All is not well in DVD rental land

The Netflix Community Blog, a company run forum, is the scene of a customer rebellion over a Web site change. There are hundreds of comments and a petition as well.

Sparking this blogging uproar was Netflix’s decision last month to remove its "Releasing This Week” page. This page was a simple listing of the latest video releases, including every obscure foreign film and TV show. But not all of these releases were immediately available, and that was upsetting many people, explained Michael Rubin, the Netflix employee who runs the blog, in a post. By eliminating the page, Netflix evidently felt it could improve the user experience. Most of the blog posters are telling it differently.

Full disclosure. I am a Netflix customer and would love to see a return of the Releasing This Week page. I signed the petition.

Rubin acknowledges its customer protest and writes at one point: For a number of people it was one cornerstone of your Netflix site experience, and the loss of this page is serious and for many, painful.

So what is Netflix going to do now?

The unfolding discussion on the Netflix Community Blog is a great illustration of the peril of change and the power of blogs. Netflix is giving customers an opportunity to respond and is no doubt stirring internal debate.

The Releasing This Week page was a useful source of information. Ignorance isn't bliss. New release lists are available on other DVD sites and for those who subscribe to Netflix’s RSS feed. A good restaurant waitstaff will tell patrons what's not immediately available before they get their heart set on a dish. Why can't Netflix do the same?

*Note to those thinking of defecting. The Blockbuster Web site was offline Monday evening. [See this post at Hacking Netflix.com] This note was on the Blockbuster Web site at the time of this post:

 

SITE UNAVAILABLE

We're sorry; blockbuster.com is currently unavailable due to technical difficulties. We're working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and expect resolution tonight.

Check back soon!