In a blog post published last night, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings issued an apology for the handling of the recent Netflix price hike.
“I messed up,” Hastings said. “It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology.”
The price hike, which raised prices for those who chose to subscribe to both instant streaming and mailing rentals, let to a number of Netflix subscriber cancellations and a drop in stock price. In the post, Hastings said he “slid into arrogance” and failed to communicate properly with customers.
He goes on to explain that the reason for the change in pricing–charging separately for DVDs by mail and for streaming is that the two delivery systems constitute very different businesses with very different operating requirements. This comes off the recent announcement that Netflix will split into two separate services: Netflix for streaming and “Qwikster” for DVDs by mail, which Hasting’s also confirmed in the post.
A little late Mr. Hastings. That information would’ve been better had it been revealed to us sooner. Which makes me a little skeptical of his “sincere” apology. Is Hastings attempting to win back fans in time for the launch of the new Qwikster?
Qwikster will attempt to compete with GameFly, letting people rent Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 titles by mail. It will, however, carry the new brand and have its own team and web site.
I’d rather have my old prices back. Apology unaccepted. And you’re still arrogant.
