An Open Letter to Netflix

An Open Letter to Netflix
Or
Why pissing off idiots without giving them institutional recourse other than abandonment is a bad idea


I've been having some problems with Netflix the last few days, and finally became angry enough about it that I decided I should drop an email to customer service.  I wasn't planning on wasting a bunch of time on this, but it appears I have.  Why, you ask?  It is because Netflix does not have customer service. 

It's true, at least in part.  Netflix does not have email customer service - the only way to reach them is via phone.  To some (like those living in the 90's) this might actually sound like a benefit - you get to talk to a live person to discuss and resolve your problem.  Unfortunately, we live in the 2010's, and we have been dealing with live customer service for some time.  And it sucks.  Unequivocally.

When I see a phone number on a website it strikes me in one of two ways.  It may be that the company is small enough or distributed enough into small bits that you're getting a line to either the heart of the company or a local branch.  That's a pro!  Unfortunately Netflix is the definition of a faceless centralized company (mostly by their own choosing), and so it hits the second way - this phone number is a joke.  That's a con.

It may as well be a string of random digits, truthfully.  I don't think my eyes would even really register if it was 15 digits, or 4.  It's just a footer on the page - maybe it's a page number.  Could be my account number?

If you're trying to get something done on their page, and if that something isn't related to getting lost in unhelpful looping choose-your-own-adventure faqs, there are really only two options.  One is the random string of digits, the other is deactivation of your account.

What I want to do is send a quick email.  I've learned what customer support requires in order to function.  I will send a quick bulleted list of problems and the things I have tried to fix it.  They can solve it at their leisure.  I don't have to sit there while my phone call goes half way around the globe - you can outsource my email to the moon for all I care.

What I don't want is to wait on hold on the phone to talk to someone, only to find that they have no idea what they're talking about.  Then I wait on hold for another person, who also has no idea.  Transfer, transfer, transfer.  Instead of transferring me, and making me angrier and angrier, just forward my email along.  It will not get angry.  It is an email, and it is unfeeling.  It lacks the capacity for emotion.

Truth be told, I'm not even saying that your phone customer support is bad.  I have no basis for that; I've never called.  And I never will.  Banks and credit card companies and computer companies and Microsoft and Microsoft and Microsoft have already shit in the pool, so to speak, and I want nothing to do with it.  I don't want to jump in a shitty pool.  I don't want to talk to your customer service people, because I will hate them.  I don't want or need that hatred.  When I get back the poorly worded email that doesn't address any of my points I don't feel hate - I feel pity.  That, that I can live with.

There's a deeper point, here, and it relates to the flak you've been getting from all corners of the internet over your recent price schedule changes. 

Now, I'm not going to complain about this price hike, because I realize that it is necessary.  I frankly think that the people complaining about it are fairly ignorant of all the facts, whether by their own choosing or through neglect.

You, as a company, are getting hosed.  Movie and television studios have caught on, and they know two things: Netflix has big pockets, and big cable has bigger.  Those two things make you a tempting target.  They want you gone, but they want to empty your pockets into their own first.

You see, a company like Comcast is scared of you.  And they rightly should be.  They should be very very afraid, because you are the calculator to their slide rule.  The VHS to their betamax.  The printing press to their abbeys full of monks. 

In a fair open market you should be decimating them.  There is no real reason for Comcast to make it into the next decade unless they diversify and completely change the face of their company.  They have represented al that is evil for so long, and angered so many people over the years that vilifying them should not be difficult at all.  The real problem is that we are not in a fair market.

Comcast (or whoever you want to blame) has huge pockets, and some of those pockets may in fact actually contain movie studios, or distribution houses.  They want to put you out of business, but they can't just not sell to you - that would make them the bad guys.  Beyond that, they want to make some money for themselves while stringing you out for the long game.  And if they can turn the public against you, all the better.

And that they have done in spades.  You are vilified in the social cloud since your price hike.  People are calling for your demise over $6, and it's hard to not get caught up in it.  $6.  Do you understand this?  $6 and they are at the gates with pitchforks and torches. 

Movies cost money, and your movies just got a whole lot more expensive.  Oh, not on the consumer side, on your side.  What we should be understanding is that you need to raise prices because the movie and tv studios are basically bending you over the table, having their way with you, and then picking your pocket.  And we don't care, for a few reasons.

First off, you need to dig for that information.  No one is talking about it.  You should be screaming it from the rooftops.  There should be a grassroots movement against these studios.  You should call some bluffs, and see if studio X doesn't mind that their product is no longer going to be on Netflix.  Tell the people what you're doing and what they are doing.  Get the people on your side!  They are your customers, and they care about you.  Or at least they would, if you didn't:

Completely lack a face.  You see, that's your second problem.  As a company you are as faceless as a pedestrian on Google Street View.  When I think of Netflix I think of your logo, and that's it.  Thinking about it; it's almost scary.  Is your CEO a recluse?  Who invented Netflix?  Have you ever tried to personify your company in the slightest?  Is it your design to come off as a completely dehumanized organization?

You see, it's important.  Because when you want to fight a war the first thing you need to do is dehumanize your enemy.  And big cable is fighting a war with you, and you're doing the work for them.  You are handing them your head on a plate.  The masses are eating it up like pudding. 


