I realize as usual that I'm about a month or more behind on this, but I am still seeing things here and there about it. So, I still feel it is okay to speak about it. If you aren't sure exactly what I'm talking about, I'll bring you up to speed as quickly as possible. It goes very simply like this: Netflix emerges as a DVD straight to your home company for a nominal fee, business grows like wildfire, they (Netflix) increase their services and capabilities while not increasing their fees by much, business explodes, they (Netflix) offer great customer service, quick returns, and once again increase their services by offering streaming shows, movies, and documentaries straight to your television all while only increasing their prices by a small fee, business grows faster than the H1N1 paranoia, and several years go by, all while the aforementioned items continue and their stock prices sore, then they increase their fees by some "absurd" rate, customers get violently angry, their CEO apologizes through a mass email, decides to split the company into two different companies depending on their services (DVD rental vs. Streaming), customers go several steps beyond violent outrage, they lose large amounts of customers, the CEO apologizes again once again by mass email, and they lose more customers, reduce their rates by a small amount, offer more services, and go back on the idea of splitting the company into two, separate companies, and still they lose customers, and now are left with a struggling company, cheap stock, and a bad name. That is where we stand today.
I am going to say that I'm at a loss for exactly what went wrong. Maybe someday, someone will explain it all to me slowly. Mel and I have been loyal Netflix customers since 2008. We moved to Macon and couldn't afford cable and the idea of joining the Netflix Nation came to me in a vision at night (Please know this is no joke.)When we jumped aboard the Netflix train, the fee was $7 or $8 dollars a month and this allowed us to watch one DVD at a time and also watch anything we wanted via their website. Santa via Nana gave us a ROKU box in 2009 and we really became huge fans of Netflix! We now could stream almost any show, movie, documentary, etc straight to our television. It was as close to magic as either of us have come. We have been in this frenzied state since then and we currently pay $16.95 a month for both the constant, truly unlimited streaming and the one DVD at a time. Now this is where I'm at a loss and let me explain:
1. The price of cable t.v. continues to go up so much and I never hear a public cry for justice from any large group of people. Cable is the reason we couldn't afford cable when we moved to Macon. We had purchased cable in Dothan at a low entrance fee of $60 dollars a month and by the time we left it was nearing the $180 mark and our services had not changed, customer service was terrible, and we had to sign a two year contract, which they wouldn't let us out of when we moved, so we had to pay for cable that someone else was watching several hundred miles away and we had no choice. I know my experience is not an outlier for those who have cable or satellite. But this is not the same with Netflix. If I hated it, I could just quit it today and walk away. If we moved, I could just transfer the services to my new address.
2. Our cell phone bill is supposed to be around $80 a month, but let me say this very clearly....OUR CELL PHONE BILL IS NEVER $80 A MONTH...NEVER. And our services never get better, customer service gets worse, the bills become more and more confusing, etc. But once again, I don't hear the public cry for justice and I don't see little snippets of rage on Yahoo or anywhere else. I do hear unhappy people talk, but we are all trapped behind our two year contracts and the nonexistent dream of ...."someday it will be like it said it would be..." And once again, I say this is nothing like our Netflix experience. If the fee is changed, then we get a clear reason for the change and it usually means the services to us have increased and things are so much better. Not so with Verizon or any other behemoth of a cell phone company.
3. The price of a movie ticket is too expensive. There is just so many things wrong with it costing near $30 for two people to go see one, 1, una movie that we would have to pay for again in order to watch it again and share a Coke and a popcorn. Yet, I only see fees increasing with little to no grumbling, complaining, mass outrage, etc. I don't see emails in my inbox from the CEO's of film companies, movie outlets, etc begging for my forgiveness because things have gotten out of hand. I only see the prices going up and the movies getting shorter and me wanting to see them less and less. Netflix is nothing like this.
I could keep naming examples, but I will save you from that. I just don't get the outrage and almost cataclysmic public backlash. Why? Maybe someday I'll understand. Maybe.
Continuing to try and understand the world around me,
David
I am going to say that I'm at a loss for exactly what went wrong. Maybe someday, someone will explain it all to me slowly. Mel and I have been loyal Netflix customers since 2008. We moved to Macon and couldn't afford cable and the idea of joining the Netflix Nation came to me in a vision at night (Please know this is no joke.)When we jumped aboard the Netflix train, the fee was $7 or $8 dollars a month and this allowed us to watch one DVD at a time and also watch anything we wanted via their website. Santa via Nana gave us a ROKU box in 2009 and we really became huge fans of Netflix! We now could stream almost any show, movie, documentary, etc straight to our television. It was as close to magic as either of us have come. We have been in this frenzied state since then and we currently pay $16.95 a month for both the constant, truly unlimited streaming and the one DVD at a time. Now this is where I'm at a loss and let me explain:
1. The price of cable t.v. continues to go up so much and I never hear a public cry for justice from any large group of people. Cable is the reason we couldn't afford cable when we moved to Macon. We had purchased cable in Dothan at a low entrance fee of $60 dollars a month and by the time we left it was nearing the $180 mark and our services had not changed, customer service was terrible, and we had to sign a two year contract, which they wouldn't let us out of when we moved, so we had to pay for cable that someone else was watching several hundred miles away and we had no choice. I know my experience is not an outlier for those who have cable or satellite. But this is not the same with Netflix. If I hated it, I could just quit it today and walk away. If we moved, I could just transfer the services to my new address.
2. Our cell phone bill is supposed to be around $80 a month, but let me say this very clearly....OUR CELL PHONE BILL IS NEVER $80 A MONTH...NEVER. And our services never get better, customer service gets worse, the bills become more and more confusing, etc. But once again, I don't hear the public cry for justice and I don't see little snippets of rage on Yahoo or anywhere else. I do hear unhappy people talk, but we are all trapped behind our two year contracts and the nonexistent dream of ...."someday it will be like it said it would be..." And once again, I say this is nothing like our Netflix experience. If the fee is changed, then we get a clear reason for the change and it usually means the services to us have increased and things are so much better. Not so with Verizon or any other behemoth of a cell phone company.
3. The price of a movie ticket is too expensive. There is just so many things wrong with it costing near $30 for two people to go see one, 1, una movie that we would have to pay for again in order to watch it again and share a Coke and a popcorn. Yet, I only see fees increasing with little to no grumbling, complaining, mass outrage, etc. I don't see emails in my inbox from the CEO's of film companies, movie outlets, etc begging for my forgiveness because things have gotten out of hand. I only see the prices going up and the movies getting shorter and me wanting to see them less and less. Netflix is nothing like this.
I could keep naming examples, but I will save you from that. I just don't get the outrage and almost cataclysmic public backlash. Why? Maybe someday I'll understand. Maybe.
Continuing to try and understand the world around me,
David
We don't have cable because it's like 120 dollars here a month. We have bunny ears with tin foil on them. I get 7+ English speaking channels and I'm ok with that. We are going to start renting DVDs from my school library. FOR FREE! Or just a part of my tuition. We usually rent from Video Adventure where it's only 2 dollars a movie. I haven't been to the movies since Harry Potter, the last one. It cost us over 60 dollars to watch a movie and get two drinks and two snacks. BLAH.
ReplyDeleteCell phone bills. Tmobile baby. Our bill for unlimited texting, unlimited internet, and unlimited nights and weekends with 750 regular minutes to share is exactly 157 and some change each month. One of our Blackberry phones was free and the other only cost 50 dollars. Verizon will take over your soul.
You're blogging at epic speeds and I am now going to get back to my blog so I'm not falling to far behind the trend!