As I saw you were a moderator, moderating the conversation and in possession of specific information (“They have a queue for a few weeks.”), I incorrectly thought that you were more intimately connected to Jolla, likely an employee. I know better now and I apologize for the mistake. I am new here and will strive to do better in the future.
Regarding the other bit:
It is my experience that companies don’t always work in the more efficient way, even big ones with a lot of cash.
“[A]ll those years of practice” did not help Jolla write an email that many customers in batch #1 found easy to follow; nor having a shopping system that handles preorder codes automatically; or even handling EU VAT codes. And the response from the first hundreds of emails created a significant backlog for their customer support team. I am not trying to dismiss Jolla – they have a small team and limited resources that have to carefully prioritize. And especially here, from knowing to doing goes a mile and a half.
Some times it pays to take the nose from the grindstone, take one step back and invest some time in re-evaluating an entire process, while in others we regret that that time had not been put into getting more work done. Often times pressure prevents us from experimenting. Guessing that Jolla was using a manual-intensive process, I aimed to help. We are all in the same boat, wishing Jolla to be successful. I am sorry for my naiveté.
Jolla employees have the golden “Leader” trust level badge on their account. If you click user name, the trust level badge is the first one listed badge at the bottom of the popup.
It was super easy to follow, but people just go too exited, didn’t read the mail and in their hurry, added just the phone to their shopping cart and finalized the shopping, instead of scrolling down the page to add all the accessories to same order.
Jolla made a mistake in that they underestimated the number of users who made this mistake and initially asked people to email them to sort them out.
People then failed to take into account that no-one was working during the the weekend and Easter, and others missed the fact that later pre-order groups had not yet been sent the emails, but decided it was okay to send an email (or couple) to ask about the issue not being sorted out yet.
I would have lost any bet that there are so many functional analphabets interested in Linux phones. But I am naive enough to still hope for the European educational systems to help us here. The Finish system is known to be one of the best in Europe when it comes to reading. So I cannot blame Nolla for being naive, too.
There is a general expectation about how the world works. People purchase things online all the time, and have gotten used to how easy it should be. Websites and apps don’t come with a manual. You the engineer are supposed to be the competent person designing an intuitive process flow. If the purchase process involves reading a full page of an e-mail, something is wrong with both your engineering competences and your communication competences.
If the Jolla website lacks ability to update the shipping address, if it does not shows the accessories in a visible place, if it does not automatically apply or efficiently remind of how to get the personalised discount, it’s a website design problem, not a user literacy question. It would not be difficult to add a reminder “we think you forgot the discount that came in your email”.
I don’t mind (and I made no mistake in my purchase), Jolla is clearly a hardware company and not a website developer. However they are frustrating new users and punishing themselves in replying hundreds of emails just because their website does not make it as intuitive as any other e-commerce.
Yes, there is, and I like the way you said it. And that expectation is both good and bad in more than one way.
It is great when it allows us to carry experience from one thing to another. Many people say an interface is “intuitive” but I think it is mostly that general expectation that you mentioned. “Kids learn technology so fast!” we hear, when in reality is is the result of them having only familiar experiences and would feel lost using the original Mac OS, just like me.
The bad side of this expectation is the resistance to change and innovation. I never used SFOS so I expect a significant adaptation period, hoping it will be worth it and not different for the sake of being different. Long ago I read the following warning: “People don’t want to use your programs; they want to accomplish their task as soon as possible and then return to their lives.”
But back to the Jolla website, after seeing it I can understand why people did not scroll to see the optional items: the relevant information was displayed at the top with no indication that there was anything else below or accessories to be added. In a world where we are constantly being manipulated to spend more money on things we do not need, I must say Jolla was refreshing. But – again – went against the general expectations, meaning that, in the end, the page is pretty but not very functional (from a design standpoint).
@Jolla I was in the first batch of Jolla phone preorders and still haven’t received the final payment mail (I did not use EU VAT ID). Still waiting for response from shop@jolla.com
Hi,
Today I received a “completion email”, Batch #2. The deadline is May 9th, but the order is already done.
So far I haven’t received any answers to my e-mails, so I can’t tell whether they had any impact.
@rainemak any updates to EU VAT payments? less than 10 days remaining and basically 10 days is nothing in jolla scale.
we will pay later after you fix store and still we will NOT lose slots for shipping in time for batch #1
we have to pay price including VAT and you will refund
?
thanks
edit: about (2) my accountant told me that i should not pay invoices including VAT in EU = it is illegal to charge VAT from VAT cross country payers in EU !
Still waiting for my second Pre-Order Discount Code as both Email I received had the same one. Please send me a knew asap so I can finish my second order.
Is the shop@jolla.com address being replied from someone? My first e-mail from 3rd March is still unreplied. Now I need to clarify something regarding finishing the purchase, but again - no reply at all. I know this is not a traditional e-shop, but still, that e-mail address is mentioned as the one to ask questions. Is there any other way to contact the team for purchase clarification?
Thank you
Hi @rainemak . What is the status of the Batch 1 emails? I haven’t received any email yet. I also sent a message to shop@jolla.com with the requested information about three weeks ago, but unfortunately, I haven’t received any response. I would appreciate an update for myself and others in a similar position. Thank you.
I could happily complete the purchase; thanks to jolla team!