How to close a customer account nicely
When I close an account with someone, I nearly always tell them why - usually simply because my need for that service is over, thankfully rarely for bad service. So it’s astonishing how many businesses with otherwise good service processes handle account closures badly. Bureaucratic forms, non-standard processes, fumbled service terminations, over-billing, and slow repayment of credit balances are often made worse by lack of acknowledgement of the closure request and surly treatment not shown at other times. Don’t they realise that I might be a customer again at some future date? Even if not, that’s no excuse.
So it’s pleasing when someone does it right. When I emailed Fairfax to close my newspaper subscription because we’re planning to be based overseas for a while, I got a very fast response confirming cancellation of my usual subscription invoice, confirming the last date of delivery, and promising a revised subscription invoice near then, finishing off with a cheery “Have fun overseas!”
I’m impressed by the process and the personal touch. Well done, Fairfax - and especially well done, Michelle Davison.
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February 6th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
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