BLOG
Letters to the abuse desk
Ben over at Mailchimp has shared some of the mail that comes into the mailchimp abuse desk. It’s a post well worth a read.
One of the things that leaped out at me during that post is that the positive emails highlight how much the Mailchimp delivery and compliance people help their users get good delivery. They’re not just saying “you can’t do that” because they’re mean or they want to make life more difficult for their users. They are saying no because what the user wants to do is a bad idea.
I also appreciated the letter from the customer who had to tell Mailchimp that management had decided to not take Mailchimp’s advice. This is something that happens to me sometimes. Clients agree with my recommendations but management decides that they’re not going to implement them. It can be difficult to watch, particularly when I then see how much that company is struggling with blocks or see them show up on some of the big spam lists. But, it’s also part and parcel of the job. Not everyone, no matter how effectively I make my cases, will take my advice.
Thanks for sharing Ben and Laura. I have to agree that all to often abuse desks get a bad rap, both internally and externally, for the job they perform. It’s often a thankless job that requires some amount of thick skin and a heavy dose of humor. In many situations they find themselves defending their actions to unhappy customers and/or sales and marketing folks should they require termination or a strict action plan. On the other hand receivers and the folks in mail operations can get real grouchy when they bend over backwards to work with and coach a customer who they feel can be salvaged with a little more time and some additional love.
As Ben mentioned it’s always nice to receive letters and phone calls praising the work of the compliance staff. Over the years I’ve received quite a few, and can say that it’s one of the things that keeps me going. Recently we employed a third party to send out a sizable survey asking our customers about their satisfaction with our various educational resources. Out of the 14 resources listed our customers chose “An Account Review with the Compliance Staff” as the 3rd highest in satisfaction! I almost cried. But this just goes to show the importance of having good people making solid business decisions, and the unwavering support of upper management.
To my own Compliance/AR staff, this is a great opportunity to once again give a big ‘Thank You!’ To ALL the abuse deskers in our space, I motion to proclaim for one day each year, an official ‘Abuse Desk Day!’ Do I have a second?
Mailchimp is a really good ESP and I applaud them for their efforts. They are very responsible.
I second the motion of Mr. Smith