DARK SHADOWS Discs DAMAGED AGAIN & AGAIN!!

Anybody else having this problem? I am CONTINUALLY receiving Dark Shadows series discs damaged and Unplayable!!! Talk about frustrating!! :( Even the Replacement discs they send have been damaged! That happened 5 times in a row!!!!! At this rate, I wont be able to finish watching the series. If I would have known this, I would have just bought the series. Netflix, get it together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every disc I have received in the past month has been damaged!!!!!! I`m getting ready to cancel my membership.

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Permalink Reply by Patty on November 4, 2009 at 8:42am: After reading all of these posts this may simplistic but in the past when I got a damaged disc more than once (a long time ago) when I sent the damaged disc back I wrote in marker on the sleeve that the disc was damaged so the person inspecting it would automatically pull it and I would not in inadvertently get the same damaged disc again. Worked like a charm. I got a new disc and all was happy. Post it notes work also. Imagine sorting all those discs, a note helping you out would probably be appreciated.

If the actually problem is in the manufacture of the disc and this is going to keep happening I would either buy the disc since they can not stand up in the mail in the flyers Netflix uses or move on to another series without this problem. Can't imagine cancelling Netflix over this at all. If they didn't carry dark shadows then we would be reading a post about how could they not carry it anymore I am getting ready to cancel my membership.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on November 4, 2009 at 8:56am: Imagine sorting all those discs, a note helping you out would probably be appreciated.
yep.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ColdOne on November 4, 2009 at 9:38am: If the actual problem is in the manufacture of the disc and this is going to keep happening I would either buy the disc since they can not stand up in the mail in the flyers Netflix uses or move on to another series without this problem. Can't imagine cancelling Netflix over this at all. If they didn't carry dark shadows then we would be reading a post about how could they not carry it anymore I am getting ready to cancel my membership.

Netflix could also package these discs a little more carefully so they don't get broken as easily or they could allow customers to post feedback on the quality (of the discs, the transfer, sound, ... whatever) so that other customers would have a better idea what to expect. Netflix has many options before deciding on not carrying the disc at all.

(Of course, some customers do try to warn others about problem discs, but "helpful" people on a mission come along and mark it "not a review" and the report vanishes.); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on November 4, 2009 at 10:21am: Netflix could also package these discs a little more carefully so they don't get broken as easily
That's actually a good idea. As long as it doesn't cost anything more for the padding or the postage. Probably less expensive to just replace (or not replace) the discs as they break.

or they could allow customers to post feedback on the quality (of the discs, the transfer, sound, ... whatever) so that other customers would have a better idea what to expect
Letting peers inform others (about anything) usually results in disaster. Perhaps better yet, why not just have a NF employee (via one of several social sites) inform directly about why a certain title breaks so easily.

some customers do try to warn others about problem discs, but "helpful" people on a mission come along and mark it "not a review" and the report vanishes
One of the many examples of why peer reviews are rarely reliable or informative.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ColdOne on November 4, 2009 at 12:36pm: That's actually a good idea. As long as it doesn't cost anything more for the padding or the postage. Probably less expensive to just replace (or not replace) the discs as they break.

You think repeatedly sending out broken discs to Suzanne is cheaper than spending an extra 20 or even 50 cents to protect those discs? Add in the support costs of all the phone calls Suzanne has made and the ill will they generate from disappointing their customers. Only Netflix can tell if the math makes sense, but they'd be fools for not thinking about it.

Letting peers inform others (about anything) usually results in disaster.

So why have reviews at all? I think a user rating on the quality of media or delivery mechanism is (almost) as useful as reviewing the content.

Perhaps better yet, why not just have a NF employee (via one of several social sites) inform directly about why a certain title breaks so easily.

First, only a small fragment of the user base reads those sites. Second, it would require extra policing effort on behalf of Netflix (paid) employees. Third, it has the potential to piss off distributors and studios. It's far better, IMO, to let the customers do it, just as they do content reviews.

