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[Angelique Syria]

I can't get past "activating" Paramount+ for the Netflix/Paramount promo. I've successfully created an account and logged into Paramount+, but under manage play+ in verizon, it still won't show Paramount as activated, and Netflix still says "pending Paramount+ activation."

Ok so using a different browser I was able to subscribe. Now like everyone else I was able to link Paramount+ but not Netflix. I get the same toggle that says activation pending, click that and then I get "We are processing your subscription. Please refresh or check back again to activate."

After a LOOOONG time on live chat I was told: The team is working on fixing it and you will be able to activate the subscription through the toggle switch after 72 hours. We are also reporting the issue to the concerned Verizon team through an AYS ticket.

However, I want to use my current Netflix account, which the Verizon site says I should be able to do. I've been billed for another month of service - something I was hoping to avoid by signing up for this service.

Having the same issue. I paid for the year of Paramount+, but get the 'Activation pending' message in the dashboard for Netflix. It's been like that all afternoon. Talked to chat support and the only thing they did was read the 'Activation pending' message to me. That doesn't address the issue that I can't activate the year on my Netflix account

This actually just went away today after a month, hopefully it stays gone. I tried chatting with Netflix chat support, but tech support isn't really tech support anymore these days so good luck if you go this route, it did NOT help me. I just got lucky, I guess it's a waiting game.

In the video streaming business, technical glitches are inevitable. If there is a service disruption or streaming issue, Netflix will not only put out a statement, but also personally email all customers who may have been affected.

As soon as a customer signs up, they are personally welcomed and provided key information and pointed in the direction of when, where and how to get in touch if they ever encounter a problem. This way, customers can reply immediately if there are any pressing questions or easily refer to the email if a question ever arises. And they are doing something right: Netflix registers an astounding 93% conversion rate on free trials4.

People consume content all the time and issues arise on weekends, holidays and after hours. In order to provide superior support, Netflix not only offers self-help solutions to many problems through a robust help center, but also provides English live support 24/7 through live chat or via phone5.

Netflix is a leader not only in the streaming industry, but also globally recognized for its customer experience. The company has remained the biggest streaming company in a fast-changing and highly competitive industry based on its ability to personalize every customer interaction, anticipate the next issue and harness data to continuously improve. Companies across industries can implement Netflix customer obsession strategies within their own organizations to compete on customer happiness.

At Netflix, taking on the persona of a Star Trek captain during a live chat with a customer gets you on national TV, a trip to Netflix headquarters in California, your very own captain's shirt and an iPad mini.

Such is the story of Mike Mears, a Denver-based Netflix customer service representative and Star Trek fan. Earlier this month, Mears started a chat with "Norm," a Netflix customer who was having a problem streaming "Parks and Recreation."

They both stayed in character the whole time, and after the transcript of the conversation landed on Reddit, websites around the world picked up the story. Mears was even interviewed on cable news channel HLN alongside William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in "Star Trek."

The exchange resonated with anyone who's ever sat through the hell of an automated customer service call, and it's one example of how Netflix is aiming to do something different with its customer service. Netflix help chats don't feature a robotic, dizzying array of menu options, or a company agent using a script.

"We really allow support agents to be themselves," Brent Wickens, Netflix's vice president of global customer support, told The Huffington Post in a recent interview. "They're not restricted in any way. If somebody wants to talk to somebody in character, we encourage this."

The company's quirky, beloved approach to customer service may help give it an edge as it battles for viewers in an increasingly competitive field. Although Netflix is the biggest name in town when it comes to subscription streaming services, it faces growing competition from Hulu Plus and Amazon. All three companies are investing heavily in original content and exclusive streaming deals to lure and hold on to subscribers.

