Corporate America Wants To Earn The Cheap Dollar, While You Work Hard For It
So what is the cheap dollar? It is money earned in a dissatisfying or pathetic way (Obviously, this is my opinion). I am referring to subscription or auto-renewal models. To be clear, I am not opposed to them but only when the customer is fully understanding of the terms and has been made aware that they can set up an auto cancel. I also understand that many businesses earn an excessive amount of their revenue on these models as consumers forget to cancel. However, there needs to be a middle ground as companies won’t even set up a 6 month no activity alert for you.
Do not be mistaken, the customer is not always going to be happy, we know this. The cheap dollar allows companies to earn revenue because of how they set up their policies or business models in the best interest of the company. Of course, it makes sense, the company wants to benefit itself and earn more money, its a business after all. However, the customers are why the business exists, that said, one would think they would make more of an effort. As a disclaimer, going forward, this article to targeted towards the internet, phone, and cable companies such as AT&T, Comcast, Sirius XM and really any other subscription model that is not looking at for their customers.
Most people have heard of the “subscription model” in business. For those that have not, it is a service that you subscribe to or initiate your first purchase and then incur a reoccurring monthly payment moving forward. There is also the “promotional entry” which then enters you into the auto-renewals. This is where many companies make a large chunk of their money, they bank on most people forgetting to cancel or modify their current subscription and happily accept their payments every month even though there is no activity. Now do not get me wrong, I understand that there is a 24-page Terms and Conditions page that we of course read and agreed to. Ha, that was a joke by the way. Seriously though, I get that a company asks you to accept their terms but it is not like you can say, “I want your service or product, but I don’t accept your terms”. So, this is how they earn the cheap dollar. Why would a company contact you and ask you to stop paying when you are not even utilizing their service? Makes sense right, a business has to make money to stay profitable. This is the cheap dollar.
Have you ever been victim to it? This is where I specifically mention companies like Comcast, AT&T, and Sirius XM. They are consistently running these “amazing” promos that “benefit” the customer and according to them, are amazing deals. So much so that they might as well be giving it away at cost. First things first, spare us the line, $10 per month to rent a modem, that’s a joke. But wait, (here comes the hook) if you don’t remember to call them back when your promo ends, your payments drastically jump up and you continue paying. You think they will warn you about your higher payment? Nope! Why do you think they promote auto-payments every month? Just to be environmentally friendly, yes of course but also so when you bill changes you are more likely to continue paying without checking twice. Once again, the Cheap Dollar. Some companies will even go as far as saying that you can not set up an auto-cancel or call from the company, but you have to set a reminder on your calendar to call us. They might as well slap you in the face and ask for more money right then.
These companies do not want to be more customer-centric, but rather earn the Cheap Dollar. I know they bank on making this money, I would too if I were in business, but there comes a certain point where it’s almost robbery. For example, setting up a plan for accounts to run over 3-6 on the renewal plan or increased price before having an Account Rep contact the customer. That is a predictable recurring revenue still but has a timeline that alerts the customer.