by James Boyd

Created on: December 19, 2009

It is nearly always easy to sign up for a service. Phone companies offer free phones and sometimes other incentives to get you to use their service. Satellite television providers often offer steep discounts for the first few months of service. It is usually a simple process to get started. What happens when you decide you no longer want that service? Some companies make it a lot more complicated to stop service than it was to start.

For a concrete example of one of the most difficult services to cancel, consider an Internet service provider which had been linked with a computer I purchased. As part of the deal I got service free for a year. I do not know how they handle this process today but I did have the distinct displeasure of canceling their service about five years ago. It was possible to sign up for it online but cancellation had to be done over the phone, with a live representative. I had their service for a year and decided I had no use for it and wanted to cancel.

Then the fun began. I had to be transferred in order to cancel my service. When I was connected with a representative who was capable of processing the cancellation, he asked for some sort of number which was given to me during the original sign-up. He had to wait a couple of minutes while I looked it up on my computer. When I gave it to him (for “verification”) I thought the process was over, or nearly so. I figured there would be some sort of exit interview (why do you want to cancel—were you mostly pleased with the product—things like that). It did not play out that way.

I told him I did not use their product and saw no need to pay for it. He checked (they keep some really detailed records) and found I had been to their site twice. I had visited twice in a year and he seemed to think that was solid evidence that I actually did use their service. It took 45 minutes to finally cancel the service. He did everything he could to convince me I really did want their service and should keep it.  He had obviously been trained to try to keep me on the phone until I gave in and agreed to keep the service or got so frustrated I would just hang up. That would have the same effect because I would still be paying for the service I did not want. This is a prime example of the wrong way to handle a customer who wants to cancel service. I will never do business with that organization again.

A customer who wants to cancel service is still a customer and should be treated with respect and courtesy. Everybody is either a customer or a potential customer. Even those who are cancelling service may change their minds some day about their new provider. If they decide they want to change again, are they likely to consider returning to your company if you badgered and bullied them when they tried to cancel?

A customer who wants to cancel service should be treated courteously and the process should be brief. A couple of questions should be asked as to why they want to cancel and a solution to their problem offered, if one is available. Once you have determined that whatever solution you have offered is not acceptable, the customer should be treated as a responsible adult. Their wishes should be acceded to promptly and the process can finish with a thank you for their business and the hope they will return some day.

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