with actual people And, those people actually live in the U.S., rather than another country on the other side of the globe.
The company has opened an office in Portland staffed 24 hours a day by 200 call center employees who handle all customer issues and complaints. Why Oregon? Because apparently that state has the friendliest-sounding voices in the US, according to Netflix. This is quite a change in tactics from the modern trend of large corporations sending their call centers overseas, a process that has raised the ire of many who have trouble understanding the accents of non-native English speakers.
Blockbuster also offers a US-based call center, but it's only open from 8-6pm on week days, and its number is buried inside of the Blockbuster site's FAQs (it's 1-866-692-2789, for the record), rather than being listed on its "Contact Us" page (where it should be!). Netflix's help center isn't exactly on the front page, either, but at least it's open 24/7 and is only one click away from the "Help" page (1-888-638-3549).
Despite its service add-ons, Netflix is still doing some price cutting -- the service has
dropped the price of its "Three Out" plan by $1 to $15.99, compared to Blockbuster's $16.99 plan. Of course, the one thing Netflix still can't do is offer you the ability to return a movie in-store and get a new one instantly. This marriage of online and brick-and-mortar rental options is still Blockbuster's biggest weapon, and it remains to be seen whether Netflix's customer-driven features and price cuts are enough to counter it.
From
'The New York Times' and
BetaNews Related Links:
Blockbuster hasn't purchased Circuit City yet, but that's not stopping it from trying out the electronics retail market. The company's running several different kinds of test stores in the Dallas area, one of which offers technology for watching movies, like new HDTVs. According to the CEO, this effort is separate from the proposed CC buy, and includes test stores that open early so people can rent movies on their way to work, include coffee and soft drinks, or entertain kids with Rock Band (win). Beyond just its upcoming download service and PS3 Blu-ray kiosks, expect to see changes coming to your neighborhood video rental spot very soon. [Source tmcnet]
