Get the money in...but in the right way!

We recently cancelled our contract with a cloud services provider (who shall remain nameless). They're not a big player...and perhaps that was the problem.

We were hoping to buy virtual Windows servers from them, to host our enterprise software platform, so we'd signed up for a month to try it out. And during that period it transpired that the only payment methods they offered were PayPal or Skrill manual payments. No subscription service, no Direct Debit or even a continuing credit card mandate. We'd have to pay months in advance, to be sure of continuity of service.

Now, if it's, say, an online magazine membership, that's OK...ish. This isn't. It's the kind of service on which you build mission-critical systems - and those have to work, and be bullet-proof. Their failure is, quite literally, not an option.

So that led, with considerable regret, to the email I sent today:

(Please forward these comments to your management team.)

After due consideration, we have decided to terminate our relationship with [your company].

Although the Windows VPS service appears stable and fast, we cannot risk the commercial damage of having our mission-critical systems offlined by a missed manual payment, because you do not provide an easy automated funding option.

PayPal, particularly without a subscription option, is simply not a professional way to collect fees. It would only require one staff member to be ill, or on holiday, and a manual payment therefore missed, and our Windows-based enterprise platform would be downed. (To be blunt, we expect our suppliers to work for us, not vice-versa.)

And whilst there is the possibility of paying well in advance, we feel that our money would provide us more benefit in our own account, until needed elsewhere.

We have stopped our server, and hereby terminate our contract with you. Please cancel our service.

Jon
--
Jon Green
Managing Director, Adeptium Consulting Ltd. http://www.adeptium.com

The company in question had very helpful, friendly, tolerant customer service - their reply says volumes about that:

Dear Mr Green,

Thank you very much for your e-mail.

As requested, we will cancel the following subscriptions at the end of the contract:[...]

Even if we can not keep you as our customer, we would like to express our gratitude since we valued our business relationship very much.

We would be pleased to hear from you again, and we wish you much success in the future.

If you have any questions or need help, please do not hesitate to contact us.

There's a lesson in this. It doesn't matter how excellent your product, nor how keenly you price it, nor how helpful your staff: if you make things too difficult or risky for people to use your services, all the rest was for nothing.

It's a lesson I hope I remember when I need it!