Cynthia Ford
03-28-2001, 01:23 PM
Originally posted by Donald L Jones
Responses to my questions have been in the past prompt and very helpful.
Maybe with the new forum design our requests can be given more attention. This is a good organization, so try to stick with them and hope for the best.
Smiles
Donald Jones
To All:
1) Donald's reply is accurate. Our reputation for answering email has a history of being prompt. So let's continue with that belief and confidence that whatever has occurred on an individual/personal level should be the exception and not the rule;
2) Everyone needs to read the Announcements that are posted from time to time, in addition to checking the Technical Help Forum for additional news. It appears very few have the "answer" to their lack of email response, but the facts are there:
a) The hosting company that IPIU has used for the past year has consistently had other clients on the same-shared server that created multiple email problems. When an email is sent to IPIU, the server redirects the email to the appropriate department for a response. The server we were assigned to failed numerous times in the past year to perform, and the emails ended up being deleted without our knowledge. Our new hosting company (which was announced on the forum a few weeks back) has a better track record, and the emails have been redirected appropriately. That is the good news;
b) You will notice that all inbound emails are delivered to ipiu.org , and the outbound emails you receive come from yahoo.com . The reason for this is that Yahoo has an excellent history of delivering outbound emails and is very rarely down. Two weeks ago, the entire Northeast United States that was connected to Quest and MCI WorldCom Internet went down for 8 hours. Yet Yahoo stayed up because they are connected directly to the Internet and do not rely on any other source company for connection. Yahoo is simply the best. That is why we recommend IPIU members obtaining a free email at Yahoo versus Hotmail or any other email supplier.
That said, to our shock... Yahoo went down during our server relocation several times in the last two weeks! What does this mean? Simply that if you sent an email to a department located at ipiu.org , and the new email server correctly delivered it to IPIU's staff, who in turn promptly answered your email by posting it at the outbound yahoo.com server, then your email response never got delivered.
Solution:
1) Resend any emails you did not receive an answer to;
2) Make sure you address your emails to the correct department. If you address an Agent Relations question to the Technical Support Department, then don't expect them to forward it or respond to the misaddressed email.
Departments:
For general personal file and membership questions:
agentrelations@ipiu.org
For benefits questions:
benefits@ipiu.org
For Technical Forum Support:
technical@ipiu.org
For "Contact Us" (which is for the PI Forum):
forums@ipiu.org
For follow-up on assigned agencies:
(Address your email to the agency email given you in your letter)
Fail Safe Solution:
Call Agent Relations directly at 613-962-5358, Monday through Thursday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time. Most members purchase an inexpensive calling card at 4-5 cents a minute, and the time it takes to answer basic file questions is approximately 5-7 minutes (including being on hold), which can amount to about 35 cents a call.
The new telephone system at the office now shuts down after hours to save you money on your long distance. Last year they had an after hours announcement that stated the office hours and email. That ended up costing members a call. Now it just rings with no answer to save you the cost.
During office hours, if all the lines are tied up, you will receive a busy signal (which costs you nothing to make the call). Once in a while when a representative takes a short break, the call may go to an announcment greeting that states you can either email or call IPIU's 24-hr voice mail line to leave a detailed message.
With all the technology, nothing is 100% perfect. But IPIU has over a ten year record of being responsive to all inquiries. Give them the benefit of your patience and enthusiasm.
Cynthia
Responses to my questions have been in the past prompt and very helpful.
Maybe with the new forum design our requests can be given more attention. This is a good organization, so try to stick with them and hope for the best.
Smiles
Donald Jones
To All:
1) Donald's reply is accurate. Our reputation for answering email has a history of being prompt. So let's continue with that belief and confidence that whatever has occurred on an individual/personal level should be the exception and not the rule;
2) Everyone needs to read the Announcements that are posted from time to time, in addition to checking the Technical Help Forum for additional news. It appears very few have the "answer" to their lack of email response, but the facts are there:
a) The hosting company that IPIU has used for the past year has consistently had other clients on the same-shared server that created multiple email problems. When an email is sent to IPIU, the server redirects the email to the appropriate department for a response. The server we were assigned to failed numerous times in the past year to perform, and the emails ended up being deleted without our knowledge. Our new hosting company (which was announced on the forum a few weeks back) has a better track record, and the emails have been redirected appropriately. That is the good news;
b) You will notice that all inbound emails are delivered to ipiu.org , and the outbound emails you receive come from yahoo.com . The reason for this is that Yahoo has an excellent history of delivering outbound emails and is very rarely down. Two weeks ago, the entire Northeast United States that was connected to Quest and MCI WorldCom Internet went down for 8 hours. Yet Yahoo stayed up because they are connected directly to the Internet and do not rely on any other source company for connection. Yahoo is simply the best. That is why we recommend IPIU members obtaining a free email at Yahoo versus Hotmail or any other email supplier.
That said, to our shock... Yahoo went down during our server relocation several times in the last two weeks! What does this mean? Simply that if you sent an email to a department located at ipiu.org , and the new email server correctly delivered it to IPIU's staff, who in turn promptly answered your email by posting it at the outbound yahoo.com server, then your email response never got delivered.
Solution:
1) Resend any emails you did not receive an answer to;
2) Make sure you address your emails to the correct department. If you address an Agent Relations question to the Technical Support Department, then don't expect them to forward it or respond to the misaddressed email.
Departments:
For general personal file and membership questions:
agentrelations@ipiu.org
For benefits questions:
benefits@ipiu.org
For Technical Forum Support:
technical@ipiu.org
For "Contact Us" (which is for the PI Forum):
forums@ipiu.org
For follow-up on assigned agencies:
(Address your email to the agency email given you in your letter)
Fail Safe Solution:
Call Agent Relations directly at 613-962-5358, Monday through Thursday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time. Most members purchase an inexpensive calling card at 4-5 cents a minute, and the time it takes to answer basic file questions is approximately 5-7 minutes (including being on hold), which can amount to about 35 cents a call.
The new telephone system at the office now shuts down after hours to save you money on your long distance. Last year they had an after hours announcement that stated the office hours and email. That ended up costing members a call. Now it just rings with no answer to save you the cost.
During office hours, if all the lines are tied up, you will receive a busy signal (which costs you nothing to make the call). Once in a while when a representative takes a short break, the call may go to an announcment greeting that states you can either email or call IPIU's 24-hr voice mail line to leave a detailed message.
With all the technology, nothing is 100% perfect. But IPIU has over a ten year record of being responsive to all inquiries. Give them the benefit of your patience and enthusiasm.
Cynthia