21
2008
Very few things wind me up - but I really cannot stand rudeness.
I got an email today from Flowers Direct. This is the first paragraph…
You have have been suspended from the Flowers Direct (mid:189) affiliate
programme. Please do not respond to this automated email, if you would like
to discover the precise reasons for the suspension please contact the
affiliate manager direct from your account.
Was there really any need for that? Why could they not have started the email with ‘Following a careful review we regret that we have taken the decision to…’ Short of putting swear words into the email Flowers Direct could not have been rude. Maybe their agency or maybe Affiliate Window wrote this - maybe it is just a ’standard’ email - but whatever, the result is the same.
I actual fact I don’t promote Flowers Direct and even if I did I don’t have enough traffic to create the tiniest blip on their sales - but that is not the point. I might want to promote a flowers merchant in the future and I might become a super-duper super affiliate!
At a push I can see why they might want to dump affiliates who do not promote them (although I am not totally sure that it can be that much of a pain to have 1 more record in their database) but I really cannot understand why they have to be so rude!
Rant over!
4 Comments until now
On November 21st, 2008
Darren Said:
Mark
It happens quite often and i agree with your post, a more personal email perhaps with a reason for the suspension wouldn’t go a miss….
Darren
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On November 23rd, 2008
hero Said:
this is an automated email sent by the network system as soon as the membership status changes - it’s not that the merchant even bothered to contact you at all, this is the network notifying you that you’ve been suspended, nothing rude about that
On November 24th, 2008
Ken Said:
Thats quite a standard response actually, usually the network has a template email setup, so when the merchant goes in to check affiliates, they just click a button and the email is sent automatically, not very personal, but funtional when it comes to the sheer volume of affiliates networks and merchants end up dealing with. Your right however in that at the very least the mails should be more personal, but they simply end up as things on the ‘to do’ list the people never get round to fixing.
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On November 24th, 2008
MeanOldScene Said:
Thanks for the comments folks.
Ken you are right, it clearly is a standard template email. But for me that makes it almost more surprising that the wording of the email is so poor. How long would it take for the network to amend that template? 5 minutes?
Hero, I know that you have been doing this a lot longer than I have but I am surprised that you are suggesting there is no problem with a network sending rude emails (in the name of one of its merchants who is paying good money use the network’s services) just because it is automated. Isn’t is part of the network’s job to ensure there is love and harmony between all parties in the chain? I now have a slightly bad taste in my mouth about a merchant but it is not really anything to do with them. That can’t be good for anybody.