A few months ago I received an email from Netflix notifying me that my price plan was going to be increased. Not just 5 or 10 percent, however, but an exact doubling in price -- from $7.99 to 15.98 a month. I like many other loyal Netflix customers (I had been with the company almost from the very beginning) were incensed by the move. We moaned, we groaned, we blogged, we posted, we complained. We did everything we could to express our displeasure to the Netflix powers that be. And while Netflix did listen to our pleas, the company made another boneheaded move: It split the company into two parts. Now a new company, Quikster, will handle the distribution of DVDs, while the distribution of streaming video will be retained by Netflix. So, instead of dealing with one company, we are going to have to deal with two.

Actually, many former Netflix fans (myself included) have taken another path. We have voted with our feet and cancelled all or part of our Netflix subscriptions. According to a survey of Netflix users, 16% said they planned to cancel, and the company's stock price has sunk 57% in just two month's time. Not exactly what the company expected or hoped for when it sent out that fateful email message a few months ago.

The lesson? Keep your most loyal customers happy. You just might need them when times get tough. Like they are for Netflix right now.