Netflix is dumb.

I've posted this elsewhere, but I thought it would be apropos to my blog too.

From Netflix:

Q:What is happening to Profiles?
A:We will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account.

Why is this a big deal?

For me its a big deal because Kevin has one queue that gets 2 movies and I have a queue that gets one. Right now mine is lined up with 47 discs of Dr. Who (we're doing all the doctors in order), and Kevin's has the general movies we want to watch. So this means every day digging thru a couple hundred films to find the correct next one, be it one of Kevin's list or the next Who video. Or cough up 6 bucks more a month for two seperate accounts - either way Blockbuster is no more expensive and I can also get movies at their local store, so its got more a convienece factor.

Its also a big deal because Kevin and I will no longer get seperate reccommendations, all the movies that Kevin has rated will go *poof*, and any friends or family he has listed will also go *poof* ... again, there goes ANY reason to keep Netflix rather than switch to Blockbuster.

The most insulting thing for me was in their email and on the Q&A they didn't even try to say "Hey, its just too much upkeep".. I might have understood that. But they instead decided to spin it as a positive ... "While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers."

And thats all the explanation that was given. I sent them an email right away expressing my displeasure. If they had treated their customers a little better thru this, like say giving them a way beyond "print out your queue and add them one by one to your main queue" and/or an explanation for why the only distinguishing feature of their service was being taken away, I might not be as angry at them. As it is I I'm going to vote with my wallet, and Blockbuster is going to be getting my money come Sept. 1.

Thats right, Blockbuster is better than Netflix. *sigh*

Editor's note: Here's one good suggestion as to why Netflix is doing this. Personally, I'm not so willing to forgive and forget, esp. since when September rolls around I'm going to wind up with a major headache. But it is a really wonderful marketing lesson!