I've had my Smuggy account for a year now and it's been very stable. This week though I've encountered two downtimes... both times the Smug Techs were on top of it and got things fixed.
This has been going on now for several months, not several weeks. Conservatively 80% of the times I have tried to load photos it has either been down or goes down.
I'm glad you are happy with the service you are receiving. Many of us are not.
As to the request for improvements, there are many things that the owners of smugmug have been promising for months and in some cases years and nothing ever happens. They are service company that is not performing, does not offer some very basic services that many pros need, period. No need to blame the customers....
What pisses me off is you'd think they have a REDIRECT Server that at LEAST takes you to a "Site is down, check back later" PAGE so that my CLIENTS don't think I've given them a wrong URL and they never return. Last time this happened after a GAME when I told clients pics would be up at a certain time and what do you know, site was down for a while.
I've had my Smuggy account for a year now and it's been very stable. This week though I've encountered two downtimes... both times the Smug Techs were on top of it and got things fixed.
People bombard the forums asking the team at SmugMug to give them tons of improvements... they complain about how long it takes to get them. Then when the team works on getting things done and the site goes down they complain even more. No site is perfect no matter how much you pay for it. Sites got down, power outages happen, it's life.
If you want bright and shiny things then you have to sit through all the polishing that's needed to produce a gem. Smug is definitely a gem worth waiting for.
...and people complaining because it impacts their livelihood is a fact of life. Get used to it!
They don't always stop to say why things are broke because they often don't know yet. I would much rather they spend their time getting it fixed. You know the site is down because... well its down... They really don't know when it will be back up until the problem is fixed. Stopping to update the status blog takes them away from doing that. I would prefer they continue working on the problem. Normally Andy is online to help post updates. But he is away this week.
I'm sorry to disagree, Doc. Customer satisfaction should be Job #1. No excuse for lack of communication to customers in my view especially when down-time effects the bottom line...
...and people complaining because it impacts their livelihood is a fact of life. Get used to it!
Do you tell that to your customers when you have technical issues?
A person makes a choice whether to sit and be a crankmeister and complain or to laugh things off and be positive. I think complaining is a waste of time. Life is too short to get all bent out of shape over things you can't control. I'm sitting on 800 photos that need to be uploaded. Fretting, complaining and whining isn't going to make the site come up any faster. Perhaps you need a juice box and a cookie?
Do you tell that to your customers when you have technical issues?
A person makes a choice whether to sit and be a crankmeister and complain or to laugh things off and be positive. I think complaining is a waste of time. Life is too short to get all bent out of shape over things you can't control. I'm sitting on 800 photos that need to be uploaded. Fretting, complaining and whining isn't going to make the site come up any faster. Perhaps you need a juice box and a cookie?
I agree, I'm not complaining, they just need to have a redirect to a Temporary down page instead of possible customers seeing a 500 error.
D'oh! I hope the wedding gallery upload that I restarted this morning (it stopped at 108 of 350 sometime last night for some reason) was finished before the site went down....although I doubt it. I guess it will be time for take three when I get home tonight. Good thing I told the clients two weeks for their online gallery to be ready-the wedding was last Saturday, and at this rate, it will be two weeks before I get all the photos uploaded.
I will echo the sentiment of others and cross my fingers that the maintenance window scheduled for tonight is to roll out coupons-pretty please?
I've tried Pictage, and I hate them, don't like ExposureMangager, and I don't want to move thousands of photos to another host, but excessive downtime makes me look bad.
I'm sorry to disagree, Doc. Customer satisfaction should be Job #1. No excuse for lack of communication to customers in my view expecially when down-time effects the bottom line...
How many other companies do you deal with where the CEO, COO, and other employees directly answer your questions and concerns?
It is a pain in the butt when the system is down, but come on... Name me another large company that grants the masses instant contact.
Site Down page
And another vote for a friendly-site's down, try again later page. Especially if it was in the humorous style of SmugMug that I love so much would really be much friendlier than Internal Server Error.
Question for Doc
Doc...I've been uploading hundreds of photos all night while I was sleeping and now find that the site is down. Fine I can deal with that...I deal with technology every day and understand that sometimes sh**t just happens, but sound planning could certainly better circumvent such issues.
My status still shows that my photos are uploading...can I feel confident that my pics are in fact uploading or will I need to start the process all over again starting back from the point of failure?
