A relevant movie for the season, Miracle on 34th Street, gave us the wonderful business advice of helping your customers meet their goals, even if it meant helping them leave. But, this holiday season it would seem that most subscription services have forgotten this message.
Why are so many subscription services refusing to let you leave until you call them? The claim seems to be “security.” That they have to verify who you are to be sure that your account is safe.
Except, you’re still able to change your address and have your orders sent to somewhere else entirely under a different name. You can change your preferences as many times as you would like. And you can even change your credit card information. All without any need to call and verify. They even took all of this information in the first place with no call! Why does deleting the information need to be more secure than gathering it?
It doesn’t.
They know that when the user experience is easy, a user is more likely to do the given action. And, when the user experience is hard, they’re less likely. These companies are using bad UX to retain customers instead of good service. If it’s more difficult to cancel your account, then maybe you won’t do it. It isn’t about security at all: it is entirely about profits.
So, how do I cancel my account without having to call?
Well, security is such an important thing for them that they even allow you to change your credit card information without calling. All you have to do is use a prepaid credit card or create a virtual one with Privacy.com.
- Get the prepaid card’s balance down to something below the subscription fee, or set your virtual card that low.
- Change your payment information to that card. So long as the subscription bills you before renewing, you won’t be charged anything since the amount on your new card is less than the transaction amount.
- After so many failed attempts, they’ll forget all about “security” and cancel your account for you without even notifying you.
You could even delete your virtual card before they can bill you for good measure.
If you’re interested in setting up a website with a user experience that helps customers meet their goals without frustrating them, get in touch! I have slots open and love working with small businesses.
