Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Just looking at the Spreadsheet - looks like someone has seriously sodded it up. Line 332 and below have lost a load of info (colour, bed, country data) all vanished. Can it be rolled back easily or do all orders below this need to re-enter their data?
Thanks for mentioning -- I went ahead and rolled us back to the last valid version. I checked the changes since then but didn't see anything significant. If I accidentally rolled back someone's changes, then I'm sorry ♥
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Bump2....
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
This morning I was contacted by Jakub, and with my permission he edited the initial post on this thread to add the warning about how this is not the official shipping table. I was unable to edit it myself, as it is an old post.
I wanted to make this post to reiterate that point. It sounds like people have just been assaulting support asking where their orders are, only based on this sheet.
I've asked Hotrian to add the disclaimer to the top of the spreadsheet as well.
This was actually one of my fears about this sheet since it started gaining traction.
So please, lay off of support. This was only ever supposed to be a fun way of tracking our orders as a forum, not ammunition to demand that your order be shipped.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
So.... this "lay off support" message doesn't resonate well with me. If that's the message Jakub wants to convey, that's somewhat problematic... Hope to God that's not Jakub/Prusa's intent here. 😕
I can't discredit the hodgepodge of data out there, but I also can't treat it as gospel.
1. I did contact support... because my tracking has no updates for a few days. I know that the printers go on a plane to the US, and not on a boat like with China. 😛 I'm not exactly blowing up their chat/email. I left a message and am awaiting a response. 😐
2. I asked support a simple question previously, which was "Since we have another delay, what are the chances that the powder coated sheet can be included with the new delay being the case?" The response to me was rather brash, abrupt, and didn't answer the question initially. 😡
Response was a bit trollish: "Want to wait until some time after Jan 31 for the powder coated sheet?" This got me a bit angry. I wasn't asking FOR anything I haven't paid for, and wasn't even demanding that, although quite disappointed. It was ONLY a question if something different was possible. PR decided to send a t-shirt after that one!
3. Before then I was asking about the estimated ship date, which kept changing. This was before I knew about this spreadsheet....
It was first to be shipped by end of December, then by January 8, then by the 15th. I was told three things, and I was simply confirming with support when I contacted them. I don't think everyone's raising hell with support. It's a perfectly reasonable ask, and it doesn't take all that much time to answer. My interactions have mostly been less than 30 seconds with support.
I had zero idea there was a problem with the rods that caused a delay, at the time I talked to them. I actually appreciated the fact that Prusa Research cared enough to stop shipping the un-hardened rods, and held up until they could ensure these were properly hardened rods.
*Communication* is my issue, not the ultimate delivery of the product. I know I'll get the product. Communication goes a LONG way. I don't come on these forums often.
It doesn't take much to spend 5 minutes a week on a mass update email to those who are on backorder. That will minimize chat sessions and direct support contacts...
I still want that printer. Will I be an early adopter next time with this kind of communication? I don't know. I have doubts now.
4. I have nearly 12 years of experience in customer service as an agent, supervisor, trainer, QA specialist, and reporting specialist in a 50,000 employee BPO organization (who treats me very well, as an employer). Experience tells me other customers might be getting a brash response in chat, and that causes even stronger negative reactions from customers. When I get a trollish response, you bet I'm going to react.
I KNOW what the front-line agents go through. They do sometimes might lash out at a customer in an exaggerated fashion for asking "the same dumb question" which that specific customer might have never asked previously.... Wrong thing to do however, and there isn't any excuse for that...
The edit to the top post, is probably necessary because support is probably getting thrashed after some of us saw US orders with a much later deliver date are already in the recipient's hands.
No amount of free swag can fix how a customer feels at some point... Sometimes, all a person wants is for their feedback to be gathered, so that future campaigns can benefit. It's a human need, and part of being a company with actual support reps.
5. On a personal note... I have been VERY patient... and avoid contacting support in general. This is because of where I came from in the support/service industry. I know many others here are very patient as well.
There's definitely pressure here because the originally advertised item was the powder coated sheet, however my question wasn't trying to really force them into anything at this point. I did express my frustration with how this all went down because now extra money does have to be paid for the powder coated sheet, despite the discount, or else wait an extra unknown number of weeks for a printer.
Something useful to mention to customers, is they can potentially use a variety of different flexplate systems, in certain circumstances. It won't be as polished as Prusa's plate design, which perfectly aligns with nubs/posts in the back, but it's a huge advantage if someone is printing different materials (like nylons, etc). Prusa's design gives people OPTIONS, which aren't available with many machines.
Thanks for listening, for anyone who reads this.... book of a post. 
