Bring back Help Center email contact
The previous option of contacting Support by email has vanished.
The contact is now only through telephone or "live chat" for defined hours.
I recently added a comment to a topic "How do you report source books that are cataloged to the wrong state, category and with wrong titles" https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/86407/how-do-you-report-source-books-that-are-cataloged-to-the-wrong-state-category-and-with-wrong-titles#latest
To me, email contact with Support via email is by far the best option in many situations.
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I agree! I would like to contact Family Search by using email as I have done in the past.
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Both of you are not only ones with this problem.
Tonight 😕 I discovered the link through Feedback diverting me to https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/contact-familysearch-support
This is what I wrote direct to support@familysearch.org tonight.
- A window appears. To give feedback, click Go to Discussion Board. (To create support case to solve a problem, fill in the Report a Problem section instead.)
The section to report a problem is now missing as of today. My Cases list is missing, too.
How in the world can I report a Catalog problem? (hint: it's major one)
Much less specific issues within FamilySearch Tree if this particular link is missing now?
I am not interested in "Live Chat". I prefer to type specific detailed problems and send them in.
Usually I click on "Contact Us" or "Help Center" to get to that Report section. Instead of that I am diverted to this long list https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/contact-familysearch-support - same problem exist when I tried "Feedback"
😕
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All of these issues should be reported by going to the Q and A section of the community and then to the most appropriate sub-heading and create a discussion with all of the information a person would need to investigate. Do not assume the web page you are on is provided but detail the issue completely. Appropriate Family Search personnel will review and move if necessary to specific groups where the topic can be reviewed.
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For someone who has found your comments very helpful over the years, I must say I find your response here to be quite disappointing.
This is not a question that is being raised and, to me, @MaureenE123 has posted in just the right place, so why suggest the "Q and A" section?
I see, under your profile, your "Role" is now: "Member, Help Center Moderator, Employee, Escalation", so surely you are in a position to help here and not effectively push this problem to another moderator / employee, who might / might not have the power to do anything about the continuing deterioration of "Support".
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Paul
I am at the bottom of the totem pole - The support personnel are being switched to answer questions that appear in Q & A so that is were issues will get the most traction. Posting in Ideas will bring attention to more the management. As you are probably aware from the most recent changes, direct contact with support personnel and individual cases are being terminated. Phone calls are still available for some time but if it is more complicated than the person answering can solve they should be asking you to create a discussion thread in Q & A. Right now during the transition there are many loose ends so my suggestion above was really just what I thought would generate the most traction regarding the suggestion. The Role's I have are not emblematic of any powers or abilities - we are still getting these explained to us. All support personnel will have these roles so in the future expect many here to have similar roles.
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Thank you for your response. It was initially implied this ("Ideas") would be the successor platform for GetSat, now it appears "Q and A" is to be the section that is to receive the bulk of FamilySearch's support and assigned resources. Hopefully, management will be able to quickly work out the future of its whole concept of "Support". This also needs to include greater backing for the many Family Tree users who are having their work ruined by irresponsible users, but have hitherto been told that they are the ones that have to deal with the problem and been offered virtually no assistance by Support, even (as reported in another topic) when there has been a case of genuine abuse.
As far as the current "Community" forum is concerned, as reported elsewhere, many individual "Groups" are seeing ever-declining use. So I would hope for just the one consolidated section in future. I'm not too concerned whether that will be based on either of the existing "Ideas" or "Q and A" sub-sections, but it seems to be almost universally agreed that things cannot continue in their confusing, current state for much longer. Raising topics, knowing the best place to place them and helping to address these queries is currently a nightmare.
(With apologies to @MaureenE123 for effectively hijacking her "Idea" - or should that be "Feedback", "Comment", "Discussion", or even "Question"? Even the terminology being used in different parts of "Community" is causing my head to spin.)
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Thank you @gasmodels . for advising the above as it is the first time I have seen this.
However, if as you say you are "at the bottom of the totem pole" I think it is a terrible failure in FamilySearch that no one more senior has had the courtesy to advise any thing on this matter including FULL DETAILS of the new structure. This information needs to be available to ALL, not just those who happen to be reading this this topic.
In my own mind I also cannot see in what way this topic is an any way a Question, so I am very confused as to why it should, to be given any consideration, have gone in a section called "Questions and Answers"
I also cross reference above, a topic about a cataloging error. This is an error that needs to be brought to the attention of , as I understand the current structure, a FamilySearch EMPLOYEE in Historical Records, not a FamilySearch SUPPORT person. Will there be any persons who actually do work like fixing cataloging errors etc who are employees, or will this all be done by Support who I understand are VOLUNTEERS (and the ones I have had contact with seemed in some cases to be persons without training, and seemingly without initiative)
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As a small step forward, there is now a blog post about the new Help system:
https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/familysearch-help-center-update/
However, its description of this community board, "The third option in the carousel is the Community section—a discussion board for beginners and experts to post questions, share strategies, and correspond with other FamilySearch users. We think all our help options are important—but we’re particularly excited about this one. One great thing about the FamilySearch community is that it is available 24 hours a day. When you post questions to the discussion board, thousands of family historians from around the world can respond. Instead of getting one good answer to your question, you might receive multiple answers," says nothing about it also now being the only way to contact support other than calling support.
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The lack of proper support is shocking when we were able to communicate by email it was great even if it was a slow progress.
I am not over happy with the new system I find it to overwhelming where I no longer want to use it
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When I first started using FamilySearch in 2019 it was Great and for the First time I actually decided to Create a Family Tree - Previously I saw it as almost Impossible as I Never knew most of my Deceased Relatives. I even found my Mom's Death Notice from 2003 and others. Later on as I decided to add the other family members info which I had previously found, the system was now telling me "NO Details found for that Person" When I had asked other people's advice living In USA or Europe, they quickly found that Info which was not available to me In South Africa and I might add, it was Free to them. Since about a Year ago, I am unable to find anything UNLESS I insert my Credit Card details! Not Even the Death notice of my Father that died in 1993 or my Aunt in 1989. So I'm now Practically STUCK.It has become USELESS, NO Need for it any longer as there is also no Help available to advise me.
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@LillianHarris3, um, if you're inserting credit card details, that's not FamilySearch.
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Sorry you are having such difficulties. If you run across another restricted document that is referring you to a pay site - perhaps post a query here in Community and see if others can direct you to a free option.
Better luck to you as you continue searching.
General thread comment:
For a period they did remove other support options - but found quickly that phone and other support options were still desired. If you use the Help (circle with question mark icon)> Contact Us - then select your region - you will see the various support methods available. In North American region for example - it displays email: nasupport@familysearch.org
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moderator note - a comment was removed due to violations of the Code of Conduct.
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