Today I concocted a scheme. It’s a bit of an evil scheme, but I think it’s clever all the same. It’s about Netflix and their recently announced rate hike. I like to think of it as a…disincentive. *insert evil laughter here*
Like many people, I was distraught when I received the email from Netflix about their plan to raise rates. I raged for a bit, contemplated keeping my 1 DVD plan, and then decided I’d downgrade to streaming only. After all, there are more convenient ways to get DVDs. Plus, I imagined that losing my $2 a month would really stick it to Netflix.
But of course it would save Netflix money, really. They’d have to pay less for postage. They probably WANT me to downgrade to streaming only. Realizing this, I was again filled with impotent rage. They want 60% more money, and they don’t even pretend to offer more value for it. It’s mildly insulting.
So today I got to thinking, what if I kept my 1 DVD plan, and I used it? I mean, REALLY used it. No more sitting on Watchmen for 4 months (I actually sent it back unwatched, somewhat ironically). What if I filled up my queue with the latest and greatest movies and faithfully returned them the same day they arrived? What if the cost of postage to send me DVDs exceeded $16/month?
Frankly, I’m not even sure it’s possible. I don’t know how much postage they pay, and I know they throttle usage after a point.
Still, they are asking for more money. I think it’s fair to ask for more value. Their value comes from their DVDs, so that means asking for more DVDs. #MoreForMore
However, if it’s just me doing this, it’s just petty, meaningless revenge. Even if I manage to cost them more than I’m paying them, it’s not going to hurt their gigantic profits, right?
Have you figured it out yet? This is the evil scheme bit. Because if I do it alone, it really won’t make any difference. It might give me a sort of malicious pleasure, but it wouldn’t be worth $8/month. But if I had a few people join me (OK, a whole lot of people join me), then all of a sudden Netflix’s costs actually might go up.
At this point (in my brain) (megalomania-wha?), my evil scheme has gathered enough attention that Netflix itself is aware of it. And they come to us, the social media blogo-twitterverse, and they say, “Listen, if we return to our old pricing plans and only raise the rates a reasonable amount to cover our rising costs, will you please stop getting so many DVDs?”
Because I’m on the side of good in my evil scheme, a crusader for justice like Norma Rae, I imagine the social media blogo-twitterverse replies, “Yes, of course we will, Netflix. See, we’re not so unreasonable.” And then we’ll all go back to not watching DVDs for months at a time. Because the status quo makes us all happier.
I don’t blame Netflix for charging more. Companies have every reason to act in their best interest. So let’s make it in their best interest to reverse this rate hike.
