Back & Better Than Ever
Before I say anything else, I’ve got good news. Planning Center is back online! Not only that, we are giving everyone 4 days free for the trouble it has caused and just to say thank you for being so patient with us. Your next credit card charge will be postponed 4 days.
In case you had not noticed, Planning Center has had some network problems over the last couple of days. First it was because the server got overloaded when everyone returned from their vacations at the same time. Then after that was fixed, AT&T went down in Palm Springs and is actually still down while I write this.
We were already in the process of upgrading our servers, but once we realized AT&T couldn’t tell us when they would be back up, we drove to our server facility, physically retrieved the servers, brought them back, and began the process of transferring the database and application to our new servers. If you want the full details of all that happened, there are a couple of posts on our blog here: http://blog.ministrycentered.com/
At around 11PM Pacific Time, the process was completed and Planning Center is back. The good news is that we have moved to some seriously upgraded servers so that this won’t happen again. Our new servers are with rackspace.com. First of all, they guarantee 100% uptime, which means this won’t happen again! For more detailed information on why they are so good, check out this page: http://www.rackspace.com/whyrackspace/network/
In addition, Planning Center should be quite a bit faster due to faster hardware in our servers. We were at a 2MB connection and our new servers have a 100MB connection. We are committed to making Planning Center as fast as possible so that you don’t have to think about it.
After we make sure the transition to the new servers is smooth and complete, we will finish up work on our next update. We’ve got some exciting new features that we are hoping to release soon.
Thank you once again for using Planning Center. We wish you many blessings in 2008.
The Planning Center Team (Jeff, Aaron & Jeff)
Jeff said,
January 4, 2008 @ 6:00 am
Thanks for a killer product and for your commitment to service.
Even though I’ve only officially used it for a few weeks, I’ve begun to rely on it very heavily and it’s great to know you guys are committed to keeping this going.
Thanks and enjoy your weekend!
Greg Davis said,
January 4, 2008 @ 7:07 am
Happy New Year! Sounds like you had a very adventuresome start to 2008! Thank you very much for keeping us informed and up to date with what was happening. I especially appreciated your proactive use of the blog to get this information out.
I strongly believe customer focus and honest communication is the most important factor to success (after a great product or service). Keep up the great work and I look forward to working with PCO in the coming year!
Greg
Chris said,
January 4, 2008 @ 8:29 am
Thanks for keeping us in the loop while all of this was happening.
joe byler said,
January 4, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
you guys are awesome!!! thanks for all your hard work to keep a great produce working.
Jessica Mahan said,
January 4, 2008 @ 6:13 pm
Dear Jeffs and Aaron,
Thanks so much for all the hard work you put into this. As worship pastors and support people we totally understand that technology, while our friend, has a tendency to let us down when we least expect it and need it most. You guys get 10 points and a gold star for all the hard work you’ve put into bringing the site online! I was just telling my drummer yesterday how grateful I was for this product. It has made all the difference in my ministry.
I can’t say it enough. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Jessica Mahan
Minister of Worship Arts
Westside Christian Church
Long Beach, CA
Peter Neumann said,
January 5, 2008 @ 1:49 am
Thanks for all your hard work, you guys are the greatest. Thanks for communicating with us during what must have been a stressful time for you. If anything, this experience bolstered my confidence in your company and your commitment to your customers. Way to go!
Blessings,
Peter Neumann
Celebration Arts Pastor
Bayside Church of Woodland, CA
dan said,
January 5, 2008 @ 1:38 pm
Wow! you guys Rock… no… you Walk… on water… well not quite but I’m so touched I, uh, I (sniff) wish I had someone’s sweat rag to blow my nose in
Seriously, I’m extremely grateful and thrilled this has been a good move for you and us!
Jaye Prentice said,
January 8, 2008 @ 10:51 am
Thank you for all of your hard work. I appreciate being kept in the loop and your extrordinary dedication and commitment to this site and us. We are new to the system but rely on it already. I’ll be calling you about how to download MP3’s and chart music for our teams within the next couple of days.
You ROCK!
Jaye Prentice
Desert Springs Bible Church
Phoenix, AZ
Rick said,
January 23, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
This product is very very reliable! I use it every day to schedule my techs and others, and the live schedule walk through is the best!
Keep bringing the improvements!
Rick Simmons
Celebration Covenant Church
Frisco, TX