Why I cancelled Car&Driver - how pricing strategies piss off customers

Continuous Service Program. Was there ever a more cynically anti-customer "service"? Give a cheap rate, then auto-renew at full price and tell me how great it is for me. Yeah, sure.

Over the years, C&D (Hearst Publications) trained me that the price was never "the price" and simply waiting until the end of subscription would save me 1/2. I always thought this was a stupid way to do business. All the mailings easily ate up any profit they saw from me.

With CSP, if I don't want to pay the full price automatically the next time around, I have to pay by check. Nice job - make it inconvenient for me to buy your product. Love that.

This morning I received a "Thanks for you Order!" email. Excuse me? Oh, I'm renewed, I just have to pay. Of course. How about I cancel? Click cancel and you're offered a 40% discount!

Perhaps I'm just weird but that just pisses me off. The loyal customers are the suckers. Nice.

Traditionally, GRM has had one price. Maybe they throw in a t-shirt once in a while. Regardless, I pay it, 3 years at a time, and don't spend any of my limited mental resources wondering if I missed out on something. I just did it last week, in fact. Now I see that I would have saved a few $$$ on the web site. I'm less annoyed because it's a small number. That, and I really like GRM. :)

I've previously shared this with Tim, and perhaps it's just a personal malfunction of mine, but I think offering different rates is ultimately a loser for a subscription service. As a customer, it trains me to wait, which is exactly the wrong response. Tying in an auto-renew function means I'm inconvenienced by having to write a check so you can't auto-anything.

And so ends my rant for today. :)

I agree with you 100% on the games publishers play. In fact, I called and cancelled my C&D over it a few months ago (though they keep sending me free issues with new subscription deal offers) Those practices drove me nuts!

I love GRM because it's almost always the same price AND I don't get a "your subscription is about to expire!!1!" (looking at you HR/CC...) unless it is actually about to end. I love that!

People still buy C&D.........I stopped nearly a decade ago. I read one recently and there was zero humor, stupid comparasins, and next to no legitimate original writing.......it was like reading something the manufacturor typed up for them.

My streetrodder subscription expires in February. Six days ago I got an email with the subject line "Urgent Response Needed" that said:

JOEY M*******, there's no time to wait. Your subscription is about to expire. The last thing we want is for you to miss out on any exciting issues of Street Rodder!

If they really wanted my business, they'd offer it at the same rate as last year, or at a mild increase.

I find the Rodale (?) magazines are the worst for this.

Sirius satellite has me trained. I get the 6 month $25 promotion, then cancel a couple of days before it runs out. They offer me 5 months for $25 on the phone during the cancellation phone call, but I turn it down. Within a couple of weeks, I'll get the $25/6 month offer in the mail. So I re-up, and set a reminder in my phone for 6 months down the road...

Obviously it works, though. There are enough people who don't notice the transition, or just let it ride. So you and I might find it annoying - like blow-in subscription cards - but it works.

We have our Black Friday sale once a year, and like the 10-year (which is around all the time), it's $10 a year and is good for new or renewing subs. Other than that, our best deal is the first one we send with renewals, and it's clearly marked "hit this now because it's our best deal because we'll save money on postage sending you a bazillion renewals if you just do it now." Because yes, it is sucky to give people you don't know, or people who jerk you around for months, a better deal than loyal folks who just want to keep reading.

Oh, and we also promote the really good deals (like Black Friday) here first. Because, you know, reasons.

Margie

Obviously it works, though. There are enough people who don't notice the transition, or just let it ride. So you and I might find it annoying - like blow-in subscription cards - but it works.

It's hard to tell if it works though when so much is in play. CD was down close to 100 pages a year ago. The Internet continues to kill them IMHO. Motor Trend has done a much better job of embracing the new order. They regularly produce quality youtube segments though I don't know how money comes their way from it.

Not satisfied ranting here, i sent an email to "Editors@CarandDriver.com".

Has there ever been a more cynical anti-customer "service"? Having trained me over the years to wait for a 1/2 off Best and Final offer before renewing, Hearst had to adjust fires with a get-it-now-at-this-rate but pay full you're-a-sucker pricing automatically (for your convenience!) when the time comes, forcing me to pay by check. Nicely done, making it inconvenient to be a customer.

