Should Netflix Bring Back E-mail Support?

Are you happy with Netflix's phone-only support (866-716-0414), or should they bring back an e-mail option?

Alan writes, "I'm trying to send in some suggestions to netflix, and find that the only contact option is phone.  The only time I ever want to use the phone is if I absolutely need immediate support or to exchange confidential information, and given that netflix is all mail based (unless you count ss.t.r....e..am...in..g), and it's not hard to support email encryption, that should be pretty rare.  Email takes less time overall, is more concise, more accurate and asynchronous."

What do you think?

Comments

[scotty321]

They absolutely should bring back email support. Their phone support is not only awful (try to ask a technical question about why instant streaming isn't working properly, and you'll get a lot of dead air), but it's absolutely ridiculous to wait on hold and talk to somebody when we need a low-priority question answered. Netflix's decision to switch only to phone support was a HUGE MISTAKE, in our opinion. Netflix really screwed up with this.

[lynn]

yes. the phone support is excellent but if its a trivial issue i would prefer sending an email.

[michael]

the email support has always been horrendous for me, a neverending cycle of canned responses.

[chris]

Yep, bring e-mail support back.

[Scott]

Email at least theoretically provides the possibility that your complaint/criticism/suggestion may actually be forwarded to someone who cares and could do something about it. The phone person just wants to quickly provide whatever answer they can and move on to the next call. The person you speak to doesn't have the power to affect policy, and your comment isn't going to get to anyone higher. I don't know that email would ever have any more influence than that either, but at least it would provide the illusion of that possibility!

[banter]

I had an issue where my mailman (or someone in the office) was stealing my movies all the sudden. I was getting all my mail except for netflix and netflix was close to canceling my account and even went as far as suspending me (can't blame them as it was a lot of movies.) It was nice speaking to a live person pleading my case and they were very understanding…doing that over email would have been impossible.

As a side note I called my local post office and filed a mail theft complaint as well as a complaint with the federal post office head quarters. Suddenly I started getting all my movies again.

[Matt]

I had to deal with the phone support yesterday (and they were great, although it wasn't a streaming issue). It was something though that I would have much rather have done via email - it would have been 10x easier for me. I hate having to talk on the phone when I can accomplish the same goal in less time via email.

[Jason The Saj]

I had my first need to call Netflix's phone support. We had a DVD arrive broken, then the replacement arrived broken.

1) The website kindly displayed how many minutes I'd likely be on hold (5 minutes).

2) The lady who took my call was one of the nicer help/support people I've spoken too.

She credited my wife's queue with an extra disc.

Was quite pleased with how quick the call was receive and how it was handled.

***

Don't care about email, but I'd love a "chat" option. Chat tends to be my favorite means of communication with support because it's faster than email and there is a written record.

[Gran]

The NF phone customer support staff are some of the friendliest in the industry. It would be nice if they could have both but I also understand that without raising prices we only get one. There are many issues that can ONLY be taken care of via a live person on the phone. e-mail supports can take days with back-and-forth repsonses just to fix a simple issue.

[sarah]

No, don't bring back email support. I'm sure they filter out lots of crappy complaints that people would normally send off without thinking. And they retain luddites who would normally drop the service because they feel like they've run out of movies.

I hate talking on the phone but for a company like Netflix I think it's 100% smart on their part to do phone-only.

The few times I emailed with questions, suggestions and complaints all I got were caned responses anyways. Even if the person at the other end isn't as technically informed as I'd like them to be when i've streaming problems, it does seem to get resolved soon enough.

FOLLOW UP QUESTION: What do people think of the offical Netflix twitter accounts? Are they better, worse or not at all a substitute for email?

I think they're better because it's more transparent.

[Gran]

And e-mail responses can be ignored or delayed for many many hours, whereas a phone call will be answered right away.

[dacker]

Email is a terrible way to do any support which may require back-and-forth communications. What can be accomplished in a 1-minute conversation could take days via email.

I also think that the added dimension of sound gives customers a better feeling for the company -- and gives support reps a better understanding of the level of the issue's urgency and the frustration a customer may be experiencing.

It also makes it easier for them to judge if they are being conned by someone looking for a comp or if the customer is being honest and forthright.

[Chris]

I actually really like the phone support. I've called it a couple times (even super super late) and the people there have always been nice and knowledgeable. Waited on hold for probably about 45 seconds each time. Way nice. Preferred to e-mail. If it's important enough to contact support, rather than just Googling for an answer, you might as well call, anyhow.

[Colin G]

I haven't dealt with Netflix phone support. I have used email support before it was discontinued. Personally for 99% of my problems I'd rather use email. Occasionally for critical or confidential assistance phone is preferred.

I find the opposite of Gran. For me to deal with a phone issue frequently takes me at least 20 minutes or much longer when you take into account holding, dealing with multiple levels of support if necessary and repeating your problem, waiting for the agent to research your problem and read the script back. While an email you can flash out in 3 minutes, and it might take another 5 minutes of reading and responding a couple times if the issue can't be resolved the first email.

[Billy]

If it's a trivial question, it's probably already covered in the Help section (http://www.netflix.com/Help). If it's a complex question, you're better off having a live human being who can ask you questions in real-time to resolve any issues. Otherwise you get in the situation of having a week-long email back and forth.

[Brian]

100% agree with Alan

[Jim K]

I'd rather use the email option when available. It's hard for me to hear clearly all the time over a phone. But then again, in four years, I don't think I've ever needed to - which is really the best customer service of all.

[lyricfox]

I wish they would bring it back. I've got a speech impediment, that on bad days, can make me very hard to be understood. E-mail is much easier for me to communicate.

[TJ]

I really dislike email support - though maybe Netflix is better than other companies?

It usually goes like this:
a) send email about problem
b) wait and wait and wait
c) get a canned reply that has NOTHING to do with what you actually said.

Rinse. Repeat. Finally give up and call.

[slhumph]

Bring back email but absolutely keep the phone.

[MT]

Right or wrong, all companies should have an email option. Especially for all of us who have oral disabilities. I have many suggestions for Netflix that may benefit all subscribers and I would like to be heard.

[Jason Sares]

I like to call and ask what to watch, or complain that the movie I watched wasn't very good. It usually makes the CSR laugh and I don't take up too much time.

[sirfuller]

They should provide limited e-mail support for minor issues. I personally have experienced minor issues but never really reported it because i'm not a phone person.

[WTN]

In a business environment, telephones are the devil.

[Jamie]

Yeah, and if they bring back email support, people will say "Netflix email support sucks!!!!"

Email support is a no-win situation. Customer dissatisfaction is frequently high; positive feedback is relatively non-existent.

Score one for Netflix.