[Psml] FW: Barriers to Registration

Tue Jul 7 12:56:48 EDT 2009

Lets let the customer choose the option they want.

Force the class/seminar coordinator to adapt to the custoer's preferance

Markus

Date: Tue, 7 Jul 2009 12:26:43 -0400
To: markusritter at hotmail.com
From: dtb at usps.org
Subject: RE: [Psml] FW:  Barriers to Registration
CC: psml at usps.org

Just seems strange to describe a voluntary/optional service
as blocked when you don't choose to use it.

Cheers,

Dan

At 09:36 AM 7/7/2009, Markus Ritter wrote:

Dear Dan

The word block is used because some people are too shy to use e-mail or
phones to register for a public boating course or a public seminar, yet
they are perfectly comfortable with an optonal, on-line form.

When listing a public course or seminar on the HQ-800 form one has to
activly check a box to enable on-line registration to prevent blocking
that feature.  

You can say that I am in favor of opening as many ways as practical to
get through the eye of the needle.

Sincerely yours and thanks for all you do.

Markus Ritter AP

Door County

America's Boating Course from
America's Boating Club

click where the cursor turns into a hand.

Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:38:14 -0400

From: dtb at usps.org

Subject: Re: [Psml] FW: Barriers to Registration

CC: psml at usps.org

To: markusritter at hotmail.com

I have been following this whole thing with a bit of confusion since this
is all my software.

First of all what is the "block" option?  I don't have a
clue.

The way the software works is there is a system called the 800 system
which lets squadrons list their courses online.  If they want online
registration for the course they check a box which says "Allow
online registration".  If they don't want it they don't check
it.  Also when they list a course there is a required field for
course contact and a field for telephone number and a field for email
address.  You have to pick a minimum of one.

Then there is a locate a class near you page which allows the public to
find a course.  The easiest and preferred method is by their zip
code.  They get back a list sorted by distance between their zip
code and the zip code of where the class is given.  Part of the
information displayed is the contact name and telephone and email
depending on what they entered.  No email address provided, no email
address shown.  If the class was listed with online registration and
the contact had an email address listed, there is a link to the online
registration form which will be emailed to the contact after the
potential student fills it out.

What am I missing?  What is this blocked stuff all about?

Cheers,

Dan

At 11:33 AM 7/5/2009, Kristi W. Anderson wrote:

As much as I agree that no one should be blocked, you would be amazed
at all
the road blocks national (that means every department) hits when we
try to
implement something to make the squadrons better.  Some: sqd
barely
surviving so no volunteer has a PC; personalities don't allow the
change as
"this is the way we always did it" (ex: increasing of dues
at district
level); not feasible in this area of the country (ex: how the
calculations
for awards are handled); etc.  Thus everything done at national
has a
contingency - the squadron gets to choose (ex: the way they handle
dues).
This is great!  But, it causes a lot of extra work and in this
case
development.  Point is, if National IT offers a new feature,
there is always
one squadron that is surviving with folks who do not have a desire to
have a
computer, have 5 people in the sqd and barely call themselves a
squadron,
but love USPS.  Therefore, this is affecting everyone. As stated
before,
maybe before we complain, we can offer a suggested resolution with
the
problem.  In this case, add a text line "If your SEO does
not have email,
and there is no one else in the squadron that is willing or able to
use
theirs for this purpose, then choose the "block"
option."  I do highly
recommend the forward/blind email address as mentioned before. 
But this
text line would help to explain why it is done this way.  PS -
some
squadrons will read this and then start using this as an excuse (not
wanting
the gen public emailing them.)  Yeah, we have heard it
all.  :-)  But we
keep trying to better the process and help the squadrons
regardless.

Kristi Anderson
IT Committee

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P/C Dan Bartell, SN  

SEO - Shallotte River Sail & Power Squadron - D27 (NC)

Member USPS National Information Technology Committee  

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_______________________________________________

P/C Dan Bartell, SN  

SEO - Shallotte River Sail & Power Squadron - D27 (NC)

Member USPS National Information Technology Committee 

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