Please take this to heart & mind. It is offered with true sincerity.
I'm sure you are as frustrated as your customers. I know you didn't intend this migration to turn into the disaster it has become.
There are things you can do to anticipate roadblocks to the best laid plans. I am a continuous improvement facilitator, so I know a little about this. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way over & over and expecting different results. Make sense? This is what happens when you have problems and don't find the root cause and continue to throw fixes at them. From my limited perspective & experience with Auctiva, I would say this is exactly what is happening. You are so successful, you cannot keep up with your expanding customer base, so you throw fixes at it.
Be proactive. Software, hardware and/or any other technical experts are NOT the appropriate people to guide you thru planning sessions. You need someone who has the skills, tools & planning know-how. I suggest you hire a consultant to help you learn to be proactive so that when you plan upgrades, maintenance and any other procedures that will affect your customers, it doesn't take two weeks and cost your customers time & money, not to mention their frustration & the beatings you take.
And, don't implement things before they are ready. If you have to, limit your customer base until you have all the bugs worked out. Remember, you can’t please everyone all of the time. But you can do things RIGHT the FIRST time! This will pay huge dividends in the long run.
On a personal note, as a customer, I would rather have limited or no access to the site until it the changes are completed AND RIGHT. In addition, I would have preferred to have been notified that my auctions might be in jeopardy during this time. I would then have had the opportunity to make an informed decision as to list or not list. As it turned out, I wasn't given that opportunity. My best guess is that most people prefer and respect forthrightness & honesty. You might poll your customers to see what they want in this area.
Thank you for considering my comments. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions and/or expand on my thoughts.
Original Post