The ‘High-Maintenance QSL’er’ is legendary in QSL Manager circles. At DA-RC HQ OC, he’s a character I encounter all too often in my own QSL management work.
This guy is the Serial Emailer. The Professional Pest. The Compulsive Complainer.
And he’s front and centre of this month’s editorial…
The ‘High-Maintenance QSL’er’ is the bloke who somehow believes his QSL request deserves immediate attention ahead of the hundreds—or sometimes thousands—of others patiently waiting in the queue…
He’s ultra demanding. Overly dependent. He needs constant reassurance. And, quite frankly, he’s bloody exhausting to deal with.
The irony?
More often than not, he creates the very delays he’s complaining about.
Every follow-up email has to be opened, read, checked, and replied to. Every complaint steals time away from processing actual QSL requests. While everyone else is quietly waiting their turn, he’s generating extra work that slows the entire process down—for himself and everyone behind him.
It’s no shock that these high-maintenance operators also tend to make more mistakes with their QSL requests than others…
Whether it’s missing info, incorrect contribution, forgetting to include an SAE, or simply failing to read the instructions readily available on the DA-RC website, clusters and socials, the errors soon add up.
Then, when the card doesn’t arrive as quickly as they expected, they’re often the first to blame the QSL Manager—without ever considering that the delay may have been caused by their own mistakes.
Here’s where they go wrong…
The Rules Haven’t Changed
Here at DA-RC HQ OC, QSL request expectations have remained unchanged for several years. They’re readily available. They’re not complicated. Yet after every DXpedition the same incomplete requests arrive time and time again…
No callsign.
No QSO details.
No return address.
No SAE.
No sticky address label.
Insufficient contribution.
No indication of which cards are being requested.
Incomplete postal details.
Then, when the request is waitlisted because it doesn’t meet the published requirements, the QSL’er suddenly becomes offended. He might even hurl insults.
The rules haven’t changed, guys. You just didn’t read them!
Here’s a radical thought…
If you don’t check or then follow the published instructions, don’t complain when your QSL request isn’t processed as fast as it could have been.
Or, if it’s not processed at all.
The problem isn’t the rules.
The problem is you not knowing them!
Clean Up Your Own Mess
For me, one of the biggest frustrations is a QSL’er who sends his request across multiple platforms…
He forgets the notes in his PayPal transaction. So the postal address arrives later via Facebook Messenger. The QSO details appear in an email. The callsign is buried inside a WhatsApp message.
Then comes another email, further down the track, asking why the request hasn’t been processed.
Because it’s not my job to play detective, mate, that’s why. I’m a QSL Manager—not a forensic investigator. And it’s not my job to run around after you.
Everything required needs to arrive together, my friend.
One payment.
One message.
One complete request.
It’s not difficult!
The PayPal Experts
Let’s clear something up, right. If the required contribution is US$3.50 and you send exactly US$3.50 via PayPal, I do not receive US$3.50. PayPal takes its fee first, which reduces it – obviously…
In most cases, that fee is somewhere between 50 cents and one dollar, depending on which country you reside.
So, if you send exactly the required amount, your contribution will be short.
Then comes the argument.
“But I sent the correct amount, Darren.”
Yes, that may be true. But you sent the correct amount before PayPal took its cut. So now it is incorrect.
The lesson here is clear. If you’re paying through PayPal, simply add enough to cover the fee.
Don’t expect the QSL Manager to subsidise your request just because you either don’t understand PayPal or made the bare minimum payment.
Even Snail Mail Becomes a Circus
Amazingly, some QSLers complicate even the simplest old-skool postal request…
They include no SAE or sticky address label – some even no return address at all.
They’ll send the absolute minimum contribution despite requesting multiple cards.
Dollar notes wrapped in aluminium foil.
Old IRCs knowing full well they’re worth nothing.
Sticky tape over everything.
It’s almost impressive how much unnecessary work can be created, in fact, by some guys when they request a QSL card.
Yes, every shortcut saves the sender a moment. But some cost the volunteer QSL Manager several minutes.
Multiply that across hundreds and thousands of requests and you’ve just ripped off several hours of someone else’s time—without asking.
Fail to meet these expectations and your request will NOT BE REPLIED!
“Where’s my Card?”
Perhaps the most draining QSLers of all are the ones I call the “Where’s My Card?” Brigade. These guys constantly seek reassurance…
“Did you receive my PayPal, Darren?”
“Have you filled my card, Darren?”
