Cox, a major cable operator, allows you to sign up and add any services you want online. However, partially removing or cancelling services online is expressly forbidden. For example, if you wish to keep Internet service but cancel cable TV, a call is required.

I know it’s a different process, but wanted to reilluminate the some of the measures taken against disconnecting a service in general.

Once you do call, which I had to do for some older relatives recently, they invoke a high pressure sales pitch in the form of a question decision tree script.

The script requires the reps to start down the decision tree asking questions like, “Why are you disconnecting your service today?”, and then using that answer and others to slowly incent/coerce you into a corner intended to make you feel it would be an absurd decision to downgrade service.

I recorded the call (legal because they are recording it as well) to avoid misunderstandings about the precise details of what was being politely requested.

In response to every script question, I gave one simple answer. “Sir, why are you downgrading your service today?”. I reply, “It’s a secret”.

After a few seconds of hesitation, another question follows. “Is there anything you are not happy about with our service?”, “If we could save you more money than any other service would you be interested in hearing about it?”. Sorry, that’s also a secret.

Surprisingly, it short circuited the script pretty quickly without any social discomfort or feeling a need to justify myself. They allowed the changes to proceed, fully documented.