Customer Approval e-Mail Not Sending

Hello

My apologies if this has been answered before I've tried but not found anything relating to this either on forum or in the FAQ.

I'm currently using 1.3.8a and want my customers to be manually approved before they can view prices but on account creation the standard Welcome e-mail is sent not the Authorization Pending, am I wrong in assuming that the Authorization Pending e-mail should be sent out initially?

In Admin - Configuration - Customer Details I have Customer Approval Status - Authorization Pending set to 2 - May browse but no prices unless Authorized

I may have the wrong end of the stick but if anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be grateful.

The welcome email is sent to everyone regardless of authorization status.
When authorizing a customer, the automatic email telling them of their account status is *only* sent if you authorize the customer by clicking on the red button in the customer listing.
Otherwise you'll have to notify your customers manually.

Thank you! Your information is very much appreciated.

This answer didn't clear things up for me.
I know there is an email called customers_authorization.php in the languages/english folder which has the wording:
"Thank you for requesting Authorization for our store. We will contact you as soon as possible."

I have the authorisation setting set to 2, ie customers may browse but can't see prices or place an order until authorised. But when I create a test account for myself, I get sent the usual welcome email that makes it sound like I can now do anything. I don't get the email above.
Is there another setting somewhere I have missed? How can I get the authorisation email sent out instead?
Jen

Yes I have the same problem (ditto Baa). It would be great if Dr could give us more explanation on this. I have posted my problem before but still no answer.

As Baa said,

1. Admins should receive an email saying yes there is a new customer waiting to be authorized. Then I can log in and approve/disprove

Upon approval
2. Customer should receive an email with a link/or message to say they have been proved so then can log in.

As I understand it, this is how zen supposed to be working but I am not getting any emails as admin for the new customers. How else would I know who applied for?

At the moment when I approve manually (as I would normally anyway but without the admin email notification), Customer gets an email saying following, which is meaningless and confusing without a mention of the authorization.

======== email send to customer after approval =========
Your customer status has been updated.
Thank you for shopping with us.

We look forward to your business.

This email address was given to us by you or by one of our customers. If you feel that you have received this email in error, please send an email to [email protected] This e-mail is sent in accordance with the US CAN-SPAM Law in effect 01/01/2004. Removal requests can be sent to this address and will be honored and respected.

================================

Yep I also have the same problem.

Has anyone found the solution to this yet? As there is a customers_authorization.php file you would think this could be used.
When hitting the submit button on the creat account form it should re-direct you to the authorization form.. anyone know how to do this??

In the meantime I have just changed the text in create_account_success.php

I just set up another shop for wholesale, but am having issues with the email not sending.

Is there an option (for me) to get an email when someone signs up? I'm sure it's a simple oversight.

Thanks!!

*Bump bump! :frusty:

I have a similar problem. Obviously, there is a procedural problem regarding this approval set up.

Zen Cart should notify the admin first about a customer that is waiting for approval before sending them the welcome message as this seems misleading for the customer.

It also doesn't make sense to me to log in to ZC all the time just to check if there are customers waiting for approval.

Has anyone thought of a way to work around this?
(help!) :dontgetit

-saydie13

I'm so glad someone has raised this again. It's clearly a bug of some kind - why else would that customer_authorization email even exist, except for this situation? But all we're getting is silence...:huh:

1.3.9h - No change yet.

I agree with everyone on this thread - any advice/progress on this?

Dr Byte, your answer didn't clear it up (which is unusual, I have to say). It's clearly not working.
All my hopes for getting this bug fixed lie with 2.0... whenever that happens. So exciting!!! :bigups:

I am not following the problem that you are having in v1.3.9h on Customer Approval Emails ...

I have set the setting on:

Quote:

---

Customer Approval Status - Authorization Pending
Customer must be Authorized to shop
0= Not required
1= Must be Authorized to Browse
2= May browse but no prices unless Authorized
3= Customer May Browse and May see Prices but Must be Authorized to Buy

---

to 2 and 3 and created new accounts ...

When I go to the Customers ... Customers ... in the Zen Cart Admin I see the RED icon on the Customer Accounts ...

If I click the RED icon on the accounts the accounts are Approved and then the email is sent out to the customer ...

Could you check the file, on the server, for:
/your_secret_admin_dir/customers.php

and make sure that it is the current version ...

You will see the code around line 76 where the email is generated ...

Hi Ajeh,
That may be the case but upon applying for an account, the customer immediately receives an email saying
"We wish to welcome you to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Pty Ltd.

With your account, you can now take part in the various services we have to offer you. Some of these services include: etc etc etc"

Even though thay have not been approved. This is confusing.

They do not receive the correct email (customers_authorization.php).