At the end of the day that's not what I want.  I want you to succeed, and big cable to fail.  Like I said, there's really no reason for it to exist in the near future.  You cannot let them stick it to you over $6.  Cable companies raise their rates by $6 without reason, constantly.  If you keep turning a blind eye and letting these shots graze your hull, eventually your ship is going to start sinking.  (Okay, sorry for the nautical analogy, I just watched Hunt for Red October the other night - such a good movie, and it's on instant) 

The conclusions to be drawn are actually a bit counter-intuitive.  To put a human face on your company you need to have email customer support, instead of the actual humans on the phone.  Because the only way I can ever deal with phone customer support is to completely dehumanize them, and that's just hurting you more.

Now fix my Netflix!  


Best Wishes,
Paul

An Open Letter to Borders Books

Hi - I don't necessarily want to complain, but I want to share the experience I just had in an attempt to buy a book from you that might be insightful to how you try to be competitive with services like Amazon (which - spoiler alert - won out in my recent purchase).

I received an email today for 50% off a single item.  There isn't a Borders in my area, so the only time I really get to use these coupons in person are when I'm visiting friends in a market that has Borders.  I often do use them when they reach around the 35-40% threshold, as that seems like a pretty nice cut.  The promise of a 50% coupon made me look into the idea of using it online (something I've not done before). 

I didn't have any book in mind, but searched a bit on your site and found something that looked good, a book "Standards of Brewing"

(http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?type=0&catalogId=10001&simple=1&defaultSearchView=List&keyword=standards+of+brewing&LogData=[search%3A+26%2Cparse%3A+79]&searchData={productId%3Anull%2Csku%3Anull%2Ctype%3A0%2Csort%3Anull%2CcurrPage%3A1%2CresultsPerPage%3A25%2CsimpleSearch%3Atrue%2Cnavigation%3A0%2CmoreValue%3Anull%2CcoverView%3Afalse%2Curl%3Arpp%3D25%26view%3D2%26all_search%3Dstandards%2Bof%2Bbrewing%26type%3D0%26nav%3D0%26simple%3Dtrue%2Cterms%3A{all_search%3Dstandards+of+brewing}}&storeId=13551&sku=0937381799&ddkey=http:SearchResults) 

The regular price that you sell it for is around $32, so I figured I'd check what Amazon has to say about it.  They're selling it for around $27.  Well, they're better, but you're giving me 50% off, though I did note it would be 50% off the retail price.  That said, you even list the discount as a line item 'promotional' discount of $11.99 off the regular price, which is *actually* a discount of 37%, not 50%.  So you've already lost me a bit there, as this is starting to feel like a shell game.  I figured it would still be a better deal given that it should come out around $20 or so. 

Anyway, I'm still on board, and enter some personal information to get a cart going.  Shipping has popped up, and I'm looking at about another $4.  I stop for the first time and start to weigh my options.  I'm going to have to put in more information, put in credit cards, etc.  I'm now looking at about $24 to about $27.  Your shipping is 3-8 days, and Amazon gives me free two day (as I have Amazon Prime Student).  Is this worth it to me to spend the time doing it?  I don't need the book in two days, so I'm still saving.  I honestly don't care if it gets here tomorrow or three weeks from now, as I'm a bit busy and likely won't get to it for a while.  I debate internally, briefly.  Yeah, just barely still worth it.  I like supporting Borders.  I continue. 

Now I'm at the cart, and the total is coming in a little higher.  Ah, tax.  I can't fault you for this, and I really should be faulting Amazon.  I'll eat this later on use tax, but in the moment it's tax and shipping vs neither.  I justify tax when I use an in store coupon by taking into account that I get the book right away and don't pay (or evoke) shipping.  With a shipping cost already built in the tax just feels like the last straw.  I'm now sitting at $25 and some change (Borders) vs $27 and some change (Amazon).  The gap is now insignificant, especially considering the work I've put in on your site and the fact that shipping will take longer vs a 30-second endeavor on Amazon that will get me the book by Friday. 

The scale has tipped, I close the window.  Sunk cost be damned, I'm done with that transaction and only take away a bit of knowledge that buying at Borders.com isn't worth it.  By your math, Amazon is giving me very very close to a 50% off coupon every single day.  A 60% off coupon I guess might get me there, but it seems like it would still be just barely better, and I don't really see 60% off coupons very often.  Oh, and don't get me started that to get this coupon in the first place I had to 'like' you on facebook.  The ultimate act of desperation and selling out is forcing people to use one of the worst parts of facebook to get something.  My full intent was to like you for the coupon and then unlike you immediately (already done, actually). 

In the end, I decided that I'd rather give Amazon an extra $2 than support the circus that I had to go through to save that $2.  Like I said, I'm not complaining, because it does feel almost unfair in points.  I just wanted to give you some actual thought process of a customer that was swayed away from you.  Hopefully this will help you in the future.

Oh, and don't make the defense that I could sign up for the Borders Super Special Rewards or whatever to get an additional discount and free shipping.  It's not free if it costs $20.  If I had a Borders store in my town I might, but who knows.  Granted, I have Amazon Prime, which seems unfair, but even if I didn't have Prime this book at $27 still would have fallen into Amazon's free 5-8 day shipping as it's past the $25 mark.  And the fact that Amazon gives students free Prime is simply another good thing on their side. 

Anyway - again - hope this helps.

Best,
Paul