In May 2009 Netflix took away sick/vacation hours and provided employees an additional dollar an hour pay and then advised all employees to open up their own savings account to save for unexpected days off. Netflix does not have a policy regarding sick days so as to hold it against you when you cannot make it to work (even if you provide a doctor's note). In nine months I called out sick twice and still received warnings not to miss work. Netflix promotes itself as striving to have the best customer service, however has reduced it's training too only two weeks. One week in classroom and the next week on the floor taking calls. The training is insufficiect which leads to inconsistency on the call center floor and the information which is relayed to customers. The turn over rate is ridiculous. I managed to work there for nine months before my part time shift was taken away and forced to go full time. I was not able to work full time due to childcare needs and was told that either I take the shift I am given (which is based on call volumes and business needs only) or I can quit. Netflix refused to work out a schedule that would let me keep my job there and work with their needs as well. Netflix anticipates doing a shift bid every six months, which means there is no gurantee you will be able to stay at the shift that you are hired for, and no room for disscussion. So if you have small children or attend school this is not a suitable job. Netflix promotes a no policy policy environment, which gives each individual team manager and leader to do as they see fit. One day they will tell you you are doing a great job, the next you will be let go. Netflix call center fired employees for not being able to make it to work due to snowstorms that hit hard in December 2008. Roads were not plowed, public transportation was not running, and yet you were let go. People were in accidents trying to get to work. Other's they put up in a hotel to make sure they would make their shift. Netflix had random mandatory OT in some cases without any notice. It wasn't just that they required a set amount of extra hours from everyone, they only had specific hours in which had to be filled. My husband had to take days off work so I could meet their required OT. Again no flexiblity with regards to family needs.
Overall it's just really sad because this job was and could be fun. It's about movies and tv shows and all the great changes that are happening with the internet and instant streaming. Still it is a call center and those jobs aren't always the best, however when the entire company is working so hard against their own employess, the job is terrible. It's not even something you can count on because you don't know when they will fire you and for what.
