How you handle someone leaving determines whether they come back, and determines what they say about you in the meantime.
TL;DR Make cancelling easy. Ask one open question, not a survey. Hand over everything they are entitled to without being asked. Say they are welcome back and mean it. Reach out once, six months later.
Make leaving easy
Difficult cancellation is the single most reliable way to generate a bad review.
What difficult looks like
- Cancellation only by phone, during business hours.
- A retention agent who will not accept the answer.
- Notice periods buried in terms nobody read.
- Ignoring the request and continuing to bill.
- Withholding files or data until an invoice is settled.
Every one of these converts a neutral exit into an angry one, and angry customers write reviews, dispute payments and tell people.
What easy looks like
- Cancel by reply to any email, or one form.
- Processed within one business day.
- Written confirmation with a clear final date.
- Final invoice issued immediately and accurately.
- Everything they own handed over automatically.
The one question
Do not send a survey. Send one question.
Sorry to see you go, and no problem at all. One question if you have a moment: what would we have needed to do differently?
Genuinely useful either way, and no obligation to answer.
Why one open question beats a form
- Much higher response rate. No scale, no pages, no login.
- Better answers. People write the real reason when they are not choosing from your list.
- It does not feel like a last attempt at retention, which a long survey does.
Ask by email, not a link. Replying is easier than clicking through.
Believe the answer, and log it
Categorise every response. Price, service quality, communication, no longer needed, moved, went elsewhere, unclear.
Review monthly. One person leaving over communication is an anecdote. Four in a quarter is a process failure.
Common gaps between what people say and what happened
- “Too expensive” often means “I did not see the value”, which is a communication problem, not a pricing one.
- “No longer needed” sometimes means “I did not know you also did that”, which is a marketing problem.
- “Went with someone else” frequently means availability, not price.
Ask a follow-up if the answer is vague. One more question, gently. “That is fair, was it the price itself or the value for the price?” Most people answer.
The handover
Give them everything, automatically, before they ask.
Depending on the trade this may include
- Certificates, warranties and compliance documents.
- Service history and dates.
- Photographs of the work.
- Model and serial numbers of anything installed.
- Any keys, fobs or access items.
- Files, designs or assets they paid for.
Send it as one package with a short covering note.
Everything for your records is attached: service history, the boiler certificate and the warranty details. Anything else you need, just ask.
Do this even if there is an unpaid invoice. Withholding creates a dispute; chase the invoice separately.
Leave the door open
One sentence, no pressure.
If you ever need us again, your details are still here and we would be glad to help. Good luck with everything.
No guilt. No parting comment about the competitor. No “we are sorry you did not give us a chance.”
Add them to a light list if they consent. Seasonal tips only, no promotions, easy opt-out.
The six-month contact
Underused and effective.
One message, personal, six months after they left.
Hi Sarah, Tiff here. No agenda, just wondered how you got on with the new arrangement. If it is working well, genuinely pleased. If not, you know where I am.
A meaningful share of churned customers come back if the exit was clean and somebody remembered them. Almost nobody does this, so it stands out.
One attempt only. If there is no reply, leave them alone.
When you are the one ending it
Sometimes you fire the client. Do it properly.
- Give reasonable notice, more than the minimum.
- Be factual, not accusatory. “We are not the right fit for this work” rather than a list of grievances.
- Recommend an alternative if you can. It is decent, and it means the parting is not a dead end.
- Complete anything outstanding to your normal standard.
- Hand over everything.
After the last few jobs I think you would be better served by someone set up for this kind of work. I have finished everything outstanding and attached your records. I would suggest speaking to [X], they handle this sort of thing regularly.
Never do this by ignoring them. Fading out is worse than a clear conversation.
Measure it
- Reasons, categorised, tracked quarterly.
- Offboarding survey response rate. Under a fifth means the ask is too heavy.
- Reactivation rate at six and twelve months.
- Reviews from churned customers. Should be neutral or positive if the process works.
Replace whatever your cancellation process is with a one-day turnaround, a full handover pack and one open question. It costs nothing and it stops the most damaging reviews before they are written.
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