Netflix Strikes Again

Another SPAM
Got a second SPAM email from Netflix today. This one is interesting. First, the message.

Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2002 23:08:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Netflix 
Reply-To: mailservice@netflix.com
To: xxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx 
Subject: Have More DVDs to Watch
Message-ID: <12345.blablabla.Javamail.ml@mx7>
X-Mailer: NetFlix.com Hammer 0.5

Dear Brian,

Do you find that three movies isn't enough for your family? Need extra 
movies for the kids?  Did you know that Netflix offers plans where you 
can get four, five or even eight DVDs out at a time?

With over 12,000 movies we have enough movies to satisfy even the biggest
 movie lover in your home.  
Go to: http://www.netflix.com/SubscriptionChange?action=2&nfso=blablabl 
to upgrade and start enjoying more movies.

Netflix Ultimate
8 Disks Out - $39.95/month
For the ultimate at-home selection of DVDs at an incredible value, choose 
our Ultimate Program.  Get movies for everyone in your household. It lets 
you have 8 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $39.95.

Netflix Plus
5 Disks Out - $29.95/month
Ideal for members who want a larger selection of DVDs at home, our Plus 
Program lets you have 5 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $29.95.

Netflix Bonus
4 Disks Out - $24.95/month
With variety, value and an extra movie, our Bonus Program lets you have 4 
movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $24.95.

-Your Friends at Netflix

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We will not sell, rent or disclose 
your personally identifying information to third parties without notifying you 
of our intent to share the information and giving you an opportunity to prevent 
your information from being shared. You can review our privacy policy anytime.

SRC: BLABLABLA
(c)2002 Netflix, Inc.

This message was mailed to [xxxxx@xxxxx.xxx]

So why do I find this email interesting? Let's see.

1. I'm not in the 3-DVDs-out deal. Netflix thinks I am.
Easiest way to lose the interest of a customer when pitching something to them: attempt to upsell the customer from tier Y to tier Z, when in fact the customer is at tier X. I'm not in the three-movies deal with Netflix, but this email demonstrates that somebody's script in Netflix's "Hammer" system thinks I am.

Maybe the script has a bug in it. Maybe the script did check my customer records, did note that I'm not in the three-DVDs-out plan, and custom-tailored the SPAM message accordingly. But then something went horribly wrong, like a variable getting clobbered, or a buffer overflow, or an initialization coming too early or something. Possible. Likely? Who knows.

It's just as likely, unfortunately, that this spam just went out to all Netflix customers, across the board, without regard to whether they're in the three-DVDs-out plan or not. Me, I'm in the two-DVDs-out plan (never heard of it? Read on!). The Plan Netflix Doesn't Want You To Know About. Or, The Plan Netflix Is In Denial About, more likely.

I don't think this is a programming bug. I'm thinking GIGO (garbage in, garbage out.) My question for the Email Marketing Manager: what exactly did you tell Engineering to do?

2. "Hammer"? What am I, a Nail?
So Netflix's spam system appears to be called "Hammer". Kind of a weird name for a spam system. (I remember the one at MP3.com was called "Cannon". When we let that thing pump out 10 million Sephora purfume spams a day, why, you could feel the building's foundation rumble.)

Note that "Hammer" is only at version 0.5. Methinks it still needs some work. And is it really running on JavaMail? Aiiiieeeee.

3. Privacy is Important, But Getting the Details Right is More Important
Netflix smartly posts a privacy disclaimer in the email, assuring customers that the company will never, ever sell or disclose its information (at least, not until it decides to do so like, say, Amazon). I would love to see a disclaimer that not only assures the customer that their privacy is protected, but also says, "We care about serving you well. If this email contains erroneous assumptions about which subscription plan you are actually in, or if through this email the company has otherwise made a fool of itself, you be sure to let us know and we'll immediately work to correct the mistake" and providing a URL to a form to fill out back on the site and a customer support representative will respond within 4-6 weeks and ---- waitaminnit. No no no no no. Wrong. The customer shouldn't have to do anything. This is the responsibility of the company. Two words: "Quality Assurance". Look into it.

Netflix Lite
So if I'm not at the three-DVDs-out subscription plan, what plan am I at? Why, the double-secret probation two-DVDs-out plan, otherwise known as "Netflix Lite", costing $15.13 a month ($13.95 plus tax). So I can rent any number of DVDs but only two can be "out" at any time. Considering I'm located within 100 miles of a Netflix distribution center, this is not a problem as the discs arrive in 1 day. Well, this is not a problem for me. I suspect it is a problem for Netflix.

Netflix doesn't promote the "Lite" program anymore. I suspect it still exists because of worth of mouth -- that's how I heard about it. (Hmm, upon proofreading I see I said "worth of mouth" instead of "word of mouth". I kinda like that error, so I'm keeping it in.) I also suspect it still exists because a loss-leader customer is still more valuable than no customer at all. When my free 10-day trial was over, I emailed customer service and told them I'd like to stay on and be a Netflix customer, but I didn't want to do the 3- or 4- or 5- or 8-out plan. I wanted to do the 2-out plan, but that wasn't listed on the change-your-subscription page on the Netflix site. The customer service rep put me into the Lite plan, no questions asked, and that was that. I wonder if the Lite plan is profitable for Netflix. Judging from the SPAM above, it's clear that Netflix wants me to have as many discs sitting around my house as possible. Netflix would prefer I keep them for a long time. The only thing I can assume is that they prefer it this way because it costs them money to send them out and receive them back. So if you are an "active" customer like me, then that is more costly to them. Ironically, this is the complete opposite of Blockbuster, where they want the discs/tapes back ASAP, and they penalize you if you're late. I've never been late to a Blockbuster. I've been accused of being late several times, but I had proof each time and I was able to show them that they were wrong.

If I could, I'd up the rate to 12 or 14 DVD rentals per month, still on the 2-DVDs-out plan. Technically, it's doable. I mean, on day 1 of the month, Netflix pops two DVDs out of my queue and mails them to me. I get 'em on Day 2. I watch them on Night 2. I mail them back on Day 3. Netflix gets 'em Day 4, and sends out two more from my queue. I get them Day 5 and watch them that night. And so on and so on. Problem is, that's a lot of DVDs to watch in one month, and it cuts into my movie-going at movie theaters like Madstone. (Wouldn't it be something if it turned out that what Hollywood wanted us to do is start perceiving the phyiscal theatre-going experience as nothing more than a chance to see the sneak preview of what the subsequent DVD's going to contain? In other words, you go to the movies to audition future purchases or rentals.)

UPDATE: Continued in Part Eight...

Posted by brian at October 9, 2002 05:03 PM