Anyone Else Confused {SL}

[kolamum]

So.. they had the site down for ages, which is odd to me entirely. Being married to a web designed we were both confused by the entire craziness of that. In all the years dh's been doing web design he's never had to make a site inactive to update it it's a simple switchover that can be done with a couple button clicks. But anyway...

 

They kept changing the hour it would be done.. & when it's FINALLY up all the samples are the OLD cores?! What the heck is up with that?! I'd really LOVE to scream about it right now.

 

It probably doesn't help that I ordered our updated Core E shortly before they released the info about the new ones. I didn't sweat it, I figured I'd simply just update it compare the two & move forward. BUT, we're not in the states so our school year is greatly different & we should have started our SL last month, it only showed up YESTERDAY. I figure, Oh well I'll just download the new samples & move forward while we wait on the backordered cores to be shipped.

 

Are they actually backordered because they haven't finished them enough to even release a 3 week schedule?!?! Anyone else as frustrated & confused as I am? All that toying with us about the changes & now we can't even view them?! Pfffft.. Can I go back to bed and start over now. :lol:

[truebluexf]

I saw that too. After all that! Not ready! Pffft.

[kolamum]

So glad it's not just me. I've got smoke pouring out my ears right now. :lol: I know it's a stupid thing to get up in arms about, but when my school year was suppose to start last month and it hasn't yet it's kinda really frustrating..

[PentecostalMom]

It said this morning the site would be up by 6pm mountain time. If I am thinking correctly (in my exhausted state) it is not yet that time, but will be very soon! I am being patient. :001_smile: Last year when they switched to the new catalog I think it took longer than they anticipated as well. Or maybe that was the year before? They all start to run together after awhile....

Edited April 3, 2012 by PentecostalMom

[danybug]

I think that the entire marketing plan and execution of new changes has been poorly thought out and delivered. A company of their size should have done a better job of managing the transition, PR, and time frames. It is as if they totally take their customer base for granted and think they will not be going anywhere.

[Curly]

The website going down for the day so they can update it happens every year. Same with it taking hours longer than they originally planned and the correct samples not being up.

 

It's frustrating and I've learned to avoid them the first week in April while they work the kinks of the annual switch out.

[C.C. in Florida]

I can't even get on the site - it keeps crashing! I'll order in a couple of days.

[truebluexf]

The site is up and running for me. What the OP is discussing is this: http://www.sonlight.com/2012-curriculum-updates.html

[razorbackmama]

I think that the entire marketing plan and execution of new changes has been poorly thought out and delivered. A company of their size should have done a better job of managing the transition, PR, and time frames. It is as if they totally take their customer base for granted and think they will not be going anywhere.

:iagree:

 

I ordered last night because I don't want the new IGs.

[C.C. in Florida]

I can get on but every time I try to checkout, it just hangs indefinately or goes down. I was waiting until tonight to order because I wanted the new IGs. I'll try later.

[ByGrace3]

So which IGs are back ordered? Old or new? Anyone know?

[C.C. in Florida]

Some of the new ones are. According to Sonlight, as of today they will no longer be selling the old ones.

I don't think they are backordered in the typical sense. They have had a chart on their homepage for at least the past week indicating which cores would be available on what dates.

[G5052]

It makes me shake my head too. I used to teach web design at the college level, and SL and another homeschool well-known company obviously rely on "in-house" versus "professional" help. Both are known for dead links, old links, being down for days, etc. etc.

 

If I remember correctly, I was all set to order my first core a decade ago, and they didn't have the IG ready until July.

 

:glare:

[Kathryn]

The time it takes to change over is ridiculous and is every year, not only to get the site up, but working properly. It took a full week for me to be able to place my order last year, and it was still wrong when I got it.

 

And the new IGs aren't backordered, they haven't been written yet.

[kolamum]

I'm glad I'm not alone on the idiocy of taking so long to put the site back up. That stuff should be done beforehand and the new pages switched over after midnight. Being down for hours is foolish.

 

The site was only suppose to be down from 1201 until 4pm That would have been my 7 am. When I got up at 6, it had changed to being down until 5pm MST. When I checked in again at 9, they'd changed it to 6pm MST which would be 10am my time on April 3.

