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There are several titles in Netflix's huge video library that might be used to describe the company's incredible fall from its customers' good graces following its July 12 price hike, which upped prices 60 percent overnight for some users. "How To Lose Friends & Alienate People," for example. "American Greed," perhaps. Or, if you believe some of the more pointed Internet commenters, it can all be traced back to the title of a film that won't be available on Netflix for some time: "Horrible Bosses."
Until recently, my perception of Netflix's PR meltdown was purely based on what I'd seen posted on blogs, Twitter and Facebook by scores of furious commenters. But now we have a graph of consumer perceptions to quantify just how much Netflix has angered its user base: BrandIndex, a research firm tracking consumer perception of different brands, charts the difference in how the public views Netflix as opposed to its competitors before the announcement, on the day of the announcement and immediately following the announcement. The data represent an ongoing, daily survey of 5,000 consumers per day. See if you can guess the date on which Netflix came out with its new prices:
This chart represents a 7-week period and 15,000 people. Each respondent is asked two simple questions: Which brands have you heard positive news about recently? Which brands have you heard negative news about recently? As you can see, the day that the new pricing schemes were announced and immediately afterwards were not good for Netflix; it crashed from a consumer perception significantly higher than Redbox and DirecTV, down into the negative numbers, into the lowly depths of Blockbuster.
So, what happened? Companies announce price hikes and unpopular subscription changes all the time (see: Verizon and AT&T, mobile data caps). Netflix, however, apparently did not do enough to comfort its upset customers or cool their ire (Netflix did not respond to a request for comment). Here's a brief timeline of its ongoing PR nightmare, along with some additional insight by BrandIndex's Ted Marzilli:
The story of how Netflix ticked off its customers more than just about any company in America that didn't spill an inconceivable amount of oil in the Gulf of Mexico begins with a rather innocuous press release. Rather than contact their users about the price hike themselves, Netflix first put out this release and let the news outlets disperse the story of the pricing overhaul for them (they later sent emails, but after everyone had already heard about the price hike elsewhere). The change: Netflix eliminated the $9.99 1-DVD-at-a-time + unlimited streaming plan in favor of two separate plans: $7.99 for 1-DVD-at-a-time, and $7.99 for unlimited streaming, with no discount for combining the two. And thus the rage began to form: Netflix allowed the news media to notify customers of its price hike. The consumers did not shoot the messenger, however; rather, they approached, fully-loaded, the corporate entity they saw as the villains, as Netflix was about to discover...
On the Netflix blog, Jessie Becker, the VP of Marketing for Netflix, pens a post that attempts to spin the price hike as a benefit for the consumer rather than a move that makes financial sense for the company. Among other things, Becker sells the $7.99 DVD-only plan as the company's "lowest prices ever" for unlimited DVDs by mail; it is true that $7.99 for unlimited DVDs one-at-a-time is Netflix's cheapest plan ever, but it does not anticipate the outrage that will accompany the streaming option being decoupled from physical DVD plans, nor does it address the surprise, unapologetic nature of the announcement. Netflix users indeed feel surprised and betrayed, and those surprised and betrayed Netflix users take to the Internet and phone lines to let their formerly beloved company know how they feel about its "lowest prices ever"...
Hell hath no fury like a Netflix consumer scorned. #dearnetflix trends on Twitter for days, as angry Twitter users co-opt the hashtag to write angry 140-character missives to Netflix; meanwhile, below VP of Marketing Jessie Becker's blog post on the Netflix blog, the comments section reaches its 5,000 post capacity within hours. Users take to the company's Facebook page to complain. CNET counts 9,000 comments in the first eight hours after the announcement alone. Netflix does not immediately respond to the Twitter hashtag, the 5,000 blog comments, nor the Facebook hysteria. A spokesman does eventually react the next day, however, with one of the most out-of-touch, silver-spoon PR snafus of the year...
