Customer research call guide

Churn Interviews: Recruit Plan and Guide

What the data already tells us

• The cancel form inflates "Too expensive." It is pre-selected, so we can't tell real price objections from people clicking through. Most cancellers left it on that answer.
• Most cancellers had stopped cooking before they left. Many cooked 0–2 recipes in their last four weeks and skipped several deliveries. Their free text points to fit, not price: "kept piling up in the fridge," "too much food for two," "didn't have time to cook." The comparison stat agrees: 81% of retained subscribers cooked 3+ recipes a week in month one, versus 34% of cancellers. That's a correlation, but it suggests a fourth hypothesis none of the execs named: the kit never became a habit.
• "Delivery problems" cancellers look different. Every one of them cooked 3+ recipes in their last four weeks, and several left within weeks 2–3. These are engaged customers we lost to an ops failure.
• Free text often contradicts the selected reason. For example, "Moving / travelling" sits next to "cheaper at the supermarket."

Six calls can't tell us how many people leave for each reason; the data does that. The calls are for understanding how people decide to leave, so we give each hypothesis a fair, clean case.

Who to recruit

Contact backups only if the primary doesn't respond within 48 hours. Assign the experienced interviewers to calls 1 and 2, where people most easily give a stock answer like "it was the price." New interviewers take 3–6 and shadow one call first if the schedule allows.

Interview guide (30 min)

Rules for interviewers (read before every call)

1. Ask about what happened, not opinions. Prefer "Tell me about the last box you got" to "Do you think the recipes are repetitive?"
2. Don't mention their cancel reason or our hypotheses until section 4. If you say "price" first, you'll hear "price."
3. Don't defend, explain, or offer anything. No discounts, no "actually you can skip weeks." If they ask, note it and say someone can follow up.
4. Allow silence. Count to five before your next question. The best answers come after the pause.
5. Use neutral probes: "Tell me more." "What happened next?" "Can you give me an example?" "Why was that?"
6. Follow their story, not the script. The script makes sure you cover everything; you don't need to ask it in order.
7. Write down exact quotes, especially words they use about money, time, food, and delivery.

1. Intro (2 min)

"Thanks for making time. I'm [name] from Sprig. We're trying to understand what Sprig was like to use, including the bad parts. There are no wrong answers, and I'm not here to win you back. Is it OK if I take notes or record?"

2. Their life with Sprig (8 min)

• "Take me back to when you signed up. What was going on? What were you hoping it would do for you?"
• "Walk me through a typical week with a box. When did it arrive? Who cooked? What happened to the food?"
• "How did that change over time?"
• Probe: "When did that start?" "What was different then?"

3. The decision to leave (10 min)

• "Tell me about the last few boxes before you cancelled."
• "When did you first think about stopping? What happened that day or week?"
• "Before cancelling, did you skip any weeks? What was going on then?"
• Probe for leftovers and waste: "What happened to meals you didn't cook?"
• "What did you do instead for meals? What does that cost and take?"
• "Was there one moment that tipped it, or did it build up?"

4. Checking the reasons (6 min)

Ask these only now. - "On the cancel form you chose [reason]. Is that how you'd describe it to a friend?" - If the reason was pre-selected, say: "That option was already ticked by default. Was it your actual reason?" - Ask about each of the following, one at a time, unless they've already covered it. Get a specific example for each. - "How did the price feel by the end? Compared to what?" - "How did you feel about the recipe choices?" - "Any issues with deliveries? What happened?" - "If you could change one thing, would you have stayed? What would it be?"

5. Wrap (4 min)

• "Is there anything I should have asked but didn't?"
• Thank them and explain any incentive.

After each call (15 min, same day)

Fill in the shared sheet with: - Their main reason, in their words. - When cooking dropped off: week, and the trigger. - Supporting quotes. - Whether the form reason matched their story.

After all six calls, I'll write up how each person's decision unfolded, mapped against the four hypotheses. I'll be clear that six interviews show how people decide, not how many decide each way. The write-up will also recommend changing the cancel form so no option is pre-selected; that one change will make the form data usable.

Aim and guardrails

Use six interviews to identify how cancellation happens, not vote on which executive is right. Explore price, repetition and delivery alongside an alternative: subscribers stop cooking the meals, food accumulates, and the subscription loses value.

The cancellation form is weak evidence: “Too expensive” is pre-selected, only one reason is allowed, and comments often suggest overlapping problems. The first-month cooking difference—81% of retained subscribers versus 34% of cancellers cooked at least three recipes weekly—is a useful lead, not proof that cooking prevents churn. Last-four-week cooking counts cannot establish first-month habits.

Recruit these six

Purposefully sample contrasting behaviors and mismatches between selected reasons and comments. Counts below are weeks subscribed / skips in last six weeks / recipes cooked in last four weeks.

Backups, in corresponding order: S-8096, S-8122, S-8209, S-8179, S-8259, S-8151. They preserve the main behavioral contrast, though comments differ.

Invite neutrally: “We’re learning about your experience using and stopping Sprig; this is not a sales call.” Book six 30-minute calls plus replacement availability. Do not screen for agreement with an executive theory. Confirm dates and household context; validate unusual counts rather than treating administrative data as ground truth.

Shared 30-minute interview guide

0–2 minutes: Introduction

“Thanks for joining. We want to understand what happened in your experience, including anything that worked or didn’t. There are no right answers, and we won’t try to persuade you to return. May we record for research notes? You can decline any question.”

