Wednesday 21 July 2010

Open Letter to an Unspecified Company

I'm sorry, but you're going to have to accept alternate methods. Cancelling by phone would be fine if I were living in the Pacific time zone, but unfortunately, I am not. I am living halfway around the world from you.

Your practice of only being available during regular business -- and only in your own time zone, by the way -- is quite short-sighted, inconvenient, and impolite. Not every one is able to call during regular business hours in the Pacific time zone. As the majority of people in the world don't live in the Pacific time zone, I would think the number of people who can call during regular business hours is very, very small. Most people in North America don't even live in the Pacific time zone, so you can't even claim you are catering to most people in North America.

When you are available, it is night time here. Why should I lose my sleep so you can do your job? It should be the other way around, should it not? The company should cater to the customer's needs, no?

Moreover, the one time I did call to try to cancel, I was put on hold for a very long time until in the end I gave up. I didn't give up out of frustration or because I figured that if I were going to be on hold for so long, I might as well just continue; no, I gave up because a long-distance phone call halfway around the world where I have been on hold for so long is just too expensive. The least you could do is provide a toll-free number for people not living in your area code.

The thought occurred to me as I was on hold that maybe you like to put people on hold on purpose. I can't see your phone lines being that busy. If so, you need more phone lines. I'm willing to bet you put people on hold on purpose for a long time because you figure that if unsatisfied customers are on hold for long enough, they will eventually give up and won't bother to cancel. Am I too far off with that observation?

>>If you want to cancel, please call us at (1) 760-602-3000 M-F 8-5

Pacific Time and select the appropriate menu option. Be sure to

listen to the entire list of choices in order to ensure your call

is directed properly. Alternate methods of cancellation will not

be accepted.