The Brandfuel website only allows placement of successful orders for a valid RHCA credential and I was a valid RHCA on Jun18th after passing the 5th Exam.
The RHCA is not a walk in the park and it requires a lot of effort to pass the exams and it was extremely disappointing to see how callously the matter of the RHCA gift was handled which basically has a Plaque, a t-shirt and sticker for this well deserved achievement.
Noted below is a months long frustrating communication for something which should have been easy and straightforward. I have omitted the names but I am sure my communication is traceable in their ticketing system.
Jun 18, 2024 - Cleared the exam Red Hat Certified Specialist in Developing Automation with Ansible Automation Platform on and received the Red Hat Architect in Infrastructure credential.
Jun 18, 2024 - Initiated an order on Brandfuel and received confirmation of the order - Order number RHAK-28485. It was noted on the order that the order will ship within 12 weeks.
Thu, Oct 3, 1:37 PM - - Followed up with brandfuel as no kit was received and it has been at this time almost 15 weeks. No reply received.
Sat, Oct 12, 11:49 AM - Followed up with brandfuel as no kit was received and it has been at this time almost 17 weeks.
Mon, Oct 14, 2:14 PM - Received a reply from Brandfuel that the estimated ship date is 15th November.
Nov 29, 2024, 5:25 PM - Followed up as nothing received still, no confirmation, no kit.
Dec 2, 2024, 4:05 PM - Internal communication within Brandfuel with me on copy asking about the status of the order.
Dec 2, 2024, 7:35 PM - Internal reply within Brandfuel with me on copy that I will note below…
“I apologize we don't get verification on certificates until the end of each month.
We couldn't find an RHCA attached to this cert-ID, and therefore canceled the order.
If you need further assistance, contact Red Hat on https://rhtapps.redhat.com/comments”
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 5:15 AM -
Hi,
When I raised the order the certification was valid and it took more than 6 months to get this message now about the cancellation of the order.
There is nowhere a mention that the certification needs to be valid for 6 months to get the award.
The fact that it was valid at the time of the request is that it allowed me to select an award.
Is this to be then resolved by Redhat now when a successful order was placed with a valid certification at brandfuel?
Please provide the social handles of brandfuel.
Dec 11, 2024, 4:15 PM - Reply received from Brandfuel
I'm sorry unfortunately we just process the orders.
Red Hat verifies the certificate numbers we do not.
Please reach out to them about the verification of your cert-number.
My Comments
Did I receive the RHCA credential on Jun 18th, 2024 - Yes
Did the website allow me to create a successful order as I was a valid RHCA - yes
Did I get confirmation of the order - yes
Did I wait months on end - yes
Did I do repeated follow ups - yes
Was I promised a ship date even if delayed - yes, 15th of November.
Did I receive anything yet - No
What date is it today - 22nd Dec 2024
My question to #Redhat #Brandfuel
What should I have done differently and did I miss anything anywhere in creating this order and how should it be a candidate’s problem regarding the internal workings Between Redhat and Brandfuel. All I say is that I did a lot of hard work in getting the credential but someone somewhere went cheap or some system was broken and I was merrily tossed around and then asked to fill out a generic comment form.
