Is Everbody on Vacation?

[MoberlyDrake]

I was just reading various posts and I see

people complaining about no new FF matches in weeks (I'll add my voice to that one!!!)
people complaining about test results being pushed back several weeks
people complaining about not matching their own family members
people complaining about not being on one anothers lists reciprocally

Maybe everyone at FTDNA decided to take a vacation after introducing both Big Y and MyOrigins!!!

[MerryB]

I'll second your statements. :-)

But I am wondering what was happening this morning with the website.

[gerlyons]

The only person that replies to some of the issues here is Elsie Friedman. While she does her best, I don't think she has the ability or authority to do anything but pass things on to the help desk. In my opinion FTDNA could care less what is being posted here and no one is acting upon any of the complainants, all we hear is that they are doing their best and are overloaded at the helpdesk. The problem with that is that this has been going on since February and no improvement in customer service has happened yet.

[Zaru]

Her name is Elise, not "Elsie".

The only person that replies to some of the issues here is Elsie Friedman. While she does her best, I don't think she has the ability or authority to do anything but pass things on to the help desk. In my opinion FTDNA could care less what is being posted here and no one is acting upon any of the complainants, all we hear is that they are doing their best and are overloaded at the helpdesk. The problem with that is that this has been going on since February and no improvement in customer service has happened yet.

And yes, she does a fantastic job and cannot assume responsibility for all of the challenges.

[gerlyons]

And yes, she does a fantastic job and cannot assume responsibility for all of the challenges.

I agree 100%, Elsie does a great job. I just think that other FTDNA staff, ie department heads should take an interest in the forums.

[Biblioteque]

Worst Case Scenario

Since there is no agreement, contractural or otherwise, to provide this Forum for customers; and since the Forum has somewhat morphed from its original intent of being a "teaching tool", perhaps FTDNA is in the process of deciding if the continuation of this Forum is in their best interest........Just a peek outside the box.

[jbarry6899]

How Sad

the Forum has somewhat morphed from its original intent of being a "teaching tool"

When I first came to the forum a couple of years ago, most of the posts were exchanges of ideas and exploration of the frontiers of genetic genealogy. Sadly, now, almost all of them are complaints. I keep showing up in the hope that we can some day return to the scientific dialogue that we used to have.

Jim

[efgen]

people complaining about no new FF matches in weeks (I'll add my voice to that one!!!)
people complaining about not matching their own family members
people complaining about not being on one anothers lists reciprocally

These are due to a glitch that will hopefully have a fix released today

Elise

[gerlyons]

My apologizes for misspelling Elise's name in the my previous posts

[efgen]

While she does her best, I don't think she has the ability or authority to do anything but pass things on to the help desk. In my opinion FTDNA could care less what is being posted here and no one is acting upon any of the complainants, all we hear is that they are doing their best and are overloaded at the helpdesk. The problem with that is that this has been going on since February and no improvement in customer service has happened yet.

While I can't fix issues, I do pass things on to engineering and management as needed. Management does care about what the customers are saying.

Customer Support will improve again, it'll just take time to catch up on the backlog. More support staff are being hired, but it also takes time to get them trained.

If you guys know anyone in the Houston area who might be interested in a Customer Support position at FTDNA, please refer them to the Careers page on our website

https://www.familytreedna.com/careers.aspx

Elise

[Gendal]

Thoughts

While I can't fix issues, I do pass things on to engineering and management as needed. Management does care about what the customers are saying.

Customer Support will improve again, it'll just take time to catch up on the backlog. More support staff are being hired, but it also takes time to get them trained.

If you guys know anyone in the Houston area who might be interested in a Customer Support position at FTDNA, please refer them to the Careers page on our website

https://www.familytreedna.com/careers.aspx

Elise

I totally respect those people who work hard and try their best.

However. The simple way to solve this is:

1. Agree a service level for responses to the customer services that can be met, I mean be honest if you cannot reply within 5 days for example then set it at 7 days for a response, that manages everyone's expectations.

2. When you change dates for results etc then please have the curtesy to explain to the customer why.

3. Take note of the forums because people are posting here because they are desperate as the above two points have led them to the only seemingly open communications channel available.

4. Don't forget this is people's money, hard earned and they are paying for a service.

Kind regards

[Leeb]

I totally respect those people who work hard and try their best.

However. The simple way to solve this is:

1. Agree a service level for responses to the customer services that can be met, I mean be honest if you cannot reply within 5 days for example then set it at 7 days for a response, that manages everyone's expectations.

2. When you change dates for results etc then please have the curtesy to explain to the customer why.

3. Take note of the forums because people are posting here because they are desperate as the above two points have led them to the only seemingly open communications channel available.

4. Don't forget this is people's money, hard earned and they are paying for a service.

Kind regards

I have been waiting nearly 6 weeks for a fix to my problem.

[Lincoln]

Was the website down for maintenance, all day?

"Our website is currently undergoing maintenance to introduce some exciting new updates.
Please check back soon! "

[gtc]

"Our website is currently undergoing maintenance to introduce some exciting new updates.
Please check back soon! "

It's back now.

[thetick]

Not I said the pig.. I mean thetick.

I would hope most people do not post when they are on vacation. With simple searches and all the social media at their fingertips criminals have easy prey for burglaries. It actually happened to a neighbor a few blocks down. He foolishly posted his name address and the dates he was on vacation all on the same page. The criminals did not even need to search as all the info was on a single page at many different social media sites .. Argh.