 

The site was up and running but NONE of the samples are the new ones. Not the ones on the site or the 3 week ones you can request, at least not for Core E or Core F, both of the ones I needed to check. :glare:

 

Then I tried to order the new Core E & the site was obviously very busy. By the time it went through SL was down and giving a 404 error. So I've no idea if the order I placed even went through which irritates me even more then the rest of the nonsense. This is my first experience with this kinda stuff with SL & I must honestly say that I'm totally shocked by it. I shouldn't be, but I am. :lol:

 

So now, I have to see if the site is running well enough so I can check my account and see if the $80 transaction went through.. because heaven forbid they charge an actual shipping fee instead of the $31 they are charging me.. *sigh* And the whole backordered.. yeah that has me frustrated because according to all the info they've shared they knew 2 years ago they were updating stuff this year.

 

I know life happens, but really in 2 years they couldn't get these things done before now?! Can I just say I'm REALLY glad I don't run a HS company? ;)

[razorbackmama]

And the new IGs aren't backordered, they haven't been written yet.

:blink::blink::blink:

[kolamum]

FWIW, I am excited about the changes, which is probably why I'm so annoyed. I am REALLY eager to see the changes they made to the two cores I need, samples they didn't release in all the hubbub before April 2nd. ;)

 

On the other hand I'm frustrated because I stress out way too easily. School year being delayed is always irritating. We generally cover more then 36 weeks of school, but I always hate when there's a delay in obtaining our Core because then I feel guilty taking time off down the road for important things like the annual family camping trips we take, out of town guests, etc. Yes, I'm a Type A person who loves to tick boxes. ;)

[Miss Cornelia Snook]

I was surprised to glance at Facebook a moment ago and see them announce that the site was finally live. It's 8 pm mountain time zone there (and here).

 

I'm glad I ordered last week. It shipped this afternoon and I have one kid salivating for box day.

[kolamum]

And the new IGs aren't backordered, they haven't been written yet.

 

Seriously?!?! I guess that explains why there are no samples, but goodness gracious according to the quip I watched & read from Sarita this was in the works 2 years ago. Seems crazy they haven't finished it yet.

 

I suppose they don't consider things like people who live in other countries and my school by different schedules, people who school year round, people who like to have their books/igs well in advanced.. Hmm Makes me wanna drop them a line, but perhaps not until I cool off so I can write it in a polite well meaning manner. ;)

[Lang Syne Boardie]

The time it takes to change over is ridiculous and is every year, not only to get the site up, but working properly. It took a full week for me to be able to place my order last year, and it was still wrong when I got it.

 

And the new IGs aren't backordered, they haven't been written yet.

 

!!!

 

Where can I go to hear more about this? Is it on the forums or sonlight.com?

[C.C. in Florida]

They have the following on their site:

 

 

The entire curriculum line, including all of the 2012 Instructor's Guides will be available for purchase on April 2.

 

The following Instructor's Guides will be ready to ship on April 2: Core IGs P3/4, P4/5, A, B, H, W, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 530; Language Arts IGs 1 and 4-5 (Language Arts is already in the Core IG for P4/5 and D-530); and all Science IGs.

 

However, some of the guides will not be ready for us to ship to you on April 2. The following IGs will be backordered for a short while:

 

You may order the IGs for Core C, Core D, Language Arts K, Language Arts 2 and Language Arts 3 starting April 2, and we will ship them by the end of April (first week of May for Language Arts 3). Starting on April 2, you may download the first 3 weeks of those guides for free at http://www.sonlight.com/3-week-samples.'>http://www.sonlight.com/3-week-samples. If you want to start school right away, simply order your Core and use the downloaded guide until your full IG arrives.

 

You may order the IGs for Cores B+C, D+E, E, F and G starting April 2, and we will ship them by the end of May. But starting on April 2, you may download the first 3 weeks of the Core B+C, D+E and E guides for free at http://www.sonlight.com/3-week-samples. The first 3 weeks of the Core F and G guides will be available for free download by April 20. If you want to start school right away, simply order your Core and use the downloaded guide until your full IG arrives. If you finish the first three weeks of the guide before your full IG arrives, you may contact our Customer Relations team and they will provide you with a PDF of enough weeks to last you until your full IG arrives.

[kolamum]

See, but it says samples for Core E should be up, yes? I can't get them to come up.. or do I have to order the Core in order to obtain the samples. :glare: Either way, I've been trying to order the core for the past 2.5 hours.

 

In which time, because the site is slow I've also covered a half dozen books, cleared the school table off, called dh at work, & read two chapters of HP 2 to my kids.. Wonder what else I can get done. :lol:

[Kathryn]

When people were asking on the forums last week about just how and what parts of the EHE are integrated into the Core F IG now, the answer was that that can't be answered because they won't know until the Core F program is completed, which will occur at the same time the three week sample goes up. It's on the Sonlight forums, Suggestion Box, thread titled "About the integration of the EHE with the Core F Instructor's Guide...". I assume that means that all cores without samples haven't been completed.

