A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

As this blog has recently gotten a number of Google hits for those researching www.zip.ca, I've decided to add some of my recent correspondence with the online, DVD-rental company.

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We signed up for the free trial on Zip.ca last week.

We were able to view Zip.ca DVD's on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday of this week. They were promptly sent back the following mornings. It appears as if we may be able to watch three next week too. Unfortunately this number does not match our current viewing habits.

Your claim of 1 to 3 day delivery time is slightly misleading. It will always be a two-day turn around for people living near your facilities; yet on the other hand, it will always take at least a week for us because we live in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

What this essentially means is that people living around Ottawa get a theoretical chance to watch three times more movies than is possible for us. To put it another way, we would have to register for an additional two accounts in order to receive the same service as some other Zip members. Although, currently all customers pay $24.95 per month to be a member of Zip.ca, because of geography we'd have to pay almost $75 to receive equal service levels.

The phrase, "Unlimited DVD Rentals for $24.95 per month", as seen on your website, does seem to be a bit of a hyperbole.

I am not sure how this could be rectified and I know your business is just in its infancy. I am not sure how or if flexible pricing could work. It might be possible to vary the number of "checked out" discs depending on the geographic location of the customer. However, I am most interested in learning if you have any long-term plans to set-up multiple shipping points in Canada?

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Dennis; Thank you for your email.

We do have plans and ideas to set up different shipping locations in Canada but these plans will not be acted upon anytime soon. As for delivery times, I can see how Canada Post's shipping can frusterate some. However, we have had customers in B.C. get shipments in 3 business days, on the odd occasion we have even gotten a few people receive them in 2 business days. This is what the free trial is for though, to see how Canda Post and our service plays out with you and the area you live in. If your second shipment also took six business days (or whatever the exact time was) then it is likely that the service won't work out for you as best it could. In the end, you'd be saving $5 from rentals via a video store and probably isnt worth the wait. As I said though, see how long the second shipment takes and average out the times.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email us at service@zip.ca.

Sincerely, zip.ca

Labels: complaints, zip.ca

I got a little ahead of myself with the photo I included yesterday.
This is a morning shot through my living room window. Apparently,
we've still got some typical, wet winter to go!"

Labels: weather

It was 12C (54F) the other day and I had to go out with the camera.
This is an entrance to the uptown Mall.

Labels: digital camera, New Westminster (Page 1)

Last Friday, I talked about a free trial offered by the online DVD rental service of www.zip.ca. Their system seems to work. On the web, I can choose to have several dozen movies lined up in queue. A few arrived, have been viewed, and sent back to Ottawa. So the subsequent ones on the list will be shipped as soon as my returns arrive back in the capital. There's even a customer service and response system built right into the site:

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Customer (Dennis Hurd) 03/02/2004 11:44 PM
Braydon, thank you for your very prompt response.

I do appreciate that we'd be able to watch 12 movies per month. You do have to remember that Zip is also in competition with satellite movie networks, such as www.moviecentral.ca which provide literally several dozens of movie choices per month.

I still expect zip to be a value but you do have to remember to compare and align your service as competing with a broader range than just video stores.

== Dennis

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Response (Braydon W.) 03/01/2004 01:29 PM

Dennis;

Thank you for your email!

We are currently thinking about coming out with a premium service where people could hold more than 3 dvd's at a time for a larger monthly fee. On average, it takes 1-3 business days for the dvd's to come and go from point A to B. If it took 4 days on average for 3 dvd's to come to you and 4 days for them to go off, you would have between 11 and 12 dvd's per month. Considering that rental stores generally charge around $5 per rental, you'd be looking into the high $50 low $60 per month rental rates from them. So as it is, there is significant savings and movie viewing.

Again though, we will be looking into premium services for our customers.

I hope that this answers your questions. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email us at service@zip.ca.

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Customer (Dennis Hurd) 02/28/2004 06:41 PM

Hi, although I am very excited about the potential of using zip and replacing my Movie Channel subscription thru ExpressVu. Right at the present time, I'm just on the trial for zip.

Living out west, I'm wondering if the 3 or 4 day turn around will prevent us from maximizing our use of zip.

I'd like to suggest that you consider offering customers a variety of plan as to how many CD's may be 'out' at once.

You might even consider pricing that lets the customer select for their needs and their geographic region.

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Labels: complaints, zip.ca

Yesterday's jingle written for Burger King proposed that customers had a say in personalizing their burgers. They were suggesting that McDonald's, the arch rival (so to speak!) served just pre-manufactured, warmed-by-heat-lamp fare.

So, McDonald's ran the following campaign during the second half of the 70's. This particular ad strongly suggests that only McDonald's can provide that special taste for Georgia peaches or those on California beaches. More importantly, this 30-second, Quarter Pounder spot culminates with a counter argument that at McDonald's: "We do it all for you!"

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Related Blog Entry: See private letter to Ronnie from October 29th of last year.

Labels: food, Mediaplayer

Whoppers were only $1.00 yesterday. It was Burger King's 50th anniversary, even though the company didn't actually come up with the Whopper until 1957. In remembrance of their special day; I'll include the text of an advertising jingle that first hit the air waves in the 1970's:

"Hold the pickles. Hold the lettuce. Special orders don't upset us. All we ask, is that you let us ... serve us your way. Have it your way ... at Burger King."

Here's an interesting tidbit from a fellow blogger: Arrrgh!!!: Hold the pickle.

I just used Microsoft Word to type a personal letter! I cannot remember the last time that I wrote to someone on paper. I will pop the envelop in the mailbox tomorrow and it will zoom towards Washington DC at the speed of a postal worker.

I met Mr. Nick Williams when I worked in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. He introduced me to a type of archaeology: hunting for shards of ancient pottery. The letter is in response to his Christmas card. Am I late, or what?

Labels: Christmas, Saudi Arabia

Think about your ten most favourite films. If you could have ten free DVD's what movies would you choose? Jot out a message to me.


HAPPY LEAP DAY!