Director of Scoutbook - 10/12/2015 Update

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Director of Scoutbook - 10/12/2015 Update

Published: Oct 12, 2015

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Well, despite best intentions Friday came and went last week without me getting my update out. Sorry, I'm human and things are going to happen.

That said, it was a busy week and month. Beta testing has been the task of the month. Thank you to all who have participated. Asynchrony, Shawn and BSA systems teams have been working hard to clear bugs with great success (over 150 bugs identified and cleared since the beginning of September). At this time we anticipate a successful conversion to the new enviroment and if all goes well you won't even notice. I'm personally looking forward to this outcome so we can get back into the business of enhancing the site and building new features. See below for the text announcing the cutover to the new BSA cloud environment.

Last week we did release to production the previous beta calendar functionality, including updates to schedule Cub Scout advancement in events. We have more work to do (awards requirements) to get to 100% on the new Cub Scout program so stay tuned. I've also noted the forum posts on "bugs" and enhancements to the calendar function.

I will not be able to do an update this Friday due to family commitments. Thanks again for your support..

Announcement of Scoutbook Service Transition

Beginning at approximately 9:30am Central Time on October 13^,2015, Scoutbook will begin transitioning from the current servers to BSA’s cloud-based server environment. No action is necessary on your part. Scoutbook will continue to function normally during this time.

We anticipate that this transition will take approximately one hour. During this time both environments will be available to users, the transition will be transparent, and all data added will be saved to the common database. While there may be some compromised performance there will be no interruptions of service.

Should your service or functionality be affected in a material way please post your experience (in detail) at https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/bugs/.

.

Comments (38)
10 years ago

Scott Fisher

Moving along nicely again. Thanks Bob and Scoutbook!

Pending Approval

Moving along nicely again. Thanks Bob and Scoutbook!

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10 years ago

Ed D'Avignon

Bob, Shawn & team. Congratulations on exiting the beta. Finding and fixing 150 bugs in the short period of time you had shows how hard working your team is. From the start of the beta to today I have seen great progress. I know the future of Scoutbook is bright.

Pending Approval

Bob, Shawn & team. Congratulations on exiting the beta. Finding and fixing 150 bugs in the short period of time you had shows how hard working your team is. From the start of the beta to today I have seen great progress. I know the future of Scoutbook is bright.

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10 years ago

Stephen Hornak

Thanks Bob for the update. I look forward to a smooth transition from a physical to a virtual environment. Having seen many of my servers move to virtual hosts it can be an exciting and uneasy event. But if your migration was like mine it will be the best thing for the environment and the application. Great job on the bug fixes and I look forward to bigger and better things for scoutbook.

updated 10 years ago

Pending Approval

Thanks Bob for the update. I look forward to a smooth transition from a physical to a virtual environment. Having seen many of my servers move to virtual hosts it can be an exciting and uneasy event. But if your migration was like mine it will be the best thing for the environment and the application. Great job on the bug fixes and I look forward to bigger and better things for scoutbook.

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10 years ago

Bill Wells

Bob, please thank all the software folks for getting all those bugs fixed.

Pending Approval

Bob, please thank all the software folks for getting all those bugs fixed.

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10 years ago

Ken Morgan

Exciting times, I look forward to the transition and the continued development of Scoutbook. I've said elsewhere communication from Scoutbook/BSA is key, and this blog and other regular updates go a long way to keeping up confidence in Scoutbook. That communication needs to be paired with regular, even if smaller, bug fixes and feature updates visible to users to maintain that confidence. Great job on all fronts the last few weeks.

Pending Approval

Exciting times, I look forward to the transition and the continued development of Scoutbook. I've said elsewhere communication from Scoutbook/BSA is key, and this blog and other regular updates go a long way to keeping up confidence in Scoutbook. That communication needs to be paired with regular, even if smaller, bug fixes and feature updates visible to users to maintain that confidence. Great job on all fronts the last few weeks.

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10 years ago

Janice Quiles

Awesome news!

Pending Approval

Awesome news!

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10 years ago

Jennifer Olinger

Bob, thank you for the update! And please thank the Scoutbook team. Clearing over 150+ bugs in such a short period of time while working on major server upgrades is greatly appreciated!

Pending Approval

Bob, thank you for the update! And please thank the Scoutbook team. Clearing over 150+ bugs in such a short period of time while working on major server upgrades is greatly appreciated!

