A firing interview reconstructs a cancellation backwards, from the moment they left to the point the job stopped getting done. It separates the trigger from the cause, names what they hired instead, and finds the window where the decision was still reversible — usually months before the usage data showed anything. This guide is a pool of 27 questions across four phases; 13 are marked core, which is about what fits in a 45-minute interview.
Last updated 2026-08-03John Gusiff, Customer Centric Solutions LLCFree to use and cite
- General
- Events & Timeline
- Pushes
- Pulls
- Desires
- Avoidances
- Habits
- Anxieties
- Solutions
- Constraints
- Experiences (gain / pain)
Phase 01
Open
Ask 2 of 3 · ~5 min
Create safety. People often feel awkward criticising a product. Make it clear you genuinely want the honest story.
-
01
Share only what you are comfortable sharing.
Critical here — fired customers need explicit permission to be candid.
GeneralOptional -
02
Imagine that I am filming a documentary.
Frame as a learning documentary, not a retention call.
GeneralCore -
03
Tell me the story about buying this product. What, when, how?
Get the full arc: when did things start to go wrong vs. when did they actually leave?
GeneralCore
Phase 02
Explore the Decline
Ask 4 of 9 · ~16 min
Establish the job you were originally hired for, then trace the timeline of dissatisfaction — when did it stop being done?
-
04
Tell me more about why this was the right solution?
Why they hired you in the first place. Without the original job you cannot tell whether the job changed or you stopped doing it — two churn causes with opposite fixes.
Customer JTBDOne Product Many JobsCore -
05
How often do you use this product or service?
Usage frequency over the life of the account. Decay here almost always predates the cancellation by months.
Continuous UseCore -
06
When did you realize "it can't go on like this"?
When they first felt "this isn't working" — the start of the churn story.
Events & TimelineCore -
07
What issues or problems caused you to look for a new solution?
The concrete problems that pushed them out.
PushesCore -
08
What shortcomings were you feeling?
The felt shortcomings — often more revealing than rational complaints.
PushesOptional -
09
What stood in the way of achieving the desired outcome?
What stood in the way of them getting value — product or circumstance?
ConstraintsOptional -
10
Did you ever need service or support? How was this experience?
Support experiences are often a hidden churn driver.
ExperiencesGainPainOptional -
11
Have you recently tried alternative products?
Whether they were already sampling alternatives while still paying you — the point the decision was really made.
Continuous UseOptional -
12
Any doubts about renewing your subscription?
Renewal doubts as they surfaced at the time. Ask retrospectively: when did renewing stop feeling automatic?
Continuous UseOptional
Phase 03
Probe the Exit Decision
Ask 5 of 9 · ~15 min
Understand what finally tipped them over the edge, what they hired instead, and what nearly kept them.
-
13
What made you buy it at this particular moment?
What finally made them cancel — the "over the edge" moment. Here this means the replacement — what made them commit to it at that particular moment.
Events & TimelineOver the EdgeCore -
14
What did you stop using once you bought this product/service?
What they stopped using reveals what job they felt went unfilled. In this interview the answer is you. Let them say it in their own words rather than supplying it.
SolutionsCore -
15
What other solutions did you consider?
What they moved to — who they hired instead and why.
SolutionsCore -
16
What did you like about the solution offered?
What attracted them to the replacement. The clearest available statement of what you failed to offer.
PullsCore -
17
What other categories or brands did you consider? Why?
Whether they looked outside the category entirely — sometimes the replacement is a spreadsheet or a headcount, not a competitor.
PullsNot just BrandOptional -
18
What did you have to give up for the new way of doing things?
What did they have to give up when they left? Helps gauge switching cost awareness.
HabitsOptional -
19
What did you want to avoid at all costs (in a new situation)?
What they were determined to avoid — their non-negotiables going forward.
AvoidancesOptional -
20
Any concerns that kept you from choosing other solutions you evaluated?
Concerns about the alternatives they evaluated. What nearly kept them with you is the flip side of what finally lost them.
AnxietiesCore -
21
Any worries about the solution you chose?
Residual worries about the solution they switched to. Here the chosen solution is the replacement, not yours.
AnxietiesOptional
Phase 04
Close & Win-Back
Ask 2 of 6 · ~9 min
Find out what would need to change for them to return, then confirm your understanding by playing the story back.
-
22
What would have to change for you to consider coming back?
The direct win-back question. Ask it plainly and resist the urge to defend — the answer is your roadmap input, not an objection to handle.
DesiresWin-BackCore -
23
Looking back, what would have kept you?
Retrospective and lower-pressure than asking about returning. People will often name a fix here they would not commit to above.
DesiresWin-BackOptional -
24
What will this product enable you to do?
What would the ideal solution need to enable for them to return? This is about the replacement — what it lets them do that you did not.
DesiresNot about ProductOptional -
25
Why is this benefit important to you?
Why that outcome matters to them at a deeper level.
DesiresNot about BenefitsOptional -
26
Anything else you would like to share about your product or service experience?
Open invitation to share anything that hasn't come up yet. Frame explicitly as their experience with you, not with the replacement.
ExperiencesGainPainOptional -
27
Let me playback your story. Correct me if I get it wrong.
Play back to confirm you've understood what drove the exit.
GeneralCore