I Got a "Warning" - What Gives?
Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:44 am
Please forgive me if I get a bit heated here, but I am actually offended and annoyed.
I have been working through CC for a very long time and have sold quite a few articles. Today I received a PERSONAL email from David Kool warning me that the next time I ask for a customer's url I will be banned from the site.
Now, I understand the policies here on CC about not contacting customers outside of the system and I have adhered to that since day one. In fact, I have actually had to EXPLAIN to NUMEROUS customers (who are clearly confused by the way CC works) that I CANNOT speak to them outside of CC. Call me moral, fair, whatever... but I ALWAYS remind clients that we need to work above board. I like the protection that CC affords me (and trust me, I have LOTS of clients outside of CC and getting paid can get hairy) and I recognize CC's need to protect itself... but COME ON.
The email in question was a request for a link to the customer's website so that I could get a better understanding of the types of articles the customer needed. I'm glad I got it, because the topic I was originally going to do was already on his blog. So it would have been an exercise in futility and a waste of time. The piece I ultimately wrote was just approved and will hopefully be purchased by the customer... which I think is proof that I was not trying to "hoodwink" CC.
I must also note that this is not the first time I have asked for additional information from a customer. One recent project was a keyword article that promoted the customer's business. Of course I needed to know the location of the business, the website address, the business name, the owner's name, etc. To expect us, as writers, to work without that information in some cases is ASININE!
What annoys me is that I have been told if I have ask for personal information again I will be banned. THAT annoys me... because now I have to walk on eggshells, making my job even more difficult. Had I said something like, "give me your phone number" or "give me your email address" so we can talk about this you'd have a point.... but by simpoly asking for the customer's website address to do a better job with the content?
Stupid stupid stupid.
CC needs to address this and I am not changing the way I try to serve my and YOUR customers. Look for a pattern of abuse before making such threats!
Sincerely,
Damon Peter Rallis
I have been working through CC for a very long time and have sold quite a few articles. Today I received a PERSONAL email from David Kool warning me that the next time I ask for a customer's url I will be banned from the site.
Now, I understand the policies here on CC about not contacting customers outside of the system and I have adhered to that since day one. In fact, I have actually had to EXPLAIN to NUMEROUS customers (who are clearly confused by the way CC works) that I CANNOT speak to them outside of CC. Call me moral, fair, whatever... but I ALWAYS remind clients that we need to work above board. I like the protection that CC affords me (and trust me, I have LOTS of clients outside of CC and getting paid can get hairy) and I recognize CC's need to protect itself... but COME ON.
The email in question was a request for a link to the customer's website so that I could get a better understanding of the types of articles the customer needed. I'm glad I got it, because the topic I was originally going to do was already on his blog. So it would have been an exercise in futility and a waste of time. The piece I ultimately wrote was just approved and will hopefully be purchased by the customer... which I think is proof that I was not trying to "hoodwink" CC.
I must also note that this is not the first time I have asked for additional information from a customer. One recent project was a keyword article that promoted the customer's business. Of course I needed to know the location of the business, the website address, the business name, the owner's name, etc. To expect us, as writers, to work without that information in some cases is ASININE!
What annoys me is that I have been told if I have ask for personal information again I will be banned. THAT annoys me... because now I have to walk on eggshells, making my job even more difficult. Had I said something like, "give me your phone number" or "give me your email address" so we can talk about this you'd have a point.... but by simpoly asking for the customer's website address to do a better job with the content?
Stupid stupid stupid.
CC needs to address this and I am not changing the way I try to serve my and YOUR customers. Look for a pattern of abuse before making such threats!
Sincerely,
Damon Peter Rallis