Netflix, I Really Like You, but...

Dear Netflix,

We've been together now for nearly two years.

Sure, we've had our moments... Remember your outage back in May? I was trying to watch you online and you weren't available.

Hey, I realize these things happen. Then the next day, you wrote to say you were sorry:

"We are sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused. If you were unable to watch a movie or TV show last night due to the technical issues on the website, please click the link below, and we will apply a 2% credit to your next billing statement."

Still not sure how I felt about that. At the time, I was on the 2 DVDs out at-a-time plan for $13.99. 2% comes out to 28 cents. 28 CENTS? That's it?! That's what our relationship is worth to you?

Okay, okay, I'm still a bit sore. But I digress...

Admittedly, we've had a lot of great times. Without you, I would have never known about MI-5 ("Spooks" in the UK) or seen Arrested Development. You've found me some really great obscure films; and given me the chance to revisit some of my all-time favorites.

You're great. Really. I really, really like you.

But then, you keep doing this:

POP-UNDER ads? What are you thinking?!

First -- don't know if you realize this -- I AM ALREADY A CUSTOMER!!!!!!!

Second -- about the mailers you keep sending -- I AM ALREADY A CUSTOMER!!!!!!!

But pop-under ads?! Really???? That's so 1999.

Why??! And you know I have the "Block Pop-Up Windows" option checked in my Web browser. Each time that happens, ever so slowly, it chips away at the relationship we built.

And I even use this computer to play your "Watch Instantly" movies. Don't your cookies catch this? It's beginning to made me think you really don't care.

Maybe it's best that we don't see each other for a while.

Oh, The Things We Tolerate

Just yesterday, in two separate conversations, people told me about products or services they hate.

"Hate" -- that was the precise language used. Not "dislike." Not "mildly irked." HATE. Now, that's a strong emotion.

The first instance, in a discussion about healthcare, a gentleman told me that he hated his medical plan/provider. (No names here, but I have to concur about my health plan too. And I'll bet many others would say the same about theirs.)

A bit later in the day, a colleague talking about her fairly new laptop stated, "I hate this computer!" Her computer, from a top name PC brand, has been a constant thorn in her side: screen problems, keyboard problems, printer problems, etc. Follow-ups to the company often led to greater frustration.

Thinking of brands or experiences I hate, really hate, a few come to mine as well. I'll bet you can think of a few too.

What does a business, organization, service, etc. have to do to bring about this emotional reaction from its customers?! Think about it -- customers. These are the people that pay the bills, support the owners'/shareholders' livelihood. I may be going out on a limb here, but that probably is neither a competitive or sustainable business model.

On the other side of the coin, what about brands we adore? I mean really love.

I could name at least a handful for myself with Apple, MINI Cooper, and Trader Joe's included.

Sure, each of these has upset me from time-to-time. But I keep going back. In fact, not a week goes by without me evangelizing for one or more of these brands... Someone asks me for my opinion on computers? I'm all about Apple. Parking my car, people often ask about my Clubman, "How do you like your car?" Often they're sorry they asked; I give them a sermon on the virtues of MINI Cooper with the prevailing notion, "I love it!"

Perhaps one of the positive results of this current economy (I also despise terms like, "during these tough times", etc.) will be the weeding out of businesses that don't understand this notion of building their business around the needs and desires of their customer. Same goes with those that don't fully understand their employees. It will be the ones that customers -- and employees -- love that will be best prepared for the future.

In the meantime, it's just smart business.

UPDATE (July 9, 2009) - Fresh off the press... the current issue of Knowledge@Wharton has an article closely relating to this post:

Getting to 'Wow': Consumers Describe What Makes a Great Shopping Experience

"New Wharton research finds that 35% of shoppers have had an extraordinary -- or "wow" -- retail experience in the past six months. But in order to hit that mark, retailers must deliver on as many as 10 different elements of the shopping experience simultaneously. Among the strongest drivers of customer loyalty: brand experience, courteous employees and knowledgeable salespeople. Expediting the shopping process ranked high, too."

