According to this article in the NY Times, all of Netflix's customer service is now done over the phone rather than through e-mail in an effort to gain an edge over Blockbuster. "The decision to invest heavily in telephone customer service was an expensive one for Netflix, but it may be one advantage that the company with the familiar red envelopes has over its rival with the blue ones, analysts say."

It's a fascinating tactic and exactly why I like Netflix so much. Blockbuster's Total Access sounded tempting to me for about five seconds but then I remembered the bad customer service I experienced at their video stores. At Netflix, care was event taken in planning the location of the call center. Netflix VP Michael Osier says he rejected other cities because of high turnover rates and "settled on the greater Portland area because of the genial attitude on the part of most service workers." Wow, I'm impressed.