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Recover Cart Sales


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I have followed the install instructions to the letter for the MS2 version. i ahve the link in my Admin > Reports Panel that says Recover Carts.

 

When I click on this I go to the url http://www.emvi-htpc.com/store/admin/FILEN...OVER_CART_SALES and get a 404 "The page cannot be found" error.

This is strange that this is the first that this has come up. The readme had a mistake:

 

Change in filenames.php:

define('FILENAME_REPORT_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'stats_recover_cart_sales.php');

To:

define('FILENAME_STATS_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'stats_recover_cart_sales.php');

This mistake has been there for the last 3 versions, and no one has had a problem until know. Thanks for bringing this to my attention I will update this soon.

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Wow - thanks. I will give this a go.

 

It actually caused a problem (which I only just noticed) in that it also made my Tools menu (in admin) disapear!

 

I will download and try the new version. One more thing. When you say in the instructions:

 

"4a) **FOR MS2 ONLY GOTO STEP 5**

Edit /catalog/admin/includes/filenames.php and add:"

 

Do you mean that this step 4a) I have to do as I do have MS2 or that as I have MS2 I have to skip this and goto step 5?

 

I've reread it a 100 times and still can't work out which way you mean!!!

 

Thanks for the help

Steve

 

PS - cant wait to get this great tool working... :D

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Hi Aalst.

 

What do you mean by wrong topic (forum) for the problem I had with 'call to undefined function' ?

 

Anyway my problems were solved by changing the sort tags '<?' to normal tags '<?php' in both the TOOL and the REPORT files.

 

Shouldn't this changes be included in the next version ? for people that don't have tags enabled.

 

 

Greetings,

 

Cristian

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Anyway my problems were solved by changing the sort tags '<?' to normal tags '<?php' in both the TOOL and the REPORT files.

 

Shouldn't this changes be included in the next version ? for people that don't have tags enabled.

That's his picking up my bad coding style. OSC uses the full tags, I don't. He left my tags in place since they obviously worked for him. I'm sorry about that and will try to remember to do a global replace when I pass the code on.

:blush:

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What a great contributon :D . Thanks a lot, although I'm a little bit affraid of using it. Anyway, after changing from 1.3.5 to 1.3.6 I recognized, before it was working, after it 1.36 it was not working. So I changed it back to:

 

  define('FILENAME_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'recover_cart_sales.php');

  define('FILENAME_REPORT_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'stats_recover_cart_sales.php');

  define('FILENAME_CATALOG_LOGIN', 'login.php');

  define('TABLE_SCART', 'scart');

 

Just to inform you.

 

 

Stefan

www.klosterbrauerei.com

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I will download and try the new version. One more thing. When you say in the instructions:

 

"4a) **FOR MS2 ONLY GOTO STEP 5**

Edit /catalog/admin/includes/filenames.php and add:"

 

Do you mean that this step 4a) I have to do as I do have MS2 or that as I have MS2 I have to skip this and goto step 5?

I am sorry I thought it was clear enough... I will try to make it better in the next version.

 

There are TWO 4's A and B. One is MS2 only the other is MS1 only. You do that step then go to the step specified. I will fix that in the next release.

 

So if you have MS2 do step 4A then go to STEP 5, if you have MS1 do step 4B then go to STEP 6.

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What do you mean by wrong topic (forum) for the problem I had with 'call to undefined function' ?

Well if you read my response and your post you will see you are talking about Unsold Cart Report v1.7, it has its own topic just for that. This topic is ONLY for Recover Cart Sales TOOL. However if you are using the RCS Tool then you do not even need the UC Report. That is why I do not monitor the old REPORT ONLY forums.

 

Anyway my problems were solved by changing the sort tags '<?' to normal tags '<?php' in both the TOOL and the REPORT files.

 

Shouldn't this changes be included in the next version ? for people that don't have tags enabled.

In the TOOL I did change all of them to standard tags, I typical do that in any file I work in. However, they work for me either way, I do it because it is OSC published standards. I never touched the REPORT included with the tool except to place the the version information in the header of the file.

 

I never new that the short method could cause problems. I have never heard of it, I think Met00 is working on that report and I believe he said he would try to fix this on that file, and hopefully in the future. :)

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What a great contributon  :D . Thanks a lot, although I'm a little bit affraid of using it. Anyway, after changing from 1.3.5  to 1.3.6 I recognized, before it was working, after it 1.36 it was not working. So I changed it back to:

 

?  define('FILENAME_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'recover_cart_sales.php');

?  define('FILENAME_REPORT_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'stats_recover_cart_sales.php');

?  define('FILENAME_CATALOG_LOGIN', 'login.php');

?  define('TABLE_SCART', 'scart');

Thank you, however I am sorry to say that I am A LOT confused by your message.