One of the many examples of why peer reviews are rarely reliable or informative.

Yet people love them and demand them. Netflix may waver over whether it's actually beneficial for them (in terms of people requesting more long-tail items), but it certainly has to support the concept at face value.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on November 4, 2009 at 2:23pm: .20-.50 each for costlier packaging. Then a few cents extra for postage for every disc they send out = 10s of millions of dollars saved or 10s of millions of dollars passed on to me who's not even having a problem with broken discs. That buys a lot of customer service time and avoids the catastrophic effects of a price raise.

So why have reviews at all?
I understand they are pondering that very question themselves.

I think a user rating on the quality of media or delivery mechanism is (almost) as useful as reviewing the content
99 out of 100 entries would be "I received two broken discs this week." Useless to me.

It's far better, IMO, to let the customers do it, just as they do content reviews.
99 out of 100 entries would be "I received two broken discs this week." Useless to me.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ColdOne on November 4, 2009 at 3:51pm: .20-.50 each for costlier packaging. Then a few cents extra for postage for every disc they send out = 10s of millions of dollars saved or 10s of millions of dollars passed on to me who's not even having a problem with broken discs. That buys a lot of customer service time and avoids the catastrophic effects of a price raise.

Given Pihk's estimate of .02% interest in the Dark Shadows series I think your estimate of millions of dollars saved and catastrophic price increases are highly exaggerated. You guys should get together to work out the numbers and get back to me.

99 out of 100 entries would be "I received two broken discs this week." Useless to me.

So you wouldn't read those quality reviews, but some people would and it would certainly give people who had problems (like the OP) a place to start for answers when they actually had problems. Also it would give a heads up to support who would then know what to tell customers who called rather than give them the run-around.

At the very least it gives an appropriate place for people to put such reports without mixing in with the reviews which ends up pissing off everyone.

99 out of 100 entries would be "I received two broken discs this week." Useless to me.

And then the "Not a Quality Report" squad on this forum would come along to flag those entries.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on November 4, 2009 at 4:11pm: I think your estimate of millions of dollars saved and catastrophic price increases are highly exaggerated

Beefed up packaging would have to be used for ALL (as in every) titles - therefore yes, 10s of millions of saved $$$. If you're suggesting that doing some kind of one-off special packaging and special postage rate for just certain titles is a feasible option, then discussion over.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ColdOne on November 4, 2009 at 4:19pm: If you're suggesting that doing some kind of one-off special packaging and special postage rate for just certain titles is a feasible option, then discussion over.

What did you think I meant when I said "those discs"? If some random newbie posted that I might see how you could reasonably gloss over that distinction and think "all discs", but such a reflexive response is rather insulting and unproductive, IMO.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Spindaddydad on November 4, 2009 at 5:20pm: Surely you're smarter than to think it's feasible to use different sleeves and different rates for certain titles.

Permalink Reply by ColdOne on November 4, 2009 at 11:13pm: Surely you're smarter than to think it's feasible to use different sleeves and different rates for certain titles.

Nope. I think it quite reasonable to have special sleeves for a small number of titles. Perhaps those titles go to a different DC, perhaps those sleeves are a different color or have a different barcode that sends them to the right place without human interaction. There are many ways that this might work.

Dismissing it out of hand is about as stupid as saying that you can't ship DVDs through the mail without sending them all in a protected sleeve. An idea that Netflix disproved many years ago.

Permalink Reply by Pihk on November 5, 2009 at 4:26am: Nope. I think it quite reasonable to have special sleeves for a small number of titles.

Yes, analogous to how there are special buses to transport a small number of special children. And some of those children grow up, subscribe to NF and then find NFC.

Meanwhile, the Nerf Company flourishes and China waits patiently just off camera, trying not to laugh nor cry.

perhaps those sleeves are a different color or have a different barcode that sends them to the right place without human interaction.

And who, pray tell, figures out that disc X requires a special barcode while disc Y doesn't?