Calling the Coronavirus Covid-19 a major pain in the ass would probably be the understatement of the century. It’s a global pandemic, one that has claimed thousands of lives worldwide in a very short span of time. Many cities/nations are now on ‘lockdown’ (the term may vary from country to country but the idea is the same: Businesses, apart from what’s considered essential, are ordered to close and citizens are asked to stay at home).
This has meant that streaming platforms have never been busier. But, what happens when most customer support agents are unable to go to work due to the “lockdown?” Over the past couple of days, Netflix users (primarily in US, but in other parts of the world as well) have complained that their accounts have been hacked. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough customer support agents to resolve their issue.
https://twitter.com/TheSunIsCrying_/status/1241945454713155594?s=20
Hey @netflix someone hacked my email and locked me out of my Netflix account, and nobody’s available for a chat until 11:00 tomorrow? What do I do?
— SooLoo (@SavannahStryker) March 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/AnuprekshaS/status/1241943820914192389?s=20
https://twitter.com/erp5955/status/1241940721344659457?s=20
Honestly @netflix you need better security! this is the second time this year I've been hacked.
— Julie Vevers (@Julencia) March 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/IdkAlan/status/1241932413023989760?s=20
While this is a huge bummer, Netflix is doing everything they can. This past week, Netflix released the following statement:
The COVID-19 crisis has meant that thousands of our customer support agents are unable to work, or are now having to work from home. So our wait times are higher than normal. We’re working hard to provide the best support we can under the circumstances, and apologize for the delays you are experiencing.
We’re now offering live chat and online Help Center support only globally. Shifting to chat instead of phone support allows our agents to help more people while working from home. We know this is less convenient for some members, but we will be able to help more people more quickly this way. Given the shortage of agents, we’re also having to reduce our support hours. This will vary depending on the country you’re in – and as we experiment with what works best given the current crisis.
Your support is very important to Netflix. So we’re sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work through these issues.
I would be annoyed too if my Netflix account was hacked. But in these trying times, let’s just take a moment to remember that the very fact that we have a Netflix account means that we’re already far better off than a lot of other people who are losing jobs and struggling to put food on the table for their kids. So, be patient and stay safe. Hopefully, this will all blow over real soon.
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