Victory Over Adobe!

I needed some good-quality images to use in a presentation, so naturally, Adobe Stock Photos was the place to go. I was irritated to find out that I had to sign up for a monthly membership in order to download ten or fifteen photos–this seems to be more and more of a trend these days, doesn’t it, companies trying to hook you into a long-term relationship when you just want a date? Er, I mean, a single commercial transaction? (I’m looking at you, Microsoft.) But the site said I could cancel at will, so I went ahead and signed up.

Of course, I forgot to cancel. As one does. A thirty-dollar charge showed up on my credit card. Rats. Oh well, lesson learned. I went to the site to cancel my membership.

Only to learn that I’d be charged $142 for cancelling before the end of the year.

Now, I may have missed some fine print, but I swear I didn’t know I was locking myself into a twelve-month membership with significant penalties for opting out. I stared at the screen in dismay. It’s nearly December and I’m a freelancer. December is an expensive month for most people, and even more so if you pay your own health insurance (HSA contribution!) and manage your own retirement funds (Roth IRA!) I’ve got a lot of use for $142. But I figured it was probably my fault. I’d made a mistake, I hadn’t read the information carefully enough, I’d suck it up and pay the fee.

Wait. No I wouldn’t.

So I had a tedious chat with a guy named Manoj at the Adobe Customer Service Center. It went like this. Manoj is in blue, I’m in red, internal, commentary in CAPS

Thank you for contacting Adobe membership services. You will be attended to shortly. [WHAT EXACTLY IS THEIR DEFINITION OF SHORTLY?]

Thank you for your patience. Your wait time is approximately ‘1’ minutes.

Thank you for your patience. Your wait time is approximately ‘1’ minutes.

Thank you for your patience. Your wait time is approximately ‘1’ minutes.

Thank you for your patience. Your wait time is approximately ‘1’ minutes.
[WHAT EXACTLY IS THEIR DEFINITION OF ‘1’?]

You are not currently in a chat session. [NO KIDDING.]

Thank you for your patience. Your wait time is approximately ‘1’ minutes.

Thank you for your patience. Your wait time is approximately ‘6’ minutes.

Thank you for your patience. Your wait time is approximately ‘2’ minutes.

You are now chatting with ‘Manoj’ [HI, MANOJ! NICE TO MEET YOU!] Thank you for contacting Adobe Membership Services Sarah. I’ll look into your account right away to view exclusive offers for your membership.
Hello Sarah, how are you doing today? [FRANKLY, I WAS DOING BETTER BEFORE I TRIED TO HANDLE BUSINESS WITH YOUR COMPANY. SO, ABOUT THAT:]

I came to the site to cancel my subscription. I was very surprised to see that I’d be charged $142 fee for a service I no longer need. I did not realize that I was making an annual commitment when I signed up for a membership or I would not have done so. Can this be changed?

Sure I will help you with this. [AWESOME…?]

Great, I appreciate it.

May I have your phone number to update on the account?

Why do you need my number if I want to cancel the account?

I need your phone number so that we can easily identified your account. [DOES THIS  MAKE SENSE? IF MY ACCOUNT DIDN’T HAVE MY PHONE NUMBER, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO USE MY PHONE NUMBER TO IDENTIFY MY ACCOUNT? BUT OH WELL….]

Okay, it is 207-772-1056.

That is fine if you do not wish to share your number. [TOO LATE….] Perfect!
Please allow me 1-2 minutes to review your account details.
We appreciate your patience and apologize for the wait.
As I can see that you are using Adobe Stock – 10 images a month (one-year)‎ under annual commitment with monthly billing.

I realize that is correct now, but I did not realize that it was an annual contract when I signed up.

May I know the reason why you wish to cancel the subscription?

I finished the project that I was working on and I have no more need for the service.

Instead of canceling, I would suggest you to complete the tenure and to help you continue with the subscription, I can provide you with a special offer where we will add two months free to your account and you won’t be charged for the next two months, which will reduce your expenses. You can continue using the subscription.

That isn’t helpful to me, since I don’t need the subscription anymore. I have finished the project I was working on and I don’t need stock photos at the moment. That is why I wanted to cancel. [SERIOUSLY, IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE PRIME RIB, YOUR WAITER OFFERING YOU MORE PRIME RIB ISN’T GOING TO MAKE UP FOR THAT.]

As a one time exception I will go ahead and cancel the subscription without any fee. [WELL, WOW! IT JUST TOOK STICKING IN THERE TO SAVE $142!]

Thank you very much! You have made me feel much better about Adobe s a service. I appreciate the quality of the photos, but I was doubting whether I would ever be able to return to the company after being hit with such a surprising fee. I’m glad we were able to resolve this and that I’ll feel confident about coming back to Adobe in the future. [ACTUALLY I FEEL EXTREMELY NOT CONFIDENT ABOUT USING ADOBE STOCK PHOTOS IN THE FUTURE, BUT I DID WANT TO MAKE MANOJ FEEL GOOD SINCE HE’D HELPED ME OUT.]

Thank you so much. I appreciate that.
Please stay connected while I cancel the subscription without fee for you.

Sure, I will do that.

We appreciate your patience and apologize for the wait. [IT’S OKAY, I JUST FINISHED A NEW CANDY CRUSH LEVEL, WOO HOO. PLUS I SAVED $142.]

I have canceled your subscription without any fee and you can use the services till the next billing date as well.
You will receive the confirmation email for the same.

 

So, fellow freelancers, don’t give up! I wanted to post this in case any of you find yourself in a similar predicament. Seems like Adobe will waive the cancellation fee if you just keep asking.