Serious Functional Dissapointment

[Deleted User]

I am horribly disappointed that I trusted theknot.com to provide an amazing experience for my fiancee and I and our guests.

Based off what I know now, I would not have put my site on here. 

The number 1 reason: RSVP

Yes, RSVP is good for helping you track who is coming and not and helping you make seating plans BUT it is a horrible user experience for the guest and, as the bride, I am embarrassed to be sending this to my guests.

The issues with the system are very simple:

The Knot should not require guests email to move forward. They do not even allow the couple to say they want the email from the guest, I know I don't as I already have my friends and family's email address.

Example: If you invite Timmy + 1 and Timmy decides not to bring that guest, an email is still required for that 'guest' in order for Timmy to let you know he is coming and not bringing anyone with him. 

The only reason why the know has this as a required field must be for their own purposes. This is a horrible business model....customers should come first. 

The next issue is that you can't edit anything on the page of RSVP. 

What does this mean for me who already has everything done on the website and the invitations ready to go? 

It means I have to add a separate page to my website letting my guests know that they have to include an email, even if their guest is not coming. 

I am in the position where I don't have the time to transition my website to another platform leaving me obligated to continue to use the knot which I can say I am embarrassed to because it is a poor experience for my guests. 

I emailed support with no answer only to call and be told "we are not the developers" and that others complain about it. It is such a simple fix (I work in Tech) its an on off switch in their system. Oh, I would also have privately provided this feedback but there is no such place to do so.

[Deleted User]

Hi Carla, sorry to hear that you did not have a great experience with our site. I will share this information with our team that works on our tools and website features to see if they can help.

CnLMadness13

Hey,  I totally agree.  There are a number of terrible deficiencies that could be easily fixed.

1.  The guest should NOT be required to enter their name exactly as on the invitation.  Invitations are traditionally addressed to full name, even when the individual or family goes by a common nickname.  e.g.:  "Philip" should be able to enter "Phil"

2.  There is no way for guests to enter how many will be in their party or other names in their party.  Invitations, again traditionally, are sent to a person or couple at one address, including the "unnamed" guest, e.g. "Samuel Jones and friend" or "Samantha Jones and escort" or such.

3.  There is no way for multiple guests to enter in one RSVP.  Your design makes it restricted to only the one person who received the invitation.  Bad design.  If "Mr & Mrs Sam Jones" was invited, then Mr or Mrs Sam Jones should be able to RSVP for the couple.  And what if only one of them is able to attend, the one NOT listed on the invitation.  Your design excludes them from RSVP-ing.

4.  What about people who were NOT on the invitation list?  Our wedding is an open invitation to everyone in the church.  Only friends and family are receiving printed invitations; but we still want and need other attending to RSVP so that we can plan for seating and food quantities.

5.  The wording is pretty off-putting to guests.  I'm guessing that your code is actually less restrictive than it reads.  i.e. - 

• the instructions (which we cannot edit !!!!!!!!) indicate that it is ONLY for guests that have received an invitation.  I'm betting that anyone could fill it out.  
  
• the instructions indicate that the user/guest MUST use the exact name on their invitation; again, I'm betting that they could actually use "Donald Duck" and it would work in the system just fine.
• the instructions leave no allowance for people who don't want to leave their email address.  Bad form! - pun intended!  That should NOT be a required field, period.

6.  SO, solutions?:

1. change the NON-editable instructions to be more warm and fuzzy (as a wedding should be) and less intimidating and less restrictive, as:  "Please input your name and the number of guests and their names in your party"
2. Make a mandatory field for input of the number of guests in their party
3. Include a separate instruction field for: "Please help us by giving us your email address in case we need to contact you with further information or communication."