I decided this week to cancel my Netflix membership, or should I say Quikster or whatever the hell they’ve decided to call the DVD portion of their service now.
A few months ago when Netflix first announced they were going to split the pricing plans for streaming and DVD offerings, I like most of their customers was not happy about it mainly because it was a significant cost increase if you wanted to keep the equivalent level of service. That move cost them a lot of customers for sure, but apparently not so much apparently that they can’t afford to piss off the remaining ones yet again and so soon.
I actually believe that Netflix has the right idea with what it seems they are trying to do which is why I didn’t close my account the first time around. Unfortunately, they are shitting on their customers to get where they think they need to be, the same customers who’ve made their business a success and that they will need to hold on to if they hope to be successful in the future. Netflix suck! Why? Because people like instant gratification! This is not their business. Even if you get your DVD in a day it may be a day too late for some which is why streaming movies direct to your TV or set-top box is definitely the future. Everyone’s getting into that business now. And I for one would look forward to the convenience of not having to mail movies back and forth. But DVDs are far from dead, and they won’t be for a long while.
My main issue with Netflix now is not just the price, but the offerings. They offer the latest DVDs yes, but several of the new releases are not available for a month after they come out. That shit doesn’t go over very well, not with me at least. It has to do with some sort of deal they had to work out with the movie studios, a deal I understand because I’m one of those people they are targeting. I buy lots of DVDs, but the best part of Netflix is that I can screen a lot of the new releases before spending my hard earned money. Hollywood doesn’t even try to make good movies anymore, they just regurgitate slop and put it on a pretty plate, then expect us to slobber that up and say “yummy, thank you very much” as the uncomfortable slime coats the back of our throats and leaves a nasty aftertaste. I got tired of buying movies only to find out that the previews are the best part of the movie after some clever editing, sometimes so clever that the previews included scenes that were eventually cut from the actual movie, even the extended version most DVDs absolutely must have these days. WTF! So, I like to order the movie on Netflix first, and if it’s garbage I never have to worry about seeing it again, and all it cost me was the time I spent watching it that I wish I could get back. But at least I still have my money, and if it’s good then I go buy that DVD for sure. Well the studios don’t like that, because they know people like instant gratification and they count on that urge to grab the movie soon as it’s available to help pad their pockets. If that doesn’t happen, they make maybe 14 instead of 15 billion dollars this year, or something ridiculous like that? So I know why Netflix has that deal with the studios, I even understand, but I don’t care, especially when it’s available not just in the store but on on-demand from your cable or satellite provider.
The feature I like most about Netflix though is where their service is most lacking… the streaming offerings. They’re not going to stream the latest releases, I guess it’s cost prohibitive for them if even allowed under their agreements with the studios. I hate having to search so hard to find one shit movie to watch that’s worth my monthly fee now, and there are good movies out there that aren’t new releases. I don’t mind watching a stupid movie every once in a while, but most of what they offer via streaming are just that, stupid movies. Here’s the thing Netflix! Your customers want better options for instant gratification, and for the price that had better start happening and fast. You want your business to evolve and keep up with the times and that’s fine, but what kind of business do you have left if you wipe your ass with your loyal customers and flush them down the toilet with the rest of the crap? Yeah, I’m definitely ditching the DVD portion of my membership. As for the streaming, I will give it a few months and see if the offerings get any better.
-Konscious Vybz