When Netflix finally responded to the tens of thousands of tweets and comments condemning what most saw as a money-grab by the company (with many referring to Netflix CEO Reid Hastings as "Greed" Hastings), it did so through company spokesman Steve Swasey the following morning. Rather than apologize, Swasey seemed to make things worse, brushing aside criticism with this much-quoted gem: "We knew there would be some people who would be upset. To most people, it's a latte or two." A general swell of populist outrage forms. Measuring money in terms of lattes? During a recession? Surely Steve Swasey and Netflix could not be so out-of-touch. And yet the next day--apparently going for the world record in sticking one's foot in one's mouth--Swasey followed up his forehead-slapper of a latte comment with what I will charitably call a "joke": "I made a comment to someone, on background, that the $6 difference between the old and new prices is the equivalent of a couple of cups of latte. And that's gained a lot of traction. I've received a bunch of hate mail, because people thought Netflix was being insensitive to people who don't drink latte. That's not the case at all. I'm not a coffee drinker, and my wife drinks regular joe." Yikes. These stand as the most notable and widely circulated official Netflix reactions to the price hike.
Wouldn't you think that if your company was trending on Twitter for several days that you would tweet something about it? If you said 'yes,' then you aren't Netflix, whose main Twitter account went totally silent for the week after it tweeted the good news about its new pricing plans.
Though we are still waiting on official numbers, those who threatened to leave Netflix apparently begin to do just that: Blockbuster offers a special deal to Netflix customers who jump ship; a representative for Sony-owned Crackle tells me that the site has seen huge increases in traffic and registration since the price hike; and many analysts expect that Redbox, and not Netflix, will benefit most from the new Netflix price scheme. Netflix's only updates from the past week? The latte comments, and the newsthat it has added functionality for several new Android devices.
Netflix becomes a more hated company than would-be competitor Blockbuster overnight. It drops from an excellent score of 39.1 approval (out of 100) down to a -6 disapproval, into a virtual tie with Blockbuster. Redbox sees a surge in consumer approval following the Netflix announcement; even DirecTV, which was named one of the 16 worst companies in America by the blog Consumerist last year, holds a solid brand reputation lead over the once-mighty Netflix. "About 70-75 percent [of respondents to the survey] are angry and are going to cancel their subscriptions," Ted Marzilli of BrandIndex predicted. "A lot of people are acting emotionally, but whether they actually cancel their subscriptions" is another question, he said.
When I asked Marzilli to name a company that had gone through a similar PR disaster or sudden drop in consumer approval, he offered Taco Bell as a close comparison point. When the fast food giant was sued for misleading the public about the percentage of beef in its meat mixtures in January 2011, customers were disgusted with Taco Bell, and its approval score dropped about 45 points like Netflix's has. But according to Marzilli the company managed to elevate its public esteem to its previous levels quickly thanks to some savvy PR: "Taco Bell recovered in 3-5 weeks, they responded in a week or so, and they responded convincingly. This is a best-case scenario [for Netflix]; there might be some lingering resentment." How long this resentment lingers will determine Netflix's fate...
Marzilli offered another analogy for the Netflix outrage: When we fly, and an airline loses our bags, or makes us sit on the runway for an hour, or delays us overnight, we tend to get incredibly angry with the carrier and promise to ourselves that we'll never use that airline again. But when the time rolls around to purchase a new flight, sometimes the airline that has wronged us is the best and cheapest option; so we swallow our pride and forget our past misery and sign up for a second round with that airline. Whether Netflix's irate consumer base similarly forgets its temporary fury and returns to the online rental giant, or whether it stays mad and holds a grudge remains to be seen. Marzilli expects Netflix to eventually return to its pre-price hike heights, though perhaps not as quickly as Taco Bell did. Barring a mass exodus to its several competitors, Netflix should stay financially healthy enough to survive and even thrive (despite an ugly earnings report for its 2011 Q2); whether or not it ever becomes the darling of video-renting consumers, however, is still, to use yet another movie title, up in the air.
