A software company's customer renewal rate has declined for two consecutive quarters. During a meeting, layered questioning reveals three situations: customers complain 'the price is too expensive'; many contracts have no one following up in the month before expiration; renewal performance is not part of anyone's evaluation, and expiration reminders rely solely on individual account managers' memory, with no automatic system trigger. Which of the following statements are correct?

Answer: AB

• A"Complaining about price" is more like a surface cause; if the mechanism gap of no one following up before expiration is not fixed, the problem will recur✓ Correct. 'Complaining about price' is the first-level explanation given by customers; digging deeper reveals no follow-up (intermediate link) and the missing mechanism for evaluation and reminders (closer to root cause). Acting only on the surface cause leaves the mechanism that creates the problem running, so the problem will inevitably recur.
• BRenewal not being in performance evaluations and reminders relying on personal memory are specific, observable, and changeable mechanisms, close to the root cause✓ Correct. It points to an institutional gap rather than an individual's fault: it can be observed (whether the system triggers), tested (whether the recurrence rate drops after fixing it), and acted upon (changing evaluation and reminder processes). This fully meets the criteria for an effective cause.
• CPunishing the account manager who missed the follow-up and notifying the whole company to serve as a warning will naturally bring the renewal rate back up✗ Incorrect. This reflects the misconception of 'quickly finding someone to blame': the problem is not that a particular person was slow, but that the information and evaluation mechanisms have gaps. After punishing the individual, the next account manager who takes over will still miss follow-ups under the same mechanism.
• D"Account managers lacking a sense of responsibility" is more root than "having no expiration reminder mechanism"✗ Incorrect. This reflects the misconception of treating personal character as a root cause: responsibility is a vague label that is not observable, not testable, and not directly actionable; the missing reminder mechanism is a specific, changeable, mechanism-level cause that can prevent recurrence.