I have used NetFlix since 2004 and have been very happy with the service. In this blog post, I briefly look at some things NetFlix has done to keep my business.
The Model
One of the things that I have been happy about with NetFlix is its model. This was what attracted me to sign up for the service in the first place and it continues to meet my needs well. Being able to create a queue of movies to see and have them mailed directly to my home is convenient. It was so nice to be freed from the burden of standing in line at Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, or other video store outlet. It was also a welcome relief to have such easy access to such a wide variety of movie titles without the limitation of the physical size of a store. There is no question that the NetFlix model, combined with the Redbox concept and the relatively cheap availability of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, has led to the downfall of the brick-and-mortar video stores. There are few businesses I know of that had abused their own customers as much as these stores, so I think many of us are glad to see them going away.
In recent years, NetFlix has demonstrated a commitment to providing modern convenience in movie access. The availability of a subset of their movie inventory via streaming on Wii, PlayStation 3, and select Blu-ray players is their latest effort to improve an already convenient model for accessing movies. Not all movies in their inventory are available for streaming, so I find myself using a combination of discs by mail and streaming. It is nice to know, though, that NetFlix is continuing to make movies available in a modern, convenient manner.
Automatic Price Reduction
Years ago, I received an e-mail message from NetFlix stating that they were lowering my automatically charged monthly subscription fee because they were offering the lower monthly subscription fee to new customers. How many providers of a monthly service have ever done that for you? I cannot think of another. Whether it be long-distance in the old days, cable or satellite service, cellular telephone service, or any other such service, it has always seemed to be that a current customer had to threaten or actually quit the service to get the reduced rates offered to new customers. I didn't have to do this with NetFlix.
The Bonus Discs
Something NetFlix has recently done is to provide a fourth disc to have at home (I'm on the three-at-a-time plan) more than once. This was not the most significant reason to me for staying with NetFlix, but it is another small thing to add to the reasons why I've been a satisfied customer of NetFlix for many years.
Conclusion
There are many reasons to like NetFlix. Their service is convenient, relatively economical (especially when considering the streaming at no extra charge), and provides easy access to a wide library of movies. It has also been refreshing to deal with a company like NetFlix which seems to understand that the secret to keeping customers even when the customers have competitive alternatives is to do the little things correctly.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
AMC's Weekday Escape Discounts
I've taken advantage of AMC Movie Theaters' weekend and holiday morning deals for some time: movies starting before noon on Friday-Sunday and on holidays have been $5 or $6 regardless of how new the movie is (with up-charges for extras like 3D or IMAX). Now, AMC has extended that deal to cover Monday through Thursday and, even better, for all day on those four weekdays.
The AMC Weekday Escape works similarly to the weekend/holiday before noon deal and does have an "Upcharge for IMAX, IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, ETX, ETX 3D, premium locations, and special presentations." It is also important to note that movies with a weekday opening day (like this week's Twilight Eclipse) are not part of this deal the week they come out.
See the AMC Weekday Escape page for more details.
The AMC Weekday Escape works similarly to the weekend/holiday before noon deal and does have an "Upcharge for IMAX, IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, ETX, ETX 3D, premium locations, and special presentations." It is also important to note that movies with a weekday opening day (like this week's Twilight Eclipse) are not part of this deal the week they come out.
See the AMC Weekday Escape page for more details.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Northglenn Auto Repair
I like to make recommendations in this blog (after all, it's part of the blog's title) and after taking vehicles to Northglenn Auto Repair several times over the past few years, I can enthusiastically recommend this "full service auto repair shop" to anyone looking for general automobile maintenance and repair.
Most of us are looking for three things when trying to decide where to have our vehicles serviced: knowledgeable/skilled mechanics, honesty, and convenience/timeliness. My wife and I and friends of ours who have also taken vehicles to Northglenn Auto Repair agree that we have found all three of these positive attributes there.