Link http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/2275.cfm

Speaking of Comcast

Earlier this year, Wired Magazine had a cover story on Comcast CEO Brian Roberts:

The Dark Lord of Broadband Tries to Fix Comcast's Image

Wired | Link

"Roberts hadn't anticipated the backlash. Subscribers accepted that cable TV was just entertainment, but the Internet felt more essential, like water or electricity, and consumers were starting to think of broadband as a constitutional right. Back in the days of basic cable, consumer complaints were always local and easily contained. But the Internet, as it turned out, was different. This was becoming a nationwide battle over who the pipes belonged to. Comcast had invested billions to build its network. Now its heaviest users were demanding that Roberts effectively hand over control to them."

Check it out.

Airlines AND Comcast Customer Satisfaction Up -- What gives?

You may have seen articles over the past few days about improved customer satisfaction scores for both the airline industry AND Comcast. Two industries many love to hate.

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.

AIRLINES

Fliers say airlines' service has gotten better

USA Today | Link

"Despite extra fees for everything from luggage to lunch, passenger satisfaction with airlines went up for the first time in six years, according to a consumer survey released Tuesday.

The airline business scored 64 out of 100 in the first quarter of this year, a 3.2% increase over the same period a year ago, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which randomly surveyed thousands of consumers across the U.S. Major carriers saw improved scores, or at least no decline.

But don't uncork the champagne just yet."

My assessment as a fairly frequent flyer over the past few years on multiple airlines...

A combination of airline layoffs and fewer passengers has led to a greater focus -- albeit minimal -- on the customer. But there's much, much room for improvement.

Your thoughts?

COMCAST

This is company I have had an ongoing love/hate relationship with for many years -- through the its evolution from the MediaOne era, then AT&T, back to MediaOne and, eventually, Comcast.

How have they pissed me off? Ah, let me count the ways:

• > A couple years ago, chatting with a Comcast employee at a party, I discovered that my cable modem was horribly outdated. Why didn't they let me know?! I pay a monthly fee for the privilege of having this modem! It took a few phone calls and actually going down to the Comcast offices to get a new, speedier one. Now, two years later, I wonder if I'm using the most up-to-date modem...
• > With the advent of digital cable, I bought a small, cheap digital antenna. It ended up pulling in about 20-30 channels over the airwaves -- all for free. "Great," I thought, "I can give up cable TV." With a call to Comcast, I discovered it would actually cost MORE to drop cable TV and do only broadband.
• > The implementation of Monthly data caps
• > Confusion, confusion, confusion - what, exactly, is the difference between "Basic Cable", "Basic 2 Cable", "Digital Starter", "Digital Classic", etc.?! Also, part of our "basic" service includes multiple shopping channels, the Golf Channel, and others I will never, ever, in-a-million-years, watch. Instead, I would gladly pay for just the channels I want -- Hell, I'd even pay more.

On the love-side of the equation, no one -- at least for the moment -- beats their broadband service. And it's enabling me to ween myself off of TV altogether. Instead, I watch my TV and movies online, on demand: The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, network shows (ABC, NBC, and CBS), Netflix's instant watch options, and other video sites such as Hulu, YouTube, et al.

[Whew -- good to get that off my chest...]

At any rate, my personal ranting aside, here's the report on Comcast's climbing customer satisfaction:

Comcast's customer satisfaction leaps

Philadelphia Inquirer | Link

"The Twittering for customer troubles, little cards apologizing for missed appointments, and discounted bills for lost TV service are paying dividends for Comcast Corp.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index, a nightmare for Comcast in recent years, shows a surprising surge in customer satisfaction for the cable giant. The new annual results are being released today."

Interestingly enough, DirecTV (a service I am seriously considering) leads the customer sat rankings.

As mentioned in the article, customers' frustration has led to monumental efforts such as comcastmustdie.com (which, it turns out, accomplished its intended job) -- check it out. Very creative and, obviously, effective.

It looks like Comcast is perking up and listening to its customers.

And, could this new-found philosophy be paying off? See Comcast's Q1 Profit Grows 5.4%

But, apart from a simpler, improved monthly billing statement, I haven't felt/witnessed any changes.

I'll believe it when I see it.