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Netflix Swaps Phone Support for Live Chat and Online Support as Customer Service Requests Surge

Stephanie Sengwe
Stephanie Sengwe is writer based in New York who covers companies in the streaming industry including AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Hulu, Roku, and Netflix . She also contributes daily news coverage on streaming services and devices for The Streamable.
Read full bio ›
Stephanie Sengwe

Netflix has put a pause on their phone support system and swapped it for live chat and online support, according to Variety. The changes come as many of the streamer’s employees are forced to work from home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The COVID-19 crisis has meant that thousands of our customer support agents are unable to work, or are now having to work from home,” Netflix said in a statement. “So our wait times are higher than normal. We’re working hard to provide the best support we can under the circumstances, and apologize for the delays you are experiencing.”

According to the streaming giant, shifting to chat support allows customer support agents to assist more people while working from home. The company is also scaling back on their support hours, which will be different in each country as they figure out what works best during the crisis.

But Netflix isn’t alone in having to make adjustments. As of March 22, Hulu scaled back their customer support hours as well, making agents available from 4 am to 8 p.m. PT daily, as opposed to 24 hours, according to Variety. Their phone support system has also been modified to allow users to schedule callback times so customer support agents can return phone calls as wait times are longer than usual. The streamer is also urging customers to utilize their online Help Center and online chat support.

Roku, on the other hand, has shut down its phone support entirely, and is providing help via email and online help-center support only, Variety reports.

Disney+ continues to offer support through the phone, though they’re also encouraging customers to use the Help Center as they’re also experiencing longer wait times.

Photo credit: Freestocks on Unsplash

Stephanie Sengwe
Stephanie Sengwe is writer based in New York who covers companies in the streaming industry including AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Hulu, Roku, and Netflix . She also contributes daily news coverage on streaming services and devices for The Streamable.
Read full bio ›
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