What's up with the 'URGENT' ticket delays here?

[twhiting9275]

When clients submit a ticket with the status of 'urgent' or 'critical', this should be investigated, and resolved, immediately, no matter what time of day it is.

 

As of now, your system has kept me locked out of administrative functions since who knows when. This means modules, addon modules, including custom built stuff by me that I need urgent access to has been denied by your system, and if systems go down, I can't fix them because YOU screwed up here!

 

 

Why? Because there's a problem with your PAYPAL INTEGRATION! Payments made yesterday have not posted to the account, causing your licensing system to say my license is invalid incorrectly . Now, this is fine, as long as you resolve the problem on a critical basis, but I've been sitting here and waiting for the better part of half an hour now!

 

Now, I realize that to most, a minor 'license issue' wouldn't be critical, but when you've got passwords for 100+ servers tied into the WHMCS backend, and clients pounding down the door screamin "I want this resolved", it is QUITE an urgent, and critical issue.

 

 

Understandably, it's late, but this is really unacceptable. Not only is my license marked invalid (improperly mind you) by your system, but I am losing money, because you won't reply to tickets in an urgent fashion????????

[Jordan]

You do realize that you're just one of thousands of people that use WHMCS, and that you are just one of the hundreds of tickets that may already be in BEFORE yours?

 

As someone with a hosting company, you should know that your ticket will get answered in due time, when it can be handled.

 

Honestly, it may have the status of urgent or critical, but if someone with a ticket in five hours prior to yours, what makes you think your issue is any less important than theirs?

 

Not only that, but you see the timestamp for your entry? It's 12AM where WHMCS is located at. Yes, I know, 24/7 support should be there, but you know, tough luck.

 

Chill out. It'll be resolved.

[twhiting9275]

Critical means CRITICAL, it means HIGH priority. This is a CRITICAL issue, it's not a 'minor' issue. If a client opens a ticket with CRITICAL issues, then this must be investigated, no matter WHAT time of day!

 

Proper support individuals address tickets on a priority basis. So, yes, my CRITICAL and URGENT issue is much, much more important than someone who has a 'how do I' question, or some other question.

 

Really, I don't care about the excuses. By your own response, it's ok for a datacenter to put reboot tickets at the end of the line, with the thousands of other tickets out there. Of COURSE it's not. Those are CRITICAL issues, as is this.

 

 

It's not MY fault that WHMCS screwed up here, now is it?

It's not MY fault that payment wasn't applied, is it?

So, I guess, I should just wait hours, and tell my customers what,

 

I'm sorry, but WHMCS won't let me in to address your server and password problems

Come on now, that's just wrong.

[Jordan]

Wait, hold on, I have your order for french cries and a large wahmburger.

 

You don't care about my excuses, just like I don't care for your arrogance.

 

I could care less what issues your clients have; You have to wait in line like the rest of the people. Your issue isn't superior to what others lie before yours.

 

Chill. Out.

[9DollarDomains]

but I've been sitting here and waiting for the better part of half an hour now!

We all run pretty critical business's - but if I'm reading this correctly, it's been less than 1/2 an hour - like 25 minutes - since you entered your ticket... and WHMCS's support is 6 time zones away (like Sunday about Midnight) isn't it? I understand and I appreciate how critical this is for you, but I wouldn't want a potential WHMCS customer reading this to think that WHMCS's support is anything less than stelar. We've had bouts with WhoisCart and ModernBill and the support here is fantastic by comparison.

[9DollarDomains]

Just an idea - don't bite my head off - but would it be possible to purchase another license and cut/paste that key in? I know - you shouldn't have to - but it might be $18 well spent if it's possible to do that to get you going?

[Jordan]

9DollarDomains - That's a perfect solution to this impatient individual. That way he can get his zomg critical!?!11 tickets answered with his clients, and not have to worry about waiting for his ticket to get replied.

 

Of course, I'm sure if you could submit a ticket asking for your previous payment to be refunded, and voila. Issue resolved for the oh-so-important-impatient-one.

[twhiting9275]

I don't care for your arrogance.

Arrogant? Hardly. When I place an 'urgent' ticket though, I expect it to be addressed on an 'urgent' basis, no matter WHAT time of day. This isn't unusual, and it's hardly a NON urgent issue.

