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Date-based wait actions issue

  • September 18, 2024
  • 4 replies
  • 483 views
T

I have an automation that onboards people into a course. They choose their start date in the first email of the automation. After that, the wait actions are all set up to be based on the start date. They need to get all the emails, no matter what day they choose as their start date. It could be 30 days from now or 2. I have the start date set as a custom field. The first wait action seems to be the biggest problem. It’s set at Start Date is after Current Day plus 15. The other wait actions are the same, just varying the number of days before the start date. All accounts are getting stuck at that first wait action and not moving forward. I’ve tried changing the “after” bit to “is on or after” and “is on or before” and “before” and that does nothing. Nothing will move these people forward, except the start date being exactly 15 days out. Am I not putting the wait action in right or does this have something to do with them choosing a start date after they end up at that first wait action?

4 replies

J
  • jacobmonash
  • Certified Consultant
  • September 18, 2024

Hey Sarah, hmm are you changing the wait step while contacts are already in it?
Sometimes I find that turning the automation off and on again helps “unstick” contacts that are already in the automation.
If that doesn’t work, perhaps you can share a screenshot of your automation? You can download an image of your automation workflow by clicking the download button on the bottom left of the automation canvas.

T

I’ve tried it both ways, having people in it and adjusting, and taking them out and adding them back after adjusting. Tried turning it off and back on. I keep getting an error when trying to upload screenshots here, unfortunately.

T

So what I think happened is if someone chooses their start date after they’re already in the automation, the automation isn’t checking that, so it’s sticking them at a wait action indefinitely. I’ve split the automation into a reminder series to choose their start date and the actual onboarding process. It seems to be working this way.

J
  • jacobmonash
  • Certified Consultant
  • September 23, 2024

Oh interesting, that’s good to know!

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