The code you refer to appears to be:
if ((int)CUSTOMERS_APPROVAL_AUTHORIZATION > 0 && (int)$_GET['current'] > 0 && $custinfo->RecordCount() > 0) {
$message = EMAIL_CUSTOMER_STATUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE;
$html_msg['EMAIL_MESSAGE_HTML'] = EMAIL_CUSTOMER_STATUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE ;
zen_mail($custinfo->fields['customers_firstname'] . ' ' . $custinfo->fields['customers_lastname'], $custinfo->fields['customers_email_address'], EMAIL_CUSTOMER_STATUS_CHANGE_SUBJECT , $message, STORE_NAME, EMAIL_FROM, $html_msg, 'default');
}

Is that what it should be?

Jen

Yes that is what is sending the email when the Approval is done ...

You can change your welcome email to be clearer to the customer to what you believe would convey a better message for the create account ...

Yes, well a clearer message would be:
"Thank you for requesting Authorization for our store.<br /><br />We will contact you as soon as possible."

And hey, that's exactly how the customers_authorization email is worded!
So what is the customers_authorization email for, if not for this very purpose?

The customer authorization is sent only intermittently in my case (v. 1.3.9h and all prior versions).

Intermittent is a windscreen-wiper setting, not part of zen cart AFAIK.
Ajeh? Please tell us what the customer authorisation email is for! And if it's not for customer authorisation, how do we implement a work-around so we can use it for customer authorisation?
I don't want to change the wording of the other email - that's for when the customer eventually gets access.

If you have the Customer Authorization turned on, and change the icon from Red to Green the email should always go out ...

I have not been able to reproduce a situation where it does not go out ...

As to the wording of the initial Welcome Email on the Create Account and the Email sent on the Authorization ... you can customize these to better suit your shop ...

Thank you for your replies.

Unfortunately being that I am only a retailer, I often struggle with the wording on the forum. I'm sorry don't know what a windscreen wiper setting is.

It is still sent intermittently when the icon is turned from red to green. Using 2 e-mail clients (thunderbird and outlook) as well as Yahoo with the sites e-mail address allowed on all and it's still intermittent.

I'm not going to worry about it, I'm used to having to talk to customers who are still waiting for the approval e-mail to arrive. I just thought it ought to be mentioned.

I will keep trying to reproduce this issue, but so far, every time I create an account and change the setting or change the setting back and forth the email goes out for the Authorization change to Approval ...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Baa

Unfortunately being that I am only a retailer, I often struggle with the wording on the forum. I'm sorry don't know what a windscreen wiper setting is.

---

Sorry Baa, that was a joke. I should have added a :wink:

Ajeh, here's the problem.
I just applied for an account with my client's store (1.3.9h). He has set it up so the customer requires authorisation.
I got an email saying "We wish to welcome you to Aushiya Pacific Trading Pty Ltd.
With your account, you can now take part in the various services we have to
offer you. Some of these services include: <etc etc>"

I then went into the admin and authorised myself. Yes, the dot turns green as it should, and I soon received an email saying,"Your customer status has been updated etc etc".

I think that our concern is that the first email should read "Thank you for requesting Authorization for our store. We will contact you as soon as possible." This is how the actual Zen Cart authorisation email reads. But the actual Zen Cart authorisation email is, for some reason, not being sent out.

It is indeed true that we can change the language of the welcome email to the language of the authorisation email. But why do that when the authorisation email is there, perfect, ready to use but, for some reason, not being sent out? And what if the store owner decides later that he doesn't want to authorise customers and we've no longer got our welcome email?

Please, please just tell us why the customer authorisation email is sitting there in the system, primed and ready, but is not being sent out? :frusty:

The problem is this ...

The Welcome Email works for everyone ...

The Authorization Email works for everyone ...

You, however, have something broken and it is not working ...

The goal here is to find out what is broken on *your* site that your emails are not working right for you ...

First, create your own customer account using your own email address ...

Do you get an email welcoming you to the site?

Does it read the way you want it to?

If not, change the language file for the email so that it does read the way you want it to ...

Go to the Customers ... Customers ... in your Admin ... do you see the red icon on your Customer Record?

First, edit the record and see what the:
Customers Authorization Status

reads in the drop down ... DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ...

Now, cancel out so you can see the red icon ... click it so it turns green ...

Do you get an email?

Does it read the way you want it to?

If not, change the language file so that it does read the way you want it to ...

If you do not get an email, then you need to compare the file on the server for:
/admin/customers.php

to the original in Zen Cart v1.3.9h and see what has changed ...

Also, check that you can send out emails from the admin by testing the EMAIL button ... can you send an email from the Admin?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ajeh

The problem is this ...

The Welcome Email works for everyone ...

