I was fine with the recent murmurs that the U.S. Postal Service, after years of talking about it, was finally getting serious about ending Saturday delivery. It’s a sensible move to trim costs and give an increasingly Web-savvy citizenry more value for their investment. Then a tech-savvy friend pointed out a consideration that wasn’t around when the suggestion was first made years ago: Netflix.
Damn.
I get a lot of Netflix movies — and I get them on Saturdays. This gives me plenty of time to watch them over the weekend and send them back en masse on Mondays. See, I strategically plan my returns and arrivals, and I’m pretty good at it. Ending Saturday mail delivery throws a monkeywrench in those plans.
I know I can watch much of Netflix’s catalog on my computer, and on Internet-connected devices like next-generation TVs and Blu-ray players. Even gaming consoles are now family media centers, with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 already in the game, and Nintendo’s Wii soon to join the fray (for those who can muddle through without high-def).
But it won’t be the same. I consider myself reasonably aware of the environment, so I can see the value of ditching the envelope system Netflix-by-mail employes — but I already double-up, sending two discs back in one package (with the newest and most popular title’s barcode showing through the envelope window for maximum return efficiency, natch).
It’s all a game, you see — a game that will be diminished without weekend delivery and pick-up.
So I understand it, and I’ll put up with it. But I don’t have to like it.
