Cleaning Customer Database

[marcopolo]

Ok, I would like to deleted customers that have never ordered and that did not create an account in (xx) amount of days? How can this be done....without having to delete each one at a time?


Thanks!

[fairestcape]

Why do you want to do this?

Your customer database is probably the most valuable thing you have!

I registered on the UK "John Lewis" website in 2003, but did not made a purchase until last week (5 years later!) - but it was good to see that John Lewis had not forgotten me! All my details were still there.

[marcopolo]

I have my reasons, and need to do this.

[fairestcape]

Customer data is split into customer details and customer addresses in the database. The tables cross-reference each other using the customer ID.

You could therefore remove customer data using phpMyAdmin, but you would need to be very careful here as you would need to remove their personal data and their address data. Using the ID may help you determine what records to delete.

Bear in mind that if they have made purchases, these tables will cross-reference to others in the database.

... it can become a nightmare if you get it wrong!

Get a student in for the afternoon and let them do it manually on the admin interface.

Which ever method you use (phpMyAdmin or Student) BACKUP BEFORE YOU START !