Back in the day when Netflix was all about the DVD delivered
in the red envelope, I watched my first episode of the period drama, Mad
Men.
And like much of the rest of the country I was immediately
hooked. I can remember putting all the
released seasons on my Netflix queue; hungrily devouring each episode as it
came in, and then promptly sending the DVD’s back so Netflix would release my
next fix – I mean DVD.
During those days I was maaaaaddddd for Mad Men.
So of course when I finished what Netflix had to offer I
started looking for current TV times to catch the new episodes.
I waited and waited.
In the beginning that was part of the mystic that is Mad
Men. The whispering among devotees regarding
when the opening season would begin. How
long would they make us wait?
And when it seemed we simply could not endure another
second without the series, we'd get our opening episode.
It was like being with a lover after an absence- I moved
heaven and earth to catch the program and gave it my full attention.
But, sadly like a relationship gone bad I started to
distrust Mad Men.
We'd hear the season was going to start and then they'd
tell us the season was not starting. And
then we'd get the start but the episodes were disappointing.
Because of the long breaks in programming it seemed at
times the writers were following obscure plot details that had long been
forgotten. Or at least I'd forgotten
them.
I often wondered, do the writers have “The Curse of Knowledge” or
are they arrogant enough to think they can hold an audience in abeyance for
months with nothing better to do than remember what coast which characters are
on.
So for me my Mad Men love affair has ended and ended
somewhat badly. I’ll show up Sunday
nights for the next two episodes unless I have something better to do. I know we're supposed to have the final set
of episodes in 2015, and maybe they'll be fantastic. But I don't know – right now I don't trust
them.
Are you selling what I'm buying?
For me Mad Men lost sight of what I was buying. Not only did they take away some of the visual
style and plot development, they arrogantly pointed out their advantage by
bringing the series to me on their erratic schedule.
I'm aware this post is a one-woman Mad Men rant.
But if you think to your own business the question is:
Are you selling what your customers still want to buy?
Or have you unconsciously taken away the very items or
services that constitute customer contentment?
Have you flipped flopped around on the business model to the point of
losing customer loyalty?
It’s just something to think about.
