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Netflix should fire its CEO and get back to normal

Nostromo

Nostromo

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 26, 2009
1,358
2
Deep Space
The current CEO of Netflix is probably one of the most incompetent industry leaders currently working.

He takes a successful company, splits it in two, calls one of them Quikster or something like this (did they actually pay the people who came up with this name?) and within weeks runs it into the ground.

As for now my Netflix service has broken down. Discs I shipped almost a week ago are still listed as being in my place.

Customer service (phone contact was always the only option, but there was rarely any need of it as everything worked so well) has now endless waiting time.

I liked Netflix. It was a great service.

I want it back as it was.

My proposal:

1. Fire the incapable CEO

2. Cancel quickster (or whatever silly spelling that unword has)

3. Return Netflix to what it was.
 
thats not incompetence , thats what you do as a proper CEO
you are making 2 companies out of 1 is the ideal solution if you got profits to hide then you can always let 1 of the 2 go bankrupt or very close to or making profit by selling the part to a mate , that levels out the amount of taxes you would have to pay , its a worldwide common practice
its not incompetence its clever
i once worked for such company we got split up, sold 5 times within one year and changed 6 times our name in the same year and then we went in liquidation
the shareholders made profit , the CEO's made profit , it had just been some of our customers who went in liquidation a result too and my fellow employees had all been made redundant
that was actually the point in my life when i decided under no circumstances i will ever work again employed ,since then i am self employed

thats capitalism at its best
 
Bring in the streaming!

If this means that they will get more content into the streaming side I'm all for it. I could do without the optical media. Instant (or near to it) gratification is more of a perk for me.

I think while we had the dual mode I got maybe two DVDs. But then again I'm just one customer out of how many... Streaming to my AppleTV, iPad, iPhone, iPod, or among the family Wii or Samsung player. No waiting for discs, no worrying about having to return them, just click and go...
 
I for one canceled my netflix streaming service and activated hulu plus. The selection just wasn't there.
 
I just wonder whats going to happen when they lose all their Stars content, they did not renew the contract and it ends early 2012.
 
accessoriesguy said:
I just wonder whats going to happen when they lose all their Stars content, they did not renew the contract and it ends early 2012.
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't even know about that. That's going to hurt them, since a lot of their newer movies are through Starz.
 
My service is just as good as it's always been. The only real complaint is the price increase. I honestly believe Netflix didn't have a sustainable business at its previous prices. This is what happens when a company grows too fast. I believe the CEO is doing the best he can under the circumstances and I can't fault him at all.
 
grapes911 said:
My service is just as good as it's always been. The only real complaint is the price increase. I honestly believe Netflix didn't have a sustainable business at its previous prices. This is what happens when a company grows too fast. I believe the CEO is doing the best he can under the circumstances and I can't fault him at all.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not sure the ceo should be fired, surely he knows something we don't about the company and made what he felt was the right call.

I just decided to drop my service because they weren't really what I needed anymore.
 
Streaming - less overhead, cheaper to provide
Mailing - shipping costs, physical media warehouses, more personnel, wear on media
Both - increased cost for content that has to be passed onto customers

The PR was handled poorly, but cost increases were inevitable. They SHOULD have split the DVD from the streaming from the outset.
 
I for one vote this CEO to run the US postal service, and show them how to ship correctly (he's a logistics pro.) He should leave netfix and save Ben Franklin's legacy before it ceases to exist.

I still use Netflix streaming service, but am probably going to cancel when Staz get's cut.
 
tigres said:
I for one vote this CEO to run the US postal service, and show them how to ship correctly (he's a logistics pro.)
Click to expand...
I agree, the USPS should start delivering mail and packages using whatever infrastructure it is that Netflix uses to deliver CDs.
 
there is no such thing as "normal" for content providers...

...not anymore.

Netflix was as successful as it was because of, not despite, Reed Hastings.

The future is streaming, and Hastings has been pushing it for over 5 years. The current problem is the content producers/providers are jacking up their fees, with Starz being the first.

Can you imagine going back to renegotiate your rent, or your car payment, and be told this time around it will cost 10x as much as last year? Not a 20% increase, but 10 fold! And Starz is only one of many content sources. If Hastings paid up, that would just embolden the next greedy distributor.

And since their costs were always on the low side, Netflix has no war chest for the upcoming Content Wars.

It's a mess out there...cable, satellite, internet, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google, on-demand, PPV, etc. Nothing is normal.

Yes, I think Reed is getting ready to spin off the mail-order business and concentrate on streaming. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not so naive to think that <<I>> have a better grasp on content reality than Hastings.
 