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10 years ago

Gabrielle Wyatt

Thanks for the updates and hard work! We are testing the new calendar functions in our pack and hope to roll them out next month. I know this will help our den leaders. Looking forward to more Scoutbook enhancements in the future!

updated 10 years ago

Pending Approval

Thanks for the updates and hard work! We are testing the new calendar functions in our pack and hope to roll them out next month. I know this will help our den leaders. Looking forward to more Scoutbook enhancements in the future!

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10 years ago

Mike Pillman

Thank you for the updates!

Pending Approval

Thank you for the updates!

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10 years ago

Nick Sims

Great work team.

Pending Approval

Great work team.

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10 years ago

Charles Stenger

Wow! I've been participating with Cub Scouts since my sons have been Tigers in Pack 628, and just recently we decided to move to Pack 28, and this is the first time I have seen the Scout Book. What an achievement and thanks to who ever put this together.

Pending Approval

Wow! I've been participating with Cub Scouts since my sons have been Tigers in Pack 628, and just recently we decided to move to Pack 28, and this is the first time I have seen the Scout Book. What an achievement and thanks to who ever put this together.

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10 years ago

Steven Loosle

This is great news.

Rebuilding any foundation while having a live product is an accomplishment. The ScoutBook BSA Dev team needs a congradulations. Imagine having a house, ripping out the foundation and building a new foundation, all the while having more and more guests over. This is what ScoutBook has done!

I'm looking forward to many years of a great product.

Pending Approval

This is great news. Rebuilding any foundation while having a live product is an accomplishment. The ScoutBook BSA Dev team needs a congradulations. Imagine having a house, ripping out the foundation and building a new foundation, all the while having more and more guests over. This is what ScoutBook has done! I'm looking forward to many years of a great product.

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10 years ago

Jeff Pauk

Thank you for all your hard work. We have been evaluating the Boy Scout module for our troop to use and will make a decision soon (we have been very impressed). Looking forward to the Venturing addition!

Pending Approval

Thank you for all your hard work. We have been evaluating the Boy Scout module for our troop to use and will make a decision soon (we have been very impressed). Looking forward to the Venturing addition!

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10 years ago

James Brown

Thanks again for the regular updates and transparency Bob.
I'm excited to see the performance improvements available by migrating to AWS. ;-)
And we really appreciate the diligence in listening to bug requests and enhancements - and executing so quickly!

Pending Approval

Thanks again for the regular updates and transparency Bob. I'm excited to see the performance improvements available by migrating to AWS. ;-) And we really appreciate the diligence in listening to bug requests and enhancements - and executing so quickly!

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10 years ago

Tony Babbe

Is it possible to put out a top ten things we are working on so the unit can see what is coming up. I am starting to see a circular effect in the forums Scott has addressed a few, but the number of people that know what is being worked on, but the rest of the people are starting to repeat multiple requests. I believe that this will further the transparency of scoutbook because the users will have an idea what is being worked on and maybe see the new things coming. just a thought, also have it broken down with an expectation like "to be released in spring 2016....that kind of info.

Pending Approval

Is it possible to put out a top ten things we are working on so the unit can see what is coming up. I am starting to see a circular effect in the forums Scott has addressed a few, but the number of people that know what is being worked on, but the rest of the people are starting to repeat multiple requests. I believe that this will further the transparency of scoutbook because the users will have an idea what is being worked on and maybe see the new things coming. just a thought, also have it broken down with an expectation like "to be released in spring 2016....that kind of info.

Update

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10 years ago

Scott Fisher

Tony, thanks for the request (and for all else you do for Scouting / Scoutbook).

Bob Scott is away this week or he would certainly address your question (probably better than I). Although it may "appear" that there are some that "know what is being worked on" it is actually more that we know what has been requested most often. As Bob Scott and the Scoutbook Team come out of the migration to Amazon Cloud Services and the temporary code freeze there will be a more steady timeline of development (which I hope will see less and less circular requests as a result). There is so much of a dynamic nature for the future developments that I hope we just start seeing Bob's Blog posting things like "Due to common request, the following feature/module has just been added (past tense) so as to avoid the most common of circular arguments (as all parents can concur), "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?"

