List Review

[DebF550]

Your list review concept is fine. Your implementation blows! It sucks!

Someone who uses your service should really look at your process rather than an employee who doesn't understand how this tool is used by those of us who pay your bills. 

Some pretty simple ideas:

1. Tell people there is a list review. Tell us what it is and what you have to do to avoid it. I've had at least one account and more with CC for about 5 years and I had no idea there was such an animal. When someone signs up for an account make them acknowledge this beast and what they are in for!
   
2. If you are going to throw an account into review don't you think you could tell them? I spent about 1.5 hours at 1 am trying to complete a proof that I promised to send out to my client "before I went to sleep." You guys locked down my account and I couldn't get a proof... I know because I tried. Bounce me to a landing page and say I'm screwed and why. Send up a pop-up telling me to go to bed and call you in the morning when normal people work. Why are there no communications? You have a million pages on this site. One more can't hurt??
   
3. When in review, allow proofs to be sent to the test email. Limit the number of emails, but why can't I work on an email that can't be sent out until you unlock it? This defies logic and don't blame the programming... I will laugh in your face!
   
4. 72 hour roll out? Clearly CC must be a non-profit organization? Hey let's make it a 3 week roll out I'm sure that is even safer. You want to send out a random sampling in the first 24 hours, fine. But then have metrics which allows the rest to go out based on the sampling. I had 3000 go out as a sample and one spam. I'm pretty sure that's close to All-Star calibre. So you picked the random names, do you think after the first 24 hours the rest of my list is going to explode? Why am I bitching? Well I am sending out an October newsletter 10/28... 72 hours later (when you are ready to release the last of the hostages.... I mean emais) and my October newsletter is now in November. I don't really need any help from CC in looking stupid. Likewise, neither do my clients.

Once again, I understand your concept to protect yourself against spammers, but without any communications you are impeding those of us who use and recommend your services. Your policies are designed to treat all accounts equal, like idiots and not the professionals that we are. Implement communications and metrics programming (yeah it's an extra day of programming... sorry) to allow the honest hard working emarketers and good citizen companies to make a living. 

I could go on. But I'm getting writing cramps and I've made a dozen programming suggestions over the years to you guys and never heard a word not saw anything implemented. My next life I want to come back as one of your programmers, they must have the easiest life ever!  :-)  Ok, that was mean, but kind of funny.

Want to discuss: **Removed By Moderator**

[Hannah_M]

I am sorry to hear that you had a negative exprience but we appreciate your honest opinion. 

[BBBofGMD]

Not happy! Longtime customer. Can't send email while "account is in review" can't reach customer service on the phone - 25 minute wait is unacceptable.

[VeronicaM9]

If the policy/parameters of the platform are to place new lists into a "staged distribution" you have to do a better job of how communicating how this will impact an Automation campaign. If I set up my Automation campaign to deliver subsequent emails in the series X days after the first, calculated so that x-days hits a Monday distribution...but your staged delivery pushes everything back by Y-additional days, then this makes it impossible to know how to schedule all subsequent emails in the Automation series. This needs to be addressed.

[Brandon_S]

Thank you for taking the time and sharing your feedback! We think this is a great idea, there should be more communication surrounding List Reviews and automated campaigns. 

[SaintPaulCommunityEd]

Just experienced our first List Review in 6 years on this platform and it was the most inefficient, non-transparent, and infuriating process. Not to mention the disruption to business, which is unacceptable.

It was an utter waste of time to sit and count the ways in which we collect our data - why not just sent out a survey instead and THEN follow-up with users directly if necessary. An additional waste of time while I had to listen to a long list of 'helpful tips' that are all things we already do on a regular basis and have integrated into routine best practice.

Not only have I been an 'All Star' every single year since subscribing to this platform, our average unsubscribe rate in the last four years is 0.14% (with around 50,000 contacts). We are part of local government org that must adhere to FERPA laws, much more stringent than an average business. Please tell me what, exactly, warrants this invasive, disruptive 'review' process in all of this.

This entire process, its 'trigger' parameters to the company (whatever they are), and the communication around it need to be completely redone.

[RebeccaK693]

Today, I entered Constant Contact to send an email I had planned for a while. But when I logged in, I had a pop-up saying that I couldn't send any emails until I called for a review of our list growth.

It would be great if Constant Contact could give a grace period of a couple of days after this alert appears because it was stressful to have to squeeze in a call before sending my email. It also worried me that, if I had this email scheduled and hadn't logged into Constant Contact, I'd have no way of knowing that my email was getting blocked.

[CristinaC958]

Today I decided to add a chunk of legitimate emails and all of a sudden we are locked out from sending any emails. I understand the reasoning but the process is awful. It certainly makes me want to leave CC. Why punish those of us who are running a business and have been sending legit emails for years? I see tons of complaints on this thread, but no responses with promises to fix this.

[DanB473]

I just canceled my service.  I was a new user that got a mandatory "list review" after uploading 300 contacts.  Waited on hold for 32 minutes.  I would have probably kept the service if someone could have answered the phone.  Here's a tip, do make calling in mandatory to use your account that you have paid for, and then leave your customers on hold for 32 minutes.  Save some of that extensive marketing budget and hire some more people.

[NicholasW5]

Here's my new idea:
I"m thinking a great idea is to NOT block my newlsetter from going out on the largest holiday sales season of the year....then being CLOSED that day and provide ZERO support to fix it or review it.

Now, you have made me miss out on sending my newsletter on the LARGEST sale day of the year.

Then, I call today (when you actually ARE open), and I am told it's a 30 minute wait.  

So, as a recap:

Cannot use the service that "I" pay you to use, you had NO support available to fix the issue.

Then the next day, it's a 30 minute wait on your phone (exactly how I want to spend my holiday Friday), in order for me to use the system that "I" PAY FOR!  Not to mention, use it one day too late!

So, my idea is cancel and use mailchimp as soon as I get someone on the phone.

[JoshuaS1567]

-Contact me for my list review via email, instead of making me call in

-Create on option to get a callback when it's my turn to speak to a representative

I've been sitting on the line for 50 minutes just so I can resume my business activities.

[PeterD063]

Probably a nightmarish experience in a long time. 

20 min on hold, fell asleep and awakened by a person telling me how to write emails.  

Why in the world is CC telling people how to write emails if the email list is fine ?   Sounds like pure nonsense.    I told CC that if it is under some sort of policy and standard that I agreed on, then fine, but I will write emails the way I want to.  You CANNOT tell me to use logos of my company on top before starting with dear.  

Another stupid thing - the email cannot come from my personal name @ domain.com.  They recommend using a company name. Why ?  So the receiver can acknoledge its from our company ? However my company name appears in my signature.  I am 2 seconds away from dropping CC.   We are legitimate company and far from spammers.  Guitly until proven innocent is how CC runs its business ?  I am in the process of looking at other services like CC.   

This incident left me speechless, confused and angry.   If legitimate businesses who want to keep in touch with their customers and email new customers,and use CC as business tool can't without going through the hoops, then its not worth it.  I was about to sign up for the premium monthly just before this happened.   Now not!