Been a customer for almost 2 years now.. I love the site, but like stated before, when the down time is there it is a pain. One thing they NEED to have is that page that says there is downtime or something. I have had 2 calls already since 9 about not being able to get onto the site. That is how I knew it was down. And it has been alot lately. I like being able to customize my smug, and all of that, but I am about to give way to a free per year place (only charge for what you sell) for the pictures and use a blog. And on the updates and such for items, we have been asking for at least the almost 2 years I have been here for coupons and such. There are other places out there with them, and I will just have to weigh the pros and cons. There is one place that has all the photo items I want, plus coupons, packages and email marketiing.. I am thinking when this yr is up, we are going to jump ship.. Even though I LOVE the look of our site. Smug mug has ALOT of catching up to do for us to stay. I know one wont make a difference to them, but this is how I feel.
I'm sorry to disagree, Doc. Customer satisfaction should be Job #1. No excuse for lack of communication to customers in my view especially when down-time effects the bottom line...
Steve, I fully agree. But, there is a lag between when we realize that there is a problem, resources get in place to investigate, and take action. I was expressing my personal opinion that I would rather they focus on fixing the problem. I personally cannot update the status blog. But I came here as soon as I could to see if I could help and provide information as I can.
I really do apologize if I am not doing that. :cry
Hope up soon
Thanks for the reply on status. I have a prospective client who will be doing a drive by this afternoon to my new site. Won't help if it's down.
John, Sorry... I have no idea yet if uploads are effected. You will need to check the upload log once the site is back online to see if they are processing. I wish I knew more..
I don't know what parts of the site are effected yet. We do normally have a notice up when the site goes offline. So this problem is probably effecting it as well. We also did in the past have a 'site down' page that would come up in certain downtimes. But some users were not happy with it. I have not seen that in a long time. I am not sure if it was removed, or it just does not come up due to the types of issues we have seen.
I just tried accessing my site and all I get is a blank page. At least a redirect saying the host site is down and will be back online shortly should be in use. This really is bad news for me as I left my portable HD at home and need to download something from my site.
Wow. Figures. I just spoke with an old college friend, from 25 years ago, who is in charge of hiring freelancer designers and photographers at the ad agency she works at, last night. She saw some of my pics on Facebook and was interested in seeing my portfolio. She was going to have a look this AM when she got to work. Well doesn't that just bite! I am going to look "not so good" this AM, I'm thinking.
Chill
It is inconvenient to have our sites down. You can be sure they are working hard to fix it. All the stress and complaining is doing no good to speed things up. If we stay positive the engineers will stay positive. Who wants to help a bunch of whiners? If a bunch of people leave and SmugMug gets tired of the complaining, we may all be looking for a new host! It could happen. This costs them money too, you can be sure. Would you be in a hurry to help your photo clients if they were complaining about everything? I have nicely told possible clients to find another photographer because I obviously couldn't meet their needs. It cost me money but in the end it saved my sanity.
I uploaded a portrait session early this morning. Emailed the client saying it was up. They just emailed me that they couldn't get on the site. I replied my site host was working out some technical issues and I would let them know as soon as it was back up. They said thanks for keeping them informed.
i don't think anybody is saying they don't appreciate the ceo/coo/xyz answering posts on dgrin. but as another user pointed out... the site "seems" like it has been down a lot this year. not to mention occasional slow loading times. smuggy seems to know it. let's just hope it gets fixed... fast
i don't think anybody is saying they don't appreciate the ceo/coo/xyz answering posts on dgrin. but as another user pointed out... the site "seems" like it has been down a lot this year. not to mention occasional slow loading times. smuggy seems to know it. let's just hope it gets fixed... fast
It has been down a lot lately. I'm wondering if they are out growing themselves. Even the email replies to the help line have seemed slow to me lately. Or, maybe they had to take it down to surprise us with the launch of the coupons! . Yeah, probably not:nah
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Another thing...
Keep in mind. When you make the sudden and angry remarks and sign your website address below your comments, it will eventually appear under a Google search for you or your site. Do you want your clients seeing this?
Comments
This has been going on now for several months, not several weeks. Conservatively 80% of the times I have tried to load photos it has either been down or goes down.
I'm glad you are happy with the service you are receiving. Many of us are not.
As to the request for improvements, there are many things that the owners of smugmug have been promising for months and in some cases years and nothing ever happens. They are service company that is not performing, does not offer some very basic services that many pros need, period. No need to blame the customers....
Last Wordpress report states: "A critical part of our infrastructure failed this morning and its backup is having issues as well."
Sounds serious. Could take awhile. Don't hold breath!
