Last Friday, Netflix sent a “Price update coming soon” email, announcing its latest cost increases to UK customers.
The price increase isn’t the issue for many, although customers will always grumble. However, the content and tone of the email seem like a big problem. Can you spot the issue?
Personally, as a recipient, I assumed the email body had been truncated, but no! That’s the whole thing.
Across the 30-word missive, Isabelle Roughou took to LinkedIn to identify all the issues with that email. Her succinct 230-word response highlights it as misleading, insulting, lacking context, and making zero effort at retention for those who might find the price rise unpalatable.
If only someone at Netflix had considered any of those issues in the remain seven hours of their day after writing that.
Whatever your opinion, there are clear lessons for any business or brand dealing with cost increases to observe and follow.
Is toneless customer service a Netflix trend?
As a customer, I have no problem with the price rise. But receiving such a blunt note as a customer experience journalist, it raises both hackles and questions.
Firstly, has Netflix fired its marketing and customer experience team? Who approved this? Is the media company following in the vein of we’re too big to care or fail entities like Tesla and energy providers? And, are we entering an age of Trump-inspired “masculine energy” marketing?
Worse still, having had the whole weekend to think about it and judge the social media response, Netflix still hasn’t sent out a retraction, a revision or even an apology.
Some customers see their prices rise to £18.99, making the email even more obnoxious. And for those who used to pay between £6-9, the drip-feed of rises may trigger them to shop elsewhere, as the likes of Apple TV+, Disney+ and other services have strengthened their rosters in recent years.
Practically, we can only wait until Netflix’s next subscriber update to see if this mistake has any effect, but until then look to see if others will lean from this poor effort.