Rapid Rant: Netflix, If You Had a Face I Would Punch It!

I know that I'm not the only angry person out there!

Let me say this off the bat: I LOVE NETFLIX!

I do.  I have been a loyal customer for over 6 years.  I look forward to that red envelope in my mail.  I arrange my queue like it's a game of chess, but I'm always the winner.  Watch Instantly has been a beautiful double-edged sword in my life, both cutting through the terrible hours of sleeplessness that wreck my life but also allowing me almost endless distraction when I should be living up to my potential.  I've never had a single customer service problem with them; any mistakes or complaints were addressed immediately.

Apparently, years of love and comfort lulled me into a false sense of security, because when I (along with every other customer) got the email yesterday informing me that on September 1st I would be charged separately for the different services under my plan, my blood pressure shot through the roof.  Shocked doesn't even begin to describe it.  Somehow, someone calculated that I should be charged 7.99 for the streaming service and 7.99 for the one-DVD-at-a-time service.  This math results in a 5.00 increase to my account.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?!?!?!?!?

It's not just that 5.00 is a big leap in one month (it's a 1/3 increase in price, relatively, it's substantial) and it isn't the company's fault that my finances are such that such an increase is actually noticeable in my budget (part time job, oh how I need thee!).  What fries my zucchini is that these two services, which both have their own benefits and drawbacks are being valued the exact same, implying that if you want to keep your cost lower you should just pick one.

With streaming you have 24 hour access but there are only a limited number of titles available.  With physical discs in the mail there is greater selection, but it takes at least 3 days to receive, watch and return a disc.  These are not equivalent services!!!  They work together: physical discs allowing me to watch (pretty much) whatever I want, streaming filling in the days when discs are on route to or from the distribution center.  So by pricing them equally, Netflix is trying to tell me there will be no repercussions for my life (and by life, I mean rut) to make a simple either/or decision.  This is not at all the case, and whomever decided to think it is couldn't be more wrong.

Now, my soon-to-be-roommate, instead of getting crazy irate (to the point that said anger lasts more than 24 hours), came up with a plan.  She will subscribe to the streaming service, since her account is already synced with her Wii and TV, and I will upgrade to a 2-discs-at-a-time service.  That way we'll both have Watch Instantly and a physical disc.  Look at her brilliance!  We are both sacrificing (some) privacy for (some) savings, and I think we'll be able to make the situation really workable.

But, I reaming frustrated and disappointed in Netflix.  Poorly done guys.

The TV Girl