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Web 2.0: Please Make It Easier To Quit

January 31st, 2008

I recently closed my accounts at several websites I no longer use. Most were Web 2.0 sites I signed up for a while back and hadn’t logged into for months. Unfortunately, I found the process of canceling a user account at most of these sites rather convoluted.

Note: I’m not divulging the names of the smaller, startup websites I quit as I don’t want to imply that they are bad services. I just didn’t use them as much as I thought I would.
Basically, don’t expect account cancellation to be as simple as clicking the button “Please cancel my account.” That would be too easy. Instead, be prepared for a web-based treasure hunt as follows:

  1. Usually the account cancellation process is buried in the site’s FAQ. Expect to spend a while trying to find it.
  2. Most instruct you to send an email to customer service, with the implication that someone on the other end will remove your account.
  3. Once you do so, in an ideal world, you’d get an prompt email response saying your account was closed.
  4. If you can’t find a process for quitting, you may just have to email customer service and see what happens.
  • These steps were straightforward with only one site.
  • Most often, I had a hard time finding the cancellation info in the FAQ, but got a response after emailing a general help account.
  • Another work-around is to type “quit *name of website*” or “cancel account *name of website*” into Google to find an irate individual who has written about more straightforward – or sometimes hidden – cancellation method.

Now some specific information for larger companies that can handle my annoyance:

I can understand why some websites make quitting opaque. The number of users is key for many websites to attract advertisers. They don’t want to make quitting easy because they’re afraid of losing registered users.

But my understanding doesn’t mean sympathy. I feel this is a usability issue. Hiding important information means your site is designed in an opaque, non-user-friendly manner on purpose.

Also, by making your service difficult to quit:

  • It greatly lessens the odds that I’ll ever sign up for an account in the future – knowing how difficult it was to cut loose the first time.
  • I am left with the impression that you care more about your traffic stats than my desires as a user.
  • It puts your company in the same company as other deliberately difficult to quit businesses.

I would make a reference to Brokeback Mountain at this point but I’ll refrain. Well, I guess I did it anyway.

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  • JC
    Ever try to close a credit card account? Can't be done online. You need to talk to a person, so that they can spend a half hour trying to talk you out of it. I had one person actually suggest that I should keep the credit line open, just in case I ended up with some sort of debilitating injury and needed to pay unexpected medical bills. Was that a veiled threat? Or was he just wishing harm on me for canceling? Yikes. No wonder the average American has 9 credit card accounts. It's too hard to close the ones you no longer want.

    I was surprised earlier this week when I cancelled my Netflix account. Surprised because it was so easy, that is. For starters, the "cancel my account" button was easy to find on my account page, where it belongs. Sure, they offered me a few "are you sure?" screens, and made one attempt to get me to just downgrade to a cheaper plan, but ultimately, it was easy to brush past that and actually cancel.

    They give you 30 days to return whatever movies you still have out. They keep your queue set up for one year, just in case you change your mind. End of story. It's actually a good option if you just want to set your account on hold for a few months, if you're going to be traveling, etc.

    I think some of these other companies could take a lesson from that. Sure, I'm no longer giving Netflix my money, but like you said, at least we parted without leaving a sour taste in my mouth, which makes me far more likely to consider returning.
  • JC
    Oh, and don't try to cancel a gym membership or close a bank account. Both of those usually require certified letters. Insane.
  • Tell me about it.

    People often sign up for accounts using the wrong email address -- mine (my personal address).

    Trying to get out of that is next to impossible. I've been able to cancel orders, transfer money, cancel business trips and even turn down housing offers because people don't enter the correct email address.
  • JC - Good to hear about Netflix being easier to quit. I can imagine the stakes are higher since they charge a credit card every month.

    Eng that is a whole 'nother ball of wax. It's like reverse identity theft...
  • how do you close a yahoo or hotmail account? I have absolutely no idea. hotmail is the worst thou. even changing a password is hard.
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