While the rollout of the new MaritzCX site has had its issues, at least the company is active here, and they seem to be responding to the problems that have been brought up.
Let me preface my answer by saying the specialiization for my M. Ed. is distance learning, so I have been trained in best practices when it comes to data collection, data dissemination and online communication.
EPMS gets my vote as they have many issues with both their website and communications, and they fail to address them despite the issues being raised in response to their post shop surveys and individual communication.
I've got quite a few complaints, and will list some here, not in order of importance:
• Completing the sections of a report leads to a dead end. Once all sections (except for follow up) have been marked as completed, you wind up on a page with a few lines of black text on a white background, and no links to go anywhere else on the site. Those of us who have shopped for them know that you simply go back one page and you can access a menu to get where you need to go next, but a first-time shopper would find the implementation confusing as there are no instructions on the page as to how to proceed.
• Numerous text boxes are prefaced by an "If no..." instruction to put a response in the box. However, even if the respective answer to the question is "Yes", the box still requires an input. This is faulty logic. They need to either fix it so the box is ignored with a "Yes", or expand on the instructions to denote that an "N/A" is required if the answer is yes. Second To None also employs a proprietary site, and they correctly implement similar questions.
• The latest quirk I ran into was the inspiration for this post. I recently completed a shop for them, and the Telephone Followup section had a single question, regarding a followup call taking place within a few hours of the visit or up to 48 hours. The only available answers are Yes or No. Given the phrasing, it is impossible to answer the question (and thus complete the report) until 48 hours have passed.
After completing the rest of the report sections I sent a message indicating that I would not be able to complete the report because of the poorly implemented section. I received a reply stating the shop deadline would be extended to accommodate this issue.
Unfortunately, whomever told me they would extend the deadline did not do so, resulting in one of their much-beloved automatic emails chiding me for my report being late.
Curious as to how others feel about their online experiences with other companies.