I do not like it when fanboys/girls defend a company because they either like the company so much or they are in such deep denial they can’t accept somebody who points out problems with a company.
Back in mid-December 2017, I uploaded my raw data file from 23andMe. They talked like matching would be coming soon and I should be able to look at my ethnicity in the near future. By my definitions of soon and near future, I don’t consider almost 14 months later to qualify as soon or near future. In early August 2018, I uploaded my raw data files from AncestryDNA and FamilyTree DNA (FTDNA) on the assurance they were opening private betas in Quarter 2 of 2018 with public beta testing starting Quarter 3 of 2018. Out of the three (3) files I uploaded, only a single one has completed and it’s one of the August 2018 uploads; it has a whooping single match which is down from three (3) it used to have. The other files still show as uploaded, but not completed. The December 2017 file used to have two matches, but now it has zero. The other August 2018 file never showed any matches.
They used to mention offering an upgrade for those who uploaded raw data from other companies, but no word on when it would be available or how much. The upgrade would include things not included in the free limited transfer. At this point, I am not sure I wo.uld go for an upgrade as they haven’t shown me they know what they are doing. Plus, the upgrade price would have to be competitive. Both FTDNA and MyHeritageDNA offer upgrades for free limited transfers that are $19 (FTDNA) and $29 (MyHeritageDNA). I hope LivingDNA offers a similar upgrade price although they need to show they can deliver timely.
According to https://livingdna.com/news/living-dna-november-update-you-shared-and-we-listened – posted November 21, 2018, they listened to our sharing. I don’t know what they thought we were sharing, but as of today, I am not seeing any results that show they listened:
Thousands more will be given access to the Family Networks beta so keep watching your matches. If you’ve opted into Family Networks, you’re likely to see your match list before the end of the month. To help test and expand your network, you now have the ability to invite friends and family to upload to Living DNA for free and see how they match.
I bolded the part about seeing our matches by the end of the month which should have been November 30, 2018. Not only is one of my uploads not showing any matches, but the other matches have lost most of the few matches they had. One of the co-founders and a member of their senior staff are part of a Facebook group.
One of the most common defenses I see is the public beta defense. It’s a joke defense. Many companies claim public beta testing to get around the fact a product was released before it should have been. Plus, they said we would have results by the end of November 2018. As a bit of background, I was on a beta testing time for several computer games. I can’t talk of specifics, but in general, you don’t add new things to something until you fix the known issues. Yet, in another post, they indicated new features would be added regularly. That’s a recipe for disaster.
My suggestion to the co-founders is get your act together or get out of the DNA business. So far, I am not seeing any indication that you know what you are doing. How about you put some fire under your staff to get things done? I no longer recommend people do the free limited upload unless and until LivingDNA starts showing better business sense than they have to this point in time.
In case, anybody thinks I am being too harsh. The business world is a harsh world and the co-founders don’t appear to get this concept. When you enter a market that has several major competitors who have been doing it for years, you need to bring your A game. Set reasonable and realistic deadlines – cushion them a bit as it’s better to give a longer deadline and meet it sooner than to give a shorter deadline and be months behind. Customers tend to remember broken promises and deadlines a lot longer than they do when you exceeded their expectations. I have seen too many DNA companies fall by the wayside because they ignored basic business common sense. I hope LivingDNA doesn’t join the list, but they need to up their game if they don’t want to join the likes of DNA-me, DNA Tribes, and others.
Ups Downs Family History 