Viewing Previous Searches

[Alcluith]

Just to add my tuppence worth

I have use the ScotlandsPeople site from early times and have never been able to use credits after time expired.

What I was able to do was buy more credits and then use the newly purchased + the remaining credits within the new time limit. Any left over again purchase more and retrieve those left over.

I am still able to do this with the revamped site

[Guest]

Progress?? Alison and I continue to exchange messages. This is the most recent one from her:
Catherine
-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: "helpdesk" <helpdesk@scotlandonline.co.uk>
Subject: Request 36548 - Other: GROS Customer Service Enquiry
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 12:34:45 +0000

Hello again,

Going through the emails again, I think I may have misunderstood your first point? Images WERE previously able to be viewed when search time had finished as long as the search itself had already been paid for - so you would access through previous searches.

My initial understanding was searches which had not previously been ' paid for'.

I have asked our engineers if I have understood this correctly, why it is no longer possible, and if it is possible to allow it again.

Will let you know once I do.

Regards

Alison

Scotlands People

[Guest]

Tah Dah!!!
Most recent message from Alison:
Catherine

Hello again!

Bet you are sorry now it was me who answered you - you will be thinking I am like the bad penny! ( to be fair, it would usually be me anyway)

However, back to my point ( I actually DO have one !)

This has now been passed back to me by management and the deploy to allow this again will happen within the next 2- 3 weeks although I have not been given an exact date.

Hope this will help in the future.

Regards

Alison

Scotlands People

[DavidWW]

Ehh!!!

So is Alison confirming that previously unpaid for images were viewable through "Previous Searches", even if you were "out of time", as long as you had credits available?

Logically, I'd have thought that it should not have been possible to view images on a Previous Searches list that had not been previously paid for, however many credits were in your account if the access time had expired .................... unless, of course, that was the intention from the beginning ............... in which case why wasn't that facility documented ??.......

Argghhhhhhh

Davie

[sporran]

Hello all,


just to reinforce Catherine's message from SP. I heard a short time ago from Richard (MD of Scotland On Line) that the feature will be deployed in the next test version of the site. This is expected to be available just after the next User Group meeting (8th August).

I do not know at this stage what else might be in the test version (I have asked), but there will be a delay, which could be several weeks, from the test version to the version on the Scotlands People site.


Regards,

John

[Guest]

Yep! You got it right, David. It was always possible - as long as I have been using the site. I found it quite by chance as I sort of "spaced off" while viewing a previous list and selected a record I had not viewed prior. I was surprised to find it "worked".
---"in which case why wasn't that facility documented ??......." that's a redundant question - right?
Catherine

[DavidWW]

Hello all,


just to reinforce Catherine's message from SP. I heard a short time ago from Richard (MD of Scotland On Line) that the feature will be deployed in the next test version of the site. This is expected to be available just after the next User Group meeting (8th August).

I do not know at this stage what else might be in the test version (I have asked), but there will be a delay, which could be several weeks, from the test version to the version on the Scotlands People site.


Regards,

John

Without wishing in any way to sound a touch cynical, commonsense prevails , as I intially thought that I could hear loud sounds of heels being dug in !!

Davie

[Laura]

Mea culpa !!

I've managed to mix up posts from "Alcluith" and "Laura"......... including editing (AG priviledge ) a response from "Laura" to "Alcluith".......

Davie.................

....snipped...........

I have no problem if Scotlandspeople decides to change any feature on their site. It is their business. What I have a problem with, especially in the interest of running a good business, is the lack of knowledge, experience and in house communication of the service department that has led to this discussion.

I couldn't agree more

The service staff of Scotlandspeople may be getting gun shy every time they read a contact form for several reasons: they do not actually use the SP site to search for records as we do; the fact that one was able to spend credits viewing unviewed images after our time expires was never stated on the site; and announcements of changes in service may not appear on the information pages of the SP site.

Very valid points.

What greatly disturbs me is that it has taken numerous contact forms plus emails from User Group members, - Sporran and me (can't recall if I've mentioned my email to SoL on this subject), - to firstly achieve understanding and recognition of the facility that used to exist, and, beyond that, have that facility restored!!

I worked for several years in customer service positions and know what it is to be abused by angry customers because you're "it", the contact person on the other end of the phone line or the person at the front desk while the manager hides in his office. In my experience SP would improve customer service and employee performance if they improved their communication skills.

From much similar experience, I will admit that it's not an easy situation to admit that there's been a SNAFU situation, but that, the earlier the fault is admitted, regardless of the "lumps" that need to be accepted, the more credit and greater future credibility accrues to the company/organisation involved; never mind the corollary that subsequent reactions to similar, future situations are treated in a much more sympathetic and believing manner .............

But then, in the context of this thread I feel that I'm "preaching to the converted", and I hesitate to ask for suggestions as to which such category in which I should place SoL/SP/GROS

Davie

[JustJean]

Hi CatherineM...and thank you for your diligence in communicating via contact forms!!! I had to laugh at your reference to how you first "discovered" it was possible to buy images with expired credits from previous searches...."spaced off"!! I prefer to think we were intently focused on solving a puzzling genealogical brain teaser and inadvertently hit the "view image" button before our logical brains could tell us....You Can't Do It That Way!! At any rate....it was through pure accident that I too discovered the trick....and am very very pleased now to read that it will be possible once again in the near future. Thanks to all the folks who really listen

Best wishes
Jean

[nelmit]

Hurrah, let's here it for Alison.

We were also emailing back and forth this morning and I have just returned home to this message.

Good afternoon again,

I think we were both singing from the same hymn sheet but different pages!

Customers were able to view images form previous searches EVEN if search
time was finished as long as those searches had been paid for. However, they
were not able to do any new searches or view from ' unpaid' searches.I think
what threw me was
" from previously unviewed searches "

So, if you had completed a search, you could choose to view an image even if
time was finished, but not with new searches.

I have now asked management regarding this and have been told that a deploy
will be in place for this within the next 2 - 3 weeks. I have not been
given an exact date I'm afraid.

Regards

Alison

Scotlands People
John, you will have to commend her at the UG meeting.

Annette M