Not done yet. Let's just pretend the sucker...er, 31 year reader has renewed and send him a Thank You to prod his lazy ass into sharing credit card info to get him on the CSP where he belongs. Awesome idea Austin! High fives all around. Nobody will find that annoying at all. You going to the reunion?

Someone needs to get the MBAs at Hearst under control. The earlier plan simply trained me to wait, raising retention costs. Exactly the wrong response. The newer one seems designed specifically to piss me off.

Sincerely, Michael Fennell (mfennell)

""&

Arrrgghhh. Why do my paragraph breaks disappear in quoted responses?

mfennell wrote: This morning I received a "Thanks for you Order!" email. Excuse me? Oh, I'm renewed, I just have to pay. Of course. How about I cancel? Click cancel and you're offered a 40% discount!

I was given a year subscription to Reader's Digest about twelve-thirteen years ago as a Christmas present.

I received two copies of the April issue, then a year later I got a nastygram threatening me with collections if I didn't pay up.

Knurled wrote:

mfennell wrote: This morning I received a "Thanks for you Order!" email. Excuse me? Oh, I'm renewed, I just have to pay. Of course. How about I cancel? Click cancel and you're offered a 40% discount!

I was given a year subscription to Reader's Digest about twelve-thirteen years ago as a Christmas present. I received two copies of the April issue, then a year later I got a nastygram threatening me with collections if I didn't pay up.

It's nice to know that your ex still keeps in touch!

As I understand it, for the big car magazines like C&D, the subscription price isn't intended to be a profit center. That's just supposed to cover the cost of printing and mailing one magazine to you, the real money is in the ads. To command high ad rates they need a large subscription base, ideally with demographics that particularly appeal to advertisers (namely, people with lots of disposable income).

A 1 year C&D subscription at amazon.com is $5. That's 42 cents an issue -- not even a first class stamp!

(Bizarrely, a 2 year subscription is $15, I dunno WTF is up with that).

I quit re-upping C&D about 5 years ago. They quit sending "Your subscription is about to expire!" notices last year.

Magazines make their money selling readers to advertisers. As a consumer of readers, I'm just fine with that

And just like hiring employees, it's more expensive to get subscribers than to keep them.

Keith Tanner wrote: I find the Rodale (?) magazines are the worst for this. Sirius satellite has me trained. I get the 6 month $25 promotion, then cancel a couple of days before it runs out. They offer me 5 months for $25 on the phone during the cancellation phone call, but I turn it down. Within a couple of weeks, I'll get the $25/6 month offer in the mail. So I re-up, and set a reminder in my phone for 6 months down the road... Obviously it works, though. There are enough people who don't notice the transition, or just let it ride. So you and I might find it annoying - like blow-in subscription cards - but it works.

I still have an active sirius account that never has a bill........

I noticed a new thing on Google yesterday: https://play.google.com/store/newsstand It's apparently a way to read various newspapers and magazines for free or for a low price depending on the particular product. I haven't investigated the details but they do have Road and Track and Car and Driver listed; it says 99 cents for each one, but I don't know if that's per issue or what.

I don't recall ever subscribing to C&D, but I quit reading it over 30 years ago because of their chicken E36 M3 attitude toward subscribers in letters to the editor. It's the one magazine I won't even read in the Drs office waiting room.

Didn't Classic Motorsports ONCE run the 10 year deal for $100 too? I had no money at that time. I'm waitinggggggggg.

I got an email from them as well, but I get so many and they arrive so far before my subscription expires and the deal is always something different and you get so many scams...I just ignore them all.

I have a reminder on my calendar.

yamaha wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: I find the Rodale (?) magazines are the worst for this. Sirius satellite has me trained. I get the 6 month $25 promotion, then cancel a couple of days before it runs out. They offer me 5 months for $25 on the phone during the cancellation phone call, but I turn it down. Within a couple of weeks, I'll get the $25/6 month offer in the mail. So I re-up, and set a reminder in my phone for 6 months down the road... Obviously it works, though. There are enough people who don't notice the transition, or just let it ride. So you and I might find it annoying - like blow-in subscription cards - but it works.