 

I'm not expecting ANYTHING from WHMCS that I don't provide, directly, myself. If clients have EMERGENCY or URGENT issues, they should be addressed on an EMERGENCY or CRITICAL basis. Yes, that takes priority over ANY LOWER TICKETS. This is why there is a ticket status and label called urgent.

 

Stop the insults. If you don't understand the situation, fine, but that's no excuse to go around belittling people and insulting them because YOU think differently. it's not ARROGANCE to require urgent responses to issues, it is EXPECTED

 

How would you feel if your critical reboot ticket was delayed 12+ hours because the datacenter just didn't want to address it in a priority fashion? That's what we're talking about here, CRITICAL issues that can't be resolved, because someone can't organize something properly.

 

 

We all run pretty critical business's - but if I'm reading this correctly, it's been less than 1/2 an hour - like 25 minutes - since you entered your ticket...

Try an hour now

 

and WHMCS's support is 6 time zones away isn't it?

And that has what to do with the price of tea in China, or the URGENCY of a ticket, or their inability to properly handle critical issues? Nothing

 

I understand and I appreciate how critical this is for you, but I wouldn't want a potential WHMCS customer reading this to think that WHMCS's support is anything less than stelar.

Stellar? STELLAR? Obviously not. If it was, I wouldn't be here bringing this issue up, now would I?

 

Now, for low(er) priority issues, yes, I agree, support is usually good, BUT when it coes down to URGENT issues that can't sit and wait forever for someone to address, it's POOR at best. MY own clients have been trying to get issues resolved, and I can't do anything about this. Why? Because WHMCS can't address critical issues in a timely fashion here.

 

Understandably it's late, but that's no excuse. Next I'll hear "Oh, it's Christmas", or "Oh, it's the weekend" or "Oh, it's my birthday". That's not the acceptable party line here.

 

This isn't a 'brick and mortar' business, this is a virtual business, requiring virtual support 24x7. Sure, many issues CAN be put off until the next business day, but critical and urgent issues MUST be addressed in a critical and urgent fashion, not stalled.

 

As for buying a new license? Not happening. Why SHOULD I reward Matt for his ignorance of his clients here by paying more? That's just not an option.

[ckh]

Snip..

 

Why? Because there's a problem with your PAYPAL INTEGRATION! Payments made yesterday have not posted to the account, causing your licensing system to say my license is invalid incorrectly . Now, this is fine, as long as you resolve the problem on a critical basis, but I've been sitting here and waiting for the better part of half an hour now!

 

Snip...

 

I don't think it's a WHMCS integration problem. I've noted that other people have been having problems the last few days with PayPal IPN. This has happened before also with PayPal having problems with their IPN.

[twhiting9275]

Chris,

 

Using 3.5.x (whmcs is reportedly using 3.6), the problem doesn't exist. Payments made via paypal are reported, and processed immediately. Just Friday evening (late), and yesterday afternoon, payments were processed and posted by Paypal via IPN just fine. I know because there are a couple that I have to check on manually, so I personally verify that payments are processed when paypal says they are.

 

I'm not discounting the fact that it MIGHT be an IPN problem on paypal's end, but it's highly unusual that everything posts fine to my own site, but not to WHMCS' site. This is typically an indication of a problem in their payment processing system.

 

 

'Have patience' is not something you tell a client when they need emergency assistance, which can't be provided because you can't get into a backend that is supposed to provide for this sort of failure.

 

Maybe a 'grace period' should be looked at, and reminders sent from WHMCS BEFORE licenses are suspended like this! That would definitely ease some of this, but it still wouldn't ease the fact that I've beeen without admin access for an hour and a half here because an urgent ticket can't be replied to in kind.

[ckh]

I'm not sure how the recurring billing works, I purchased the own version right away, but, if there is an invoice that is marked unpaid, you may just want to pay it again to see if PayPal has their IPN problem worked out.

 

I have no doubt if you pay more than once, you'll receive either credit or a refund from WHMCS.

 

Also, rather than risking this again you may want to look into purchasing an owned license or paying on a Monday or Tuesday instead of a weekend in case there is a problem.

