One of the areas that most businesses work very hard at is maintaining their Reputation, but is there ever a point where you are too big to care?

This topic arose after Netflix decided that they were going to separate their online and mail order service and raise the rates to a service that brought no enhancements or additions, which sparked an outrage from consumers and a pledge of nearly 30,000 members to leave the service per their comments on Netflix's Facebook Fan Page. The passive attitude displayed from Netflix shocked me, as I do believe that there should never be a time when you think it is okay to NOT listen to your customers. I have been a loyal member since 2005 and have enjoyed the service and welcomed the online enhancement but now more than anything else to hear their “reluctant to care” attitude honestly start to leave a sour feeling in my mouth, one that is tempting to expel and move on to an alternative (ie. On Demand, Red Box).

We have witnessed the power of the socially networked people that have been so strong that they have rooted political figures from power, some holding positions for over 3 decades yet still not able to hold the ground.  Do enterprise organizations think they are more powerful than high ranking politicians? I do not know when a number of 30,000 was an acceptable amount of casualties in the art of business. Sure they have well over a million subscribers, but I do not believe that they are immune to a mass exodus because although the fee is not astronomical. I mean if you look at it in actual dollar amounts but it is when calculated in percentage at nearly a %60 increase that they should take the roll of the “it is what it is” and not care about the customers that have been loyal to them for so many years and literally helped put them on the map.

  Have we reached a time where we no longer concern ourselves with what our customers want and only look at the bottom line? Is allowing the transparency of your true agenda the right course to take when there are so many firms out there that spend billions of dollars on PR and networking both on and off line. I am watching a company do everything they tell you not to do in regards to strengthening your business, after all if it were not for the customers, there would not even be a business to start. Even if a company like Netflix decided to increase their fees, I believe in my honest opinion that customers would be more accepting and loyal if they felt like they were in the loop as to why they now need to spend more for the same content other than to increase profit margins.

What is your take on businesses that think that they are too big to care? Do you support this type of ideology?