“Any updates, Darren?”
News flash, guys… You’re not the only DX Hunter I deal with.
With up to 3 x Most Wanted activities happening from this OM each year, there are hundreds—sometimes thousands—of requests waiting to be processed here.
If every QSLer expected a personalised progress report every few days, the QSL Manager would spend his entire life answering emails instead of filling in cards.
Remember: Every unnecessary message slows the queue. Including yours.
Meet the Auditor
Another fascinating character I come across regularly in my roles as the DA-RC QSLM in OC is the Self-Appointed QSL Auditor…
He’s never managed a Most Wanted DXpedition, this guy.
He’s never spent weeks processing incoming mail in between work, family and daily life commitments.
He’s never maintained spreadsheets, reconciled PayPal payments, verified QSOs with missing info, waited for new postage stamps to arrive because he bought the last 5000, or handwritten thousands of cards and envelopes.
Yet somehow, he knows exactly how the job should be done, and, what’s more, he’s happy to share that with you to set you on the right path!
A Spreadsheet Never Lies
As DA-RC’s OC HQ QSL Manager, I maintain a spreadsheet recording every incoming and outgoing request and I have records of the last 10 years or more…
Dates.
Contributions.
Contents.
Processing status.
After a while, patterns begin to emerge.
Some operators appear twenty times or more.
More remarkably, they somehow manage to make a mistake almost every single time they make a request…
Missing information.
Incorrect contribution.
Missing SAEs and labels.
Follow-up emails.
Facebook messages.
WhatsApp messages.
Then another email asking why their request hasn’t been processed.
Some guys are simply slow learners.
QSL Managers Talk
Here’s something many troublesome QSLers never seem to appreciate…
QSL Managers talk.
Privately.
Regularly.
Across clubs.
Across countries.
Across DXpeditions.
It’s remarkable how often the same callsigns keep appearing in conversations.
The Professional Pests.
The Inbox Warriors.
The Keyboard Nags.
The Serial Time-Wasters.
The guys who never follow instructions but always find time to complain that their card has not yet arrived.
The ones who demand immediate attention while completely overlooking the fact they’re standing behind hundreds of other DX Hunters who’ve quietly followed the rules.
Every QSL Manager has different expectations, that’s true.
But there’s usually remarkable consistency about who the difficult customers are.
Reputations travel surprisingly fast in this hobby!
Want Priority?
There’s one group of QSLers who absolutely deserves expedited communication + service and gets it from me…
DXpedition sponsors.
They’re the operators who financially invested in making the activation happen.
They’re helping pay for flights, accommodation, equipment, ferries, fuel and logistics.
If anyone deserves a quicker response, it’s them.
Not the bloke who sent the minimum contribution, ignored the instructions and then sent three Facebook messages with sad face emojis asking whether his PayPal payment had been received.
Stop Taking Shortcuts
Some DX Hunters seem determined to find the quickest, cheapest or easiest way to submit a QSL request…
Ironically, those shortcuts almost always create more work and/or lead to delays.
Read the requirements, guys.
Follow them.
Double-check your contribution.
If you’re paying through PayPal, add enough to cover the fee.
Include your callsign, QSO details and complete postal address in the same transaction—not in three separate follow-up messages across different platforms.
Don’t expect the QSL Manager to piece your request together because you couldn’t be bothered getting it right the first time!
Finally…
This article isn’t a shot at the overwhelming majority of DX Hunters I work with through my roles as a QSLM…
Most operators are brilliant.
They’re courteous.
They’re patient.
They’re organised.
Their requests are complete.
Their contributions are correct.
They understand that QSL management is a volunteer service—not a customer service hotline.
To those operators, thank you. You make the job enjoyable, and your courtesy never goes unnoticed.
But to the High-Maintenance QSL’ers, the Instant-Gratification DXers, the Professional Pests, the Inbox Warriors, the Keyboard Nags, the Serial Time-Wasters, the Self-Appointed QSL Auditors and every member of the “Where’s My Card?” Brigade…
Stop being so needy, guys.
Put your big-boy pants on.
Wait your turn.
Remember there are hundreds of other operators in the queue, all patiently waiting just like you.
QSL exchanging remains one of the most rewarding traditions in our hobby. But it only works because volunteers generously donate their time behind the scenes.
Show them the same courtesy and respect you’d expect yourself. Because being a QSL Manager is a service. It isn’t your personal concierge.
73 de Darren, 43DA001
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