 

I think I can assume you are using the tool since you consider it great. However you say you are afraid to use it.

 

Why are you afraid to use it, especially if you have been using it?

 

Then you really lose me when you talk about changing from 1.3.5 to 1.3.6 and you say you recognized it wasn't working before it was working. So you changed "IT" back to ... then you provide me with the file names and database table defines.

 

Was 1.3.5 ever working for you? Was 1.3.6 ever working for you?

Is one of the versions working for you right now and if so which one?

What is this IT you changed back? What was IT before and What is IT now?

Does IT have something to do with your filenames or database?

From your copy and pastes of the defines can I assume you are on MS1?

What is the problem you are having?

You don't say what your problem is in this message and I search this whole topic and this is your only post.

 

Again sorry for not understanding...

 

-Aalst

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Sorry to confuse you ;) .

 

OK I have MS1. I used 1.3.5 and everything worked well.

 

I saw you announced 1.3.6 and that there is a failure in 1.3.5.

 

So I looked over it and I saw you changed in the 4b) **FOR MS1 ONLY GOTO STEP 6** one line.

-----

CHANGES

-Fixed critical error in Readme that effected installation.

------

 

After changing it to version 1.3.6 it was not working correct anymore. The filenae was wrong in the /catalog/admin/includes/application_top.php

 

This was the part I changed than back to version 1.3.5

 

define('FILENAME_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'recover_cart_sales.php');

define('FILENAME_REPORT_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'stats_recover_cart_sales.php');

define('FILENAME_CATALOG_LOGIN', 'login.php');

define('TABLE_SCART', 'scart');

 

Now it works well :-).

 

Of course I will test it and I really love this contribution, but I hope my customer likes it too. That is what I am concerning, because mostly I have more conservative customers, which maybe wondering what I know about them. I will test it it and tell you :-)

 

 

Hoppe I was clear now, if not I will answer tomorrow again, no problem.

 

Stefan

www.klosterbrauerei.com

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OK I have MS1. I used 1.3.5 and everything worked well.

 

I saw you announced 1.3.6 and that there is a failure in 1.3.5.

 

So I looked over it and I saw you changed in the 4b) **FOR MS1 ONLY GOTO STEP 6** one line.

-----

CHANGES

-Fixed critical error in Readme that effected installation.

------

 

After changing it to version 1.3.6 it was not working correct anymore. The filenae was wrong in the /catalog/admin/includes/application_top.php

 

This was the part I changed than back to version 1.3.5

 

define('FILENAME_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'recover_cart_sales.php');

  define('FILENAME_REPORT_RECOVER_CART_SALES', 'stats_recover_cart_sales.php');

  define('FILENAME_CATALOG_LOGIN', 'login.php');

  define('TABLE_SCART', 'scart');

 

Now it works well :-).

 

Of course I will test it and I really love this contribution, but I hope my customer likes it too. That is what I am concerning, because mostly I have more conservative customers, which maybe wondering what I know about them. I will test it it and tell you :-)

Well the error was in a mistake in the README, nothing was wrong with the files themselves. If 1.3.5 was working then no need to go to 1.3.6.

 

Also you never provided details on what was not working and the exact error message you where given after trying to use 1.3.6. You also never SAID what wasn't working the REPORT or the TOOL. Because you just said "it" wasn't working CORRECT, and "the" file name was wrong in APPLICATION_TOP.PHP which isn't possible if correctly installed with version.

 

Also you can't be using 1.2 or higher because it will not work when you go to the report (NOT THE TOOL) with the defines in the readme's from those versions. You must somehow still be using 1.0 or 1.01 that used thsoe defines. Or you are have not tryed to access the REPORT which is where an error would come up.

 

The PHP files are fine, then only change was documented in a post just prior to the release of 1.3.6 post.

 

Everything in the TOOL would work fine with 1.2 through 1.3.5 until you try to use the report, if installed per the readme. It would not be able to find the report, UNLESS the define was in filenanames.php (for MS2) or application_top.php (for MS1) was corrected.

 

Installing 1.3.6 should not have done anything, since no code was changed in the files, ONLY the readme file was changed.

