In today’s installment, Disney shows us the classy way to bid a customer farewell. Mike called to cancel several Toontown accounts his kids were no longer using. Mike is an Operations Manager for a call center, and knows and expects “every trick in the book.” Mike didn’t realize Disney has their own book collection.

Disney: “May I ask why you’re canceling?”
Mike: “We don’t use it any more”
Disney: “Ok, now I see that you’re already 10 days into a month you’ve paid for.”
Mike: “OK” I expect to pay for the month, even if I don’t use it.
Disney: “I’ll go ahead and credit back that month’s payment to your cc”
Mike: “ok……”
Disney: “Thanks for calling”

Mike writes, “I love to go off on bad service more than most because of my job, but here’s to your frozen head in jar Walt, that rocked.”

Mike’s full email, inside.

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My kids are huge fans of Toontown, the online Disney MMOG. You know that on the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog? Well, my 5 year old is a beta-tester on their test server, which kinda freaks when he’s filling out bug reports on his own, but that’s totally a different story.

We’ve got 4 different accounts with them, and inspired by the New Year, I decided to cancel the ones that I’ve been paying for, but the kids haven’t been using. Kinda like AOL accounts.

I call them, and as a true Consumerist, I’m girding my loins preparing for an epic drama with me against the Mighty Mouse.

Retentionist vs Consumerist

Disclosure: I am an Operations Manager for a major Non-US Call Centre, both inbound and outbound, sales and customer service, so I know and expect every trick in the book. I even know the magic word “escalations”, whoops, forget I said that.

On hold for 4 minutes, just time enough for KD Lang’s song from “Home on the Range”

CSR comes on, Kim I think. Cheerful, and polite.
Takes my data.
Disney: “May I ask why you’re canceling?”
Mike: “We don’t use it any more”
Disney: “Ok, now I see that you’re already 10 days into a month you’ve paid for.”
Mike: “OK” I expect to pay for the month, even if I don’t use it.
Disney: “I’ll go ahead and credit back that month’s payment to your cc”
Mike: “ok……”
Disney: “Thanks for calling”

WTF?

A refund without asking or begging. And one I didn’t expect.

I love to go off on bad service more than most because of my job, but here’s to your frozen head in jar Walt, that rocked.

— CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

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