Ending Soon! Save 33% on All Access

Netflix Goes Where No Customer Service Has Gone Before In a lesson to all businesses about how to provide great customer service, a Netflix service rep role-played 'Star Trek' while trying to fix a problem.

By Brian Patrick Eha

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

A Netflix user who experienced a glitch while watching a popular sitcom found help and humor recently in the form of a customer-service representative who adopted the persona of a Star Fleet captain from Star Trek.

The user, Norm, contacted customer service after an episode of Parks and Recreation became caught in a "temporal loop," replaying three seconds of footage over and over. At first he simply told the rep that he had a problem to report, but when the rep introduced himself as "[Captain] Mike of the good ship Netflix," Norm decided to play along. He identified himself as a lieutenant, and said, "Engineering has a problem to report."

The two continued to roleplay while going through the details of the glitch, including whether or not other episodes or TV shows were affected. Norm also expressed existential concerns. "Worst of all, Captain... the dialogue... It looped over Councilwoman Knope saying, "This is real life... This is real life... This is real life..." WHAT DOES IT MEAN???" he wrote.

"That is a horrible place to get stuck," the rep said.

Mike's offbeat approach resulted in the "best customer service experience I think I have ever had," said Norm. Other companies could take a lesson from Netflix. Ditching the pre-written script can make customers happier than robotic customer-service protocols ever will.

VentureBeat has the full chat log.

Related: Angry Customer Used Promoted Tweets to Chastise British Airways

Brian Patrick Eha is a freelance journalist and former assistant editor at Entrepreneur.com. He is writing a book about the global phenomenon of Bitcoin for Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It will be published in 2015.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Career

Is Consumer Services a Good Career Path for 2024? Here's the Verdict

Consumer services is a broad field with a variety of benefits and drawbacks. Here's what you should consider before choosing it as a career path.

Business News

'Creators Left So Much Money on the Table': Kickstarter's CEO Reveals the Story Behind the Company's Biggest Changes in 15 Years

In an interview with Entrepreneur, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor explains the decision-making behind the changes, how he approaches leading Kickstarter, and his advice for future CEOs.

Business Ideas

87 Service Business Ideas to Start Today

Get started in this growing industry, with options that range from IT consulting to childcare.