Subscribers to Netflix: The thrill is gone

Here's an idea-

Turn off the TV and read a book.

Don't get me wrong....we do take a lot for granted in the US, however, that doesn't make a complaint any less valid if it can be addressed and fixed.

Just because I have easy access to movies doesn't diminish the inconvenience of two sites and a price increase. I'm a fan of Louis CK, and yeah, it's marvelous we have access to things people in other countries have never seen. But it's all relative.

The relative part is in the US we're seeing cost increases, diminished wages, and a lack of social safety growing every year.

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That's why people freaked out. Pressure is ever mounting in basically every detail of life, home repair, car repair, taxes, insurance, and everyone is trying to just get by.

Netflix was a great reward. Entertainment of the newest releases at a very big discount. While maybe people could do more productive things (again, the family is under immense pressure and extremely busy with just about everything), that cheap reward was a thrill in times when prices were just marching up for everything.

Anything you could think of doing, box office, dinner out, trips, outdoor activities, etc. All of it has been going up. People latched onto the value netflix was providing.

It's insane to think that kind of price increase wouldn't draw ire at a time when everyone is hurting. A simpler idea would have been to offer new plans.

If people want new movies, new streaming content, offer a premium plan. That way, the revenue matches the costs to license that content. Many of us don't care so much, I like netflix for the access to a library of many non mainstream movies, off the wall foriegn films, documentaries, etc. So do different levels, some of us don't want new content. Don't ask us to pay for it.

I did a month with Amazon, and then a month free trial with Netflix.  I went with Netflix because of the DVD delivery, on line streaming was just about limited with both of them.  What  I found out was that I don't really want to go through the hassle of mailing in DVDs, and did not care about the titles I saw.  I was mostly after the older TV shows.  So when the price increase hit, I dropped Netflix, and have signed on with Amazon, it is cheaper and the content is about the same for streaming.

As for Netflix, the worst thing they have done is shown that they are not a MATURE company and not very well managed.  If you want to raise prices do it, if you want to split your company, then do it.  BUT NEVER, NEVER change the vision.  In the end, you will lose.  In ten years, we will all be saying, "Do you remember that company Netflax, or Nutflix, or Nunflut, or something like that..."

If they'd have just left things alone, I would have probably been a Netflix subscriber for life.  But they made those stupid changes (pay more for less!) and I canceled.  I imagine millions of others did, too.  Apparently, Netflix just doesn't get it or care about what they've done. 

Notice the considerate management style:

This latest flip-flop is leaked to the press first, rather than contacting the customer. Ergo, the customer and any business needs he or she might have, comes last.

And the remaining streaming selection ?  Diminishing rapidly: Starz was only the first.

We elected to cancel our membership in July, and despite the " please comback " email blitz, see no reason to return. There are many other options available between today and January, 2012.

It's not the extra money....It's not really the extra hassle of two different sites....For me it's a lack of respect for the customer, who by the way has made Netflix what it is today.

Netflix just got a big head....they thought they had the DVD/Streaming video market cornered, so they could act with impunity....the customer's wishes be damned.  Reminds me of the American automitive industry in the 70's & 80's.....'We're the big dogs, so we'll make the cars we want, who cares what the customers want'.

And what happend there?.....the Big Three made big, ugly, unreliable, gas-guzzlers that people eventually thumbed their noses at....pushing Toyota, Honda, and Nissan to the top of the hill....and the American companies into a ditch.

I'm not saying the customer is always right, but it would be in any company's best interest to ask them what they want before they make major changes....they are the ones that pay for the service.  

I think most people are upset by the feeling of disrespect, more than the changes themselves. I also think that people were shocked to find out that Netflix has become just another large company that puts dollar signs above their customers. 

I think people are just sick and tired of being manipulated and having to read the fine print to on everything. Why all the games? Why the smoke & mirrors? The shell game? These companies need to learn that being straight forward and honest, goes a long way with customers.

To sum it up, I'd say the uproar is born mainly out of disappointment. We thought Netflix was different....we thought they were above the fray. Sure, we know Bank of America is a greedy snake....and politicians are two-faced.....but now Neflix. The humanity! ;)

Netflix is doing their very best to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. They might succeed.

I cancelled my cable carrier (Comcast) last year to stream and rent an occasional movie from Netflix and watch "live" TV off a digital antenna. I saved a bucket load of money every month. But let's be honest, Netflix does not offer up-to-date movies for the most part. It is a cheap alternative, convenient and you get what you pay for. Breaking the company into two business units feels like Verizon and Verizon Wireless - behemoth, corporate and ever increasingly expensive. They double the price and double our inconvenience. Trying to be like the big boys is a really stupid business move. We went to Netflix because you were NOT the big boy. Screwing with a good thing that wasn't broken was a colossal mistake.