We have appreciated the timeliness and convenience of Northglenn Auto Repair, but have been especially impressed with the work done there and with the honesty we've experienced in our dealings with them. We have felt like the only work done has been work that needed to be done and it has been done correctly. We even had one experience where we were told that a particular service did not need to be performed. In tight economic times like we're currently living in, it's more important than ever to not spend money on unnecessary services.
Here is Northglenn Auto Repair's location and contact information:
Northglenn Auto Repair
10650 Irma Drive, #18
1901 Leroy, Unit A
Northglenn, CO 80233
Telephone: 303-452-1512
http://www.northglennauto.com/
A skilled and fair mechanic is something I have found is best discovered via word of mouth and via reputation among previous/current customers. I recommend Northglenn Auto Repair for anyone in the Denver metro area looking for a good general auto repair shop.
Most of us are looking for three things when trying to decide where to have our vehicles serviced: knowledgeable/skilled mechanics, honesty, and convenience/timeliness. My wife and I and friends of ours who have also taken vehicles to Northglenn Auto Repair agree that we have found all three of these positive attributes there.
We have appreciated the timeliness and convenience of Northglenn Auto Repair, but have been especially impressed with the work done there and with the honesty we've experienced in our dealings with them. We have felt like the only work done has been work that needed to be done and it has been done correctly. We even had one experience where we were told that a particular service did not need to be performed. In tight economic times like we're currently living in, it's more important than ever to not spend money on unnecessary services.
Here is Northglenn Auto Repair's location and contact information:
Northglenn Auto Repair
10650 Irma Drive, #18
1901 Leroy, Unit A
Northglenn, CO 80233
Telephone: 303-452-1512
http://www.northglennauto.com/
A skilled and fair mechanic is something I have found is best discovered via word of mouth and via reputation among previous/current customers. I recommend Northglenn Auto Repair for anyone in the Denver metro area looking for a good general auto repair shop.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Dish: An Underappreciated Movie
Some of my favorite movies are the favorites of many other people as well and are very well-known: The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, Men in Black, Fletch, Sherlock Holmes, Groundhog Day, Uncle Buck, Ocean's Eleven (2001), The Italian Job (2003), Toy Story, The Sixth Sense, North by Northwest, Batman Begins, Ironman, The Princess Bride, The Shawshank Redemption, and so on. However, every once in a while I enjoy that rare pleasure of seeing a movie that I've never heard of that takes me by surprise and becomes one of my favorites despite it's not being well known. Such was the case when I took a chance on The Dish on NetFlix (NetFlix currently streams it as well). I ended up purchasing it on DVD immediately afterward because I liked it so much.
There are many things to like about The Dish. It provides that rare mix of "effortless" humor (Amazon.com editorial review), inspiration, interesting story, historical interest, and is just plain entertaining. It's one of those movies I like to watch when nothing else sounds good. It's not as fast-paced as movies like Ironman nor as humor-laden as Fletch, Men in Black, or Uncle Buck, but it is really faster-paced than one might expect when hearing about the story and has enough humor to make one smile and even laugh throughout. In fact, I had to watch it two or three times to catch all the humor. It is not really a suspenseful movie, but it does have its moments of suspense.
The current Internet Movie Database rating for The Dish (7.1/10 on 8528 votes) describes my experience with this movie. A relatively small number of people have seen it, but it is widely popular among those who have. For comparison, Avatar currently has an 8.4/10 rating on nearly 242 thousand votes and The Empire Strikes Back has a rating of 8.8/10 on nearly 270 thousand votes.
This Australian-produced movie had a U.S. box office gross of a little over $2 million. Contrast this with The Empire Strikes Back's nearly $300 million U.S. take and Avatar's $700 million+ take. Even The Princess Bride, which seemed to take on a cult following after its run in the theaters, pulled in nearly $27 million in the U.S.