Having read ALL of the Forum Posts, Blogs, media outlet info, local presentations, etc. etc. (not "privileged info"), I CAN tell you that the BSA Resources behind Scoutbook now make the future of Scoutbook VERY EXCITING. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Pending Approval

Tony, thanks for the request (and for all else you do for Scouting / Scoutbook). Bob Scott is away this week or he would certainly address your question (probably better than I). Although it may "appear" that there are some that "know what is being worked on" it is actually more that we know what has been requested most often. As Bob Scott and the Scoutbook Team come out of the migration to Amazon Cloud Services and the temporary code freeze there will be a more steady timeline of development (which I hope will see less and less circular requests as a result). There is so much of a dynamic nature for the future developments that I hope we just start seeing Bob's Blog posting things like "Due to common request, the following feature/module has just been added (past tense) so as to avoid the most common of circular arguments (as all parents can concur), "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?" Having read ALL of the Forum Posts, Blogs, media outlet info, local presentations, etc. etc. (not "privileged info"), I CAN tell you that the BSA Resources behind Scoutbook now make the future of Scoutbook VERY EXCITING. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Update

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10 years ago

Michael O'Donnell

Congratulations on that many bug fixes. While I don't work directly on tech projects in any capacity, I have to guess that can feel like trying to bail water out of your boat with a spoon when the hole is as big as your head. :O That goes a long way to customer satisfaction and retention. Thanks for all of that effort in making a quality product.

Pending Approval

Congratulations on that many bug fixes. While I don't work directly on tech projects in any capacity, I have to guess that can feel like trying to bail water out of your boat with a spoon when the hole is as big as your head. :O That goes a long way to customer satisfaction and retention. Thanks for all of that effort in making a quality product.

Update

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10 years ago

Jeremy Goodman

Just make sure we don't lose Shawn. It would be a tragedy if Scoutbook was taken completely over by the BSA and it started to function as poorly as every other BSA IT function.

Pending Approval

Just make sure we don't lose Shawn. It would be a tragedy if Scoutbook was taken completely over by the BSA and it started to function as poorly as every other BSA IT function.

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10 years ago

Jeremy Hines

Is there any way we can get the new Award requirements added in? I am unable to log awards because the new requirements are not in there.

Pending Approval

Is there any way we can get the new Award requirements added in? I am unable to log awards because the new requirements are not in there.

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10 years ago

Charlie Pierce

Sir how do you remove a merit badge that was accidentally added to a scouts profile. Also I have a scout that has a chemistry merit badge that scout book doesn't even have it available to add. Some guidance please.

Pending Approval

Sir how do you remove a merit badge that was accidentally added to a scouts profile. Also I have a scout that has a chemistry merit badge that scout book doesn't even have it available to add. Some guidance please.

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10 years ago

Wendy Cook

I hope ya'll are seeing growth from our council. I see a lot of units and constantly speak about Scoutbook. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread.

One housekeeping question - is there a function available or coming to upload a pending purchase order directly to your local Scout Shop email? As a Scout shop Assoc, it would save time for us and the Advancement purchaser.

Pending Approval

I hope ya'll are seeing growth from our council. I see a lot of units and constantly speak about Scoutbook. I think it's the best thing since sliced bread. One housekeeping question - is there a function available or coming to upload a pending purchase order directly to your local Scout Shop email? As a Scout shop Assoc, it would save time for us and the Advancement purchaser.

Update

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10 years ago

Jennifer Olinger

@Charlie Pierce - To remove a merit badge, go to the Scout's advancement page, click on the merit badge that you want to remove, click on "Completed", then when the dialog box open up, click on "Remove Merit Badge". You might also need to remove the Date completed. With regard to the chemistry merit badge, it is available with the other merit badges. If you have other questions, I highly recommend asking in the Forums. Lots of great folks there who can help you with any issues or questions that you might have.

Pending Approval

@Charlie Pierce - To remove a merit badge, go to the Scout's advancement page, click on the merit badge that you want to remove, click on "Completed", then when the dialog box open up, click on "Remove Merit Badge". You might also need to remove the Date completed. With regard to the chemistry merit badge, it is available with the other merit badges. If you have other questions, I highly recommend asking in the Forums. Lots of great folks there who can help you with any issues or questions that you might have.

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10 years ago

Ed D'Avignon

@Wendy Cook, I don't recall seeing a request to be able to automatically e-mail a PO to a scout shop. I suggest adding this to the New Feature Request forum.

Pending Approval

@Wendy Cook, I don't recall seeing a request to be able to automatically e-mail a PO to a scout shop. I suggest adding this to the New Feature Request forum.

