Exit
Today my dad tried to leave AGL for a better deal we received from another power supplier. They want to charge him $70 for leaving a contract early. Apparently, in 2005, he agreed over the phone to renew the contract for another 3 years. Of course, my dad can’t remember whether he did or not. AGL didn’t tell him this while he was cancelling, they waited till after. And nowhere on his quarterly bill does it have a contract expiry date or anything of the like.
Why AGL would try and sneak in a $70 exit fee is beyond me. Sure, they might make $70 now, but in the long term, this customer will never return, and will probably relate this story to 10 other potential customers who will now steer clear of AGL.
On the other hand, blog host Wordpress.com emphasise their export functions on their features page: “You can leave WordPress.com any time you want and your content isn’t locked in. We provide a complete XML export of all your posts and comments.” Bloggers will be more willing to join up knowing that Wordpress.com won’t be using any sneaky tactics to keep them in. They will also be more willing to come back to Wordpress.com in the future and recomend it to all their friends and blogreaders knowing that it’s a good company to deal with (and a good citizen in the blogosphere).