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Super 8 Medina, Medina
- Free continental breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking
Main amenities
- 48 guestrooms
- 24-hour front desk
- Air conditioning
What's around
- Rockin Robin's Amazone Fun Center (0.5 mi / 0.7 km)
- Medina Community Recreation Center (4.1 mi / 6.6 km)
This was basically what we expected. Hotel was a little dated, hallways smelled a little…
This was just a quick overnight stay on our way home. The room was fine for what we…
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Hotel Info: 1800-687-236 (Australia Toll Free)from A$91
- Room, 2 Queen Beds, Non Smoking
- Double Room, 2 Double Beds
- Standard Room, 1 Queen Bed
- Room, 1 King Bed, Non Smoking
- Room, 1 King Bed, Smoking
- Standard Room, 1 Queen Bed, Accessible
- Standard Room, 1 Queen Bed
- Room, 2 Queen Beds, Smoking
- Double Room, 2 Double Beds
Recommended hotels
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 48 rooms
- This hotel is arranged over 2 floors
- 24-hour check-in
- Check-out time is noon
Required at check in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
Travelling with others
- Pets allowed (dogs and cats only) *
- Specific rooms only *
- 2 per room
Extra people
- Rollaway beds available, charges may apply*
- Free WiFi in public areas
- Free WiFi in rooms
- Free self parking
- Free RV/bus/truck parking
Nearby Two Star Medina hotels
In the hotel
- Free continental breakfast daily
- 24-hour front desk
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
- Roll-in shower
In the room
- Air conditioning
- Coffee/tea maker
- Private bathroom
- Bathtub or shower
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- 32-inch flat-screen TV
- Cable TV channels
- Desk
- Free WiFi
- Free local calls
- Microwave (on request)
- Cookware, dishware, and utensils
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Access via exterior corridors
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Super 8 Medina, Medina's small print
Also known as
- Super 8 Hotel Medina
- Super 8 Medina
The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.
Pet-friendly rooms can be requested by contacting the property at the number on the booking confirmation.
Optional extras
Rollaway beds are available for USD 10 per night
Pets are allowed for an extra charge of USD 10
We have included all charges provided to us by this hotel. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Spent a few days at the Radisson and liked a few things about it enough to write a review. First, I had read that this hotel is right next to the highway so I made sure to ask for a top-floor room. I got a room on floor 7. Perfect. The noise levels are hardly noticeable at that height yet,... More


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Health Topic Center
CBS Las Vegas Health News
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- 5 Simple Exercises That Lower Stress Looking for a way to lower stress? Try these five exercises from Dr. Tami Meraglia, author of "The Hormone Secret: Discover Effortless Weight Loss and Renewed Energy in Just 30 Days."
- Nevada Bill Would Require Breaks For Breastfeeding Moms Nevada lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would require employers to give nursing mothers a time and place to pump breast milk.
- Bill Would Require Annual Reports On State's Obesity Problem Nevada lawmakers are reviewing a bill that would require state officials to prepare an annual report about obesity in the state and what's being done to fight it.
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- Carlos Diaz Gets His Head Shaved by Dayna Roselli to Support Cancer Research (Las Vegas, NV) - Yep… I shaved my head for Childhood Cancer Research. Here's how the evening went down: Last Saturday night, I took part in my first St. Baldrick's Celebrity Charity Fundraiser Event. For years, my mentor at CBS Radio, Cat...
- Carlos & Dayna Shave Their Boss' Head! Click HERE to particpate. Carlos & Dayna are living the dream. How many times do you get to shave your bosses head...clean bald? My name is Cat Thomas. I have been an on air personality with CBS and am currently the Program Dir...


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This property allows you to book online with a credit card. After submitting a reservation request, the owner or manager has 24 hours to accept, at which time your card will be charged and you will receive an email confirmation
Recent Lake Lure reviews
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