Bumps in the PRELUDE Road to Fulfillment

First off, this post will only apply to a small number of donors–those who were part of the original PRELUDE to AXANAR Kickstarter campaign, donating between March 1 and March 31, 2014. That’s it, no one else need read any further. (If the following mess doesn’t apply to you, you should consider yourself lucky.)

So, what’s the news regarding the last of the PRELUDE Kickstarter fulfillment? From the title above, you’ve probably already guessed… another one of those annoying bugs has cropped up within that evil program known as BackerKit (or, as I’ve come to think of it, The Very Bane of My Existence).

Yes, it’s true… still another pesky problem has reared its ugly head, and today… well, let’s just say it’s a good thing the BackerKit folks and I weren’t drinking together. (You saw what I did there, right?  😀 Some days, you have to get your grins wherever you can make them happen.)

Seriously, though, here’s the problem: A major part of the “back end” of any fulfillment system relies on getting the donors to answer a series of questions (generally called the “survey”), which supplies the fulfillment team with everything from donor name and shipping info to possible choices that may apply, such as size. Other questions can come into play when someone upgrades or adds extra items to the initial donation; the donor is then supposed to specify what upgrade he/she is paying for, and what additional things are desired. (Here’s a tricky little exception, by the way: Not everyone wants as many items as the total amount would make it seem, meaning some people simply want the extra money they’ve donated to go to the production, with no additional perks being requested.)

The problem that has now happened a few times is that I’ve sent out a kit to an international backer according to all of the information I have in his/her BackerKit account… only to be informed when the package arrives that the PRELUDE DVD (which was shown on the account, remember, and thus was what shipped in the kit) had been upgraded, and that a Blu-ray should actually have been shipped, instead.

Naturally, I’ve immediately gone back and taken another look at those accounts when someone has contacted me. What the accounts are showing is a small “credit” remaining–making it look as though another item could have been ordered, but wasn’t. What they are NOT showing is the upgrade to a Blu-ray, which the donors say was their intention. (See why I’m so frustrated?)

Now, you may be thinking that the credit might make things obvious, right? Well, no. In addition to the scenario laid out above–in which a donor pays extra without wanting additional items shipped (thus leaving a credit showing)–the fact is that most times–when someone has completely and accurately filled out his/her survey, certainly–a paid-for upgrade from a DVD to a Blu-ray DOES show up in the BackerKit, exactly where it should… and it shows up AS an upgrade, making it clear as to what the donor’s intentions were, as well as the fact that the upgrade was not only selected, but was subsequently paid.

Making matters worse, it’s impossible for me to know whether this is actually just another BackerKit glitch, or if the problem also (or instead) lies in the fact that not all surveys were filled out completely and/or accurately by every donor. What I can tell you, though, is that all I have to go from is what each donor’s BackerKit account shows… so, if you’re a PRELUDE to AXANAR donor to the first Kickstarter (remember, only those people who donated when it was ACTIVE, meaning during the month of March 2014) and you want to know what you should be receiving, take a look at your BackerKit account (NOT your Ares Digital account), and make sure EVERYTHING looks right there.

Meanwhile, I’m going to go pound my head against my desk some more. That’s got to help, right?