Good product + indifferent and inflexible customer service = cancelled membership
Written: Aug 20 '03 (Updated Aug 21 '03)
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I was a member briefly, from August 1 until a couple of days ago. During this time, I developed something of a love/hate relationship with Netflix, and in the end decided to cancel my membership. My overall experience appears to be similar to many of the previous posts, both positive and negative. In short, I felt that Netflix was a great idea and a great product. But in my short history with Netflix, I had some problems and in the end I couldn't get comfortable with engaging in commerce with (i.e., giving my credit card number on an ongoing basis to) a company which had such an indifferent and inflexible attitude toward customer retention and satisfaction. I felt there has to be an element of trust that Netflix will send DVDs in a timely manner, remove mistaken credit card charges, act in good faith regarding lost DVDs, and so on. After my experience with Netflix's customer reps, I just didn't trust Netflix to be on my side. This was reinforced by the stories I read from other reviewers where they had problem with customer service, and all of this convinced me to cancel my membership.
Initial Sign Up
I signed up for the free trial on July 31 after seeing a web ad about a free trial period (my recollection is that the promotion advertised 30 free days, although this was incorrect, as I learned later; see below). I had read news stories about Netflix and thought it was a great business model. I clicked my way through the sign-up process, which was relatively easy, and ordered 3 DVDs. All 3 were in stock and they arrived just 2 days later. I have so far only watched 1 of the movies and just returned it so I don't have a lot of history on order/return transactions, but so far so good. I have read on other posts that there have been problems with delays (deliberate or otherwise), out of stock, and so on, but I have not experienced any of these in my short history with Netflix.
Where the Problems Started
A few weeks later, I opened my credit card statement and found that Netflix had charged me $19.95 plus tax for the first month. I was surprised because I thought I was still in a 30-day free trial period. This is where the fun began. I emailed Netflix through its website that I was under the free trial and my credit card should not have been charged. Several hours later, Netflix replied that the promotion is only valid for new customers, and I had been a customer in September 2000. I had completely forgotten about this but I figured that since it was an honest mistake and it was such a long time ago, Netflix might be willing to extend the promotion in order to make a new customer happy, so I emailed them. They emailed back. Wrong. No free trial. Period.
I was intrigued that they were making a big deal out of something which a lot of companies would have just waived. I felt the need to talk to a real person, so I searched the Netflix website for the customer service number. Surprise, surprise, there is no number. To find it, you have log out of the site and pretend you're a new customer; then it's there, for new customers only--in case you have trouble signing up (it's 1-800-585-8131 or 1-888-638-3549). So I called the toll-free number and spoke with a customer service rep (medium-length wait on hold, but I was later told that Monday mornings are very busy). She politely confirmed to me that I was not eligible for the promotion. I told her that in that case, the screen should have clearly stated during the sign-up process that I was not eligible for the promotion, and I would be immediately charged. Had I known this, I might not have continued with the sign-up. She said that the screen did indeed state this. She also said that Netflix did not give partial credits, so even I cancelled today, I was still fully paid until the end of the 30-day period.
What I Found Out
I wasn't convinced that the screens were so clear, so I went back to the sign-up screens. I realized that their entire sign-up process consists of fine print, much of which is not shown until just before you commit yourself. The initial promo screen says that "New customers are eligible for a free trial." This could mean that you are eligible as long as you are not currently a customer. It would have been more clear to say "If you were ever a customer, you are not eligible." Later in the sign-up, there is some fine print that my credit card will be charged $19.95 (leading me to believe that the charge would take place after the promotion period ends). On a different screen, it says that only first-time customers are eligible for the promotion. All of this is not very clear and is different from stating explicitly that I am ineligible for the promotion because I was previously a customer, and that I will immediately be charged a membership fee.
I called Netflix again and spoke to another rep and pointed all of this out. I told her I thought the instructions and language were vague, and there was too much small print. This rep was considerably less friendly than the first one and she kept asking "what is your point?" I told her that the sign-up process was misleading, and she replied that "millions have used this system and we get very few complaints." Maybe true, but it shouldn't make my complaint any less important to Netflix. Bottom line from their standpoint: no promotion, no partial refund.
At this point, I was operating purely on the basis of principal, to see how their customer service dept. will react, and to see if still want to do business with this company. I don't care about the freebie. I exchanged a couple of more emails with the customer service dept., and pointed out that my 10 day free trial had already ended, during which time I had only taken out 3 DVDs. If they chose to extend the free trial, it would basically be a gesture of goodwill, of very little economic cost to them. I told them that if they did not extend it, I would cancel my membership. It doesn't take a genius to do the math and conclude that it's worth giving a small gift in order to keep the customer. One of the hardest parts of this type of business is signing up the subscriber and once you sign him up, you do everything you can to retain him (ask the wireless phone companies or internet service providers this).
Apparently, Netflix has not learned this, because they sent me an email with detailed instructions on how to cancel my membership, in effect saying, "Thanks, and good luck."
I concluded two things from this experience:
1) Netflix doesn't care about customer retention, and
2) The customer service dept. is completely inflexible--they have a set of rules and they follow them. You might as well log onto the website and click your way through the FAQs, because it's the same as talking to someone at Netflix.
Both do not bode well for any customer who has a problem with lost or delayed DVDs, mistaken credit card charges, etc. Hence, my decision to cancel.
During my site surfing, I found out a few other things:
The free trial is only for a measly 10 days, not 30 days. I'm not sure how I got the impression it was 30 days--maybe it was in the original ad? In any case, nowhere on the initial screens for the promotion does it state the number of days. You have to go all the way to the credit card input screen before you see small type on the bottom which says you get 10 free days. Maybe they hope people will keep assuming it's 30 days, and by that time, their credit cards will be been charged. In fact, a lot of important information is presented in fine print throughout the sign-up process.
I found my old log on and password from 2000 and signed in. I found out that all my information was still there, including, to my surprise, my full credit card data, even 3 years after I had cancelled that membership. I am very uncomfortable with this, and I called Netflix to have them delete this information, which they did. But I had to call and specifically ask them to do this. If you were ever a member of Netflix and cancelled, you can be sure they still have your credit card number.
Conclusion
I recognize that not everyone who had my experience would have cancelled as I did, and some will say I was too picky. But I do a lot of shopping and commerce on the web. I think I have a pretty good feel for who I should do business with, and Netflix was not one of them.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? 3 movies at a time
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Epinions.com ID:
jack783
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Reviews written: 10
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