[C.C. in Florida]

KolaMum:

 

I think that if you click the link in my post for 3 week samples, it takes you to a page where you put in your name and email, and I guess they will just email it to you????

 

I still can't order either. At this point I really don't want to because I'm afraid the same thing that happened to you will happen to me, and I won't even know if the order went through. Ugghh

[kolamum]

CC, I still can't order either. Says I have stuff in my cart. I'll call them later tonight when they are "open" Surely I can do that.. just hope I don't land on hold for long, if at all, because it'll be an international call. ;)

 

As for the Samples.. Nope, I signed up for the 3 week samples & what they do is email you a link, you follow that and walla. The Core E sample there was still last years. It has several of the books listed in it that they said are removed, it's exactly the same as what I all ready have.

[C.C. in Florida]

That just stinks - both the need for you to call internationally and the stupid last years sample. I am frustrated - I can only imagine how you feel.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

When people were asking on the forums last week about just how and what parts of the EHE are integrated into the Core F IG now, the answer was that that can't be answered because they won't know until the Core F program is completed, which will occur at the same time the three week sample goes up. It's on the Sonlight forums, Suggestion Box, thread titled "About the integration of the EHE with the Core F Instructor's Guide...". I assume that means that all cores without samples haven't been completed.

 

Thanks, I'm a member there so I'll go find the thread. That's really astounding.

[ByGrace3]

I got the core C sample, it is the new one.

[kolamum]

I got the core C sample, it is the new one.

 

Well that seems a little showy! ;) :lol: :grouphug: Only teasing... I wonder if I should try again..

[kolamum]

The site seems to be working now, at least I was able to place my order, but if you click on Core E it says it won't be out until May 6th {backordered until then} I'm wondering if that means the samples won't be out until then.. :confused: I hope they let us know one way or another. ;)

[Colleen]

SL's tech management is wretched. It's ridiculous to have a site down half the day in order to "switch" to the new catalog, but they do it every. single. year. Likewise, they're constantly promising improvements to the site that will make it more user-friendly. Yada yada yada.

 

Re the samples (or lack thereof), SL has become notorious for announcing, with great fanfare, new products that ~ surprise! ~ are still in the works.

 

There's no excuse for these sort of poor business practices ~ and I say that as a customer with a dozen years under my belt.

[boscopup]

The website issues are ridiculous. I agree with the others - it doesn't take hours and hours to change over a website. You simply make your new website in a different directory, pointing to a different database if needed, and switch them out when it's ready to go live. This takes all of 2 seconds. There is also no excuse for having a MONTH LONG teaser to products that aren't completed yet and won't be ready until May! :tongue_smilie:

 

On a good note... The electronic book descriptions are up! They look much better! :D (click on whatever core you want, and to the right of the overview info, there is a link to book descriptions, up near the tabs).

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Just one more thing to add to the drama of SL. I think they enjoy it. I have not known SL to not have some sort of drama associated with their IG's since I started with them. Funny thing is the majority of the discussions I have seen with their dramas has all been negative but the attitude of SL is "We know what we are doing and we know best".:glare:

[Curly]

Just one more thing to add to the drama of SL. I think they enjoy it. I have not known SL to not have some sort of drama associated with their IG's since I started with them. Funny thing is the majority of the discussions I have seen with their dramas has all been negative but the attitude of SL is "We know what we are doing and we know best".:glare:

 

And my personal favorite "Our forum members are a small portion of our customer base. Everyone else loves the changes." :glare:

[ByGrace3]

Well that seems a little showy! ;) :lol: :grouphug: Only teasing... I wonder if I should try again..

 

:lol: just intended to say some are available! ;)

 

The site seems to be working now, at least I was able to place my order, but if you click on Core E it says it won't be out until May 6th {backordered until then} I'm wondering if that means the samples won't be out until then.. :confused: I hope they let us know one way or another.

 

 

The whole idea of it not being completed is ridiculous. I cannot fathom why curriculum companies do this. Why wait until April or May to release a product? Many of us start buying much earlier and something like an IG or book list (thinking of BP) is one of those things you like to start with.

 

Any yes, a month long of slowly leaking information does give the impression they are making it up as they go along...

