The service package functionality appears to allow the client to cancel, from the website front end, a package that was purchased. I tested this functionality and found the following issues:

1. As part of the purchase process, I booked two appointments as per the minimum criteria I configured in the Package offering. 

2. I then noticed the cancel option available to the client and selected that to see what happens. 

3. It cancelled the package and cleared any remaining appointments that were included in that package. So it reduced remaining appointment from 3 to zero. The package is configured to allow 5 appointments to be purchased at a reduced rate. 

4. After cancelling, it didn't raise an issue in WooCommerce for a refund, or in the Finance section of Amelia. 

5. The two appointments that were booked are still active appointments that were scheduled even though the package was cancelled. The appointments are future dated. I have not tested this scenario with appointments that have already been fulfilled. 

If this 'Cancel' option was intended for client control purposes only, it creates more problems than it solves because it does not cancel future dated appointments, and it does not prompt a refund process. 

Hi Marko,

Please check my original ticket description again. This is a 'Cancel' button for the entire service package that I am referring to, and not for an appointment within the service package. 

Hence my concern about the client's ability to cancel the package, even though there may be future dated appointments on the package that have already been confirmed. It's all explained below. 

Thanks,

Zaid. 

Hi Marko,

Herewith as much info as I could get around the Service Package concerns. For some reason, it's now not going apst the Summary screen to call the WooCommerce checkout screen. I haven't changed any configs around this since it last worked. 

By the way, due to difficulties with ease of use, I've reverted to the old booking form. Seems to be less complicated for users.

1. The Start Booking Process - Service Package screen shot shows the placement and default format of the Service Package option associated with the selected service. This is causing confusion because it looks like it is what the client selected, and not a promo block to offer them the option. I would suggest that this be more distinctive and perhaps placed below the 'Continue' button, rather than between the service selection and the button. 
2. Select Service Package - When the client opts for the service package, the description that comes up is problematic because it indicates an appointment active by stating 'This package has 1 appointment'. I'm not sure what the purpose is of including this statement at this point in the workflow. This should ideally be configurable, rather than programmatically inserted so that the wording is either pulled from the package description, or the admin can configure it as needed. 
3. For completeness, the next screen shot shows the UI for selecting that first appointment as part of purchasing the Service Package. 
4. Summary Screen does not move to WooCommerce checkout process. It works perfectly with the single session appointment booking, because I received a booking for this from a client after my test. But when trying to purchase a package, it doesn't pass through to WooCommerce. I had to therefore complete the activation of this package from the back-end admin panel. 

It's not allowing more than 4 attachments, so I'll have to complete this response in another reply to show you what happens in the admin view, and what the client sees as a Cancel option in the client portal. 

Continuing from my previous reply:

1. The admin view of activating a new service package for a client shows a discrepancy in the price. As can be seen, the older entry that I used for this test includes the discount, but the newer entry doesn't. Even though the client facing form showed the discount correctly as can be seen from the screen shots in my previous reply. I used the old package that I previously cancelled because it had an option to 'Open' the package when I loaded this screen. After 'Opening' it using the button that now displays as 'Cancel', it sent me the client notification to indicate that I had purchased a new 5 session package. This is incorrect. The notification should be different to indicate that an old package has been reinstated, especially if the package has had one or more appointments used before cancelling. 
2. The Service Package - Client Portal Cancel Option screenshot shows the 'Cancel' button that I mentioned in my original ticket. It is a Cancel button for the entire package, and not for an appointment within the package. 
3. Service Package - Cancellation Prompt screenshot shows the message received after clicking on the 'Cancel' button mentioned in point 2 above. This should not be allowed from the client portal. As mentioned in my original ticket description, is there are future-dated appointments against this package, it cancels the package but leaves the future-dated appointments active. This effectively defeats the purpose of the package and being able to manage all the appointments for the package in one place. 

Overall, the Service Package functionality appears to have some serious concerns regarding usability and auditability. 

I look forward to your feedback on this critical issue because it is adding complexity to what was intended to be a feature to reduce complexity in the client and admin experiences. 

Also, it would be great if booking appointments against a service package could be done from the Appointments page and not through 'Manage Service Package' which is confusing and unnecessarily complicated. We should just be able to Add Appointment, and when we select the client name from the list, it should automatically identify the active Service Package and indicate how many appointments remain available for that client. There should be no need to go to the Services / Packages screen to do this. 

One more issue that is unnecessarily complicated in this is that when loading the Service Package screen in the admin back-end, there is a date range that applies. Why? It should just display all active Service Packages. There should be no need to filter it out based on a date range. That should be allowed through a filter option. This is standard UI practice. 

I hope this feedback helps so that the Service Package functionality can offer the value that it promises to hold. 

Thanks,

Zaid. 

Hi Marko,

Thanks for the feedback. However, I disagree that a client must be able to cancel an entire PACKAGE after it has been purchased, The reason for this is because in this case, I offer a 10% Discount for paying for 5 sessions in advance. If, for example, they only use two sessions and then want to cancel the package, the discount falls away because 5 were not effectively purchased. Hence the cancellation needing to be processed by Admin, and not by the client. They need to contact the employee to notify them of the cancellation. And I don't expect Amelia to cater for this level of business process. But, at the least, I must be able to configure whether or not the client must have the ability to cancel the PACKAGE. I have no problem with clients being able to cancel appointments. 

Regarding the Package config, please see below with attached screenshots:

1. As advised by your colleague, I am using the 'Total Appointments' setting because I have two services that are available in this package. I therefore cannot set a specific limit on the individual services, because the client has full flexibility about which of the services they wish to use. 
2. Regarding the configured price for the package, it is configured as per the second screenshot. As can be seen, the calculated price in the config screen is correct, but the price displayed in the 'Manage Packages' screen is excluding the applied discount. 
3. The WooCommerce payment gateway is enabled. As can be seen from the third screenshot provided, the only option available in the Package config is to select which WooCommerce product should be associated with this Package. I have left it at the default setting of 'Appointment'.

Regarding Admin access, I have already provided two of your colleagues with this. Please check with Aleksander for credentials to access my website back-end. 

I look forward to your further feedback on the above. 

Thanks,

Zaid.

Hi Marko,

Admin access invitation sent to your email address. Thanks. 

Hi,

Is there any progress on this ticket?

Thanks. 

Thanks. I'll confirm the version that I have installed and will advise on the outcome. 

Please also provide feedback on the list of suggestions/usability issues that I raised in this ticket regarding the way in which appointments are managed from the service packages. It is currently extremely cumbersome. 

Thanks.

It would be great if the suggestions could be prioritised because the current experience in managing packages is dismal. 

Also, if I knew that it would not be considered in this ticket, I would not have given such detailed feedback as requested by you. 

Anyway, thanks for the assistance. A client successfully purchased a package, so it seems like the WooCommerce link has been addressed. 

It's still allowing the cancellation of a package from the Client Portal. Is this configurable, because I'd prefer for a client to contact me to cancel a package. Appointment cancellation is perfectly good from a Client Portal perspective. But the package is more complicated than the cancellation of a single appointment because of the discounts and structure that is applied. 

Please advise.