A note on delays

[Darren]

I wanted to let everyone know that I have some news on the backlog issue at the lab.

The initial problem started late last year with a supplier ceasing production of a certain product that lead to the lab having to purchase and upgrade equipment as well as test and confirm results with the new processes. This was not communicated until well after the fact, and people were rightly upset.

This was right about the time of the holiday sale. So the backlog begins and then the sales volume increases. So every subsequent batch is also delayed. What has been happening is the sales have held strong and are at about the levels seen at the time of the holiday sale. The lab cannot keep up at the current state so the turn around time keeps growing. What is being done?

The lab is in the process of purchasing new equipment to increase throughput as well as hiring new staff. The goal is to decrease and eliminate the backlog and improve overall turn around times.

The IT department is also in the process of hiring new staff to help address bugs and improve the website. Customer service is also hiring as well.

-Darren
Family Tree DNA

[LynCra]

Perhaps management should consider communicating this to the whole customer base and not just to the handful of us who read the forum.

[gtc]

Thanks Darren.

I nominate you to be in charge of customer service.

[lgmayka]

What has been happening is the sales have held strong and are at about the levels seen at the time of the holiday sale.
...
The lab is in the process of purchasing new equipment to increase throughput as well as hiring new staff.
...
The IT department is also in the process of hiring new staff to help address bugs and improve the website. Customer service is also hiring as well.

Thank you! As painful as the recent delays are, your explanation is good news for all of us long-term.

[jsarnacki]

Thanks for the update! Communication is key to customer satisfaction. Hopefully these issues will be resolved soon!

[Tenn4ever]

Thank you.

[MikeP]

IMHO hiring more customer service staff will not by itself improve communications. Ftdna needs very much to address the problem of communication with their customers. Sure, if processing times improve, the need for communication will go down, but please let people get answers to the questions they ask, not just information already on their page or in the FAQs.

[mmparker]

Thanks.

Good to know. Thanks for the explanation.

[John Doe]

Thanks. Was unaware why the gap time between my sample being batched and the expected date of results was larger than a month. Thanks for the explanation.

[E19463]

I wanted to let everyone know that I have some news on the backlog issue at the lab.
...

Darren, I appreciate your effort but you know what a real news would be? ==> "There is no more backlog!" Yay!

Really, do we have to check periodically this site https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/...-test-process/ to know the backlog is gone or will we be contacted?

Again, I appreciate your honest efforts to ease our situation, thank you.

[RDickinson]

And possibly consider posting such posts in the "Gripes" section as well.

Perhaps management should consider communicating this to the whole customer base and not just to the handful of us who read the forum.

[RDickinson]

this bears repeating

IMHO hiring more customer service staff will not by itself improve communications. Ftdna needs very much to address the problem of communication with their customers. Sure, if processing times improve, the need for communication will go down, but please let people get answers to the questions they ask, not just information already on their page or in the FAQs.

[AngeliaR]

And again...

My most recent "report" using the form submission was about the Chromosome Browser Download Error.

The response I got back was generic and related to missing matches. It was vague enough, I sincerely doubt the rep did anything other than select a statement and click to send it.

Is it really too much to ask for honest, timely and relevant responses to reports or queries?

Throwing bodies at the que isn't going to fix the problems created by poor training/performance.

[ajmr1a1]

It's almost May!!!!
There are still people waiting for results from the Christmas sale..

FTDNA is only starting to buy new equipment and train new staff.

Translation: There is no end in sight!

[mikechilds54]

Has anyone considered

Has anyone consider a class action suit to force Familytreedna to cease taking new orders until they can adequately deal with the orders they now have in a timely manner.