The Netflix Farce Continues

It all started in July when, out of the blue, Netflix increased their prices, handled it very poorly, and really pissed people off.

Then last month, they apologized — and changed things again and pissed more people off.

Price hike, then company split, and now…

Sounds like Netflix started listening to their customers. Which tells me that they didn’t put as much thought into the Netflix/Quikster split as they wanted us to think they did. Somewhere along they way they figured out that what’s good for their business model isn’t worth the cost of a big F YOU to loyal customers.

Now that they’ve admitted they didn’t think through the whole Quikster split, I want to know why. The split would have benefitted them by cutting losses, streamlining processes, cheaper licensing rights for streaming since they probably pay on a per subscriber basis… but how come no one listened to the guy (assuming that there was one smart enough to do so) that said “But won’t this piss off all our customers? How can we do that to them and not offer more value at the same time?”

I could be wrong, but my first thought is ego. “We’re too big to fail. We’re a market leader in what we do so no matter what happens people will stick with us because we’re the best.” Oh, by the way, Blockbuster Total Access now includes plans that includes blu-ray and game rentals for no extra charge, as well as a streaming library that is quickly growing. I also get some streaming titles included with my Amazon Prime account.

So now they send this message with their tail between their legs, but without apology. On the plus side, they did mention that they’re adding more titles. FINALLY! SOMETHING ABOUT INCREASING VALUE TO THE CUSTOMER. That’s all I ever wanted, Netflix.

Actually, I also want you to add more streaming titles to the Martial Arts section.

Do you think we’ve heard the last of Netflix? What do you think will happen next as their competition increases?