Why do some companies make it difficult to cancel service?

I was reminded yesterday how much I dislike doing business with companies that make it difficult to cancel service. This time it was Scotts Lawn Service which we’ve been using for just over a year. A few days ago a rep from Scotts called to schedule aeration service. I told the guy that I wanted to cancel the service. He said he’s take care of it and enter that information into his computer.

Well, maybe his computer crashed or isn’t connected to the Scotts scheduling system because the next day the aeration team showed up ready to go to town on my lawn. Kim was home and was able to stop them before they began. I made a phone call to Scotts and they brought up my account and mentioned they had no record I’d canceled the aeration or all services. I nicely asked for all service to be canceled and was told nobody would show up again ready to work on my yard.

So the good work Scotts did on our lawn (it does look much better) gets overlooked a bit because it took a lot of hassle on my part to stop the service. I was happy with the service but don’t know if I’d call them again or if I would recommend them to friends.

I wonder why some companies make it so difficult to cancel service? I especially can’t stand companies who make it easy to sign up online but require a phone call, during specified hours, to cancel service. I once called Sprint to cancel cell service and was told they didn’t have the technology to schedule my service to end at the end of the month and I’d have to call back on the very day I wanted to cancel. Sprint’s computers can manage dozens of different calling plans but can’t post date a service termination? AOL is famous for making it very difficult to cancel its service. I had a similar experience dealing with Comcast a while back. Companies like those BMG CD/DVD clubs seem to be built around a business model where they make canceling service a chore, yet make it really easy for merchandise to show up on your doorstop. Do nothing and this months “feature” CD will be sent automatically.

The good thing is that I have a choice for high speed internet service. I have a choice for television and lawn service. If a company makes the choice to give me the runaround, I will take my business elsewhere.