I still have an active sirius account that never has a bill........

Sometimes they leave it running for a very long time

In reply to Keith Tanner:

Nah, when they first came out and were looking for investors, they offered a "Lifetime subscription".....

spitfirebill wrote: Didn't Classic Motorsports ONCE run the 10 year deal for $100 too? I had no money at that time. I'm waitinggggggggg.

You can do 10 years of Classic Motorsports for $125--still a good deal.

Linky: https://secure.ablesoftsolutions.com/pdmg/SecurePages/NewSub.aspx?pi=cms

Marjorie Suddard wrote: We have our Black Friday sale once a year, and like the 10-year (which is around all the time), it's $10 a year and is good for new or renewing subs.

As a Real Cheap Bastard, it pains me to say this, but having some irrational attachment to your magazine, I'll say I think those sales work against you. When I received my notice attached to the magazine the other week, I noted the price for 3 years (60ish), recalled the last $10 offer, and briefly considered whether I should just wait for the next one. I know nothing-of-nothing about the magazine industry but it seems to me that you're better served receiving $60 from me now than $10 (or $30 for 3 if that's an option) later.

I do appreciate that you don't send umpteen-zillion renewal notices though. The C&D ones start nearly a year out.

It's not a magazine, but I had a screwed up interaction with a subscription service recently: Xbox Live. I received an email notification that my credit card tied to the account was going to expire and that my subscription was going to expire after that. I remembered that Amazon had subscription cards for $10/year less so I figured I would buy one there instead of updating my credit card info.

I did that, but guess what? Despite the card being expired, they still charged the annual renewal on my card, AFTER the card had expired. I checked around online and found a lot of people experiencing the same issue. It seems Microsoft is somehow able to still charge people's credit cards even after they are expired.

The phone support people for Xbox Live were actually quite nice to work with, but after crediting the renewal they cancelled my Xbox Live - including the year I had bought through Amazon! I called them back and they gave me another code to enter that gave me the year I had paid for, but after an hour on the phone and dealing with their mess I'm not sure I felt made totally whole.

One thing's for sure, I will never have credit card info stored in the Microsoft servers again. I did not appreciate having an expired card charged for services. That's definitely not customer friendly!!

In reply to mfennell:

Yes, but the sales also generate more reach (like on Facebook) and get more people talking about us. And in the end, I'd rather have the chance to make 3 people irrationally attached to the magazine; if that means I have to pass up soaking one loyalist for 3 times the price, it seems fair and right.

Margie

dculberson wrote: It's not a magazine, but I had a screwed up interaction with a subscription service recently: Xbox Live. I received an email notification that my credit card tied to the account was going to expire and that my subscription was going to expire after that. I remembered that Amazon had subscription cards for $10/year less so I figured I would buy one there instead of updating my credit card info. I did that, but guess what? Despite the card being expired, they still charged the annual renewal on my card, AFTER the card had expired. I checked around online and found a lot of people experiencing the same issue. It seems Microsoft is somehow able to still charge people's credit cards even after they are expired. The phone support people for Xbox Live were actually quite nice to work with, but after crediting the renewal they cancelled my Xbox Live - including the year I had bought through Amazon! I called them back and they gave me another code to enter that gave me the year I had paid for, but after an hour on the phone and dealing with their mess I'm not sure I felt made totally whole. One thing's for sure, I will never have credit card info stored in the Microsoft servers again. I did not appreciate having an expired card charged for services. That's definitely not customer friendly!!

Yea, those are definitely buyer beware on purchasing memberships for XBL via card on their system......even the $1/mo special and the occasional $10/3mo special will lead to an automatic renewal at the end of the term(at full price) Its in the description when you purchase them, but I know not everyone can be bothered to scroll down. The E36 M3tiest one is when you take the autorenew off, they used to give you a month of service before blacking you out......therefore you would also have to pay for the 1 month membership on top of whatever new membership you were going with. AFAIK, I believe they ended that practice.

I get C&D for free through the public library (Zinio app). It's worth it.