I occasionally read NY Times articles using their app on my iPad Pro. My digital NY Times subscription costs $17/month including tax. They gave me a free Google Home last year to try it out, but recently I decided I wasn’t reading the NYT enough to justify the cost, so I texted their customer support today to cancel. After being handed off between a few different reps, here’s how the final SMS conversation went:
Pamela: Thank you for being a valued Basic Digital Access + Google Home subscriber of The New York Times; you’re truly appreciated! …Are you sure you want to give up these great features and if so could you let us know why to make sure we are providing quality service?
Me: Please cancel. I’m cutting expenses.
Pamela: I am sorry to hear that. We would really hate to lose you because we value your readership here at The New York Times. I see you are reaching out to us due to a price concern which I can totally understand because 2019 has started off rough for me financially as well.
[I assume “Pamela”–the rep or the AI bot–had been trained/programmed to say “yeah, me too” to any customer issue for a nice touch of empathy.]
Pamela: How about if we helped you out with the bill for a while? Would you be interested in staying with us a little longer if I was able to offer you Basic Access for a discounted rate of $2.00 per week for a year?
[Oooo…Pamela’s got some room to haggle! How low can she go?!]
Me: No thank you, please cancel.
Pamela: How about only $1.00 per week instead for a year? There is no commitment and you can cancel at any time you would like.
[Now we’re getting somewhere!]
Me: $0.50 per week would be OK.
Pamela: I have an even better deal: 8 free weeks. How does that sound?
[How can you know where the line is until you cross it?!]
Me: And then $0.50 per week after that.
Pamela: We do not have that rate. I really do apologize for the inconvenience. It will be $3.75 per week after 8 weeks. If you are not interested in this limited time offer I will process your cancellation now.
[Looks like I reached Pamela’s limit. Time to reel it back in.]
Me: $1 per week for a year is OK.
Pamela: Great to hear! Please bear with me while I update your account… Thank you for being the best part of The New York Times. Have a wonderful day!
So, Pamela (or it’s programmer) gets to take credit for retaining a nearly lost customer, while I get a 73% price reduction…win/win!
Moonday 