"Your call is very important to us ..."

I recently received an e-mail to renew my online subscription to a well known greeting card company. Since I didn't use it very much (I still like to buy cards in a store and mail them) I decided to cancel my subscription. They didn't make it easy.

1. I couldn't cancel online. I had to call the company. If I didn't call my subscription would automatically be renewed.
2. I was placed on hold for nearly eight minutes and had to endure their on hold messages: "Never miss an occasion ...," "Ask about our print and mail option," and the popular favorite, "Your call is very important to us and will be answered in the order it was received."
3. When a company representative finally came on the line I was offered a free 90-day extension to my subscription. Of course, I declined because I'd only to have to go through this miserable experience again - if I remembered to cancel it in the first place. This is where the sneeky automatic renewal comes into play.

What I've learned so far is that client service is vital to the success of a business. This experience was quite annoying and left me with negative feelings about this company. How do your clients rate your firm's client service? When was the last time you reviewed the processes your firm has in place regarding client contact?