Netflix, the company I have loved and adored for helping me catch up on old TV shows, now wants to charge me for 2 plans: one for streaming, and one for a 1 DVD at a time shipment. Instead of $10 per month, I’ll be charged $16 if I want to keep what I have.
So, because it can’t get the rights to stream these movies, if I cancel the DVD shipment, I can’t watch Hotel Rwanda, 9, Inception, Scott Pilgrim or The Illusionist (the new one by the guys who did The Triplets of Belleville.) I’m charging this to my credit card, and I don’t want to charge much more than I am to get the stuff I’ve been wanting to watch.
And that’s not the thing that gets me. The real stinger is that I can’t contact them efficiently to ask if there’s a way to get better streaming. I’ll pay a couple bucks more a month if it means I get more TV and movies, but now I have to pay $8/month for a service I just got for $2? I can call Netflix, but the amount of time to speak to anyone on the phone is just under a half-hour (according to their website at publish time.) That doesn’t mean I’ll get to speak to anyone who can answer my question or do anything for me.
Some of you might think I’m being selfish, that I’m whining about something that’s really small. And yes, paying $16/month could be considered a small amount for unlimited service. What I don’t like (other than the unavailability of customer service,) is the huge spike in the price coupled with the fact that I’m trying to get TV shows and movies legally while not owning a cable box.
Netflix, by raising the price 400% in one go, you’re encouraging people to download movies for free from BitTorrent sites. Why so much? Are the logistics of a joint account that impossible to comprehend? Am I the only person who wants streaming and DVD’s? If you want more people to stream your content, then add more content. My DVD queue of 53 movies and shows has 9 streaming options. There’s a reason I pay more for a DVD shipment. I’m happy to pay a little more for the service, but you’re charging too much too soon. I’m dropping the DVD shipment and will either have to wait for the movies to appear in streaming video or get them from other sources.
Your loss, Netflix.