Dear Netflix CEO, I’m Underwhelmed

Dear Mr. Hastings,

I have two young children, who happen to be big fans of Netflix. Our family has used your services for so long, my kids don’t even know what cable is and they’re completely puzzled by advertisements.  When they go to watch “tv,” they’re actually selecting from our instant queue and, for them, a 30 minute show is actually about 21 minutes.

My kids are also playmates, sometimes harmoniously playing alongside each other, other times combative and at odds. It’s not uncommon to witness what I call the “snatch and apologize later” maneuver happen at playtime. One kid,  usually big sister, decides her brother has a toy that is simply too desirable to pass up. Rather than simply asking for it or inviting her brother to play along, she simply takes it, undeterred by his cries of frustration, then growing angry when he hits in retaliation.

When I am called into mediate, she usually tries to minimize her responsibility and begrudgingly apologizes because she’s required to. What she doesn’t realize is that her brother adores her and the whole fiasco could have been avoided if she’d simply asked nicely or – even better – showed him her awesome game and invited him to bring his toys and join in on the fun.

In recent months, Netflix has felt like the bullying big sister to my hurt little brother. I’ve been the adoring baby brother who would happily share or join in on the game if I’d only been asked. I’ve been a loyal customer of Netflix for more than seven years, joining when it was just DVDs, excitedly watching streaming first on my computer, then X-Box 360, and dropping cable to use Netflix exclusively. I’ve extolled the virtues of Netflix to my friends over the years and kept the service through incremental price increases without much complaint.

So, when Netflix abruptly announced in July that I would see big changes in September equaling paying 60% more for the same services, it felt like my big sister stole my toys, kicked me, and told me I should like it. The announcement lacked humility and neglected to help me understand any real benefits I would see from the change.  It also came without any recognition of my long-term loyalty as a customer – even my cell phone company is smart enough to grandfather in my old rates when they merge with another company. They’re clever that way – I stay happy with my current plan until they can lure me with a new, more attraction one that appears to mutually benefits both of us.

When customers such as myself responded to Netflix’s announcement with frustration, the initial reply was  insulting and arrogant: Customers are free to choose. We have enough customers, so losing a few won’t matter much. We can survive without you. Today’s apology from you didn’t sound much better – it was the classic “snatch and apologize later.” This time around, you sounded like the bully who’s mom discovered what he’s been up to and forces him to call up his victims and apologize. You acknowledged that you “messed up” and go on to justify your actions, but you failed once again to make your customers feel important or appreciated. There are still no accommodations for long-term customers and the letter – which is supposedly all about communication – has the comments section disabled.

Three months ago, I was sure we would, at a minimum, cancel our 1 at a time DVD service. It simply doesn’t make good economic sense to pay that much for DVD service when Redbox is readily available and we live in a town with what is clearly an old relic – the local video store.  Sure, their selection is not nearly as good and it’s less convenient, but they’ve got something else going for them: customer appreciation. Redbox is a young company, regularly engaging customers with coupon codes and free movies. Family Video offers free movies for kids anytime and will call you with an enticing offer when you haven’t come in to rent a movie in awhile. Remember when you were the little guy grateful for my business, asking me to refer friends? I miss that.

Ultimately, my family will probably cancel our DVD service (or Qwiskster) and continue with Netflix streaming, primarily because there isn’t much competition.  I sincerely doubt, however, that this will remain the case for long. New companies will come along and existing ones will improve their offerings. They’ll be seeking an enthusiastic customer base, just as Netflix once did.  And, if Netflix continues forward with the same arrogance and disregard for their customers as they’ve shown recently, I will happily pack up my toys and use other services instead.

Sincerely,