A little over a month ago, Netflix sent out an email about their changing services and prices that really pissed off their customers. The social media sphere lit up with angry posts and tweets, Netflix’s stock price plummeted and, just last week, they had to revise their subscriber growth estimates by 1 million fewer.

Then on Monday morning, I got another note from Reed Hastings.

I messed up. I owe you an explanation. It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes.

He then explains in further detail the reason it was a necessary move and how it will eventually be in everyone’s best interest. As a jilted customer I’m feeling a little appeased, but then Hastings makes the announcement that Netflix will be split into two different divisions.

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

Wait, what? You’re sending your customers a halfhearted apology coupled with the announcement of a new, poorly named company that will probably shut down as soon as your online division’s selection improves? Nice try Netflix, but you probably would have been better off if you didn’t send out this apology; it has just reignited the poor PR flame. Below is the video Reed Hastings posted on YouTube to round out his PR push. As of this post, there were over six times as many “dislikes” beneath the video as “likes.” So you can see how effective it is.

A corporate apology is no different than a personal one. If your brand needs to apologize for something, here are a few simple rules to follow:

1. Be Timely – Take enough time to think through your response, but don’t make it too late.
2. Be Sincere – Unlike Netflix, avoid the “I’m sorry that you’re upset” apology. That’s not apologizing for your actions, it’s placing blame on your customers.
3. No “Sorry buts” – Take responsibility and don’t try to shift the blame onto other circumstances.
4. Make up for it – Describe steps that will be taken in the future to ensure that your mistake will not happen again.
5. Follow through – Actions speak louder than words, and if your company makes the same mistake again, your customer will know not to accept your apology next time.