SmugMug and Flickr have long shared a passion for supporting photographers. Now we also share a commitment to Heroic Customer Support. While some companies see customer support as an expense to be avoided, at Flickr, we see it as an essential part of our product. In fact, getting support right is so important to us that I was the first person hired after Flickr was acquired by SmugMug this last spring.

As Director of Flickr Support, my charter from the beginning has been building a Flickr member experience that’s on par with the exceptional support SmugMug customers have come to expect. Even before hiring a department of my own, I was able to borrow members of the stellar SmugMug support team and train them on the Flickr website so they could start addressing our members’ issues right away.

A whole new team, just for you.
Building an amazing support team from scratch for one of the world’s largest online communities has been daunting, but we’re really proud of how fast we’ve accomplished it. We now have a team of more than a dozen experts standing by to help members with issues ranging from account access and personality rights to payment issues and GDPR questions. Currently we’re getting you answers in about a day on average, but we’re still picking up speed. Soon everyone will be getting same-day responses, and our Pro subscribers will hear back from us in a matter of hours.

“Gatlin did it! I’m able to use my Flickr account again, after an extended time of being locked out. Thanks!”—Divyesh D.

“I never expected this amount of help. I’ve emailed Flickr a few times about this in the past and have been ignored. So glad to have my photos back.”—Julia M.

Getting our departments talking.
Before being acquired by SmugMug, the Flickr support team was disconnected from the product and engineering teams that were maintaining and improving the Flickr website and resolving technical concerns along the way. Now our support, product and engineering departments work hand in hand to resolve members’ issues and help us create an ever better Flickr customer experience.

Helping you help yourself.
We’re not only making our Flickr Heroic Customer Support team more available to you. We’re also expanding our self-help section so you can find fast answers on your own. Look out for more updates and additions to self-help topics in the coming months.

Keeping trust and safety front of mind.
Your experience on Flickr means everything to us. That’s why our new Trust and Safety department is working around the clock and using the latest technology (plus inventing some of their own) to find and delete inappropriate or illegal imagery posted in our community. This team has years of experience working in law-enforcement, maintains close relationships with law-enforcement officials and, when appropriate, assists them with investigations into illegal activity. Our Trust and Safety team also handles accounts that violate other Flickr policies, such as spam and copyright infringement.

If you see something, say something.
We hope you never encounter any inappropriate content on Flickr. But if you do, click on the Report Abuse link at the bottom of any page to report it immediately. Our Trust and Safety department will investigate right away and take appropriate action to keep the community safe and enjoyable for all.

Thanks for being a part of Flickr. You’re the reason we’re working so hard to provide Heroic Customer Support. Questions or concerns? We’re listening.