By 'Rebel' Rod Ames
DO NOT CANCEL your membership at the Kroc Center! There will be $105 cancellation fee deducted from your credit card or checking account. I do not have a problem with that, although it does seem quite pricey for any organization, especially during these particularly difficult economic times, to put a seemingly elevated fee for such a small task as taking a member off your list.
The distressing thing about this was not really the fee. I can rebound from an unexpected deduction from my checking account, it was the cavalier attitude taken by the representatives of the Kroc Center who I suspect, when not working at the Kroc center, are fellow citizens and neighbors.
The employees more than likely are simply doing what they are told. In fact, she actually used the words, “these are our standards”. Therefore, their “standards” obviously come from upper management or corporate.
The manager I spoke to repeatedly stated, “That according to the agreement you signed…..", which was not my point at all.
My point was that if they had practiced good customer service and politely reminded me at the time of my cancellation that there would be a $105 cancellation fee, my membership would still be in existence. I definitely would not have cancelled my membership until the membership period had ended. They would still have me as a customer, and had the opportunity to keep me as a customer longer term, and I would not be writing this letter. Why? Because they would have done the right thing, which will always hold a lasting impression on this writer.
I work for a very customer service oriented company, and I am pretty far down the chain of command, but I, in my plebian position at the company, could have gotten a $105 refund authorized, because in the end, a happy customer is worth far more than $105.
Because of not being able to get anywhere, and not even getting so much as phone call back from their director, I was left with no alternative other than to warn my fellow neighbors who may be thinking of cancelling their memberships, of this exorbitant fee that will be taken from their credit card or checking account.
Incidentally, my teenage son is on the same membership and I did not cancel him from the membership. Due to my dissatisfaction with The Kroc Center right now, I would love to take him off, I just cannot afford another $105 at this time.
I was merely trying to convince them to remind people of this cancellation fee when they call to cancel. The manager I spoke to either did not understand or did not care. She just kept robotically repeating the same thing over and over again, “That according to the agreement you signed…” Clearly, my grievance fell on deaf ears.
I love the Kerrville area and I adore its people. However, the inconsiderate attitude the management possess at The Kroc Center in Kerrville is not conducive of the people of Kerrville, The Salvation Army, or who the Kroc’s are.
At least I hope not.