 

Next year will be our first official year of using SL (well, if you can call what I plan to do o it officially using SL! :lol:(I will be buying and using an IG in some form and fashion, and reading the books.) I am not impressed with the idea of a product that constantly changes. If the product had to be changed so much, dither was what I used not acceptable or good? :confused:

[kolamum]

:lol: just intended to say some are available! ;)

 

:lol: Yes, I went and checked other cores after you said that & they had both the old & the new IG samples up. That seemed odd because I thought you couldn't purchase the old, but anyway, what do I know. ;)

 

And my personal favorite "Our forum members are a small portion of our customer base. Everyone else loves the changes." :glare:

 

I noticed that & thought it was odd.. Having said that, I suspect their forum is really small since they started charging for it, kwim? When i first found it, the board was free, but after they started charging I didn't hang out over there. :lol:

 

The website issues are ridiculous. I agree with the others - it doesn't take hours and hours to change over a website. You simply make your new website in a different directory, pointing to a different database if needed, and switch them out when it's ready to go live. This takes all of 2 seconds. There is also no excuse for having a MONTH LONG teaser to products that aren't completed yet and won't be ready until May! :tongue_smilie:

 

Yes!! Someone who gets it and knows how to do it! Made me wonder if they needed a new IT team or if it was intentional.. who knows. :lol:

[melmichigan]

And my personal favorite "Our forum members are a small portion of our customer base. Everyone else loves the changes." :glare:

 

That one should be written in gold somewhere.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I noticed that & thought it was odd.. Having said that, I suspect their forum is really small since they started charging for it, kwim? When i first found it, the board was free, but after they started charging I didn't hang out over there. :lol:

 

I just checked, their Forum Member number is 32,473. If only half or a third of those members are complaining it is still a large number. To not take notice of that many people or not care...says something about the company.

[Karen in CO]

I'm pretty sure they do more than just put up the new stuff - it is their "maintenance." Databases get patched upgraded, computers get patched and upgraded, web software gets patched and upgraded. I'm pretty sure they don't have a large IT staff to do this. It is very easy for it to go wrong. If they a redundant set of hardware that they could test the upgrade on first and another set to upgrade behind the scenes then do a quit flip over along with a full-time professional staff of database, website and system administrators, SL would have to charge a LOT more to cover the costs. They may be a "big" company in the homeschool world, but they are no where near big enough to support a large enough IT staff to do the things you guys are expecting. Relax. Get some coffee or some chocolate. Pity the poor guy (or girl) trying to get the things working again.

 

(btw - I'm a database administrator who works in a BIG company. )

[Tess in the Burbs]

I think that the entire marketing plan and execution of new changes has been poorly thought out and delivered. A company of their size should have done a better job of managing the transition, PR, and time frames. It is as if they totally take their customer base for granted and think they will not be going anywhere.

 

This. I blasted them last year for the massive website FAIL. I pointed out that other places don't take a site down and keep fixing it as they find issues. They get the site up and working before pushing it out!

 

I haven't bothered to look this year. It will be another FAIL. I suspect they don't have some of the guides done since they can't offer a sample until late April much less ship it until end of May. It's awful. They shouldn't sell something they don't even have. They need to move their due dates up so come April 2nd it would have been ready.

[Kathryn]

This. I blasted them last year for the massive website FAIL. I pointed out that other places don't take a site down and keep fixing it as they find issues. They get the site up and working before pushing it out!

 

I haven't bothered to look this year. It will be another FAIL. I suspect they don't have some of the guides done since they can't offer a sample until late April much less ship it until end of May. It's awful. They shouldn't sell something they don't even have. They need to move their due dates up so come April 2nd it would have been ready.

 

This. Perhaps they're doing website maintenance as well at the same time they're switching catalogs each year, but one has to wonder at the logic of that choice. It sounds like the issues people are having with ordering this year are exactly what I encountered last year.

[Julie of KY]

Same thing happens every year - website down for extended period of time, long wait on new IGs, etc.

[Kathryn]

On a good note... The electronic book descriptions are up! They look much better! :D (click on whatever core you want, and to the right of the overview info, there is a link to book descriptions, up near the tabs).

 

The web page is shorter, but they took the cover images out. The PDF is just as awful.

[C.C. in Florida]

Well since I was so excited to order last night and couldn't, I did some research on Sonlight alternatives. I kind of wish I had found something that I like more, especially now that I know these problems happen every year. But, alas, I will try again today.

 

We will be using Core D, which was the sample Core, so I know that I can print the new 3 week sample.

 

Quick question for you experienced SL users: In the past have the new IGs been ready when promised? i'm a little leary of ordering and then facing delay after delay.