Steve
www.LateSky.com
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Yes, this needs to happen!
Steve
www.LateSky.com
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...and people complaining because it impacts their livelihood is a fact of life. Get used to it!
There is a read only mode that is used most of the time. Granted it is spotty also, but it is much better than the blank error message
Website
I'm sorry to disagree, Doc. Customer satisfaction should be Job #1. No excuse for lack of communication to customers in my view especially when down-time effects the bottom line...
Steve
www.LateSky.com
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Do you tell that to your customers when you have technical issues?
A person makes a choice whether to sit and be a crankmeister and complain or to laugh things off and be positive. I think complaining is a waste of time. Life is too short to get all bent out of shape over things you can't control. I'm sitting on 800 photos that need to be uploaded. Fretting, complaining and whining isn't going to make the site come up any faster. Perhaps you need a juice box and a cookie?
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I agree, I'm not complaining, they just need to have a redirect to a Temporary down page instead of possible customers seeing a 500 error.
Valley Sports Pics
I will echo the sentiment of others and cross my fingers that the maintenance window scheduled for tonight is to roll out coupons-pretty please?
I've tried Pictage, and I hate them, don't like ExposureMangager, and I don't want to move thousands of photos to another host, but excessive downtime makes me look bad.
How many other companies do you deal with where the CEO, COO, and other employees directly answer your questions and concerns?
It is a pain in the butt when the system is down, but come on... Name me another large company that grants the masses instant contact.
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http://dustifer.smugmug.com/
And another vote for a friendly-site's down, try again later page. Especially if it was in the humorous style of SmugMug that I love so much would really be much friendlier than Internal Server Error.
Doc...I've been uploading hundreds of photos all night while I was sleeping and now find that the site is down. Fine I can deal with that...I deal with technology every day and understand that sometimes sh**t just happens, but sound planning could certainly better circumvent such issues.
My status still shows that my photos are uploading...can I feel confident that my pics are in fact uploading or will I need to start the process all over again starting back from the point of failure?
Thanks,
John
Website
Steve, I fully agree. But, there is a lag between when we realize that there is a problem, resources get in place to investigate, and take action. I was expressing my personal opinion that I would rather they focus on fixing the problem. I personally cannot update the status blog. But I came here as soon as I could to see if I could help and provide information as I can.
I really do apologize if I am not doing that. :cry
http://help.smugmug.com
Sounds like my experience is echoed by others. Has the company communicated anything here or elsewhere we can access?
Thanks for the reply on status. I have a prospective client who will be doing a drive by this afternoon to my new site. Won't help if it's down.
I don't know what parts of the site are effected yet. We do normally have a notice up when the site goes offline. So this problem is probably effecting it as well. We also did in the past have a 'site down' page that would come up in certain downtimes. But some users were not happy with it. I have not seen that in a long time. I am not sure if it was removed, or it just does not come up due to the types of issues we have seen.
http://help.smugmug.com
www.kvtphotography.com
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It is inconvenient to have our sites down. You can be sure they are working hard to fix it. All the stress and complaining is doing no good to speed things up. If we stay positive the engineers will stay positive. Who wants to help a bunch of whiners? If a bunch of people leave and SmugMug gets tired of the complaining, we may all be looking for a new host! It could happen. This costs them money too, you can be sure. Would you be in a hurry to help your photo clients if they were complaining about everything? I have nicely told possible clients to find another photographer because I obviously couldn't meet their needs. It cost me money but in the end it saved my sanity.
I uploaded a portrait session early this morning. Emailed the client saying it was up. They just emailed me that they couldn't get on the site. I replied my site host was working out some technical issues and I would let them know as soon as it was back up. They said thanks for keeping them informed.
Chill guys and gals who are bent. Please?
http://www.cardensmith.com
Rich Mar Photography - Sydney Family Photographer
Rich Mar Photography Blog
Not sure if you saw this post before or not. Don, our CEO specifically addresses some of this. http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=144337
http://help.smugmug.com
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D3, D700, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 VR, 50 f1/8, 200-400 VR f/4, 300/2.8 VR, 400 f/2.8 VR, 85 f/1.8, TC-14E II, TC-17E II, Sigma 15/2.8 Fisheye, SB-900 (2), SD-9, SB-600, AB800 (2), misc. other stuff
Keep in mind. When you make the sudden and angry remarks and sign your website address below your comments, it will eventually appear under a Google search for you or your site. Do you want your clients seeing this?
Sorry for the trouble and hassle today, folks
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