Comments on: Web 2.0: Please Make It Easier To Quit

By: suicidalsam

suicidalsam — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:16:13 +0000

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.

By: webomatica

webomatica — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:22:58 +0000

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…

By: engtech

engtech — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:57:40 +0000

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.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:08:54 +0000

Oh, and don’t try to cancel a gym membership or close a bank account. Both of those usually require certified letters. Insane.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:06:42 +0000

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.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:06:42 +0000

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.