 

I've seen proprietary pieces of software that cost $100K and have support packages that run an additional $10K per month not have 24/7 support.

 

I would not expect to see 24/7 support for a $20/month script.

 

I would also have (and do) server passwords backed up in several other places than just one place on a web site and have a well developed disaster plan in place for different scenarios.

[Jordan]

We gave you a temporary solution to help you out, and you declined it. So I think at this point, it's best to just stop replying in this thread.

 

Your clients come first, and if you have to go out of your way for your clients to get the help the need, then that's what you need to do.

[twhiting9275]

Wow, only 2 hours to get a critical issue resolved. Umm, something really, really needs to be done here about this!

 

Thanks to Jay @ Licensepal and Troy for offering a temp. license. I must have just missed you by a few minutes :*( . I appreciate the offer though, it would have greatly helped.

 

In order to keep this from happening again, Matt, you really need to look at a few things here:

 

A> Critical and High importance issues need to be addressed on a critical nature. Maybe triggering an sms mail or something is needed, because, this could have gotten REALLY ugly fast. 2 hours is still too long to have to wait on this (thanks Joe!!). Thankfully, I ddn't have the 'support' area tied into WHMCS (even more reason to use an external support solution), but that doesn't account for the fact that reboot urls, passwords, users, etc, are all tied directly into the admin area, which, one can't get to if their 'license is invalid' (correctly or incorrectly).

 

 

B> Warnings MUST be sent out 1-2 days before licenses and services are suspended. What's up with not doing this? That would have completely prevented the situation. Yes, I understand that this means that you actually provide services for 1-2 days when payment might not be made, but this is a much more professional option than just disabling the license with no warning.

 

Chris,

I appreciate your comments about passwords and the like. Unfortunately, that's not really an option, though, as clients need to be able to update this information (stored in SQL) as well as I need to access it through admin. It's a custom solution that I put together, and probably SHOULDN'T have banked on this as heavily, but it makes no sense to have dozens of logins stored in multiple places.

 

Jordan

Just because you don't understand the situation doesn't give you the right to belittle it (or me). I didn't buy an 'extra license', because I wasn't going to pay more to get this issue resolved. Whether or not it came back to me is irrelevant. That isn't an approach that should ever be taken

 

Hopefully, this can be learned from here, but something really should be done about the delay on critical issues.

[Chrisw]

PayPal is known to have trouble with IPN to only admit it later on. Nice huh?

[Chrisw]

Chris,

I appreciate your comments about passwords and the like. Unfortunately, that's not really an option, though, as clients need to be able to update this information (stored in SQL) as well as I need to access it through admin. It's a custom solution that I put together, and probably SHOULDN'T have banked on this as heavily, but it makes no sense to have dozens of logins stored in multiple places.

 

That wasn't me, I'll chip in anyway. I thought you would understand the risk of "all the eggs in a single basket" theory as much as you carried on about WHMCS having licenses on single server without redundancy. Same Scenario - call the kettle black if you'd like. Nobodies fault but your own. I understand your frustrated, but you should know the payment integration is a two way risk.

 

Like I said, critical is critical, we are talking about software here, not hosting servers, not dedicated servers. Services should still be up for you. If you can't access them, it's your fault.

 

If you coded your addon, why not dig it out of the database? only an Inconvenience to your clients? That's not "critical", again, your fault.

[twhiting9275]

If you can't access them, it's your fault.

Wrong

If I can't access them due to someone ELSE'S screwups, that's THEIR fault, not my own.

 

Why should one have to develop two separate applications to deal with what ONE should? Redundancy is good, but it's not necessary when applications are concerned, unless the application is poorly designed itself.

 

One of the main reasons I went with WHMCS is the customizability. Everything is handled inside of the WHMCS administrative area, through modules (monitoring, server updates, etc). Rather than have to put them all 5 different places , as before, this was the obvious solution. One location, one place to go for administrative needs.

 

The only problem with this is when things like this are handled improperly. Instead of giving a warning, the license is just revoked. Instead of prompt response ( < 30 minute) to tickets, the ticket is let sit for hours. Yes, this is, and was a CRITICAL issue. Yes, this involved servers, monitor status and the like. The delayed response is inexcusable and unacceptable. The fact that this happened in the FIRST place is inexcusable and unacceptable.