2–6 minutes: Expectations and first month

• “What was happening in your life when you signed up?”
• “What did you hope Sprig would replace or make easier?”
• “Walk me through a typical week in your first month: receiving, choosing and cooking meals.”
• “What happened to meals you didn’t cook?”

Establish actual routine before asking whether it changed.

6–16 minutes: Reconstruct the cancellation timeline

• “Take me through your last few weeks with Sprig.”
• “When did you first consider stopping? What happened just before that?”
• “Tell me about the last box you received: what arrived, what you cooked, and what happened to the rest.”
• “Tell me about a week you skipped. What led to that?”
• “What happened on the day you cancelled? Why then rather than earlier?”

Probe for dates, examples, actions and consequences. Separate gradual dissatisfaction from the final trigger. Ask what they tried, including changes to orders, skipping or contacting support.

16–21 minutes: Replacement and trade-offs

• “How are you handling dinners now? Tell me about last week.”
• “What alternatives did you actually consider or use?”
• “What did those cost, and what did you get for that?”
• “What made cancelling preferable to continuing or skipping?”

Distinguish actual competitor switching from general perceptions of cheaper options.

21–27 minutes: Cover gaps, then reconcile the form

Only after the unprompted account: - Price: “How did the cost fit your budget? Did anything change?” - Recipes: “How did recipe choices change over time? Any specific examples?” - Delivery: “How did deliveries fit your plans? Describe any problem and what followed.” - Usage: “What made cooking the meals easier or harder?”

Then: “The form recorded [reason]. How well did that capture your situation? Were other reasons missing?” Clarify whether they actively chose it.

27–30 minutes: Close

Summarize the sequence and ask: “What have I misunderstood? What mattered most that we haven’t discussed?”

Support and synthesis

Run a rehearsal for both new interviewers; pair each with an experienced observer. Use silence and neutral probes—“What happened next?”—not “Was it too expensive?” Never defend Sprig.

Debrief immediately using one template: expectations, usage trajectory, incidents, underlying constraints, cancellation trigger, replacement, supporting quotes and uncertainty. Compare confirming and contradicting cases. Report plausible mechanisms and follow-up tests—not prevalence estimates or a causal verdict from six calls.

Aim and guardrails

Understand the sequence leading to cancellation, not ask subscribers to vote on executives’ theories. Test price, repetition, and delivery alongside an alternative: subscribers never established—or lost—a workable cooking routine, making unused food feel expensive.

The cancellation form is weak evidence: price is first and preselected, only one answer is allowed, and comments sometimes conflict with selections. The first-month cooking gap—81% of retained subscribers versus 34% of cancellers cooking at least three recipes weekly—is an important association, not proof of causation. Last-four-week cooking counts cannot identify first-month activation.

Recruit these six

Use purposive contrasts, not a representative sample. Counts below mean weeks subscribed / skips in last six weeks / recipes cooked in last four weeks.

Contact primaries immediately; approach backups if unavailable or declining. Offer the same fixed incentive regardless of feedback. Invite them to discuss “your experience using and stopping Sprig,” without naming hypotheses. Confirm they managed the subscription or cooking; do not screen for agreement with a theory.

Before calls, verify metric definitions, subscription dates, and available delivery history. Skipping reduces opportunities to cook; raw cooking counts are not cooking rates. Schedule three calls Tuesday, three Thursday, with debrief time.

Shared 30-minute interview guide

0–2 minutes: introduction

“We’re learning how Sprig fitted into your life and what led you to stop. This isn’t a sales call; honest criticism is useful. You can skip questions or stop. May we record for research notes?”

2–6: expectations and early use

• “What was happening in your life when you signed up?”
• “What did you hope Sprig would replace or make easier?”
• “Walk me through an early delivery: who cooked, what got cooked, and what happened to the rest?”
• “How typical was that during your first month?”

6–15: reconstruct the change

• “Walk me through your last few weeks with Sprig.”
• “Tell me about the last box you received—from arrival to what happened to each meal.”
• “When did you first consider stopping? What happened just before that?”
• “Was there a time it worked better? What changed?”
• “Tell me about a week you skipped, if any. What drove that decision?”

Anchor memories to deliveries or calendar events; accept “I don’t remember.”

15–20: cancellation and alternatives

• “Tell me about the day you cancelled. Why then?”
• “What had you already tried?”
• “What options did you consider, including skipping?”
• “What have you actually done for meals since?”

20–27: test explanations, only after the unaided story

Ask everyone: - “How did the cost fit your budget and what you got from it?” Probe actual alternatives, prices or discounts used—not hypothetical willingness to pay. - “How did recipe choice change over time?” Request specific examples and timing. - “How did deliveries fit your plans?” If problems arose: promised versus actual arrival, consequences, frequency, and attempted resolution. - Then show their selected reason/comment: “How well does this capture what happened? What’s missing?”

27–30: confirm

Summarize the sequence, separating ongoing frustrations from the final trigger. “What have I misunderstood? What else mattered?”

Support and synthesis

Pair each novice with an experienced observer; rehearse Monday. Use silence and “Tell me about a specific time,” not suggested answers. Never defend Sprig or pitch fixes.

After each call, record timeline, supporting examples, contradictions, and unknowns separately from interpretation. Friday, compare cases across all explanations, explicitly noting disconfirming evidence. Report mechanisms and next validation steps—not churn percentages or causal conclusions from six interviews.