Something is behaving oddly or you want to try a small config change. Before you throw it over to an expert, you gotta give it a try. And I’m asking for you to give me 20 minutes.
You might fix it during this time, but you will surely learn something and collect facts in case you can’t.
- Can you reproduce it?
- What changed?
- Strip it down. Test again.
CRM systems are deterministic. If it happened, there’s a reason. Turn “this is weird” into a few facts.
A few reasons why this pays:
- It can take just as long to write a problem to a support ticket system as it does to try a few things. Avoid waiting around for an answer.
- Look, if you escalate everything, it gets expensive. For the smaller nonprofits I work with, this isn’t real.
- If you have total certainty in life, you’ll get bored fast. If everything feels new and you’re trying to brute force your way into a Civi Ninja status, it’s chaos. Push a bit beyond your comfort zone.
Here’s the deal:
After 20 minutes, engage someone else. Protect the rest of your day. You’re also not paying an expensive consultant to start from zero.