 

I would recommend DELETING ALL your RCS Tool files from any and all version:

/catalog/admin/recover_cart_sales.php
/catalog/admin/stats_recover_cart_sales.php
/catalog/admin/report_recover_cart_sales.php
/catalog/admin/includes/languages\<language>\recover_cart_sales.php
/catalog/admin/includes/languages\<language>\stats_recover_cart_sales.php
/catalog/admin/includes/languages\<language>\report_recover_cart_sales.php

Then make sure you remove any changes to CORE OSC files from all previous installs of the tool by using the readme's from each version.

 

Make sure you have a clean removal. Then using 1.3.6, reinstall per the instructions and it should all be fine.

 

FYI, for anyone:

In the future to save time when posting a request for help or support for anything anywhere below is a list of general guidelines that usually help expidite the process. Most should be applicable to just about any problem you may have and need help with.

 

General Guidelines

  • What the problem is
  • Error message(s) if any
  • Your version of OSC (Or Main Application)
  • Your version of the item you need help with if any
  • Have you tried to troubleshoot, and if so what where the results
  • Anything you may have done in an attempt to correct the problem
  • Is it intermittent or does it happen everytime
  • How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

-Aalst

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General Guidelines
  • What the problem is
  • Error message(s) if any
  • Your version of OSC (Or Main Application)
  • Your version of the item you need help with if any
  • Have you tried to troubleshoot, and if so what where the results
  • Anything you may have done in an attempt to correct the problem
  • Is it intermittent or does it happen everytime
  • How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

  • My wife doesn't understand me.
  • "You SOB, if you think you're getting any, well think again"
  • Man 1.0 - original version with no enhancements
  • Woman 1.0 - Model: Asain
  • Put hand on bum, got slap in face.
  • went out, had a cigar, came back in and hacked more php on OSC
  • well, the application is stubborn and gives flakey non-results every time
  • That strikes a familiar cord...

:D :D :D :lol: :lol: :lol: :D :D :D :P

 

Sorry, I needed a humor break, the report isn't doing what I want it to do... I hate graphing...

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My wife doesn't understand me.

Yes that is a known defect in Woman 1.0, it usualy had lower occurences in the Asian model.

 

"You SOB, if you think you're getting any, well think again"

Yep, that's is the standard error message for this defect .

 

Man 1.0 - original version with no enhancements

We've been having trouble getting the upgrades implement. Man 1.0 is very stuborn.

 

Put hand on bum, got slap in face.

As long as this Woman 1.0 was Licensed to you this defect should not have occured we implementing that. It typically occurs when some does this to an unlicensed version of Woman 1.0.

 

went out, had a cigar, came back in and hacked more php on OSC

This is a good treatment, however it only relieves the symptoms for a short period of time.

 

well, the application is stubborn and gives flakey non-results every time

This to is an unfortunate side effect that occures after you purchase your license for Woman 1.0.

 

That strikes a familiar cord...
Thats would be a POWER D cord followed by a A to E progression.

 

Good Luck ... :o :huh: ;) :lol: :D :P B) :rolleyes: <_< :( :angry: :) :unsure: :( :ph34r: :blink:

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thanks for this, i'm using it fine (i think) so far on a pre-ms1 (from sept 2002?)

with this and no bugs that i've seen so far.

 

there's nothing wrong with the current email being sent out. but, i'd be very interested if someone has come up with something that's worded even more persuasive than what's in the package to entice customers to come back (besides a discount of X amount).

 

thanks.

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Aalst, now it's a little bit more clear.

So you're working on the tool and Met00 is working on the report.

Nice work BTW.

First I've installed the report then I moved to the tool. But the report included with the tool had the same problems with the short tags that's why I've posted here. My mistake.

Keep up the good work. In the meantime I will try to solve some issues that I still have with the tool. If I fail I will get back here to beg some help :-)

 

Greetings

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Aalst, now it's a little bit more clear.

 

Huh?

 

So you're working on the tool and Met00 is working on the report.

 

Say what?

 

First I've installed the report then I moved to the tool. But the report included with the tool had the same problems with the short tags that's why I've posted here. My mistake.

 

Okay, let's clarify.

 

1) Met00 created a cart report hack and posted it to a topic

2) defender took that and created a contribution from it

3) based on input from defender and others Met00 modified the report to a sales tool called scart and posted that to the thread

4) while that was going on Aalst was making mods to the contribution

5) Met00 took Aalst's changes and scart and thunked them together to create RCS and submitted it as a formal contribution with RCS Tool and RCS Report

6) Aalst then started making mods to RSC Tool

7) Met00, unhappy with RCS Report has stated that he is working on a complete re-write of the report

 

And that is where we are at today. As of yet I have not come up with a decent way to generate the report that I am happy with. Part of this is due to the fact that I really want to "capture" the cart contents when the Tool is run and then be able to examine the actual sale to what was in the cart when the customer was contacted. This will let me know if they came back and modified the contents prior to the sale (very important information, in my view, to understanding the customer process and how the tool is working). Additionally, I'm trying to see if there is a better way to show what "happened" in the process graphically.

