Stop Punishing Your Customers With Rigid Policies
Why 5‑Year Contracts, Long Care Plans, and Corporate “Churn Reduction” Tactics Are Quietly Driving Your Best Clients Away—and What To Do Instead
I usually write about health, healing, and chiropractic care—or whatever’s happening in my life. But today, I’m talking business. Specifically, how some companies make it way harder than it needs to be for customers to keep doing business with them.
We’ve been using a local floor mat service for years. They swap out our mats weekly and keep everything clean. Honestly, we don’t need the service that badly—it’s just nice. Then one day the usual delivery guys showed up with “the boss.” He informed me that their small company had been bought by a bigger outfit, and starting immediately, every customer had to sign a 5-year contract to continue.
I thought he was joking. When I realized he wasn’t, I said, “Well, I guess we’re done then. Go ahead and take the mats—I won’t be using you anymore.” The delivery guys were trying hard not to laugh. The boss stepped away for a minute, then came back and said they could keep servicing us without the contract. I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Whatever.”
That moment stuck with me. As a business owner myself, I started thinking: What policies or procedures in my office might be making life inconvenient for clients?
On paper, the new owners were probably patting themselves on the back for implementing “policies to reduce churn”—classic corporate-speak. Hedge funds and private equity types love buying mom-and-pop businesses, squeezing every last drop of profit, and installing rigid rules. They forget one thing: the actual customer standing in front of them.
The same thing happens in chiropractic. Some offices schedule X-rays on one day, the consultation on another, and treatments on yet another. They don’t seem to realize that when someone walks in with back pain, they want relief today. That restrictive approach drives people straight to places like my office or The Joint—offices that actually consider the client’s real needs and timeline.
I see it all the time: patients show up with $3,000 care plans from other clinics, recommendations in hand, looking for someone who gets it. Those long, inflexible plans might close some sales, but they’re not converting everyone. The result? My schedule stays full because we focus on same-day adjustments and straightforward plans.
If you run a business, I invite you to do this: Step back and look at your policies from your customer’s point of view. Are you making it easy for people to say yes and stay with you? Or are you adding friction that pushes them out the door?
Small things matter. Contracts, scheduling, upselling, hidden fees—anything that feels like it serves your bottom line more than the person paying you. Cut the unnecessary hassle. Make it simple, helpful, and human. Your customers will notice, and your business will be better for it.
What rigid policies have you run into lately? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear your stories.