Even though Netflix continues to add members -- it recently surpassed HBO in terms of paid U.S. subscribers -- the company is bleeding money on content and international expansion, as BuzzFeed's Peter Lauria recently pointed out. As a result, it made a relatively small $31.8 million in profit on $1.1 billion in revenue last quarter. Netflix must keep adding subscribers -- and keep the ones it already has -- to offset its spending spree.

"In some circumstances a customer that has a problem that has recovered delightfully can actually leave that interaction more satisfied than a customer who didn't have a problem in the first place," said Ryan Buell, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School who studies the relationship between customers and businesses.

One way Netflix delights is by not forcing its customer service agents -- most likely the only Netflix employees customers will ever speak to -- to follow that many rules. Apart from asking customers to take a one-question survey at the end of the call or chat, they can say pretty much whatever they want. Since Netflix is focused on streaming -- which costs $7.99 per month -- there's no pressure to get a customer who calls to add a service or buy into a more expensive plan. Agents are encouraged to solve a customer's problem without transferring him or her to another representative. If someone wants to cancel their subscription, agents don't push that person to continue with the service.

Ramon Icasiano, who headed Netflix customer service from 2001 to 2006, said that Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings would sometimes take customer calls -- something Netflix says he still does to this day.

"For us it was a sense of pride," Icasiano said, adding that he doesn't recall Hastings identifying himself as the company's CEO during the calls. "I took it as more of 'here's someone who's so interested in improving the customer experience that he would not be afraid to talk to his customers.'"

One former Netflix customer service agent, who asked not to be named because he was unsure of the company's press policy, said that agents were allowed to joke with customers as much as they wanted. Netflix, he said, encouraged agents to have "at least one moment in a phone call where you would relate to a customer."

"Netflix really wanted to destroy the image of the modern call center, of calling in and talking to a robot," the former call center employee, who said he was paid $13.25 per hour, told HuffPost. "They wanted it to be a personal experience that the customer could look back on fondly."

Netflix is known for its "freedom and responsibility" culture. The company famously has no vacation policy, something that is outlined in the so-called "culture deck," a 126-slide presentation which Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg said "may well be the most important document ever to come out of the Valley."

Although the entire presentation doesn't apply to all support staff -- many are paid hourly and they're a mix of Netflix employees and contracted employees -- Wickens said that the values and overall principles of freedom and responsibility outlined apply to the representatives.

"The responsibility is to solve the problem and the freedom is to do it your way," Wickens said. He added that the customer service mantra at the company, which "is the type of things we put on posters," consists of three elements: "solving the problem," "have fun and be yourself," and "keep it easy, keep it simple."

The former Netflix customer service agent described the call center environment as "insanely stressful," not only because angry and frustrated people sometimes treated him "like a punching bag," but also because of Netflix's high expectations for its employees.

An agent's job performance is measured on customer dissatisfaction, which comes from the survey at the end of a call or chat that simply asks whether a customer was satisfied with the Netflix service experience. There's a goal to keep the percentage of people who answer "no" at around 5 percent. And although there is no limit on how long an agent can take to resolve a customer's issue, the former representative said employees have a goal to answer support questions in under five minutes.

"From a customer perspective, we believe an efficient call is a better call," Netflix said in a statement when asked about that number. "This supports our simplicity bias in the customer experience, partnered with accuracy and finding your own voice."

"There was always a strong emphasis on positivity and empathy and the freedom to interact like real, genuine people," he said. "Once you felt it out with a customer, you wouldn't get in trouble for joking around with them and talking about some movies, as long as you were going to meet the goals for your metrics."

Netflix isn't the only company to take an unconventional approach to customer service. Zappos, the online retailer that was bought by Amazon in 2009, is famous for having customer service agents who, well, act like real humans. Like Netflix reps, Zappos agents don't follow a script, and there's no time limit on calls or chats. And some of the Zappos exchanges have become the stuff of legend: Zappos reportedly overnighted and paid for a pair of shoes for a best man who needed kicks for the wedding, and last year, a customer service phone call lasted for longer than 10 hours.

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