I have been a mamber here for a couple of years now. I am generally not someone who posts much – I’m lazy! And I’d rather be quiet and only speak when I feel its important. This is a great message board and even though I haven’t met a single one of you, I highly respect the individuals who have pulled this together. :wavey:
I have not promoted Referback. About two years ago we applied and were declined. A year later we started getting obviously good rankings and they were breaking down the door. We told them to take a hike. If we weren’t good enough earlier, why then suddenly? They offered a good deal, but we stuck to our principles.
Anyways, to get to the point. First of all, the lack of response, and the complete ignorance in the response to date astounds me. Imagine this happened in the “real” bricks and mortar world! There would be outcry! Now let me qualify, this kind of thing does happen. The financial services industry is notorious for it (I know, it made me too old too fast). However, their communication would be a tad better than we’ve seen here. I digress again.
Having mulled over this for a week now, I have grave concerns. Taking down banners is one thing, but no solution. I GUARANTEE YOU NOW that in a couple of months time, Referback will handpick a couple of you guys and offer better deals, with a precondition that you will keep quiet about it. It’s not rocket science. Every management meeting they have I promise you they say something like “shit, look what we’ve paid affiliates this month, it’s crazy, we must do something about it”. Then a big kahuna walks into a meeting one day and says “We need to cut costs, where do we start?”. The rest is history, and in this case in our pockets.
I feel that this thing needs a more cencerted effort than doing a three page level down blacklist and dumping banners. There is one reality: How can we guarantee our players consistent terms with these casinos, if we have experienced the opposite. I for one take this very seriously, and take it personal if a player gets into trouble with a casino where I sent her.
So I guess what I am saying is we need to actually be more assertive. It is clear that these people are not here to negotiate. You need to come to the table to do that and the room is empty.
I look forward to a beer (or six) in Vegas to discuss this further. There is no overnight solution. All I am saying is that if we do not put our foot down now, other programs will start saying hey, these guys actually roll over easily. Let’s roll ’em.
Phew. Thoughts?