I know the Active mods are out there. I'd like an answer to this question. I don't think it's that much of a stumper. A simple "delete account" button would work.

Oh, since I still have an account and am receiving correspondances, I thought I'd post my thoughts on a recent one:

This is an observation from someone with 20-years of IT experience who works for a very large global company now.

This communication is not necessarily about customer communication, it's indicative that something went very, very wrong with the migration. Had the migration been a smooth experience for the customers, this communication would never have been written. Knowing that the "official" cut-over occurred less than three days ago is also a sign that a significant amount of customers were very upset with the new experience.

Here's what went wrong: You started communicating to your customers months ago that this transition was going to be the greatest thing in the world and provide a better experience for them. You build them up and set a very high expectation. However, you failed to take the core functionality of the application--the application that drew thousands of users to your site--and ensure that it was migrated over feature-for-feature. THIS should have been the primary objective of the migration and the migration should never have happened if these requirements weren't met. You failed and your customers are letting you know this.

Reading further down this communication is a bit misleading and dodges one question: Yes, it will cost you money now to find and use a training program, and use the logs. Your customers lost this free feature.

Also, do you think your customers--the same customers who run every day--are willing to wait for features that will be available some time in the new year or sometime in 2008? According to what's posted on the new bulletin boards, they are already leaving in droves and there are posts telling people how to do it.

This migration is a miserable failure and your customers are letting you know this by leaving your service. You built up their expectations and failed to deliver the same core functionality they were used to. You further insulted them by telling them that they will have to wait for an undetermined time for these features to make it into the current application. How could you fail to realize that the people using your site were using it daily because of its feature set? Why would you force them to use a service that fell far short of what they were used to today?

I know the old infrastructure was cracking under the load, but I'm sure you didn't have a situation where customers were assisting other customers to get off of the site as quickly as possible. Rebooting a server every morning wasn't really that bad in comparison.

If I were you I would back out of Active.com immediately and put the old service back in place until Active Trainer can match CoolRunning feature-for-feature. In addition, I would send an apology letter to all CoolRunning users and let them know the old system is available. Then tell them that you're waiting for Active Trainer to include all of the features in CoolRunning. I bet you most of the users will come back. If you can't do that, then you've screwed thousands of happy customers and burned your brand in the process.

In my 20 years of working in IT on projects, not turning this one around will probably get you into MBA textbooks as one of the worst IT/Marketing disasters of 2007.

Good luck in the future. I'm not willing to wait around to be part of it.

Formerly tmm4264 at CoolRunning.com

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On Dec 19, 2007, at 5:20 PM, CoolRunning.com wrote:

Greetings Cool Runners,

As everyone is aware, earlier this week we completed the integration of the Cool Running login system, forums and training logs with The Active Network. During this process we encountered several problems with the training log data transfer and also received plenty of feedback and questions about training log functionality. This email is meant to specifically address the confusion and concern around the training log integration.

First of all, let us apologize for any problems the integration has caused! That was never our intention and we hear you concerns loud and clear. Most of us working at Active & Cool Running are runners ourselves and we understand the importance of the data in your logs.

Let us assure you that NO TRAINING LOG DATA HAS BEEN LOST. All data is safely stored as a backup in the Active database. In the coming days and weeks, we will make all efforts to reconnect all users with their training data.

ISSUE #1 - Data Transfer
In the initial transfer, we matched data as follows:

• Workout type, distance, duration and pace we transferred directly over
• Any comments, Avg HR and Max HR were inserted into the workout notes section in Active Trainer
• You weight data was imported into the Daily Vitals section in Active Trainer
• Shoe data was automatically populate into the Shoe Tracker, including all mileage information logged to date

One piece of data we did not bring over was the custom activity type and this has caused several concerns with users.

Our Solution: Beginning in the next 3 days, our system will start running an update script to insert your custom activity names for all transferred workouts. So, if you had a Yoga workout on Cool Running, this will appear as a Cross Training workout in Active Trainer with the activity set to Yoga. All other data will be imported as shown above.

This update script will be run automatically if you have already claimed your log. No action is required on your part. Again, we ask for patience as there is a large amount of data is dig through. We are 100% dedicated to getting your data set up correctly!

ISSUE #2 - Questions about Active Trainer Functionality

We have received numerous questions about Active Trainer functionality. First, let us say we value all feedback and requests for Active Trainer functionality. It is our goal to make this tool as useful as can be for all our users.

Below is a list of some of the most frequent questions and the correct answer to each:

1. It looks like I can only add distance and weight in US units. What about the metric system?
Active Trainer is compatible with both US and Metric units for distance. For example, you may track a Running workout by miles or km and a swim workout in yards or meters. Unfortunately, we currently only support Lbs for weight measures. However, we will be adding grams and kilograms next year.

2. How do I track my shoe distances on Active Trainer? Do I have to pay for this?
The Shoe tracker is completely FREE to all users. Furthermore, all shoes from your Cool Running log have been transferred into Active Trainer along with the mileage logged to each pair. Moving forward, when logging a workout in your calendar you can select a pair of shoes from the drop down to add the mileage. Additionally, Active Trainer lets you run a mileage log for each pair of shoes you have in the system, showing you the exact dates and workouts you have recorded to each pair.

3. Can I load routes into Active Trainer?
All users have the ability to create, edit, and save routes. You may store as many routes in your Active Trainer account as your wish. Active Trainer is integrated with Google Maps. You simply type in a start location and then point and click on screen to build your route. Our system will automatically calculate the distance.

Look for some additional features on routes in the coming year, such as emailing routes to friends.

4. I can't see a weekly, monthly or annual mileage total in the training log
This has been a big request and unfortunately Active Trainer does not currently have this function. However, it is very apparent from your feedback that it's a hot feature and we are moving it to the front of the list for development in the New Year.

5. Can I generate a report or graph of WEEKLY mileage?
Yes, Active Trainer can do this! Click on the report link in the top navigation and then to go Training Stats. This report will let you generate a graph of total mileage by workout type (for example, running vs walking) over any time period that you choose. You may also run total mileage reports from the Shoe Tracker.

6. I can't run a search/sort my log to instantly look up all my times over a set distance or course
This is actually the first time we've had this feature request and it's come up from several people this week. Great feedback! This will also be going to the top of the pile for features going out in the next few months.

7. The different types of sub-training divisions are gone. For example, in Cool Running I had the option of choosing road bike, tri bike, mountain bike or spin bike for a cycling workout.
The Active Trainer structure does have this flexibility and we are leveraging it in certain workout types, such as strength training. However, there is additional work planned about this feature. We are currently exploring opening up the Activity level and allowing users to data enter their activity types they want to use. This is actually already a feature we have for our coaches; it has just not been included in the athlete version. More to come on this very soon!

8. I can't edit runs after they've been logged
Good catch! Again, this is something that is in the queue to add as a feature. Active Trainer does have the ability to clear a logged workout, allowing the user to make changes and then re-log. However, we have a feature planned that will make this process much quicker and more user-friendly.

9. I can't set my training week to start on Monday
This is also a known issue that we are already working on addressing. A solution should be in place early in 2008.

10. Do I have to pay for Active Trainer?
NO! Active Trainer is 100% free, including the Shoe Tracker.

We understand it takes some time to get used to a new training log system. No doubt there will be some differences that seem strange at first, but hopefully you will find Active Trainer a useful tool in your training. And if there's something you'd like to see, drop us a line and let us know.

If you have any questions or concerns that were not covered in this email, please let us know at trainingsupport@active.com or check out the support documents at: http://community.active.com/docs/DOC-1600.

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