posted on October 5, 2002 05:30:53 PM new
Question One
Scenario:
A customer checks out using AW checkout. I have my settings set to automatically import winning bidders into my Customers folder. The customer provides name, address, etc. when checking out, yet when I go to my customers folder, all that is there for that customer is an email address and the basic auction info (title, cost).
Do I have to RE-ENTER the customer data for every customer, after they have already provided the data?
Question Two
I understood I could export my customer data to have locally. Yet I can not find any way to do that. Can I and how?
1. Where are you entering that information again? It is true, the customers section does not store any personal information, other than the email address.
2. There are no exporting tools available for the customers database at this time.
posted on October 7, 2002 10:09:55 AM new
If you go to the customers folder and click on any customer, you'll find screens for the customer data entry.
Since the customer data is collected by AW at checkout, and since AW already knows the customer email at checkout and already has the cutomer by email address in the customers folder, it's not a big jump to assume it would add the name and address info collected at checkout, as would be expected of any intelligent web application.
AW excels at so many things, I'm surprised this was overlooked. The customer data is obviously already stored with the transaction record in the AW database, since I can go back to the order and see it at any time. It's a matter of simply associating a common unique record field for each, I'll assume table(customers and sale trasaction), in this case the email address is the common unique record (it has to be stored for both) and propogating the customer data from the sale transaction record to the customer folder records.
Secondly. The customer data are my customers, I am shocked to find that AW keeps it in a AW PROPRIETARY format that does NOT allow me to download or access MY customer data in any was other than that controlled by AW. HOW do I get MY customer data locally?
posted on October 7, 2002 10:12:41 AM new
Hi Sourcefactor,
Due to privacy issues, only the email address can be imported. If you like I can put in a suggestion with Product Development regarding this behavior.
The only other way to export your customer data is to archive your closed auctions, and download the archive to your hard drive. You can then open the archive in Excel, and obtain the emails for your customers.
Thanks for the information regarding archiving and downloading.
As far as the first response, it makes absolutely no sense to me. How can there be a privacy issue with securely displaying the name and address, currently avialable only to my account, within one section of the site (the post sale order) and not displaying within another secure section of the site available only to me (customers folder)?
posted on October 7, 2002 10:55:33 AM new
Hi Sourcefactor,
Because you can have other customers join your mailing list as well as your winning bidders, and you can also add them yourself (you can do this if you have the mailing list field in your store, you would just keep entering in the customer's email address), it is limited to just the email address of the person. It becomes a privacy issue, and a SPAM issue, to import addresses there -- even if they are already existing in your post sale section.
posted on October 7, 2002 01:14:29 PM new
Sonya, that still makes no sense to me. Could you explain? Your responses in quotes below:
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"Because you can have other customers join your mailing list as well as your winning bidders,"
Unless persons other than myself have access to the mailing list, there's absolutely no logic to this response.
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"and you can also add them yourself (you can do this if you have the mailing list field in your store, you would just keep entering in the customer's email address), it is limited to just the email address of the person."
It is not limited to just the email address of the person. I can click on any customer and add the information manually.
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"It becomes a privacy issue, and a SPAM issue, to import addresses there -- even if they are already existing in your post sale section."
Since no one has access to my customers folder but me, and the name and address are information I already have, there is again no logical, legal or business case issue to support your statement. Is AuctionWatch using this customer information for ANY purpose other than the normal course of MY business? Is AuctionWatch allowing anyone other than myself or employees of AW access to that data?
If the answer to both are no, then there is no justification I can understand for your statement.
