Slack does this too, every month. (Maybe it’s more common in enterprise offerings?)
Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
21–30 of 519 posts
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#22I always wonder when a company does this if it is completely altruistic or if something else is going on behind the scenes. Maybe notifying customers gets them to reactivate, maybe if they resubscribe later they can charge more, maybe it’s better for financial reporting and projecting subscriber counts. On the other hand it could just be a rare moment of a company doing right by the customer.
Amazon did this for me back in 2005 when they introduced Prime. I used the free trial for an order (to get it in two days), but then didn't order anything else and forgot to cancel.
They sent me an email that they weren't going to charge me because I hadn't used it, but I was free to sign up in the future if I decided I wanted it.
It was so refreshing, it made me a lifelong customer.
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#23> Netflix says it will now start to cancel accounts that have watched nothing in more than a year, but have still been paying subscription fees. > Netflix said less than half a percent of its user-base falls into that category. > Almost 16 million people created accounts in the first three months of the year, nearly double the new sign-ups it saw in the final months of 2019.
> Almost 16 million people created accounts in the first three months of the year, nearly double the new sign-ups it saw in the final months of 2019.
No doubt the quarantine was a solid motivator to sign up.
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#24What happens with your subscriptions when you die?
If you ever feel like someone doesn't care, just stop paying your bills. *typo fixed
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#25I always wonder when a company does this if it is completely altruistic or if something else is going on behind the scenes. Maybe notifying customers gets them to reactivate, maybe if they resubscribe later they can charge more, maybe it’s better for financial reporting and projecting subscriber counts. On the other hand it could just be a rare moment of a company doing right by the customer.
Amazon did this for me back in 2005 when they introduced Prime. I used the free trial for an order (to get it in two days), but then didn't order anything else and forgot to cancel. They sent me an email that they weren't going to charge me because I hadn't used it, but I was free to sign up in the future if I decided I wanted it. It was so refreshing, it made me a lifelong customer.
They don’t do the same with EC2.
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#26Probably should be a law to do this automatically after four months or so.
A good way to rank the level of scumminess among SV companies: Signup with a credit card and don't validate your email address or ever sign into your account. You'd be amazed how many companies will happily start charging you.
How is that scummy? You bought something, and they're charging you for it.
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#27I always wonder when a company does this if it is completely altruistic or if something else is going on behind the scenes. Maybe notifying customers gets them to reactivate, maybe if they resubscribe later they can charge more, maybe it’s better for financial reporting and projecting subscriber counts. On the other hand it could just be a rare moment of a company doing right by the customer.
Amazon did this for me back in 2005 when they introduced Prime. I used the free trial for an order (to get it in two days), but then didn't order anything else and forgot to cancel. They sent me an email that they weren't going to charge me because I hadn't used it, but I was free to sign up in the future if I decided I wanted it. It was so refreshing, it made me a lifelong customer.
On a related note -- Audible free trial seems.. offered cyclically?
I seem to sign up every year or so, spend my credits, and cancel. They keep offering it though, and now I'm considering buying (as I enjoy the medium, turns out), so I suppose it worked.
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#28Imagine if gyms did this with memberships. They'd lose a fortune.
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#29Perhaps to eliminate old accounts that have the discounted subscriptions?
This is where my mind went too. I don't think Netflix has generally grandfathered-in pricing, my bill has always gone up when their advertised price does. If there are some folks who are getting a year or so of promo pricing, I don't see how cancelling their accounts is advantageous.
Re: Netflix stops charging customers who never watch
#30Imagine if gyms did this with memberships. They'd lose a fortune.
Because it's against their business model.
They want you to subscribe and not come.