Even the critics like The Dish, which earned a relatively rare 96% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer. I sometimes like movies the critics generally pan and sometimes dislike movies that critics all rave about, but I am in agreement with the consensus of the critics on the Tomatometer about "The Dish." Only 126 reviewers have currently rated The Dish on Amazon.com, but the cumulative rating is well above 4 stars out of five.
"The Dish" is one of those movies that puts me in a better mood after I have finished watching it than I was in when I started watching it.
There are many things to like about The Dish. It provides that rare mix of "effortless" humor (Amazon.com editorial review), inspiration, interesting story, historical interest, and is just plain entertaining. It's one of those movies I like to watch when nothing else sounds good. It's not as fast-paced as movies like Ironman nor as humor-laden as Fletch, Men in Black, or Uncle Buck, but it is really faster-paced than one might expect when hearing about the story and has enough humor to make one smile and even laugh throughout. In fact, I had to watch it two or three times to catch all the humor. It is not really a suspenseful movie, but it does have its moments of suspense.
The current Internet Movie Database rating for The Dish (7.1/10 on 8528 votes) describes my experience with this movie. A relatively small number of people have seen it, but it is widely popular among those who have. For comparison, Avatar currently has an 8.4/10 rating on nearly 242 thousand votes and The Empire Strikes Back has a rating of 8.8/10 on nearly 270 thousand votes.
This Australian-produced movie had a U.S. box office gross of a little over $2 million. Contrast this with The Empire Strikes Back's nearly $300 million U.S. take and Avatar's $700 million+ take. Even The Princess Bride, which seemed to take on a cult following after its run in the theaters, pulled in nearly $27 million in the U.S.
Even the critics like The Dish, which earned a relatively rare 96% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer. I sometimes like movies the critics generally pan and sometimes dislike movies that critics all rave about, but I am in agreement with the consensus of the critics on the Tomatometer about "The Dish." Only 126 reviewers have currently rated The Dish on Amazon.com, but the cumulative rating is well above 4 stars out of five.
"The Dish" is one of those movies that puts me in a better mood after I have finished watching it than I was in when I started watching it.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Google and Pac-Man Thirtieth Anniversary
I often like the various artistic renderings of the Google logo on its primary search page in honor of various events, birthdays, and other significant days. Today's may be my favorite yet: the Google logo is presented as a working Pac-Man game in honor of the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man. I remember when this game came out and the phenomenon that it was and still is today. This rendering of the Google logo as a working Pac-Man game is a fitting tribute to the significance of this game in video game history, is nicely nostalgic, and is both fun and technically interesting in its dynamic nature.
Here is a screen snapshot of the search page when it first comes up. Using the arrow keys allows one to actually play the game on the Google logo-based maze.
When you click on the button that normally says "I'm feeling lucky" (but says "Insert Coin" today), you get the opportunity to have two players play with the second player being Ms. Pacman if you had already started playing.
According to the Official Google Blog post Celebrating PAC-MAN's 30th Birthday, this Pac-man Google logo has earned the right to be present for two days. Even when Google's Pac-Man logo is gone, the effect of Pac-Man on pop culture even today is evident by searching for "free Pac-man" on the Google search engine.
The only problem with all of this is that I got caught up in playing Pac-Man again and forgot what it was that I had gone to the Google search engine to search for in the first place!
Here is a screen snapshot of the search page when it first comes up. Using the arrow keys allows one to actually play the game on the Google logo-based maze.
When you click on the button that normally says "I'm feeling lucky" (but says "Insert Coin" today), you get the opportunity to have two players play with the second player being Ms. Pacman if you had already started playing.
According to the Official Google Blog post Celebrating PAC-MAN's 30th Birthday, this Pac-man Google logo has earned the right to be present for two days. Even when Google's Pac-Man logo is gone, the effect of Pac-Man on pop culture even today is evident by searching for "free Pac-man" on the Google search engine.
