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Why is it So Hard to Cut Cable?

4/2/2016

22 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, Founder of Mindful Marketing
In the digital age, many things are easier than ever.  With just a few taps of a smartphone we can order from Amazon, pay for Starbucks, and stream Netflix.  Why, then, is it so hard to cancel cable service?
 
If you’ve ever attempted to close your cable plan, you know how agonizing it can be.  The request seems simply, yet you’re forced to reassess and defend the decision as if you’ve asked to take a loved one off life-support.  The manifold interrogation often unfolds as follows:
      “Are you sure you want to cancel?”
     “Why do you want to cancel?
     “I need to transfer you to our customer loyalty department.”
     “Why do you want to cancel?”
     “Have you considered these other options?”
     “Do you realize that if you cancel, you’ll lose  . . . . ?”
     “What can we do to keep you from cancelling?”
     “Are you sure you want to cancel?”
 
The preceding paragraph may appear to be hyperbole, but it’s not.  Unfortunately it’s easy to find on-line examples of how the Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, has made life miserable for those wanting to end their agreements.  For instance, a 66-year-old Minnesota man couldn’t get Comcast to cancel his contract even after his house burned down.  Another excruciating example is an actual recording of a conversation that a Comcast representative had with podcaster Ryan Block, who repeatedly and rationally asked to have his service disconnected.
 
Equally telling, a new industry has sprung up in response to Comcast customers’ dilemma.  For $5.00 Airpaper will “cancel your Comcast service for you.”  Airpaper avoids the tortuous phone track by taking a lesser used approach to termination--a letter requesting cancellation that’s imbued with the customer’s information and mailed to the cable giant on the customer’s behalf.
 
In Californian people have become so agitated over Comcast’s resistance to canceling customers’ plans that one legislator has proposed a law that would force the company to significantly ease the path to exit.  Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Gatto recently introduced the bill, which “would allow Californians to cancel their Internet or cable services online with ‘one click.’”  That’s right, select a single button and your subscription is stopped.  The rationale for the law, as expressed by Gatto, is profoundly simple: “if you are able to sign up for a service online, you should also be able to cancel it the same way.”
 
Some have called the bill, which is officially known as AB2867, “Ryan’s Law,” because Gatto cites Ryan Block’s very unpleasant phone call with Comcast in the proposed legislation.  The bill’s press release also quotes Block.
 
So, perhaps Comcast is over-zealous about keeping customers, but isn’t retention what every organization wants and needs to do?  Companies can’t exist without clients, and experience says it’s more cost effective for an organization to keep the customers it has, rather than constantly onboarding new ones.  Or, as the old saying goes, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
 
Certainly customer retention is critical, but how it’s achieved is also very important.  Consumers should remain in relationships because they receive value, not because they’re coerced into continuing.  Whether it’s in a commercial context or a purely social setting, no one wants to feel trapped by psychological pressure or manipulation.
 
It’s a very bad sign when a company has to resort to such hard-handed tactics to keep customers.  Such an approach suggests that the firm’s value proposition is inadequate, which is one of the most serious weaknesses an organization can have.  Over the last few years, Comcast and other cable companies have experienced increased “cord cutting,” as more consumers realize that “$180 is way too much to pay for too many bad TV channels.”  Such recognition has led to a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of cable subscribers per quarter across the nation’s 13 top cable providers.
 
Of course, Comcast and its competitors want to stem that tide.  Anytime organizations lose customers, it’s helpful to know why they leave—that information can potentially be used to make improvements that can increase value for everyone.  Comcast already knows, however, why its customers want out.  It’s tactics, therefore, are simply aimed at erecting higher barriers to exit, with the hope that fewer people will have the resolve to surmount them.
 
In terms of ethical fails, it doesn’t get much worse than when government needs to step in and create a law in order to stop a particular business practice.  Comcast’s oppressive approach to customer retention certainly fails to create stakeholder value, and it violates societal values of fairness and respect.  In short, the cable company’s practice is a clear case of “Mindless Marketing.”


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22 Comments
Katie Clark
4/3/2016 10:36:54 pm

This is so true... and phone companies do it too, as if they assume that the hidden charges they kindly tack on won't make people switch to a company that will treat them better. People should not be stuck with a company because they make it hard for them to leave.

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Tianna Sjosten
4/4/2016 02:10:52 am

I have personally seen the lengths companies like Comcast go through to keep you a customer, and what an ordeal it can be if you want to cancel or change service. After moving a couple times and having to setup new services I have finally learned how you have to deal with them. I call them typically every 6months to 1 year and tell them I want to cancel my service unless there is a better deal they can give me! This normally has them scrambling for their best deals to keep me as a customer, and I in return get a better deal on my bill. Take that Comcast!

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Dawson Hoppes
4/4/2016 11:27:57 am

With the rise of internet streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon prime, Hulu etc. it isn't surprising to me that companies like Comcast are scrambling to keep up in this way. Cable is slowing fading out because who would want to pay around 150 dollars a month for cable when they could pay around 8 for Netflix and have a similar amount of options. Customers shouldn't be scared into staying with a company, they should stay because they feel valued and like the services they are receiving. This is definitely mindless marketing, and the fact that there is a bill in circulation regarding this should serve as a wake up call to cable companies that its time for a change.

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Peter
4/4/2016 11:35:15 pm

I like the actions being taken to limit companies', such as Comcast, ability to stop people from canceling their cable. I think it is quite interesting how someone has made a business out of this whole dilemma. If a company wants to keep a customer, they should provide better service or a better product. I do not believe Comcast is going to thrive, or even survive, as a company if they keep doing this to their customers.