[9DollarDomains]

As for buying a new license? Not happening. Why SHOULD I reward Matt for his ignorance of his clients here by paying more? That's just not an option.

Okey-dokey. It was just a suggestion. If it was me, and if I had a potential nightmare going on between me and my customers, I'd spend the $20 to solve the problem sooner rather than later, even if that 'rewarded' my worst enemy. It might not be 'right', but I was just suggesting it as a potentially quicker fix. In any case, glad it's working for you now, and I was just trying to help is all.

[MACscr]

Actually out of service requests should always take precedence over any other issues. Thats just how things work. If I have sales or new equipment setup or other not critical issues, they always are put on the back burner if a client calls us and is out of service (failed server, phone system, whatever). Out of service is definitely critical.

 

On that note though, twhiting9275, you have to understand that WHMCS does not have any type of guaranteed support times or SLA. They also do not have 24 hour support. Even if they did, they dont claim or guarantee that a ticket will be responded to within 30 minutes or even hours.

 

While it completely sucks whats happening in your situation, that unfortunately is one of the downfalls of having to rely on a third party for a critical service.

[MACscr]

Okey-dokey. It was just a suggestion. If it was me, and if I had a potential nightmare going on between me and my customers, I'd spend the $20 to solve the problem sooner rather than later, even if that 'rewarded' my worst enemy. It might not be 'right', but I was just suggesting it as a potentially quicker fix. In any case, glad it's working for you now, and I was just trying to help is all.

 

its not like matt wouldnt refund him anyway.

[MACscr]

B> Warnings MUST be sent out 1-2 days before licenses and services are suspended. What's up with not doing this? That would have completely prevented the situation. Yes, I understand that this means that you actually provide services for 1-2 days when payment might not be made, but this is a much more professional option than just disabling the license with no warning.

 

Unless something has changed lately, the licensing system has nothing to do with the client area. The only area that is affected is the admin area. yes, still sucks, but your point about client actions would be false.

 

NOTE: i really understand how bad your situation is and i for one definitely get steamed when third parties fail to provide a service and it makes me look bad. BUT, I think your response times for support tickets for software are unrealistic.

[Baja]

Well if I learned anything from this thread it would be to sell myself a monthly $12 license. Just to be on the safe side.

[MACscr]

Well if I learned anything from this thread it would be to sell myself a monthly $12 license. Just to be on the safe side.

 

Huh? i dont see the point of that, more of a waste of money. If your really worried about it, just buy the script.

[Matt]

Tom,

 

Your ticket was titled "WHAT THE ?" from what I can see in the ticket system. Nowhere in the subject did it mention Critical or Urgent. I'm sorry that you feel this wasn't dealt with the priority it deserves but you did in fact submit the ticket at 03/02/2008 23:40 and it was resolved by 04/02/2008 01:28. So it was in fact under 2 hours for a response and not just a response, but a resolution. As others have mentioned, paying the unpaid invoice and then requesting a refund for the double payment would certainly have been the quicker resolution in this situation and you wouldn't have been paying anything extra as it would have been refunded.

 

Once again, apologies for any inconvenience caused.

 

Matt

[isdoo]

Heck - with my last billing system, I would NEVER have got a response within 2 hours outside of normal working hours (I mean by that 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday!) and they are supposed to be one of the best systems out there ( yeah right! )

 

I did not even know WHMCS worked 24/7 - I am shocked as to how prompt the ticket response is here - far above ANY other software I have used for my server. If I put a ticket in on a Sunday, I would not expect a response until Monday morning - but not here

 

So to be publicly criticised for not having responded within 30 minutes is plain wrong.

 

I think the apology should be coming to Matt - not the other way round

[chickendippers]

Agreed. That response time is excellent, especially considering the timing of the submission.

 

twhiting9275 I challenge you to find another billing system whose support will respond to you at midnight on a Sunday within 2 hours! Your outburst is unwarranted, and might not even be WHMCS' fault. I remember Matt stating that they don't use their own software for licensing as it's not something it provides.