The only problem with all of this is that I got caught up in playing Pac-Man again and forgot what it was that I had gone to the Google search engine to search for in the first place!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Spokeo: Personal Information Aggregation
The Spokeo web site defines itself as a "search engine specialized in organizing people-related information from phone books, social networks, marketing lists, business sites, and other public sources." The site combines details available from various publicly available sources online into a single location. For example, it aggregates residence photographs provided by Google Maps with details from various social sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
Not surprisingly, some people have privacy concerns about the ready availability of all this personal information in one place. Spokeo makes it possible to opt out of having one's information made available via its Privacy page (there is a link to this on the bottom of Spokeo's main page). The important thing to realize, however, is that Spokeo is just aggregating this information; it's still going to be out there and available even if its reference is removed from Spokeo. This is why I'm surprised when I see people revealing so many personal details online. Once it's out there, you cannot get it back. After all, this is what the people behind the http://pleaserobme.com/ site wanted to remind us.
Not surprisingly, some people have privacy concerns about the ready availability of all this personal information in one place. Spokeo makes it possible to opt out of having one's information made available via its Privacy page (there is a link to this on the bottom of Spokeo's main page). The important thing to realize, however, is that Spokeo is just aggregating this information; it's still going to be out there and available even if its reference is removed from Spokeo. This is why I'm surprised when I see people revealing so many personal details online. Once it's out there, you cannot get it back. After all, this is what the people behind the http://pleaserobme.com/ site wanted to remind us.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Slick Deals
A colleague brought Slick Deals to my attention. This site, located at http://slickdeals.net/, is not fancy, but it accomplishes its objective of collecting great online deals in one place admirably. One way to use this site is to check it periodically for the best deals, but you can also sign up for SlickDeal Alerts.
I also like the principles behind the sites' stated SlickDeals Commitment:
• The deals are rated and vetted by users
• They research the deal and the price (including use of Pricegrabber and Google Products)
• Only the best, hand-picked deals will be posted (including filtering out of products with only niche interest, controversial products, deals requiring significant effort, and non-guaranteed deals [YMMV])
• Only reputable merchants are listed (on the front page) and focus is on online stores though some B&M stores' deals do get listed when the deal is great and the brick-and-mortar store is conveniently located for a wide part of the audience
• Advertisements and paid placements are never sold, marketed, or advertised as deals (ads do exist on the site, but are not marketed as deals)
There are advertisements on SlickDeals.net (that's what keeps the service free for the rest of us), but according to this commitment, advertisement dollars do not get a product or deal put on the front page. The front page is reserved for the best deals as determined by users. I have just started using this site, but my colleague has used it numerous times with numerous different vendors and has been happy with each purchase. I am a frequent Amazon.com customer, but my colleague who has used SlickDeals.net has often known about Amazon.com deals before me or even about some deals of which I was not aware.
I also like the principles behind the sites' stated SlickDeals Commitment:
• The deals are rated and vetted by users
• They research the deal and the price (including use of Pricegrabber and Google Products)
• Only the best, hand-picked deals will be posted (including filtering out of products with only niche interest, controversial products, deals requiring significant effort, and non-guaranteed deals [YMMV])
• Only reputable merchants are listed (on the front page) and focus is on online stores though some B&M stores' deals do get listed when the deal is great and the brick-and-mortar store is conveniently located for a wide part of the audience
• Advertisements and paid placements are never sold, marketed, or advertised as deals (ads do exist on the site, but are not marketed as deals)
There are advertisements on SlickDeals.net (that's what keeps the service free for the rest of us), but according to this commitment, advertisement dollars do not get a product or deal put on the front page. The front page is reserved for the best deals as determined by users. I have just started using this site, but my colleague has used it numerous times with numerous different vendors and has been happy with each purchase. I am a frequent Amazon.com customer, but my colleague who has used SlickDeals.net has often known about Amazon.com deals before me or even about some deals of which I was not aware.
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