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10 years ago

Joseph VandenBrock

I would like to find out if Lone Scouts and their Counselors will be able to put their information in correctly. So it will reflect correctly on the dashboard (i.e. no need for a link to a pack or troop). Also is there anything in the works for us to use scoutnet?

Pending Approval

I would like to find out if Lone Scouts and their Counselors will be able to put their information in correctly. So it will reflect correctly on the dashboard (i.e. no need for a link to a pack or troop). Also is there anything in the works for us to use scoutnet?

Update

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10 years ago

Gregory Boeder

We still find Scoutbook to be slow to the point of unusable on Monday evenings. We have tried multiple types of connections to no avail. As Advancement Chair for a rather large Troop, the speed makes responding to multiple requests before and during our meeting almost impossible. We have a hard time seeing any improvement.

Pending Approval

We still find Scoutbook to be slow to the point of unusable on Monday evenings. We have tried multiple types of connections to no avail. As Advancement Chair for a rather large Troop, the speed makes responding to multiple requests before and during our meeting almost impossible. We have a hard time seeing any improvement.

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10 years ago

Marcos O'Rourke

So, did you roll it back onto the non-scalable code? Again Scoutbook was unusable last night.

Pending Approval

So, did you roll it back onto the non-scalable code? Again Scoutbook was unusable last night.

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10 years ago

Joy Hackett

150 bugs resolved is great. But can someone please send an update on the bug that brought our whole Scoutbook subscription down 2 months ago? I have asked repeatedly for the problem to get resolved or for someone to call. I really do not like that it has come to this. I've been patient for two months, but now I'm going to the message boards, facebook, forums, blogs and newsfeeds, in hopes that if I make a little noise, someone will respond. I have had many back & forth email threads where Support tells me they fixed it, but it isn't fixed, and then it takes another 1-2 weeks to get a response back. Meanwhile, this "incredible" program that I recommended to our Pack, trained all the Leaders & parents, and cheerleaded for all summer, is not working and the entire Pack is frustrated. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Pending Approval

150 bugs resolved is great. But can someone please send an update on the bug that brought our whole Scoutbook subscription down 2 months ago? I have asked repeatedly for the problem to get resolved or for someone to call. I really do not like that it has come to this. I've been patient for two months, but now I'm going to the message boards, facebook, forums, blogs and newsfeeds, in hopes that if I make a little noise, someone will respond. I have had many back & forth email threads where Support tells me they fixed it, but it isn't fixed, and then it takes another 1-2 weeks to get a response back. Meanwhile, this "incredible" program that I recommended to our Pack, trained all the Leaders & parents, and cheerleaded for all summer, is not working and the entire Pack is frustrated. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.

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10 years ago

Tony Babbe

Any Blog for this week?

Pending Approval

Any Blog for this week?

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10 years ago

Doug Wright

@Tony- I think we are expecting one on Friday, the 23rd. :)

Pending Approval

@Tony- I think we are expecting one on Friday, the 23rd. :)

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10 years ago

Doug Moore

Bob said he would be out and not posting a blog update on the 16th. Anxiously awaiting tomorrow's!

Pending Approval

Bob said he would be out and not posting a blog update on the 16th. Anxiously awaiting tomorrow's!

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10 years ago

Tony Babbe

Got it...can't wait!!!!

Pending Approval

Got it...can't wait!!!!

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10 years ago

Adrian Tait

Looking forward to Bob's update today.

Pending Approval

Looking forward to Bob's update today.

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10 years ago

Greg Gotcher

Was hoping to see the update when I stopped by. Just have to wait a bit longer I guess ;)

Pending Approval

Was hoping to see the update when I stopped by. Just have to wait a bit longer I guess ;)

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10 years ago

Bob Cain

Bob to Bob. Come in Bob?

updated 10 years ago

Pending Approval

Bob to Bob. Come in Bob?

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10 years ago

Joe Winkelmann

Is there a list and timeline of features planned for future releases. I see a ton of enhancement request and I would like to know which ones will actually get implementented. We are currently dragging our feet on transitioning to SB because of some, in our opinion, serious shortcomings. If I knew you had plans to address them and when, it would help in our decision process.

Pending Approval

Is there a list and timeline of features planned for future releases. I see a ton of enhancement request and I would like to know which ones will actually get implementented. We are currently dragging our feet on transitioning to SB because of some, in our opinion, serious shortcomings. If I knew you had plans to address them and when, it would help in our decision process.

