Let me again clarify our misguided credit card policy and address some of the concerns voiced here.
Our policy was intended to provide existing clients who used a credit card to be re-billed at whatever price they paid, for as long as their card automatically went through. Since it meant no time or employee expense on our part to handle the transaction, we thought we could do this as a courtesy and a means to allow our existing customers to receive a special benefit for being loyal customers. (Since simply having the card automatically bill is a lot less onerous and expensive than invoicing and following up to ensure payments are made.) Once the client?s card expired, however, they would have to pay our current price, as all new and most recurring customers do. We felt this was fair for Amazing Charts, in that we would eventually be paid the money we require to remain in business, but also provide some benefit and ?thanks? to the clients that trusted us and signed on when our prices were lower.
Of course, we soon heard about clients who reported their card was stolen, or their staff member used the wrong card when originally signing up a year or two earlier, or that their card was lost, or their card number changed by the credit card company, or many other issues that happen to all of us at some point in time. We decided that rather than be a judge who decided that one client?s reported experience warranted an exception and another client did not, our policy would be simple, straightforward, and without exception. If a card previously used re-bills automatically, we won?t stop it, or the services it was paying for. If a card is/needs to be changed, then our price is our current price.
All of this was done trying to be fair to clients that have supported us in the past, while being fair to our company to allow the required revenue to continue advancing the software and providing excellent support and other services.
I saw this as an being exemplary of our Kind Capitalism concept of being fair and reasonable, and treating our users as we would like to be treated ourselves (the basis of Kind Capitalism).
Of course, I now see all too clearly (and frequently), that there was an obvious flaw in my perspective. That being: I see Amazing Charts clients as a single group that I?m trying to do right by.
Unfortunately, Amazing Charts clients are not a single group. Rather it is 5000+ practices each individually owned. And frankly, most of these practices really don?t care ? and in fact are likely more frustrated knowing ? that some other practices are getting an extra year or two at a lesser price.
And now your credit card get stolen and not only do you have to deal with all that nonsense ? but the cost of your EHR just doubled from $500/year to $995/year per provider. That?s worse than unfair, that is kicking somebody when they?re down.
And that?s the mess a Kind Capitalism policy can cause when not adequately thought out.
So we figured if we provide plenty of notice of our upcoming price increase (e.g., 3 months), AND we provided the means for people to pre-purchase 2 years at our old price, it would be better. We sent out newsletters and emails to all our customers as we wanted to be sure everybody had the chance to buy 2 full years of support, upgrades, ePrescribing, etc., at our then-current price.
We even put off the price increase by another month ? ?til December 1, 2010 - when we heard from a few clients they hadn?t received our newsletter or email, so we could put the price increase announcement in the Amazing Charts program to be sure that everybody actively using Amazing Charts would see it when they first logged on (announcements come up in the lower right corner of the main Amazing Charts Desktop window when the program is started).
Anyway, that is the history of our price policy. There is nothing sinister about it ? the goal was to be fair to clients and ourselves.
But nobody wants to pay more, especially if they feel they are penalized through no fault of their own. So again, this is just policy that really doesn't work and I feel that the simplest approach now is that when our price goes up, it goes up for all, without exception, new customer or old, paying by credit card or not.
Like the EULA discussion, I?m certainly open to discuss an approach that doesn't have these flaws. An approach that recognizes our most valuable asset, our existing clients, while generating the revenue we need to move forward ? especially in this rapidly evolving Health IT industry. Any ideas?
Jon
