An Actual Human Answered

[StephanieJC]

So I followed the ridiculous chain of prompts (see below) and after holding for 20 minutes, connected with an actual tech human. I had to describe the problem for maybe 15 minutes (over and over again) before they understood what I was talking about - and even if my communication skills are lacking that seems a long time - but once they got it, I had a solution to my issue.

I will say, I don't use tech support a lot, but when I do, it's because I've noodled around for a significant amount of time on the site and wasn't able to find a solution. My issue was figuring out all the steps needed to remove external links from the list, not just archiving the page, but getting the no-longer used link off of our now VERY long list. 

Reposting the Support Tree that was posted here earlier:

800-920-3897

1 support

1 New Case 

2 Open case (tree may be different than previously)

9 Other

7 School Messenger support

2 School Messenger Presence (Civic Live)

You will have the option to ask them to call you back.

[harmss]

Thank you for the post. This is the worst tech support I have been involved with in the last 17 years.  Just horrible!

[supirozz]

Hi Stephanie. I am sharing your frustration in trying to get support for SchoolMessenger. I have submitted cases in the Community, emailed, and called, more than once, and I'm no closer to getting help. Today I tried Live Chat and got nowhere. I understand this is new - that PowerSchool has just taken over SchoolMessenger, but this is really frustrating. 

[JyotishkaB]

Hi @StephanieJC 

Would you please confirm if you are still facing any issue while trying to access support in the community?

 @harmss We are sorry to hear that you are facing inconvenience. Would you please let us know what issue you are facing?

@supirozz You can access the B2C case/chat form for SchoolMessenger by:

• Clicking on this link or directly clicking on the Support tab on the Community homepage.
• Scrolling down to the “Teachers, Families, and Applicants” section on the Support page.
• Clicking on the SchoolMessenger tab as shown in the screenshot below.

• This will lead you to the B2C case form where you can view ScoolMessenger under the product dropdown.

[StephanieJC]

I just waited for over 10 minutes attempting to chat with support, so no. Powerschool support isn't the powerhouse it should be.

[StephanieJC]

So it's a day+ later and this morning I received confirmation that my question had been received. No one has reached out to answer it. This is ridiculous. It's certainly neither customer service nor tech support anymore.

[StephanieJC]

@Jyotishka B

Many of us who are on this chain have gone from having had a helpful little question mark (in my case) on our websites, where if we really needed help in the moment - which is generally the case, we could reach someone quickly and more often than not, find the answer to our question. And by the way, those of us who are complaining are in varying degrees, web professionals, not parents or children who have little experience with website technology. We have gone from being well supported to a position where we might get a call back on a tech issue within 24 hours if we are lucky. I put in for support 10 minutes ago and haven't received as much as a confirmation that I sent anything, so who knows?

I also know that my account exec has been moved. I'd reached out to him in early January to voice some of these issues and he was surprised that the new account exec hadn't contacted me yet. Sadly, I'm not.

[supirozz]

Thank you, Jyptishka. That is what I did - three times, and a fourth this morning. I have yet to receive any sort of reply. I called this morning - for the third time - and got a terrific support person I have worked with before. She helped me through the initial work I needed to do and set up a case number for me. I now await the Tier 2 support team. I absolutely understand that there will be some glitches as the PowerSchool transition occurs, but I have been beyond frustrated that I have contacted the company several times - not just once or twice - and have not gotten any response. I am hopeful I am on the way to finishing this important project. Thank you!

[JyotishkaB]

Hi @supirozz 

We regret that you are facing such inconvenience. We have reached out to the product team and we see your cases has been assigned you our Tier 2 support agents. They should be reaching out to you soon for further investigation.

[supirozz]

Thank you, Jyotishka. I received an email that said 'we have submitted this request for additional services to have a quote generated' and I'd be hearing back. So I'm still waiting but I'm hopeful this is moving forward. I did submit another case because we have a data file that's not being imported, so a repeating broadcast is not happening. I have not yet gotten confirmation that this case has been received. I hope to hear from someone on that issue soon. Again, thank you. I appreciate your looking into this for me! 

[JyotishkaB]

Hi @StephanieJC , @supirozz , @harmss 

We understand that many of you are facing delays in receiving support, especially with the increased volume of requests due to upcoming DMARC changes and other factors. We want to express our sincere apologies for any frustration this may have caused.

Please know that your concerns are our top priority, and we are fully committed to delivering a better experience for you. Our support team is actively working on adjusting our processes to ensure quicker responses, with a focus on addressing critical issues first.

Your patience during this time is truly appreciated, and we want to assure you that we are dedicated to resolving all open cases submitted by our customers. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

[supirozz]

I have heard back on two of my three requests, and I have talked with a support team member about the third. The support members are very kind and working so hard to get back to everyone. I know they are doing their best.  It is my hope that PowerSchool continues to work on ironing out the wrinkles and get us back to the service we received prior to the acquisition. Hang in there, everyone. Help is coming! 

[ehoisington]

Good Morning,

Recently, several support issues were submitted -- one of which was Case Number 07616557 -- that has been passed to the Services Team. As of today, I have not heard from that team regarding that case.

We are in the middle of an Office of Civil Rights complaint and auditing all of our webpages. As a result of this audit, several other support needs have been discovered. Some background, we launched  our new refreshed SchoolMessenger Presence sites (the district site and 22 school sites) November 27 just a few days after receiving an OCR complaint. We have until March 5th to complete an audit on all pages and until May 5th to make the necessary changes.

The support items needed are outlined in the attached document. As we were working through the design process with the Design Team, Mr. Sean Setiawan, the  Project Coordinator, requested change items in an outlined format. Please let me know if you have any questions or if this is not the process for submitting support needs. Thank you.

[KritiS]

Hi @ehoisington @RobertZ2

Our Support Team is diligently engaged in enhancing our procedures to guarantee swifter responses and give priority to the resolution of critical issues. Given the heightened volume of cases stemming from DMARC changes, I trust that the following article will assist you in effecting the necessary adjustments: " Important Changes Required for Email Deliverability"

In the interim, you may opt for "Use Default Email," employing the SchoolMessenger email as a temporary workaround. Your understanding and cooperation are greatly appreciated. We sincerely appreciate your understanding and ongoing support.

[RobertZ2]

I had opened a case on January 22 and am no closer to finding the solution to my problem. I need to update the PowerSchool sync data that imports into school messenger, but this is a file that they have to modify.

I am pretty patient when it comes to requesting and receiving support, but is now has been two weeks since I contacted James Montoya for an update on Case 07646031, to which I have yet to receive a response. I called in to get an update, spoke to someone briefly, was put back on hold for 45 mins. To which then the call disconnected I assume to some kind of time out. I need to get this figured out and it seems that as soon as powerschool acquires a company, support drops off. This is a sentiment shared by many of the districts I have talked to.