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Paul Kiser

I lied today. I had to lie. Netflix gave me no choice. Today I canceled our Netflix membership and afterward they ask me why I was canceling. All the choices for why I was canceling were designed to avoid identifying the real reason I, and one million other former members, have quit. We don’t want to be victims of Netflix investors anymore.

I would have said so in their survey, but Netflix doesn’t even give an ‘Other’ option. That tells me that they don’t want to hear why people are really quitting. I can understand why. It’s easier to tell your investors that every customer is asked why they quit and none of them said, “because you screwed me”…or some more appropriate answer that clearly identifies the unacceptable aggressive profiteering decisions made by Fortune magazine’s 2010 Business Person of the Year, Reed Hastings.

So Long Huckster!

On September 18, Hastings made a rambling, PR spun statement that sort of acknowledged the growing customer anger at Netflix, but then put the blame on the customers. Basically Hastings said that, yes, my monthly service fee was increased over 40% in nine months, and yes, the included streaming video service became an extra fee, and yes, the main supply of premium movies, the Starz Network, has pulled the plug on Netflix, but it was all a big misunderstanding…by the customer. Had he (Hastings) just explained he was going to jack up the fees and split up the service for an extra cost beforehand, all of us silly customers would be happy.

I’m not happy and it has nothing to do with Netflix’s communication skills, or lack thereof. Dramatically increasing prices in the 2011 economy not only shows incredible arrogance and insensitivity, it demonstrates that Hastings and Netflix is completely investor focused. He is positioning the company for profits and corporate bonuses and let the customer be damned. My guess is that the ‘apology’ was geared to appease investors when Netflix stocked tanked a couple of weeks earlier after Starz jumped ship.

I would expect that the next shoe to drop is downsizing. Less customers service, longer DVD turn arounds, and poorer customer service as Netflix looks to shore up profitability by cutting labor costs. Greed is good, and when you’ve sucked the customer’s goodwill dry, then you sell the company. This is a good time for customers to divest their interest in Netflix.

Reed Hastings has the last laugh. When a customer quits Netflix, they cut off service immediately….even if the customer has paid for the next month, so congratulations Mr. Hastings, I guess that makes you the winner.

Original article first published as
Netflix Member Since 2007…No More
on Technorati.com