It wasn't so long ago that Netflix made history by its rapid rise to dominance of the home-movie market, bowling over Blockbuster and other competitors with its combination of online ordering and snail-mail delivery. Then, they added video streaming to the mix, enabling direct download of flicks, television shows, and other entertainment media. Wonder of wonders, this was all available for one low price.
But then, the honeymoon was over. With a large customer base locked in to a marriage, the company began to show the ugly reality beneath the veneer of charming behavior. Last year they declared that the streaming and mail services would be separated, and each charged separately, at the same price as both had cost up to then: a doubling of price. Customers should probably have expected that move, but they had a right to be outraged at the high-handed and sudden way it was implemented.
Many subscribers jumped ship. Our household continued both services for a while, but we had always considered streaming as a secondary feature because what was mostly available was old television shows, and some even older movies. Netflix promised quick improvement in availability on the streaming side. Clearly, the future of the business, with the burgeoning popularity of tablets and smart phones, is in streaming. But they didn't deliver. Last month, we finally quit the streaming service because it was almost impossible to find anything we wanted to watch via streaming. (Maybe they have lots of stuff teenagers want? That is beyond our ken.)
Is it possible Russians own Netflix? In Russian, "net" means no. (It's pronounced "nyet" but spelled "net.") The name would be apt. So around our house, we're calling them "Nyet-Flix."
Nyet-Flix is attacking its DVD customers on other fronts. Until recently, subscribers could put their subscription on hold during vacation or business travel and not incur charges. As of May 1, however, that's no longer an option; now, they say you can "cancel" your subscription and reinstate it at any time; but - whoops! - the cancellation only takes effect on your next monthly billing date. If you plan to be away beginning the 8th of the month, but you're billed on the 29th, this option is meaningless.
We have also noticed other deterioration in the snail-mail service. Two years ago it would have been rare not to receive one of the top two listings in your "queue" but more recently, it became common for them to send something from about 10 places down on your list, no matter how long you'd been waiting for the "No. 1" item which they'd say was "not available." The only way to get a new, popular item, it seemed, was to delete all but one or two choices from the queue; then those same items became available.
The bottom line is that in Netflix I now see a company that's cutting corners, and squeezing its customers. No doubt streaming will ultimately become the standard, but Netflix is attempting to make the snail-mail DVD obsolete before they have anything to replace it with. It's an odd business model for a company providing a service. I'd say Nyet-flix is ripe to go the way of Blockbuster as soon as somebody else can mount a customer-friendly challenge.