Netflix Employees Get Free 8-Out Plan

One of the perks of working at Netflix is a free 8-out plan, according to former employee Michael Rubin: Netflix employees automatically get on the 8-out plan, which is really really fun, even if you never have time to watch all those movies....

The 8-out plan costs $47.99 per month, or $576 per year.

Comments

[tim]

Here's something I've wondered - do Netflix employees get early access to new releases? Reason I ask, sometimes I'll get a new release on the first day, yet the envelope looks ever-so-slightly used. Not that it matters, but that could be a nice perk of the job as well.

[danb]

I think postal workers should get discounted/free plans. It would be more money, but I bet DVD theft would go way down.

tim, I don't know about NF employees but BB employees (at the stores) get early access on the condition that the movie must be returned by the release date. At least that's how it was when my wife worked there about 7 years ago.

[ex-nflx]

It is a good perk if you have the time to take advantage of it. The vacation plan for salaried people is nice also but in most cases you do not have time to take off.
Netflix employees do not get early access to the new releases. The movies are shipped to the distribution centers with strict instructions as to when they can be shipped.

I can honestly tell you that I had very little time to watch movies because I was working so many hours. As far as the instant viewing movies program with the time I had I was not interested in watching them at all.

Give postal workers a free plan? What are you smoking? Your comment makes ZERO sense. Netflix has a pretty good security department with many years of experience dealing with theft and the USPS. Netflixers have also taken steps to stop theft as we have seen from videos posted here and other sites.

[Will]

I doubt that anyone who has managed to land a federal job with the postal service would be stupid enough to risk their high pay, excellent benefits and bloody amazing pension on stealing DVDs.

Even the temp employees (who have less to lose) are unlikely to steal, unless they are meth-addled. They get paid well for the temp work and are aware of the consequences for tampering with the mail.

The vast majority of thefts occur after the DVDs hit the mailbox.

[elving]

Will, at least two postal employees have already been convicted of stealing Netflix DVDs:

http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2006/07/postal_worker_g.html http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2007/07/ex-postal-clerk.html

At least one more has been charged.

Wow, I'm so switching jobs. TiVo doesn't even give free TiVo service.

I wonder if Netflix employees get throttled?

I used to work for Netflix and no we did not have access to new releases early. If we wanted them, we had to wait just like everyone else.

Only thing though returning our movies was much simpler...just turn them in at the front desk in red box :)

[wolfgang613]

"I wonder if Netflix employees get throttled?"

Yes they do. The accounts are treated like any other accounts... except they are free of course.

[OdomZ]

Actually no one gets "Throttled".

[Edward R Murrow]

Ya, no one gets throttled and Santa brings us our XMAS presents.

Any of the ex-Netflix employees who've already posted on this thread wish to speak to the throttling point?

You mean Santa doesn't bring you your Christmas presents, Edward ?

Have you been naughty ?

[Ex-Flix]

Sorry to disappoint, but no, no one is ever throttled. Throttling is and always has been a misunderstanding by impatient and selfish customers who are so self-important and full of persecution complexes that they think they're being singled out.

[former Netflix customer service]

Oh yeah, Netflix does throttle. I remember there were periods of time where it didn't happen too much, then there would be periods where I noticed it was happening to a lot of customer's accounts. What Netflix does is lie about the availbilty of a DVD at your local hub, they say that it wasn't available from your local warehouse so in one day it is going to ship from another warehouse. Then it will usually take 2-3 days to get the movie. Oh I remeber one particular week when Netflix's computer's where acting up in the warehouse, many frequent users actually got two copies of a movie, one that shipped from there local warehouse and another that shipped from a far away warehouse. Basically it proved to me that Netlfliz that Netflix lies about availabilty.

Also at the warehouse in Sunnyvale, where our call center was previously, I would see thousands of dvds on racks that customers had sent in and they would be labeled "Don't touch." Basically those were movies that should have been checked in the day before. Believe it, they cause delay so more "frequent' users get less movies. And frequent literally means more then three movies a month.

Haha, I bet I worked with you former Netflix customer service. I wish I knew who you were ;)

Haha, I bet I used to work with you former Netflix customer service. I wish I knew who you were ;)

[Old-Flixer]

Looks like “former Netflix customer service” is bitter and has little understanding of how the titles are managed.

[Dan]

I was the first customer service manager at Netflix (1998-2000), and while I was there, no one in the CS department ever received free rentals, nor did we get a discount. In the beginning, we did get a free DVD player, but once the Customer Service department grew beyond about 20-30 people, they stopped doing that (when I was hired, the CS department had 12 people and was located in Scotts Valley; when I left, there were 70 CS agents, and we had moved first to Los Gatos and then to San Jose).

Also, we did not get any better access to new releases than our customers did (even though the CS department was located in the same building as the shipping department in San Jose; all other depts at the time were in Los Gatos). Interestingly, there were rumors of Postal Service theft back then, too.

[Sick of stupid people]

To former Netflix customer service:

I must say that you are one bitter and paranoid human being. If you say that they throttle people, would you mind explaining to me how I get all the new releases every week (4 or 5 of them) while I rent about 10 movies a week??? I get them within 1 day, watch them and return them right away. As soon as they get them, I get my new ones, especially the new releases. If I showed you my Q of almost 500 movies, not ONE of them is on any kind of wait time. Now, since you are so knowledgeable of Netflix and its practices, would you mind explaining how that is and how I have never EVER had a movie skip in my Q for as long as I have been a member (almost 2 years)? Ok... thanks...

[Edward R Murrow]

No way! I love stupid people which is why I come hear to goof on the Netflix Kool-aid drinkers.

Ya, no throttling which is why Netflix was found guilty in a court of law.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2236685420080423?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

[Ex-Flix]

Ed, you're a disgrace to the name you use. The real Edward R Murrow would be intelligent enough to read what he posted and not make inane statements. It was a civil lawsuit, therefore no one could have been found guilty. The case was settled, therefore neither side won. Netflix rewrote its terms of use to be clearer about what it does (which isn't throttling). Netflix is giving away a month to people who joined the lawsuit. That article just says that the settlement was upheld. It doesn't say that Netflix was proven to have throttled anyone.

[Sick of stupid peope ever more!!]

I don't think I was speaking to you "Edward R Murrow" but if you truly believe I was, why haven't you still answered my question WITHOUT your link that has nothing to do with what I just said? If throttling is true, how come I haven't been "throttled", renting as much as I do? Hm, care to answer? And I am going to have to agree with Ex-Flix, you are a disgrace. But you have already proven that many times before, no need to try any longer.