I occasionally get a request to unsubscribe from a mailing list that contains XXX,XXX or our customers. They are few and far between but the drive me a little crazy as they write some message, some times wordy, sometimes attacking that obviously takes more time then clicking unsubscribe. I am tempted to reply and ask them if they want me to click the unsubscribe link for them. Please pass along any clever thoughts.
I usually refer them to my subscription policies, and kindly remind them that at the bottom of all of the emails sent, there is a link they can visit to update their subscription preferences. The question is, is it a mailing list you have built up yourself, or one you have purchased?
To avoid any hassles or complaints about spam, I would simply go to my list and unsubscribe them myself by hand. If they want off your list, no sense wasting time continuing to market to them. JMO
Yeah, I think removing them yourself is the best option. However, you might be in a situation where there are too many people requesting to be off of the list and it doesn't make financial sense to remove them yourself. In that case I would just have a generic email response to send them. It should be kept friendly, but simply take the time to respond to them and let them know that you're not in the business of spam. Proceed to tell them how to unsubscribe. I would personally probably leave it to that.
Set up a mail account that the emails get sent from and have it auto respond with unsubscribe options. This is generally pretty effective and weeds out the replies. In your email just link to somewhere in the account management section and explain to go there and un-check or whatever to update their email preferences. Nearly all mail services allow auto-responders and if you are hosting your own mail or your host has a web interface for you to edit mail accounts it really should be a snap!