---

No Ajeh, this is the part you don't understand. I'll try again.
There is a "Customer Authorization" email that tells people "Thank you for requesting Authorization for our store. We will contact you as soon as possible." It is meant to go out to customers who apply to open an account -immediately upon application - when you have set Customer Details > Customer Approval Status - Authorization Pending to 2 or 3. IT DOES NOT GO OUT. Instead, they get the same old welcome email that customers get when the store does not require authorisation. It tells them that they have immediate access to the store, WHICH IS NOT TRUE.

Please have a look:
includes/languages/english/customers_authorization.php

You create a Customer Account ...

You go to the Customers ... Customers and you see your new Customer Account ...

Is the icon is RED ...

When you click on the RED icon does it turn GREEN ...

When you see it switched to GREEN ... Do you get an email?

Does that reads:

Quote:

---

Your customer status has been updated. Thank you for shopping with us. We look forward to your business.

---

What is in your file:

Quote:

---

/your_secret_admin_dir/includes/languages/english/customers.php

Line #51 : define('EMAIL_CUSTOMER_STATUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE', 'Your customer status has been updated. Thank you for shopping with us. We look forward to your business.');

---

The line you are looking at is for when the Customer Authorization is set to 1 ...

Quote:

---

/includes/languages/english/customers_authorization.php

Line #24 : define('CUSTOMERS_AUTHORIZATION_TEXT_INFORMATION', 'Thank you for requesting Authorization for our store.<br /><br />We will contact you as soon as possible.');

---

This displays on the screen when the Customer Creates an account and is waiting for approval so that they can see the site ...

Just a thought ... in case what is confusing you is the wording in the Welcome Email ...

Keep in mind that the bulk of stores do not use a Customer Approval process of any kind ...

As there are so many reasons why, should you want to use a Customer Approval Process, there is NOT a custom email for that based on a switch setting ...

The language files are the language files ...

Save a copy of the original emails, if you think that you might want to use them at a later date and cannot figure out decent wording for your own Customer Approval reasons ...

Right - thank you, now I get it. I have never used Option 1 (customers need authorisation to browse) and I can't imagine ever using it.
Still, I'd love the option of using that email for options 2/3 (wholesalers) as it does not attempt to give reasons, it's just a good, all-purpose we-need-to-check-you-out-first email.
And yes, I have always changed the language of the email for wholesaling clients (all emails in fact) and I have always saved the original.
Result! (thanks for your patience Ajeh, I can be like a terrier with a bone when things don't make sense to me).

Even with Customer Authorization 1, you still get the same Welcome Email ...

That language define is *only* used on the screen, not on the email ...

You still need to *always* customize your Welcome Email whether you have a regular login without Authorization or are using Authorization to best suit your needs for your own individual store ...

The default language file is an example of what you might use ... however, it is nice to customize the email into your own words ...

The default email is designed as an example of how to have the language read for building purposes and how to allow additions to it for things like Discount Coupons or Gift Certificates that might go out when a new customer account is created ...

Got it! :smile:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Saydie13

*Bump bump! :frusty:

I have a similar problem. Obviously, there is a procedural problem regarding this approval set up.

Zen Cart should notify the admin first about a customer that is waiting for approval before sending them the welcome message as this seems misleading for the customer.

It also doesn't make sense to me to log in to ZC all the time just to check if there are customers waiting for approval.

Has anyone thought of a way to work around this?
(help!) :dontgetit

-saydie13

---

I agree... I think this is the biggest problem. There should be some sort of an email that goes to the admin saying a customer just signed up and is waiting for approval.

Anyone found a solution to this?

Thanks.

Did you peek in the Configuration ... E-mail Options ... and turn on the:

Quote:

---

Send Copy of Create Account Emails To - Status
Send copy of Create Account Status
0= off 1= on

---

And set the email:

Quote:

---

Send Copy of Create Account Emails To
Send copy of Create Account emails to the following email addresses, in this format: Name 1 <email@address1>, Name 2 <email@address2>

---

I have noticed:

If I click the red button to approve a customer...they get the e-mail.

If I click edit and then use the drop down to change the customers status to approved....the button turns green but no e-mail is sent.

Any thoughts on this. I would think the dropdown should work the same as clicking the red button.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by idc1

I have noticed:

If I click the red button to approve a customer...they get the e-mail.

If I click edit and then use the drop down to change the customers status to approved....the button turns green but no e-mail is sent.

---

Yes, that's exactly how it works.

I have installed many zen carts....I am pretty efficient in the admin area.

For some reason, when an account is approved by clicking the red to turn it green, an email is NEVER received. I did test to make sure I could send from the admin.

I receive all welcome emails, just no account status update emails when an account is approved.

Using ZC 1.5

Any thoughts?