Service Untitled

You’re fired!

Note: The title of this post has nothing to do with Donald Trump’s reality series, The Apprentice. I promise.

Yesterday I promised I would write a letter as a general template for firing a customer. It was pointed out (correctly) that the type of letter varies greatly from industry to industry and from service to service. A letter from a web hosting company saying you are fired is very different than a letter from say, your bank. While web hosting can be very important (and in quite a few cases, critical to your business), what is involved with firing a customer in the two industries is very different.

I have decided to write my “you’re fired” letter for web hosts. Maybe Homestead will decide to use it. I’m going to try and keep it as industry unspecific as possible so that it can be easily modified to fit your business.

In this situation, a hypothetical customer (Bob Bobsen) is receiving a letter via mail and email from an executive (say, VP, Client Relations) at his web hosting company (Company ABC), Betty Name stating that his service is being terminated because he constantly complains and refuses to come up with a solution. Company ABC has already done the following:

• Tried to work with Bob to resolve all of his issues.
• Elevated the problem to an executive.
• Warned Bob that they can’t seem to help him the way he wants and that he may want to consider finding another web host.
• Asked a consultant they deal with to evaluate the situation.
• Called Bob and offered help once again.

The letter is a mix between a personal break up letter and a letter to an employee saying that you are firing them. I can’t say that I have had to fire a customer before, but I think this letter isn’t bad. As always, I am open to feedback and appreciate your comments/suggestions.

The letter is after the “read more.”

Mr. Bob Bobsen
123 Main Street
Anytown, USA 12345
bob@bobsen.com

Dear Mr. Bobsen,

I have received your December 20, 2006 email with the subject “Unhappy with Service” and would like to send you a letter and explain Company ABC’s position and the subsequent action we have decided to take.

Since you became a Company ABC customer in July 2006, you have consistently written us and complained about your service and us a company. You have told us that you are unhappy with:

• The reliability of your web site. We tried to resolve this by having a senior systems administrator look into your account and the server you were on. No problems were found, but we moved your account to another, newer, and more powerful server.
• Our customer service. We are constantly improving our customer service and regularly elevate issues so that they may be dealt with accordingly. In addition to that, we provided you with the personal contact information of one of our customer service managers, who has tried to work with you on resolving your issues with us.
• Our pricing. Compared to many hosts, Company ABC is fairly inexpensive. We feel our pricing is competitive, but in order to maintain good faith and keep you as a customer, agreed to provide you with a 10% service discount in October 2006.
• Our company policies. Company ABC’s policies are designed to allow our staff to provide the best possible experience to a majority of our customers. They are all outlined in our Terms of Service, which you agreed to prior to signing up for your hosting service.

Despite our numerous attempts to resolve any issues you have with Company ABC, we just cannot seem to be able to do it to your satisfaction. We have been in business since 2001, serve thousands of clients, and have some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the web hosting industry, but we cannot seem to be able to resolve your issues to your satisfaction.

Due to these circumstances, Company ABC would think it would be best that you work on finding another web host that fits your needs more closely than we do. We will be refunding your credit card for the remaining 3 months in your contract and canceling your service on January 15, 2007. We think this gives you plenty of time to find a new web host and move your site over. In the mean time, your web site will continue to operate as normal.

To find a new web host, I would like to suggest genericwebhostingdirectory.com. This site lists thousands of hosts and you should have no problem finding a new web host that fits your needs there. You may also want to do some research using Google or Yahoo, and see if you can find a host that way. Company ABC would be more than happy to assist you in moving your web sites over to the new host, free of charge.

We regret having to make this decision, but believe that it is the best interest of our company. I am sure that you will be able to find a new web host that will suit your needs more closely than Company ABC and that your business will continue to prosper.

We wish you the best of luck in the future. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Betty Name
VP, Client Relations
Company ABC

I’d also like to wish everyone a very happy holiday! I will be taking Monday off, but continuing to post as normal on Tuesday.