Netflix CEO Issues Groveling Apology to Angry Customers, Introduces Qwikster
As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced Sunday night that the company would be rebranding its movies-by-mail service to Qwikster, he also offered a groveling apology for the sparking the anger of thousands of customers when the brand divided its subscription services.
Thousands of Netflix customers were not happy in July this year when the company suddenly announced that it would bring a halt to its bundling together of its online streaming service with its movies-by-mail service.
With the division of services, some customers were faced with a hike in prices of up to 60 percent.
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However, Hastings was careful in his words not to apologize for making the change, but for communicating poorly with the company’s customers.
In the company’s blog issued Sunday night, Hastings wrote: “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.”
He added: “I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.”
The company’s co-founder went on to explain how he feared if Netflix did not continually assess and adapt itself it could face a similar fate as Borders bookstore chain, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
“In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success. Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight,” Hastings stated.
“DVD and streaming were becoming more and more different, and we could do a better job for both services if we separated them,” he said.
Before signing off, the company CEO reiterated that price changes are here to stay. However, he said customers could expect prices to remain fixed for the immediate future.
Hastings also used the announcement to introduce Qwikster.com, which will take over the movies-by-mail arm of the company’s services. He also said Qwikster would add video gaming to its services.