Update

Cancel
10 years ago

Joe Winkelmann

The biggest issue is the area of permission philosophies (see my post @ https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/using-scoutbook/51550/permission-philosophy/ and https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/new-feature-requests/51646/permission-upgrade/). This is the one that may be the show stopper.

The 2nd biggest issue is the report engine. I can get around this one by exporting to a CSV and manipulating the Excel, painful but it can be done. I know they are working on a new engine so hopefully it will be much more powerful. Here is an example of some of the common reports we run:
* Troop roster (with and without contact info), last name first
* Troop roster by patrols (with and without contact info)
* Eagle Roll Call
* OA Eligibility report
* OA membership
* Scout vs hiking miles report
* Scout vs camping nights report
* Scouts not advancing report (scouts stuck at a rank for more than ?? time)
* Leader training report
* Adult leadership report
* Scout leadership report

BTW: The current training report appears to only include training from ScoutNET, not everything entered. Still evaluating this one.

Pending Approval

The biggest issue is the area of permission philosophies (see my post @ https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/using-scoutbook/51550/permission-philosophy/ and https://www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/new-feature-requests/51646/permission-upgrade/). This is the one that may be the show stopper. The 2nd biggest issue is the report engine. I can get around this one by exporting to a CSV and manipulating the Excel, painful but it can be done. I know they are working on a new engine so hopefully it will be much more powerful. Here is an example of some of the common reports we run: * Troop roster (with and without contact info), last name first * Troop roster by patrols (with and without contact info) * Eagle Roll Call * OA Eligibility report * OA membership * Scout vs hiking miles report * Scout vs camping nights report * Scouts not advancing report (scouts stuck at a rank for more than ?? time) * Leader training report * Adult leadership report * Scout leadership report BTW: The current training report appears to only include training from ScoutNET, not everything entered. Still evaluating this one.

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10 years ago

Andrew Drefahl

OK, I know this is a volunteer run organization for the most part, but in my business if I make a promise to communicate - that promise has to be kept. I am in the middle of evaluating SB, but as we all know, SB has issues. I'm looking for some clear communication from Bob. Not glossy coating, or I Have a Dream stuff, we get the future vision. I'm looking for realistic timeframes for the work you are doing. If it is a matter of saying "Bug fixes will continue for the next 14 days", that is it, I'll come back in 14 days to continue my eval. As you build your understanding of the problems and define a solution path, your ability to set delivery dates will become possible. That is what I expect at some point in the near future. People might not inundate your support teams with Nth time feature requests. Lots of eyes on this. And thanks to the volunteers who are monitoring the forums, your vigilance is helpful. Keep that Scout Spirit alive! @Joe Winkelmann - thanks for posting your eval issues, I concur. There does need to be a conversation about rights/permissions. And reporting needs are core to running a Troop - especially as rechartering and JTE deadlines are rapidly approaching!

updated 10 years ago

Pending Approval

OK, I know this is a volunteer run organization for the most part, but in my business if I make a promise to communicate - that promise has to be kept. I am in the middle of evaluating SB, but as we all know, SB has issues. I'm looking for some clear communication from Bob. Not glossy coating, or I Have a Dream stuff, we get the future vision. I'm looking for realistic timeframes for the work you are doing. If it is a matter of saying "Bug fixes will continue for the next 14 days", that is it, I'll come back in 14 days to continue my eval. As you build your understanding of the problems and define a solution path, your ability to set delivery dates will become possible. That is what I expect at some point in the near future. People might not inundate your support teams with Nth time feature requests. Lots of eyes on this. And thanks to the volunteers who are monitoring the forums, your vigilance is helpful. Keep that Scout Spirit alive! @Joe Winkelmann - thanks for posting your eval issues, I concur. There does need to be a conversation about rights/permissions. And reporting needs are core to running a Troop - especially as rechartering and JTE deadlines are rapidly approaching!

Update

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10 years ago

Doug DeMeritt

The response time last night November 2nd was horrific. This is the first time I experienced the problem since you made the changes to make things better concerned that you have spent weeks addressing this and it was the worst I have noticed.

Pending Approval

The response time last night November 2nd was horrific. This is the first time I experienced the problem since you made the changes to make things better concerned that you have spent weeks addressing this and it was the worst I have noticed.

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