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Colton Allen
4/5/2016 12:14:11 am

I thing limiting companies is a good idea to apply to companies like Comcast.I too find it annoying when wanting to cancel payments and the receiving of products from companies, but they will not let you. Another example of companies that make it hard to cancel receiving a companies products is gyms. They sit you down and ask you tons of repetitive questions about why you are canceling. I agree that companies should make it easier to cancel things with ease.

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Joel Pixler
4/5/2016 12:17:49 am

It's hard to blame Comcast for trying so vehemently to keep their costumers. they are a business after all. With the growing popularity of Netflix and other online entertainment, the use of cable television is dropping. Comcast should have a better and easier way to decline further service. There is a line though, and i think it is a good idea for some sort of regulatory statute to come down to help the consumer be able to leave a service they no longer want to be a part of.

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Reid Winans
4/5/2016 12:43:16 am

I liked the one-click cancel bill, but I do not think it needs to be quite that simple. I would be satisfied with a rule that canceling a service would take approximately the same time as it did to set up. This would help deter companies that make a lucrative business out of luring customers in with low starting prices and then trapping them with complicated contracts. A company should profit by its goods and services, not by deception.

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Jayun Lee
4/5/2016 02:40:12 am

I have seen how hardly cable companies try to get their customers to stick with their company and to continually subscribe with them. Personally, I have no had cable for the last 10 years and lived finely without it. It just has to be a matter of time for the consumer to really evaluate and see if they need cable and if they need this tug and pull from a company like Comcast just to keep their cable tv around. Streaming, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go are all examples of alternative ways that people can watch cable television without dealing with the aggressiveness of the cable companies.

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Vanessa
4/5/2016 02:50:18 am

Everyone complains about this. You'd think that companies would fix it by now to potentially compete and offer better services for people. What companies like Comcast do is almost robbing people blind. Such deception should be illegal.

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Barrett Shutt link
4/5/2016 12:48:50 pm

I have personally experienced this with cable and have been disappointed. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO are better options than cable. I don't think a company like Comcast has the right to keep people from leaving. They should strive to meet their customers needs rather than making them more angry. Because of this, I feel like Comcast is being hurt as a company.

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Raymond Gant
4/5/2016 12:50:07 pm

It is very accurate to say no customer value is made through this process. Through this type of marketing we also see where the value of Comcast really is: milking their current costumers for what they have. It's ethically disgusting and a horrible relationship for any consumer to have with a brand.

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Colton Olson
4/5/2016 01:47:40 pm

My family has also had a similar experience with Comcast. But rather than trying to cancel our membership we experienced very poor customer service when simply trying to upgrade to a different package plan, or get a new wireless router through the company. It becomes very frustrating trying to accomplish what would seem like a simple task for someone at a call center.

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Holly
4/5/2016 02:52:01 pm

I love this. Comcast in particular is a pain in the rear to try and cancel. My father has been trying to cancel our service for two years, and no fruit has ever come of it. You'd think with such bad press and even a bill to change their marketing strategy would prompt them to action, but no such luck.

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Ethan Kadar
4/5/2016 04:09:15 pm

It is a sad shame for such difficulty to ensue from a simple request to Not Do Business with you. Comcast is losing to internet streaming platforms like Netflix, and instead of improvising and progressing to become competitive, they are holding on for dear life as they slowly die in the market.

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Clayton Mohler
4/5/2016 04:18:38 pm

Companies like Comcast are struggling to compete with new streaming sites like Netflix or Amazon Prime, and it's disappointing to see them result to such frustrating means for customers to try and keep up with the competition, rather than seeking to improve their service to keep customers interested in what they have to offer.

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Daniel Amaya
4/5/2016 04:37:28 pm

I think that companies like Comcast make the mistake of not realizing the importance of keeping their current customers.

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John Chau
4/5/2016 05:22:46 pm

I am from outside of the United States of America and it is interesting to see how cable TV agreement is difficult to terminate both in the States and where I am from. Although I see why Comcast would make it so challenging to cancel their service, it is completely unethical. Making it hard for customers to leave will not make them want the service any more. If Comcast is looking for profit, they should definitely check out other options for example online streaming like netflix.

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Darrel Wijaya
4/6/2016 03:06:41 pm

Everything is so intertwined. Its as if the entire world has become ever more systematic. I figured that in all digital forms of business it should be simply presented. It strains consumers to have to go through a lengthy process to navigate and utilize digital products and functions.

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Maddie Groff
5/1/2016 04:23:56 pm

I think it is such a hard balance for companies to find the line between persuading and aggressively controlling their customers. Comcast needs to realize the negative impact the company is having on customers and how the company is not respecting the society's values. These actions and decisions of how Comcast is relating to customers has not led to creating stakeholder value. Therefore, Comcast should evaluate how the company should restructure its plans of relating to customers with canceling the customers' cable plans.

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Naomi Rissinger
5/1/2016 06:00:47 pm

I have had to personally deal with Comcast and their customer service representatives on multiple occasions for my family’s cable service. It is such a hassle and every time it has always been them in the wrong, either by charging us extra or not switching our plan to accommodate us. It is very frustrating having to deal with this because where our house is, Comcast is virtually the only cable provider currently so they are really our best option. And if you mention Comcast in our neighborhood there will be guaranteed to be at least one groan of agony because everyone agrees the way they choose to do business is a hassle. It is a shame that a company who is one of the leaders in the cable industry has such a bad connotation to their name because of their harsh tactics they use and how they portray themselves.

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Kristofer Van Wagner link
8/17/2021 11:26:18 pm

This post made an excellent point that when looking for cable TV, it is important that we consider the connection. It makes sense as it will impact the quality of the viewing. I will definitely look for options and compare them to ensure I choose something that is suitable for my home.

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sam smith
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