I’m leaving Netflix. Not only am I upset with the fact that they are getting rid of their profile option, but the way in which they are handling it is just plain rude.
It all started when I received an email telling me that on September 1, 2008 this option will be taken away. Upon hearing this, I was pretty upset. I became a member of Netflix in May 2007 and created a joint account with my roommate so that we could subscribe to Netflix while saving some money – we receive “2 at a time unlimited” for $12.99, thus we each pay only $6.50 to receive a “1 at a time unlimited” movie every month. Considering that renting a DVD from Blockbuster averages about $4, and if you plan to see more than 1 a month, this makes sense. If I were to subscribe to the “1 at a time unlimited” on my own it would cost $8.99. With rising gas prices and a failing economy, I don’t want to spend an additional $2.50/month on movies. So, it pays to have a roommate! With the profile feature we can each log-in on our own, create our own playlists, and receive Netflix movies in the mail with our own name on it – no confusion, no hassle, no need to coordinate with each other.
This will all change when the Netflix profiles feature goes away. They have announced this on their blog, and almost all of the 1,182 people that have commented (as of 11am on 6/27/08 ) say that this is a VERY BAD IDEA. And I agree. SO WHY ARE THEY GETTING RID OF THE PROFILES FEATURE? This is what they say: “Please know that the motivation is solely driven by keeping our service as simple and as easy to use as possible. Too many members found the feature difficult to understand and cumbersome, having to consistently log in and out of the website.”
This feature was “difficult” ?? On the contrary, by NOT having this feature, my Netflix account will be VERY difficult. And besides, this feature is an OPTION – it didn’t have to be used. My roommate and I will no longer have the option to have separate log-ins or separate queues. What does this mean? A lot more hassle for the both of us. We now have to strategically place each movie selection in our queue, and take turns as to who gets the next pick. We will have to waste time talking about it and then waste more time online making sure that it our selections are equally distributed between us. NOT HAPPENING. I’d rather cancel and others feel the same way.
So, who’s with me? Let’s band together and CANCEL Netflix. Or at least replace it with a different service. Does any one have any suggestions as to a replacement? Please comment below. We are paying them for a service. A service that is not listening to us and our needs. We should really show them who is boss.
UPDATE…
Netflix has decided to NOT cancel its profile option. Thanks, A.Tee.Dub, for letting me know. Keep your Netflix, they do listen to what we have to say!
