Still Working On It: Substack Tech Asks for Feedback Before We Fixed the Problem

Yes, We ARE Too Old for This

Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash

Well, crap.

I am still in tech support limbo.

Can’t comment if Dear Reader leaves me a note. And now if someone decides to support my work, I can’t accept payment either. That’s not even a tenth of the mess we found, but here was Substack this weekend, eager to solicit feedback long before anything is resolved.

I got an email asking me to provide them with a “how did we do?” rating. That’s a software program, not a person. There was a person somewhere along the way who set that up, but it’s just an idiot, mindless bit of software.

It says something about automated systems when they ask for feedback on an open ticket that is only just getting started. What we uncovered was not only shockingly messy, the fix is likely to cost me thousands of followers. Not what I signed up for. You either, my bet.

So I’ve had to solicit expert help, because the mess is WAY over my paygrade. I thought Substack was simple: open an account, set up your site, write, with luck, get paid. Period.

Nope.

These are the kinds of problems that stem from too much growth, too fast, too little planning and aforethought, way too much dependence on poorly-designed technology before it’s ready to roll out, combined with too many new ideas implemented so fast that nobody’s ready for the impact when there are issues.

It’s also the hubris of “we’ve got this” people who haven’t lived long enough to watch the mistakes companies make when they take on too much, too soon, too fast and are wholly unprepared for it.

But that’s just me, from having seen this way too many times before.

If you’ve been around business long enough, you’ve seen it. Lived it, as I have, when you get laid off as a result. Which is why there are so many startups that fail because they only hire very young people who have no clue about what happens when a company expands way too fast and tries to do too much before they have the systems in place.

Success is good only as long as you can manage said success. It serves to have a few grey hairs around to steady the course. Without the grey hairs, things often go sideways because inexperienced folks can’t see what’s coming and they have no clue how to respond.

Not a criticism. Just a statement of fact.

Those of you asking me to represent your issue to Substack, kindly, I can’t. You can speak to your particular frustration better than I can, and I am up to my ears trying to fix the problems I have.

I have no idea how long this is going to take.

If you have a particular beef with Substack, I respectfully ask you to please take that up with them directly. Every platform has its issues; I suspect that the sudden influx of new creators and lots of new readers has them back on their heels.

That said, the abominably-bad AI feature creates more issues, more problems, more delays and a whole lot more frustration on the part of Dear Creator, so they have to manage that as well.

But please, while this is tempting to believe, there are no evil elves and overlords behind closed doors trying to frustrate us all. Good people are trying very hard to keep up with the workload and they can’t. The tech they’re offloading the human inquiries onto is really awful.

Ask anyone forced to use it when we are better served by actually having a conversation with a living, breathing being, rather than the idiotic back and forth without the benefit of discussion. Which of course saves time and money, but what the hell do I know?

That said, there are people making some unfortunate decisions and they are likely understaffed, which is rough on all of us.

But please, let’s be fair: it’s rough on them, too. I don’t doubt for one moment that the folks who are working behind the scenes at Substack want it to work as much as we do, so let’s not sling insults.

There are lots and lots and lots of bugs. They seem to be getting worse the more people crowd in, the more features the designers insist on adding, and the fewer truly well-trained people are on staff to handle the work load.

That said, let’s please thank tech support for ridding the site of tens of thousands of fake accounts, bots, etc. which inflated our followers and needed to be cleaned out. They did that, and they also let us know to expect it and why.

I appreciated that very much, as should we all. So let’s please catch them doing things right too.

So while yeah, it’s annoying at times, they are up against all kinds of things we out here can’t imagine. And we are up against all kinds of things that they can’t imagine, either, and since we can’t actually talk about any of it, expect long wait times, and after engaging, even longer wait times, and surveys asking you how it went long before you even get started .

I’m lucky I got a real person but this could take a while. So I ask those who read my work to please be patient. I can’t respond to your comments, and right now I can’t accept paid subscriptions either.

These are growing pains. They can and often do sink a company when it grows too fast for its own good and tries to do too much too fast for too many different constituencies. Other folks trying to run a business on this site are having equally frustrating tech issues that the staff don’t appear to be able to address.

I just want to write, periodically get paid. Even that has turned into a Gordian knot. Asking everyone’s patience, please.

Rebecca C Mandeville LMFT CCTP