As part of completing my organization’s move to Convio, this week I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of completing the transfer of over 300,000 records from our offline database into Convio while making sure that the appropriate records can be accessed by each of our 40 chapters across the US. Since the contract with our previous vendor expires Dec. 31, I realized earlier this week that I would need to push this week to get things done. Trying to do this at a time when many companies are shutting down for the holidays is especially challenging.
Here’s how I’ve managed the process.
- At last month’s Convio Summit, I took the time to get to know several Convio management staff, including Esther Pomeleo-Fowler, Director of Client Support Services.
- When I heard last week that Convio would be closed from Dec 24-26, I realized I would need to arrange for help during the days before, especially since our main resource person would be unavailable during Christmas week.
- Submitted a support ticket Monday evening to request help on Tuesday, also emailing Esther to ask that she provide a resource, referencing the ticket. Esther quickly left a phone message, promising to assign someone to work with me.
- Through Convio’s online ticket system and by phone, worked with the support person to complete the test import. It turns out that the original instructions I’d been given did not work completely and that several features in our account had to be ‘turned on’ so the import process could complete.
- Emailed Esther last night to thank her for the help her staff provided, copying Convio’s CEO, Gene Austin.
While there’s a lot more I need to complete to finish the migration by year-end, being able to complete this import is a big relief. By approaching Convio politely but firmly, I was able to get the assistance I needed. (Special thanks to John Holland.)
No online product works perfectly, but by treating people with respect and by working collaboratively with vendors and consultants, we can get great results. Expressing thanks and appreciation also helps.
Wishing you a peaceful and healthy holiday and all good things for 2009.
