No Telly [Update]

Ok, so I guess I was a little quick to judge NetFlix's customer service yesterday. I talked to Matt, a longtime NetFlix subscriber, today and he said that there has really never been any reason for him to actually call the customer service. Everything is fully automated and available online. And I also got an answer to my question about real customer service agent getting replaced with an FAQ list. It happened because of the business model that Amazon and NetFlix have brought to the table. They are able to offer such reduced prices and other incentives precisely because they of their streamlined business model - real agents need real salaries.

Also most of the people on that particular thread I mentioned yesterday with the complaints were not really the sharpest tacks in the bunch, which I agree with.

So, with Matt's vehement recommendation and my sister's gentle reminder that a little TV might actually be good for me, I am reconsidering NetFlix.

Of course, a summer with nothing but books also sounds great.

What's a guy to do?

No Telly

I was thinking about getting NetFlix while I am in NY for the summer. I found this interesting blog where people post comments and discuss NetFlix's service. I gotta say, when I read this particular thread, I was bothered and started having second thoughts about signing up.

Actually the real reason I found this blog was because I had to Google for the NetFlix Customer Service 800 number!! "Why Google for it?", you say? "Just go to their website and click on the Contact Us link!" Well, I tried that. They don't have an 800 number on their website. The reason for this eludes me. When did this happen? When did talking to a Customer Service agent get replaced with reading an FAQ list?

Anyway, so let's see what the alternatives are. Blockbuster? I don't think so. Walmart? I am just not sure if they are good enough in this DVD rental business right now. Plus, neither of them has a customer service number on its website.

So, then I thought that since I am going to get broadband out there anyway, why not just get one of those digital cable + internet deals? It would be easier and cheaper.

And then it hit me. I keep complaining that I don't have enough time to read. This is a perfect opportunity to escape the dramatically mediocre programming on television and get some serious reading done.

And so it is decided. There shall be no television for 3.5 months. I know I am going to experience some serious withdrawal but I think my hard-bound friends can help me get over it without any problem.

I Return ... Unencumbered

So, exams are finally over. Semester ends tomorrow and I am going to be free ... for about 3 days and then I head to IBM Research in New York, for what promises to be a grueling 3.5 months, except ... guess what ... no exams :-)

Anyway, I have been unplugged from my blog for about 2 months now (except for a thought here and there) and I felt like the first thing I should do after the exam is over (5 minutes ago) is to feed my bloggy and so here I am.

BTW, just because I have not been writing does not mean that I have not been reading other people's blogs. I regularly read Sammy's (now I can start working on her challenge) and I recently discovered the lair of SuperKate - Adventures in Narcissism. Fantastic stuff and of course, she holds a special place in my heart since she was nice enough to leave a comment on my nostalgic post saying that she loves India as well and all Indophiles are just ... like I said ... special.

Anyway, sorry if this post is a little inane ... just wanted to re-attach the blogging tube. (Someone, somewhere, is using a lame-o-meter on this post and the score is off the chart).