I'm not really happy about the direction of Netflix but that probably has more to do with just liking things the way there were before these changes. I always have used the DVD by mail option and used the streaming as I had time or found something I wanted to stream. Then I had to decide if I wanted separate plans--and I decided to try it that way--streaming and DVDs. Now with two separate companies--I really don't know--maybe I will just use Amazon and iTunes for streaming and buy the BDs I really like. The problem with the way Netflix is doing this is that now people do have to make a decision. Many customers have kept their accounts the same as they were when then joined--some for many years. Now that they require some decision making on the member's part--well some will no doubt decide to save their money. I know Hastings wants to move Netflix to streaming only with no DVD by mail--IMO, he is doing this before he has the necessary cards in order for success. But then again, maybe his gamble will pay off and Netflix streaming will take off and once again deliver for their stockholders--and Quickster will find itself on the auction block.
 
noisycats said:
...not anymore.

Netflix was as successful as it was because of, not despite, Reed Hastings.

The future is streaming, and Hastings has been pushing it for over 5 years. The current problem is the content producers/providers are jacking up their fees, with Starz being the first.
Click to expand...

Then they should open up a torrent channel, and show the providers the other end of their A$$.

Make your price reasonable, or give it away for free- greedy %&%$.

Anyone see the ending of Entourage Season 8/episode 8, after the credits? John the CEO from the network calls Ari andtells him he can be the new CEO, AKA- GOD.

I know it's only a dream, but still...
 
Well, first of all, Netflix's current CEO is also its co-founder. He's been there from the start. I don't know about you, but it'd be tough for me to call someone who built Netflix from nothing to what it is today "incompetent".

What's the alternative? Netflix faces a decline in its DVD-by-mail division as people get broadband and want instant access to the full library. It also faces an uncertain future with the problems that the postal service is having right now.

Sure, Netflix could hold onto an old, popular technology until its very last days (see also RIM), but I think the company would rather refocus itself, put emphasis on new technology, and be ahead of the curve.

Sound like any other companies you know?
 
NightThree said:
Well, first of all, Netflix's current CEO is also its co-founder. He's been there from the start. I don't know about you, but it'd be tough for me to call someone who built Netflix from nothing to what it is today "incompetent".

What's the alternative? Netflix faces a decline in its DVD-by-mail division as people get broadband and want instant access to the full library. It also faces an uncertain future with the problems that the postal service is having right now.

Sure, Netflix could hold onto an old, popular technology until its very last days (see also RIM), but I think the company would rather refocus itself, put emphasis on new technology, and be ahead of the curve.

Sound like any other companies you know?
Click to expand...

Ummmmm. Microsoft?:p


JK
 
The reason Netflix is spinning off it's DVD mailing business is because the studios were counting DVD subscribers (or those who didn't stream) as streaming customers and causing higher rates. It's really that simple.

As much as this move stinks now it's smart in the long run.

noisycats said:
...not anymore.

Netflix was as successful as it was because of, not despite, Reed Hastings.

The future is streaming, and Hastings has been pushing it for over 5 years. The current problem is the content producers/providers are jacking up their fees, with Starz being the first.

Can you imagine going back to renegotiate your rent, or your car payment, and be told this time around it will cost 10x as much as last year? Not a 20% increase, but 10 fold! And Starz is only one of many content sources. If Hastings paid up, that would just embolden the next greedy distributor.

And since their costs were always on the low side, Netflix has no war chest for the upcoming Content Wars.

It's a mess out there...cable, satellite, internet, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google, on-demand, PPV, etc. Nothing is normal.

Yes, I think Reed is getting ready to spin off the mail-order business and concentrate on streaming. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not so naive to think that <<I>> have a better grasp on content reality than Hastings.
Click to expand...
Bingo.
 
I wouldn't go as far as call Reed Hastings incompetent, but mistakes have been made. Whatever the reasons, you don't make the product worse AND charge more for it, which is what Netflix recently did.

At the very least, Netflix should've coincide price increase with some improvements in service.

Quirky name aside, Qwikster seems to be at least adding values, such as video game rental. But having to manage two separate queues (Qwikster and Netflix) unnecessarily punishes customers and demonstrates "I don't care" attitude that Netflix is increasing taking.
 
As long as the streaming content becomes more watchable, im ok with it. If not im cancelling and going back to torrenting.
 
noisycats said:
And since their costs were always on the low side, Netflix has no war chest for the upcoming Content Wars.

It's a mess out there...cable, satellite, internet, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google, on-demand, PPV, etc. Nothing is normal.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

chart-netflix-cash-stash.top.gif
 
grapes911 said:
You already manage two separate queues. It's going to be on separate sites in the future, but that's a small change and in no way "punishes customers."
Click to expand...

I manage only one queue. If you add DVD or streaming contents to a queue, it is added to both if it is available on both.
 
The only problem with all this streaming stuff is that ISP's are pouncing with Data Caps.

On top of that, expect the Caps to decrease next year when most customers go on board with streaming video content.
 
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