This morning I was contacted by Jakub, and with my permission he edited the initial post on this thread to add the warning about how this is not the official shipping table. I was unable to edit it myself, as it is an old post.
I wanted to make this post to reiterate that point. It sounds like people have just been assaulting support asking where their orders are, only based on this sheet.
I've asked Hotrian to add the disclaimer to the top of the spreadsheet as well.
This was actually one of my fears about this sheet since it started gaining traction.
So please, lay off of support. This was only ever supposed to be a fun way of tracking our orders as a forum, not ammunition to demand that your order be shipped.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
So.... this "lay off support" message doesn't resonate well with me. If that's the message Jakub wants to convey, that's somewhat problematic... Hope to God that's not Jakub/Prusa's intent here. 😕
I believe that's a statement from Adam, not Jakub. Adam created the sheet as a fun way for us to see when orders were being shipped so it could temper the hype a little bit. Unfortunately, some orders were prioritized over others and people started to get upset and started to flood support to demand answers as to why their order weren't shipped yet.
I think a lot of the friendly customer service tone is probably lost in the language barrier. I completely agree with you, the customer service could get a bit friendlier but I also appreciate it when they don't waste your time by asking "How's your day and what's the weather like over there." I have an appreciation for processing my issue swiftly and without fluff. To each their own, I guess.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
A couple of times when I contacted support, they didn't know this thread (or the spreadsheet) existed. The lack of communication about what's going on (or their processes) has probably driven a lot more support requests than anything else. From my perspective, after waiting patiently for 3 months with few real updates about what the delays were, seeing people that ordered after me getting tracking numbers before I got mine was disappointing.
It's on its way now. I just wish I paid extra for express shipping.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
I've ordered mine assembled.
Looking at the spreadsheet I'm a bit surprised to see that others have ordered three days later than me have already had theirs shipped.
Wondering why Prusa would ship out of sequence?
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
As I said, communication is my primary criticism at this point.
I did get a response from support where my printer still has not left Germany.... and I think the thread would like to know...
Per PR Support: There's a of delay in Koeln where things is getting slowed up for overseas shipments over the past few days. We're waiting on confirmation on when things will be moving again.
The above took me about 30 seconds to type, 60 seconds if you are slow on the keyboard. 🙂 I appreciate their fast response, but maybe if it impacts groups of people, it could be a fast email.... A great example of how multiple contacts could be reduced.
Such emails could reduce the number of people getting into support tickets/chats with PR Support. Much better than "this isn't official" or "lay off support" regardless of who said it. It tells people "we're on top of this."
In objective stats in the industry that I work in, the fewer contacts with support, the better for customer satisfaction. :geek:
I believe that's a statement from Adam, not Jakub. Adam created the sheet as a fun way for us to see when orders were being shipped so it could temper the hype a little bit. Unfortunately, some orders were prioritized over others and people started to get upset and started to flood support to demand answers as to why their order weren't shipped yet.
I think a lot of the friendly customer service tone is probably lost in the language barrier. I completely agree with you, the customer service could get a bit friendlier but I also appreciate it when they don't waste your time by asking "How's your day and what's the weather like over there." I have an appreciation for processing my issue swiftly and without fluff. To each their own, I guess.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
I've ordered mine assembled.
Looking at the spreadsheet I'm a bit surprised to see that others have ordered three days later than me have already had theirs shipped.
Wondering why Prusa would ship out of sequence?
From a conversation with support on Thursday:
"We have some internal system which has to be respected."
and
Me: is it possible that your "internal system" could end up with orders for the same product being shipped out of order?
Me: and if so, can you explain what causes that?
CSR: Sir
CSR: We are shipping 300 printers a day
CSR: Your order is already on shipping list
CSR: It takes some time to prepare it and solve all the labels, customs etc
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Orders go into the production pipeline in the order in which they are received but that doesn't mean the leave the pipeline in the same order. At that point it doesn't make sense to hold any production up, its being produced.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
So.... this "lay off support" message doesn't resonate well with me. If that's the message Jakub wants to convey, that's somewhat problematic... Hope to God that's not Jakub/Prusa's intent here. 😕
I believe that's a statement from Adam, not Jakub. Adam created the sheet as a fun way for us to see when orders were being shipped so it could temper the hype a little bit. Unfortunately, some orders were prioritized over others and people started to get upset and started to flood support to demand answers as to why their order weren't shipped yet.
Yes, the "lay off support" bit was just me.
Jakub just asked (very politely I will add) if I would consider adding the warning message.
I don't want to confuse the situation here: I'm the one suggesting we lay off.
Corey you're exactly right.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Yes, the "lay off support" bit was just me.
Jakub just asked (very politely I will add) if I would consider adding the warning message.
