What Netflix taught me about trust

4.4.2011 — Leave a comment

I received the following email last evening with the subject line, “We’re sorry you may have had trouble watching instantly”:
As you can see, the email was from Netflix and I was quite taken back as I read and then re-read it.

My family and I were away all-day on this purported service-interruption of Netflix’s streaming service that we subscribe to, but Netflix sent us the email anyway and offered us 3% off of our monthly bill for the trouble. (no, we didn’t take it)

Sure, 3% of $7.99 is “nothing”, but the service behind it is what is impressive to me.

Netflix left the decision up to me about whether to ask for my refund. I liked that. Trusting consumers isn’t a very popular thing these days I don’t think, so when it happens, I choose to highlight it and applaud it!

And I think there is something further to learn in other contexts via this example. We, as a people, are quite untrusting, too! What if we learned to stop being so untrusting all the time, took a risk and attempted to trust “outdide the box”? I can’t imagine that Netflix only refunded the 3% bill to those who actually experienced service interruption, and yet they went for a “mass-trust” of their customers and won!

Where are we missing out by not trusting?

The neighbor we don’t yet know?
The cafe down the street that we haven’t yet tried?
Trusting God with our finances? (I aknowledge the big leap here, but I think it makes a point)

I want to trust like Netflix, take faith-risks, trust in new ways that are unpopular and maybe even dangerous…

I think it’s what Jesus calls us to when he says, “Come follow me.”

Thanks for the reminder, Netflix.

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