 

So, until I get to the point where I am happy with the way the report is reporting, and that the information is truly useful, the current version is a kluge that will have to do. Any suggestions will always be welcome... :D

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Met00,

 

Hey are we a little touchy? hehe :)

 

(Bowing down to Met00)

 

OKAY EVERYBODY... LISTEN UP...

 

MET00 IS THE GENIUS BEHIND

  • THE REPORT,
    • THE TOOL,
      • THE IDEAS!

I am the uncreative one, the grunt programmer, the one ruled by standards, and conformity. I just like to help. :D

 

As I like to say:

Coding is a way of life.

It's in the air we breath.

It pumps through our veines.

Without it we soon crumble to dust.

 

Now stop giving me credit for Met00 work, and ideas. :D :P

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the 'recover cart' tool should be parsed into seperate pages of 20 carts each i think.

 

i'm looking at my carts right now and from the last 60 days, there must be over 200 of them.

Personally I do not think the tool was designed to be used to process such a long period of time.

 

Think about it...

 

You only want to contact people who have abandoned their carts with in a recent time frame. Like 10 days, which is the default, I personally use a 5 day rule. I do not contact abandoned carts over 5 days old. However I never let them get that old. I check everyday, and then process carts only after they are over 24 hours old.

 

You want to contact the client while the experience is fresh in their minds. You don't want them to forget about what they wanted and why. You never want to contact stale leads.

 

Also clients will think it is an honest customer service inquiry if it is within 48 hours. Older than that and they may get suspicious of your true motives.

 

When you run the tool for the first time, you may want to JUST LOOK at a large time period like 60 or 90 days, just to see the amount of abandoned carts that have gone to waste. However to contact a client about something that happened 2 weeks ago let alone 2 months ago is ridiculous.

 

Therefore after you give over the pure awe of the amount of wasted opportunities, set it to 5 days and go from there and then try to check on a reoccurring regular basis. Also never respond RIGHT away to an abandoned cart. They are not really abandoned until at least an hour or two have passed. Why? Well as soon as someone places an item in there cart (and is logged in) it will show up on this report. That means a person could still be shopping, and making choices. To contact them while they are doing this may cost you the sale. Also some times a shopper likes to save their cart with what they want and then buy it later that day or the next. (My wife does this all the time on sites that save carts).

 

Then and thereby if you wait at least an hour or two you have a good chance that it is an abandoned cart. I like 24 hours to make it look more like a customer service inquiry, than a desperate attempt at reclaiming a lost sale.

Therefore you can clearly see that having pages implemented in to the tool would be a low priority on the list of new features, because if checked everyday it should be a manageable list.

 

Keep in mind this is how *I* use the tool and the methods I have implemented to govern that use. Met00 may have other ideas in mind when he created it of how the tool should be used, which I would like to hear, since he has tons of good ideas.

 

Regardless, I hope this helps you and others who may be wondering how to use the tool. As for the report since it doesn't work yet, I have no idea how to use it. :D

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thanks for this, i'm using it fine (i think) so far on a pre-ms1 (from sept 2002?)

with this and no bugs that i've seen so far.

 

there's nothing wrong with the current email being sent out.  but, i'd be very interested if someone has come up with something that's worded even more persuasive than what's in the package to entice customers to come back (besides a discount of X amount).

 

thanks.

Keep in mind the my interpretation of the intentions of the tool is for a CUSTOMER SERVICE approach.

 

That doesn't mean that you can't not use it to soft sell or even hard sell the people. Keep in mind you may most likely be cross the line from a welcomed e-mail to a another piece of SPAM. Also you may be break some laws depending on the country and region your business is based in.

 

This is the safest way to package a tool for general use by a mass majority of OSC users.

 

You are encouraged to change the message to what every you want or need. You just need to change the appropriate language file.

 

Maybe a new TOPIC could be started for people to post just these types of message so we could have a collection of them for users to pull from.

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We are working on a reply letter which may be of use to others. It will be available tomorrow to be posted here. It is more of a questionaire which lists typical reasons why they did not complete the transaction (i.e. found better price, changed their mind, etc.)

