Goodbye Netflix

The headlines read, as headlines read, always written to incite drama, anger, or some other extreme emotional reaction; Outrage over Netflix rate hike continues.

Not so much for me. Disappointed, a little surprised, but not really outraged.

When the information on the rate hike was published two days ago (no, I haven't received an e-mail from Netflix), my initial reaction was that I would have to consider closing my Netflix account sometime before Sept. 1 rolled around. The deciding factor being that they had priced themselves out of being a viable option to the old standard movie rental store.

Really, this would be a good budget cutting move on my part. Like I said, I was just taking this in stride.

Then the VP of corporate communications for Netflix, Steve Swasey, opened his mouth. Wow! I will be surprised if this goober has a job with Netflix in 2012.

Let me break down his comments for you.

"$6 more is a remarkable value, a latte or two every month. For most folks it's absorbable.
He is referring to those with the minimum combined, download and dvd, subscription. I would venture to guess that a large percentage of Netflix customers have no idea what a latte tastes like. He is speaking to the wrong crowd here. It is obvious that six bucks is nothing to him, but most of us aren't VP's for a large corporation.

"sympathetic to those in terrible financial straits."
And there he goes with the knife throwing. He just told his customer base that they are either over-reacting, or that they can't afford his service to begin with. Obviously if six bucks is a concern you are on the edge of bankruptcy.

"30,000 or so is a sub set of 23 million subscribers. They're not speaking for the majority."
Translation: We won't miss you whining little punks. You are but a gnat on our corporate behinds. Move along children.

"We'll make it up over time and the service will continue to grow. I don't want to sugarcoat this. We expect a certain amount of people to leave the service"
Translation: Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.

In summary: I went from making a decision before the rate hike to cancelling my subscription this weekend. All because of his statements. Netflix will not see any more of my money. They haven't earned it.

That's really too bad, because prior to this, I had considered them a good company to deal with.