I think my “7 Circles of Web Chicanery Hell” post is coming together right before my eyes. Today’s entrant into the mix is the hidden “Delete Account” button.
Yesterday I received an email from an app I signed up for months ago and haven’t used since (the startup behind this app will remain nameless). After going back to the site I determined I wanted to delete my account and so I set off on what amounted to a Homerian odyssey to do so.
I started with the obvious place, Account Settings, and found nothing. The next place I checked was the Help section. Nothing. Finally I ended up at the FAQs. No luck. Tic toc tic toc. So frustrated. Finally I decided to send an email and request my account be canceled only to receive this email the next day:
Hi Alex,
Can I ask why you want to leave [startup]? What can we do to retain you as a user? We are in an early stage and are trying to improve as we go along. Your feedback will help. If you still want your account deleted, we can take care of it.
Argh!
As someone who’s built products and cultivated a user base myself, I know the importance of growing and listening to your user base. That being said, this habit of not only making the Delete Account button difficult to find but making it completely unavailable shows an utter lack of respect for your users.
Getting feedback from users as to why they’re leaving your service is incredibly valuable and that has been successfully handled by many companies as a part of the Delete Account process that users have the option to fill out. Users looking for this functionality already want to go. Making them waste time looking for a link only to ultimately feel trapped and then forcing them into 2 email exchanges before finally granting their request (I’m still awaiting confirmation) is really bad form and can almost guarantee they’ll never be back and never say anything nice about you to others.
Your users should feel like they can come and go as they please. If you’ve designed the best experience you can, not only will they want to stay but they’ll want to help you make it even better.
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