The Brain Behind Netflix

Lesley Stahl Profiles Company Founder Reed Hastings

(CBS) 
But Netflix itself will be a movie downloader, says Hastings, who claims he’ll be able to beat the big Dot-Coms, like Apple, that have announced they’re getting into the game.

"More successful than Apple, with the iPod and all of that?" Stahl asks.

"More successful than Apple, Yahoo, and Amazon. Absolutely!" Hastings vows. "Because those companies, they focus on a lot of things, you know, books and music. We think that we can be the winning firm by focusing on movies."

"Somewhere between 20 and 25 percent of investors have gone short on your stock. They’re betting that downloading will eat you for lunch. So I think the message you're giving me isn't out there," Stahl remarks.

"Oh, the message, I think, that we intend to be the leading company is out there," Hastings says. "What people wonder about is: how will we do? No one really knows."

Asked if he thinks that Netflix has a chance to maintain its lead in that market, Scott Hettrick says, "When you start converting into downloads, that’s a very different kind of business that anybody can play at. Not just Apple and iTunes. Google video, Yahoo video, MySpace, all the studios. Now, having said that, they will still be able to be players. They just won’t be able to be as dominant in the category as they are now."

Even small companies are getting into downloading. Bruce Eisen is the president of CinemaNow, which is already up and running.

Eisen says it usually takes about an hour to download a full movie.

"But right now, for most people who would go to your site to download a movie, they would have to watch it for the most part, on their computer?" Stahl asks.

"Right," Eisen says. "You hit the nail on the head. Using it is easy. Connecting it to the TV where most people do want to watch it isn’t easy yet."

Unlike most of us, Eisen has the Internet hooked up to his TV. New equipment to do that will probably be widely available in the next year or two. And yet Hastings thinks it’ll be another five to ten years before downloading hits big. So his plan now is to try and quadruple his DVD customers; he just added two new warehouses in Maine and Alaska

There’s a new ad campaign, and this summer, Netflix staged a traveling road show, with screenings of famous movies in the places they were set: like "Field of Dreams," on that baseball diamond in Iowa and "Jaws," on Martha’s Vineyard.

Up to now, Hastings has been a big fish in a small pond. But with the downloading wave coming, his confidence about the company comes with nagging questions about himself.

"I think for sure in my first company I had a lot of self doubt. And I have some now. But it’s manageable now, where it was troubling before," he tells Stahl.

Asked if he feels that he has mastered whatever it was that he was struggling with before, Hastings says, "Being a CEO is a lifetime of learning. So I would never say the word 'master.' But I’m continuing to really enjoy the learning of it."

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Apple plans to boost its new downloading business by introducing iTV within six months. It’s a box that will connect the Internet and TV. Reed Hastings told 60 Minutes he’ll unveil plans for his own download service in January. And Netflix has posted a customer service number on its Web site.

[vwxxyz]

It looks like a sweatshop. Whay are all the envelope stuffers African and Asian women?

[fandbclark]

Your story on Netflix shows that anyone can start up a business but poor organizational skills. When movies are returned they are posted as returned when the individual locations decide to post them. Example: I have taken movies to the post office that they are picked up from and at early pick-up. These movies can be posted the next day to the next week. You receive the movies on Tuesday and return on Wednesday morning the postings are not running true.

At the end of the story the reporter noted that the phone number is know posted on the web site. It must be written in fairy dust because I have gone over every link with the Netflix web site and could not find it, just like the CEO did during the show.

You should have talked to other subscribers than just the couple from Maine. We could have given you some real good stories.

[AHerring]

Corporate Headquarters:
100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032, [phone], www.netflix.com

Wonder if this is the one he supposedly found. It was in the Consumer Public Relations Press Kit -- a PDF file.

If you ever looking for a phone number this is a good place to start, especially if you are tired of listening to recorded messages or computerized answering services http://www.gethuman.com/

For All......NetFlix 888-638-3549 and Press 0 for a human operator

amnj1 Amazon.com 800-201-7575

amnj1 Amazon.com 800%u2011201%u20117575

[effallah]

Customer service and website usability will always provide businesses a return on their investments and I believe that despite Netflix being there first, the company is doomed unless it can address those details.

I had to laugh when Mr. Hastings was unaware of the missing "contact us" information and unable to use his own company's website. Whether there was a phone number or not, to be so unfamiliar with the web interface to your billion dollar business is shocking, especially if your goal is to increase your customer base.

Maybe its time for Hastings to stop crowing about their cross and upselling features like 'Also Bought' lists and pay more attention to the information architecture, usability and customer service aspects of the Netflix web presence if he plans to scoop the future home movie biz.

[amnj1]

Have you ever tried to find a telephone number for amazon.com???

[wmcsnow]

I also need a phone number for Mr. Reed's customer service department. His email service doesn't work. I have sent emails and they must have a list of stock answers because the answers I get back have nothing what so ever to do with my question. They keep sending me the wrong DVDs and the wrong format. My renewal is coming up and I will not be renewing unless this gets fixed.
Please tell Mr. Reed that he is losing a customer to online movie download. Theirs is the only business I know that has no phone service available.

[amnj1]

Because I doubt they will put the customer service number on the website. (BTW when they first started they did have the number I called them to ask about the trial period back when I was getting ready to enroll way back when in the beginning) Here it is 888-638-3549
Anita

[caw451]

I had to come online to get the whole story;I missed all but the last 30 seconds because I was watching a Netflix rental!

[unabongerr]

i still dont see a phone number to contact customer service.