 

I am hoping maybe Aalst or someone can take this one step further by coding it to be an interactive HTML form which will do two things. One, it will allow the customer to easily pick the reason by checking a box (instead of writing a response letter) and then adding comments in a field if desired. Two, it would gather statisical information on why people did not check out from those that respond to it. It will still be a customer service approach, but add the ability for the customer to select a box to request further help if needed for technical site issues (I have lost plenty of sales just because the customer forgot to push the last confirmation button) or for more product information. Of course it would still be able to be edited to meet each admin's exact wording.

 

If this sounds of interest, let me know, and I will post the template in the AM.

 

Kirk

Boom... Big butta boom.

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(I have lost plenty of sales just because the customer forgot to push the last confirmation button)

Slightly off topic. Real quick, change the page title!!! "Order Confirmation"

SUCKS the big wazoo. I changed it to "Please Confirm Your Order" and saw my abandons and confusion at that page drop by 75%. Then add something like:

 

<tr><td class=smalltext><b>IMPORTANT:</b> You are not done yet! Please confirm that we have got everythig right. If you need to re-edit something, click on the  <i>(Edit)</i> for that section and make any changes. When you have confirmed everything, click on the <i>Confirm Order</i> button at the bottom of the page to submit the completed order. This will send you to Verisign where you card will be  processed. When you confirm the charge there you will be returned to Education 4 Kids® and your shopping cart will be empty. Thank you.<p> </td></tr>

 

Now I hardcoded (read "hacked") this into /catalog/checkout_confirmation.php and Aalst would most likely would have created a define variable and added it to the /english/ file, but no matter how you do it, DO IT!. This change reduced my drops on both the confirmation page, and increased the number of verisign returns. All very good things to have happen.

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Met00,

 

Hey are we a little touchy? hehe :)

 

(Bowing down to Met00)

 

OKAY EVERYBODY... LISTEN UP...

 

MET00 IS THE GENIUS BEHIND

  • THE REPORT,
    • THE TOOL,
      • THE IDEAS!

I am the uncreative one, the grunt programmer, the one ruled by standards, and conformity. I just like to help. :D

 

As I like to say:

Coding is a way of life.

It's in the air we breath.

It pumps through our veines.

Without it we soon crumble to dust.

 

Now stop giving me credit for Met00 work, and ideas. :D :P

Me? :o Touchy?

 

To mis-quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail...

"What are you doing now?"

"We are averting our eyes oh Lord"

"Well, don't. It's just like those miserable psalms, always so depressing."

 

Now, Grunt, it's time for you to prepare for the next piece of code... CCT [The Customer Cleanup Tool] which I should have ready by the 15th (I hope).

:P

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the 'recover cart' tool should be parsed into seperate pages of 20 carts each i think.

 

i'm looking at my carts right now and from the last 60 days, there must be over 200 of them.

Personally I do not think the tool was designed to be used to process such a long period of time.

<snip>

He gets it!

 

Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!
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It is more of a questionaire which lists typical reasons why they did not complete the transaction (i.e. found better price, changed their mind, etc.)

Sounds like a great way to get more detail information from clients. However, I think this is not the most efficent way to expend effort. Let me tell you why.

 

My personal bielf in coding, is DO NOT RE-INVENT THE WHEEL. This simple statement means that before I code anything I do a search for Open Source, Freeware, Shareware, and Commercial software that does what I am thinking of. If it is Open Source or free in some way and it does the job, then there is no need to expend the effort to start from scratch and write my own code that takes lots of time, and QA, etc etc. If it is a Commercial package and there is no other type availane and the price is reasonable, I will buy. If it is over priced and it is within my ability to code, then I will write.

 

So far I rarely had to resort to writing my own applications for myself. I have found good software that does what I need. Usually several choices to pick from.

 

In the case of a survey HTML e-mail, well there are several free and paid services that will host a survey for you, and keep all the data for you and also provide all the charts you chould ever want. If you register for one of these services then you can provide a link to the survey page and change the text e-mail to ask the user to take the survey.

 

If you create a survey and someone integrates it into the RCS Tool then it would require new DB Tables, and its several Reports just for this. It would also need its own Admin tool just to handle the questions to make it easy for users to add and remove them and to handle the answers and linking questions to other questions and etc etc. It snowballs from a simple good idea into several and then it creates a life of its own.

 

My view is that there are several good servey tools/services out there that can be easily used with this Tool so why RE-INVENT them in trying to implement your own version into it.

 

Remember all statements made in this post are the sole opinion of Aalst.

OSC, This Topic, and Met00 are not responsible for them.

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