How long are transfers taking to unlock?

[AngeliaR]

A cousin transferred his AncestryDNA data to FTDNA last week and paid for the full access.

So far, the kit hasn't been unlocked so we don't have access to more than the "trial" or sneak peek preview. It has shown the banner indicating 95% done and just waiting 1 - 2 business days for processing for a full week.

How long is it taking to unlock? I did a few others early on and they only took a day or two. This kit has already been much longer.

[AngeliaR]

More than a week!!

It's been more than a week since my cousin paid to unlock his kit. It was a hard decision for him to try to use dna to find his paternal family.

He asked me to see if I could find out anything since I manage our family group project.

The response I received back after a 2 day wait:
"Thanks for your email, and I apologize for the inconvenience concerning his results being inaccessible at the moment: I have reported this issue to IT, and they are currently working to resolve this issue."

Same canned email my cousin received himself... word for word... twice, in response to his own voicemail and email inquiries.

Sad that there is not even an offer to follow up with an answer or update the status. The initial status message is stuck at 95% and 1-2 days for processing. I would have been happier with a message that addressed the core issue... "You know, we received more volume from the transfers than we anticipated. That, combined with the kits already in process from the last sale event, has put us a week or two behind." That would at least feel more honest than, "Hey, I tossed it in the direction of IT and they may get to it when they can."

Customer service seems so basic. Track, follow up, communicate. And yes, this is one that will definitely get a survey rating with comments. This is not just an issue of casual curiosity, but deeply personal quest filled with uncertainty and emotion just to start the process.

[AngeliaR]

Another Non-Answer

As the 2 week mark approaches, I received yet another non-answer.

"As soon as I receive an update from our IT department concerning any specific causes of delay or progress, I will relay that information to you."

This kind of response would lead you to believe the IT department is incredibly 1. Overworked 2. Unresponsive 3. Uncaring 4. Isolated 5. Incompetent. I doubt most of those are true. The current system just doesn't support better information and CS phrasing dodges issues rather than addressing them. A simple but honest "real" answer would do.

Customer communication, especially about status and/or delays really needs to be improved. But, that is hardly news to those of us to have been part of this community for any length of time. Even without input from IT or the lab, if CS was tracking their own issues on a daily basis they would know if there was an uptick in certain kinds of inquiries.

This particular instance is a little more important to me because the cousin it impacts has had to work up his courage to even start seeking. Delays and poor communication will likely impact his perception of FTDNA as a whole. Decisions about further testing (like ydna) could be based at least partly on this experience.

[dna]

[----] The current system just doesn't support better information and CS phrasing dodges issues rather than addressing them. [----]

It appears that Customer Support has no way of learning/checking/knowing the real status.

[----] Even without input from IT or the lab, if CS was tracking their own issues on a daily basis they would know if there was an uptick in certain kinds of inquiries. [----]

They very well might be doing that, but I cannot see any organization in North America admitting to their customers that there are problems, before a solution or a good explanation are known.

[----] Delays and poor communication will likely impact his perception of FTDNA as a whole. Decisions about further testing (like ydna) could be based at least partly on this experience.

I know that this not about DNA testing, but about a simple IT action. However, delay anxiety is universal. Thus, I keep telling my family that for the immediate DNA results they need to watch CSI . And I set their expectations for 3-6 months...

P.S. I am not as cheerful as it might look like. Consider that my testers are often over 90... Not knowing whether Big Y would require another vial 6 months down the road...