Breaking up is hard to do
»From the business and manifesto part of the brain.
How hard is it to cancel a service?
Quite hard, according to this PCWorld article, ”Just Cancel the @#%$* Account!”
But it really shouldn’t be. If I were the CEO of an awesome company, of course I would be upset that users are leaving my service.. my super awesome Web 2.0 service.. after all, these users would likely include my friends and family. And I hate disappointing friends and family.
So instead of focusing my energy on cheap tactics designed to complicate life for loved ones, I would learn why they want to leave. It might suck in the short run, but if understanding why 10 users are leaving prevents 100 more from doing so, isn’t that a better choice in the long run?
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. As a consumer, I believe this. I dread providing my personal identity elements to companies because I know they’ll just spam me, trade it away, or lose it on a laptop. Do you really need all my information to provide a rock solid service?
Two consumer empowering websites
- The Consumerist - Been burned by a company? BBB not doing it for you? Then bite back at The Consumerist.
- GetHuman - Calling a company’s 1-800 number? Tired of navigating the menu system? Not getting the high quality phone support you’re use to? Then use GetHuman to find the key stroke combination separating you from a real person.