I am just going to keep posting this issue in here, because this is still not getting resolved and the support team keeps asking me to make videos.
TLDR:
Temporary sync failures between Glide and Airtable result in loss of user-submitted data. When the sync fails, Airtable doesn’t update, but Glide does. When syncing resumes, Airtable overwrites the new data in Glide, forcing users to restart the signup process. This impacts user experience and causes customer loss.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the problem:
When the Glide to Airtable sync fails temporarily, the subsequent Airtable to Glide sync eventually resets all user-submitted data once the syncing works again. This issue results in the deletion of user-submitted information in Glide, forcing users to restart the signup and onboarding process. This is causing significant frustration and loss of customers.
- Setup:
- In Airtable, I have a table called “Clients” linked to my user table in Glide.
- The “Clients” table in Airtable matches the “Clients” table inside Glide.
- Onboarding Process:
- A user signs up to the client portal and creates a client profile.
- They go through an onboarding process, filling out a form.
- Upon submitting the form, an action runs that transfers the data to a helper table (“Form Client Sign Up”).
- The data is then moved from the helper table to the “Clients” table.
- Notification:
- I receive a Slack channel notification confirming the form submission.
- Sync Failure:
- If Glide to Airtable sync fails, Airtable does not get updated with the new status or data.
- When syncing resumes, Airtable overwrites the Glide data, thinking it is the most up-to-date, thereby removing all newly submitted user data.
- Impact:
- Users’ statuses are reset, and all onboarding data is lost.
- Users have to restart the entire signup process, leading to a poor user experience and loss of customers.
Example in Detail:
- User Submission:
- User “Julia” signs up and starts the onboarding process.
- All information submitted during onboarding is stored in a helper table called “Client Signup Form” (set up as a backup).
- Form Submission and Notification:
- When Julia submits the form, it triggers an action in Glide.
- This action updates the fields in the user table (“Clients”) with the information from the “Client Signup Form” helper table.
- A Slack notification is also triggered, confirming that Julia submitted the form.
- Sync Failure:
- Due to a temporary sync failure, the information successfully updates in the “Clients” table in Glide but not in the “Clients” table in Airtable.
- Despite the sync issue, I receive the Slack notification triggered by the Glide action.
- Resuming Sync:
- When the sync issue is resolved, Glide takes the outdated information from Airtable and syncs it back into Glide.
- Impact:
- Since Airtable was never updated due to the initial sync failure, it effectively clears all user-submitted values from Glide.
- Julia’s status and data revert, forcing her to restart the entire signup and onboarding process.
Current Workaround:
- I have to manually verify and resubmit the information for each affected user, which is time-consuming and inefficient.
Previous Suggestions and My Responses:
- Reset the Airtable connection: This isn’t the issue. The issue is that it appears Glide can only sync so many records at any given time. The connection works fine; it is simply that the syncs do not queue, they just fail.
- Have under 25k records: I do stay within the limits.
Request:
- I need a solution to ensure that temporary sync failures do not result in the loss of user-submitted data.
- It would be helpful if the same support representative could assist with this issue to avoid repetitive explanations.
Please let me know if you need any additional information or clarification. I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter as it is causing significant disruption to my service.