[Curly]

I'm pretty sure they do more than just put up the new stuff - it is their "maintenance." Databases get patched upgraded, computers get patched and upgraded, web software gets patched and upgraded. I'm pretty sure they don't have a large IT staff to do this. It is very easy for it to go wrong. If they a redundant set of hardware that they could test the upgrade on first and another set to upgrade behind the scenes then do a quit flip over along with a full-time professional staff of database, website and system administrators, SL would have to charge a LOT more to cover the costs. They may be a "big" company in the homeschool world, but they are no where near big enough to support a large enough IT staff to do the things you guys are expecting. Relax. Get some coffee or some chocolate. Pity the poor guy (or girl) trying to get the things working again.

 

(btw - I'm a database administrator who works in a BIG company. )

 

There are quite a few companies that manage to update/upgrade their website without causing a huge inconvenience for their customers every single time. Several of those, I know only have 1-2 people on their IT staff. Most companies choose to do this type of maintenance when it will not impact very many customers trying to access their website. Sonlight, on the other hand, has decided 8am - 4pm is the ideal time to change over their website. :confused:

[Shanaudria]

:confused:

I don't post here often, but I read frequently.

 

I, too, was anxiously awaiting SL's new website. I assumed it was going to be REALLY different than before because they took their whole site down for a full day. (Who else does that??)

 

I was shocked when I saw the "new" site. It looks the same as the old site. And I couldn't see samples of the things I was interested in! I thought maybe I was just totally confused.

 

I have used SL lists for years (cores D and E and now F). Next year I was thinking about ordering the full B and G cores. I think I am holding on to my golden 2010 catalog with book descriptions and keep skipping their IG's!:tongue_smilie:

[razorbackmama]

Well since I was so excited to order last night and couldn't, I did some research on Sonlight alternatives. I kind of wish I had found something that I like more, especially now that I know these problems happen every year. But, alas, I will try again today.

The bolded is where I am. I have been eyeballing SL from the sidelines for my entire homeschooling journey (in fact, longer!). So I know full well that this sort of stuff is par for the course. Which makes me not want to use them.

 

However, I can't find anything else that I like as well. If I had more time and energy I would go with my principles and not do business with SL. I guess it's good for them that I'm stressed to the max and that lowering my stress levels takes a higher priority than living by my principles.:glare:

[PentecostalMom]

I'm pretty sure they do more than just put up the new stuff - it is their "maintenance." Databases get patched upgraded, computers get patched and upgraded, web software gets patched and upgraded. I'm pretty sure they don't have a large IT staff to do this. It is very easy for it to go wrong. If they a redundant set of hardware that they could test the upgrade on first and another set to upgrade behind the scenes then do a quit flip over along with a full-time professional staff of database, website and system administrators, SL would have to charge a LOT more to cover the costs. They may be a "big" company in the homeschool world, but they are no where near big enough to support a large enough IT staff to do the things you guys are expecting. Relax. Get some coffee or some chocolate. Pity the poor guy (or girl) trying to get the things working again.

 

(btw - I'm a database administrator who works in a BIG company. )

 

:iagree:

[Colleen]

I'm pretty sure they do more than just put up the new stuff - it is their "maintenance." Databases get patched upgraded, computers get patched and upgraded, web software gets patched and upgraded. I'm pretty sure they don't have a large IT staff to do this. It is very easy for it to go wrong. If they a redundant set of hardware that they could test the upgrade on first and another set to upgrade behind the scenes then do a quit flip over along with a full-time professional staff of database, website and system administrators, SL would have to charge a LOT more to cover the costs. They may be a "big" company in the homeschool world, but they are no where near big enough to support a large enough IT staff to do the things you guys are expecting. Relax. Get some coffee or some chocolate. Pity the poor guy (or girl) trying to get the things working again.

 

(btw - I'm a database administrator who works in a BIG company. )

 

No, it doesn't take a large IT staff to perform this task, as proven by many other companies that in some cases have fewer people on the job. SL has always had an abysmal track record when it comes to online catalog changes and site "improvements". Part of the problem is that they have people working at the job who in some cases genuinely aren't up to the task. The fact that this issue arises every single year speaks volumes.

 

Having said that, I encourage those who want to order now need to step back and let it go for a few days. No use getting worked up over it. This is Sonlight's typical m.o. and nothing we say or do will change that.

[C.C. in Florida]

Having said that, I encourage those who want to order now need to step back and let it go for a few days. No use getting worked up over it. This is Sonlight's typical m.o. and nothing we say or do will change that.

 

You're right. I am stepping back from the SL site for a few days. :leaving:

:):):)