I don't see how being a startup justifies making cancellation incredibly difficult. Whether it's a giant "extracting every penny", or a startup "trying to survive", it's just editorialization. They made it difficult, so less customers would cancel. Less customers cancel, more money retained.
I'm okay with an optional questionnaire, and I often fill them out when I cancel a service. But if it wants me to call to cancel, and especially if it deliberately makes the call longer and unbearable, I have all the reasons to be angry about it. I don't care if it's a struggling startup. A startup is an organization, not an actual life; I'm not going to pity it.
Obviously, an optional questionnaire is not as effective as forcing a call onto the customer. But it's the right thing to do.
I'm okay with an optional questionnaire, and I often fill them out when I cancel a service. But if it wants me to call to cancel, and especially if it deliberately makes the call longer and unbearable, I have all the reasons to be angry about it. I don't care if it's a struggling startup. A startup is an organization, not an actual life; I'm not going to pity it.
Obviously, an optional questionnaire is not as effective as forcing a call onto the customer. But it's the right thing to do.