A Timely Rant about the Netflix/Qwikster Debacle.

I woke up this morning to an email from the CEO of Netflix. He and I are on a first name basis, so this isn't altogether surprising. If you happen to subscribe to Netflix, you probably have the same email in your inbox right now. Whether you have taken the time to read it (or will later) is entirely up to you, but maybe I can save you the time. Here's the nutshell version of Netflix latest communication:

"We recognize that we could have handled the recent change in pricing structure better and that many of you (or perhaps we should say the few of you still left) are none-to-happy with us. We are not going to change the prices back (well, we're going to spin it like we're doing you a favor by not increasing prices yet again... at least not yet). Rambling about business justifications for splitting the two services. Oh, btw - from now on your DVD service will be called "Qwikster." The name "Netflix" will be reserved for our streaming service. There will be two separate billing items on your credit card, and two separate websites for you keep up with to manage your queues if you continue to subscribe to both services. Have a great day, and please hang in there with us as we continue turning the screws.     -Reed"

Let's back up for a moment to the halcyon early days of Netflix. What a fantastic concept. DVDs by mail with postage paid return envelopes. An incredible library of entertainment delivered right to your door for what I think we could all agree was a more than fair monthly subscription. Blockbuster had no answer - it tried to play the instant gratification card, but unless you wanted a recent blockbuster (no pun intended) or a recent straight to DVD release, their brick-and-mortar stores really didn't have anything to offer. As evidenced by their nosedive into bankruptcy, the margins on their video game rentals were not enough to offset the losses Netflix caused.

As time wore on, and video rental stores became scarcer and scarcer, there was still some demand for instant video gratification - just not enough to justify the rent on a 3000 square foot store front. Enter video-on-demand services, Redbox, and eventually Netflix streaming. Coming out of the gate, Netflix streaming was something of a novelty. It was cute, really. Not a lot of offerings, but they also weren't charging customers anything for the privilege. This was probably for the best, since most people without the tech-savvy to hook their laptop to their 50 inch plasma screen aren't going to watch a two-hour movie on a Dell sitting in their lap. If they won't use the service, they won't pay a lot for it.

But slowly, Netflix was added as a bonus feature on higher end electronics - PS3s, Blu-ray players, and some dedicated devices were rolled out to allow Netflix to stream straight to your television. Business boomed, and suddenly there was a small, but noticeable charge for the feature on your monthly bill. This was to be expected. Netflix had to pay for the right to offer these movies and shows, so we needed to offset that costs.

Then came the pricing structure change. Netflix split the services altogether, increasing the overall cost to have both a physical DVD service and a streaming service. This pissed a lot of people off. Personally, I was annoyed, but I had at least seen it coming unlike many customers. This change wasn't entirely Netflix' fault - studios had finally gotten wise to how lucrative streaming could be and realized it wasn't a passing fad, so each contract renewal with content providers was costing Netflix exponentially more and more money. What was Netflix' fault was the way it was rolled out - abruptly - and the size of the increase relative to the overall subscription for those of us on the bottom tier of their customer base (who presumably make up a sizable fraction of that base).

The backlash was pretty phenomenal. Short of Gamecock football games and national elections, I can't think of any other single event that has taken over my Facebook news feed quite this way, and it was overwhelmingly negative. Lots of people talked about leaving. Some actually did. Enough, presumably, to get a half-assed email apology from the CEO today.

And what does that apology amount to? Our bad. Here, try juggling two different websites instead of one integrated service. We thought that would be more convenient for you.

Thank Netflix. I really love your service. Really, I do. And at the end of the day, it is still a pretty affordable option. But thanks to your bone-headed customer service and PR campaigns, I have to wrestle with whether or not you, and your Star Trek reruns, are worth it.