4 ms·

> I consider the "signing up can be done on the web, but canceling requires a human" to be a dark pattern. And illegal in California as of last year. Hopefully

• kevinmchugh 8y ago
  It's been illegal in Illinois for a couple years as well.
• tialaramex 8y ago
  Yes, this is the correct fix (well, not the part where everybody else has to rely on California but the rule that if you can sign up by method X you can cancel that way too) My ex-employer was surprised that when they were obliged by law to stop routing everybody though a retention call center customer satisfaction improved. Too much of their own Kool Aid had been drunk, they'd persuaded themselves that customers wanted to be reminded of the benefits and offered other deals by a human so much that they'd hate even having the option to just press "Cancel" on the web site and leave that way. It's an old Joel Spoelsky lesson, if you make leaving a pleasant experience that customer may come back some day. If not you're never going to see them again.