I don't want to confuse the situation here: I'm the one suggesting we lay off.
Corey you're exactly right.
Totally taking a screen grab of that and sending it to my wife 😆
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Yes, the "lay off support" bit was just me.
Jakub just asked (very politely I will add) if I would consider adding the warning message.
I don't want to confuse the situation here: I'm the one suggesting we lay off.
Corey you're exactly right.
Totally taking a screen grab of that and sending it to my wife 😆
good luck with that!
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Definitely some interesting process going on. I ordered 2 Mk3s, in separate orders placed about a week apart. They are shipping in the opposite order despite the shipping schedule. Not really a problem for me, as I get a printer soonish regardless, but it's definitely not a FIFO.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
[...]
I've asked Hotrian to add the disclaimer to the top of the spreadsheet as well.
This was actually one of my fears about this sheet since it started gaining traction.
So please, lay off of support. This was only ever supposed to be a fun way of tracking our orders as a forum, not ammunition to demand that your order be shipped.
I went ahead and added the disclaimer as a cover sheet so it should open to that by default when using the default link. We can still link to individual sheets if necessary so it isn't a major inconvenience, and I agree that it's important. I've always been concerned with the way we are displaying the data, and how it might be interpreted.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Thank you Adam for clarifying that.
My experience with PR Support over chat has been less than acceptable on more than one occasion, but it seems that my feedback has been taken to heart, because my most recent discussion was a lot nicer.... and a lot less kneejerk/answering questions that weren't asked. 🙂
Communication, communication, communication.
Update on my shipment: It showed as left Koeln, and now it shows as "we didn't put it on the plane, putting it on the one next business day."
From your collective experience... does this really end up on a plane the next day?
So.... this "lay off support" message doesn't resonate well with me. If that's the message Jakub wants to convey, that's somewhat problematic... Hope to God that's not Jakub/Prusa's intent here. 😕
I believe that's a statement from Adam, not Jakub. Adam created the sheet as a fun way for us to see when orders were being shipped so it could temper the hype a little bit. Unfortunately, some orders were prioritized over others and people started to get upset and started to flood support to demand answers as to why their order weren't shipped yet.
Yes, the "lay off support" bit was just me.
Jakub just asked (very politely I will add) if I would consider adding the warning message.
I don't want to confuse the situation here: I'm the one suggesting we lay off.
Corey you're exactly right.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
[...]
I've asked Hotrian to add the disclaimer to the top of the spreadsheet as well.
This was actually one of my fears about this sheet since it started gaining traction.
So please, lay off of support. This was only ever supposed to be a fun way of tracking our orders as a forum, not ammunition to demand that your order be shipped.
I went ahead and added the disclaimer as a cover sheet so it should open to that by default when using the default link. We can still link to individual sheets if necessary so it isn't a major inconvenience, and I agree that it's important. I've always been concerned with the way we are displaying the data, and how it might be interpreted.
When oliver.p6 posted his misunderstandings, I changed the title of the document to include the words "community sourced", does that show for anyone else?
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
When oliver.p6 posted his misunderstandings, I changed the title of the document to include the words "community sourced", does that show for anyone else?
Good idea :). Yes, I see the title is now "Prusa i3 MK3 - Community Sourced Order Status".
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
For folks in the US, in case you noticed UPS is dropping (disconnecting) phone calls like hot potatoes when they see Koeln, Germany, and a delay notice...... four times... no harsh language (other than the supervisor to the agent after learning about the calls :P).
I had to get a supervisor BEFORE giving them the tracking number, so as to not have my call dropped...
According to UPS, when there's a delay in Germany, it busts their web tracking system somehow. The lady mentioned the issue with the delay is due to high capacity, and she saw info that she conceded that the web didn't have.
Example, mine said there's no ETA on delivery since this morning.... However, when I finally got a supervisor to look at it, they told me the web tracking is out of sync and outdated. UPS has advised me, that my printer (shipped 1/16) is slated to be in Louisville, KY tonight, and to be delivered tomorrow before end of day.
I will note, it IS possible to go from Louisville to Birmingham, and be delivered all in the same day, but not likely.
Although shipping carriers almost has a dedicated runway at our airport here, I think their delivery of tomorrow is overly optimistic, so I'll chill until 1/24. 😉
I'll update the sheet once received.
Re: Ship Date Tracking Spreadsheet
Only Prusa could crash a worldwide logistics company. Impressive.
On a lighter note, I've added a new field to the User Info Lookup page on the spreadsheet that attempts to calculate delivery time. It's only getting data from the spreadsheet and does not imply any delivery timetable from Prusa. Please let me know if its worth keeping, or does it just make the waiting that more painful? 😐