A Letter To Reed Hastings

I don’t know if you know this but I am kind of a big deal. So much so that the president of Netflix himself, Reed Hastings, emailed me yesterday. In his email he apologized for the recent abrupt and poorly managed price increases. He also mentioned the rebranding and division of the home DVD delivery system known as Netflix. What we call Netflix will now be used for instant queue items only and what comes to your mailbox in a big red envelope will soon be known as Qwikster. Separate services (owned by the same company) will be allocated on two different websites, with two separate log-ins, and two individual charges to your bank account.

Hmmm. With over 20,000 blog comments so far, it is safe to say people have an opinion on the matter. Myself included, which is why I have chosen to reply to his email.

Dear Mr. Hastings,

Thank you for the email. Your communication was unexpected, but appreciated. I notice you took your sweet time delivering an apology, if I were you I would look into a more pro-active PR team and leverage some of Tylenol’s historical data on the subject. Just a suggestion.

You seemed a bit sad and hesitant to announce the division of the company and the rebranding of your offerings. I understand, I would be too if I were about to lose a large portion of my business when I didn’t have to. The fact is, you were wrong in thinking the services you provide need to be marketed differently/separately, as I know dozens of people who utilize Netflix for both its instant and DVD queue offerings. But rumor has it your pockets are bleeding, and lord only knows how low a desperate man will stoop to recover his losses.

Regardless, what I am trying to say is that I am disappointed. I have spoken your praises on a publicly accessible blog. I’ve invested time and energy into this relationship. I’ve really built up a respectable and diversified DVD queue- one I would hate to lose. But I have no interest in managing two accounts. I prefer to be lazy about the whole thing and I’m not alone in this thought. Look at Wal-Mart, it banked on this economy’s desire for one-stop shopping and it has always been right. Long story short- I will be canceling my Qwikster account once it’s launched. I’m sorry. It’s was fun while it lasted. Maybe we can still be friends. Best of luck on your future business endeavors.

Sincerely, Abby

PS- I have always had this theory that Netflix is what has kept our U.S. Postal Service in business. Hopefully this shift in business practices doesn’t close too many Qwikster accounts, I would hate see my mailman lose his job.