Mike’s Blog » Rebate Center Update

Rebate Center Update

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— Mike @ 12:56 am

Alright, I’m making some major progress on what is tentatively called the “rebate center.” The project is progressing quickly, and should be done in beta form in about a week. It’s going to be a great resource for anyone who sends out a lot of rebates like I do.

Screenshot 1.	This is the main screen that the user sees when they first enter their rebate center. This is achieved by clicking a link at the top that says “Rebate Center” (clever, I know). For right now, only the top two sections contain live data. I haven’t quite worked out how I’m going to do the overall stats yet, but I will figure something out. The site-wide stats are important, I think, because it gives a sense of competition for the users. I think I am even going to make dynamic signature graphics that members can use that shows their rank on the site.

Screenshot 2.	This is the screen that the user will see when they choose “Add Rebate” from the top navigation tabs. It is a pretty basic form, and I have got most of the validation worked out. Of course, I do not have any fancy javascript validation, so if javascript is your thing and you would like to help me out, drop me a note. I am trying to keep the form as unobtrusive as possible. At no point in time do I require people to put in their own personal information. I am not interested in knowing exactly who they are or exactly where they live. I want information on a need-to-know basis, and try to require only what is necessary to perform the functions of the system. People know their own phone numbers and addresses, and if they don’t, they can always make use the built-in note system to… uhh… make a note.

Screenshot 3.	This is the Open Rebates Summary that the user sees after they click “Open Rebates.” Please don’t mind the border on the table. Keep in mind, this is the development version, and as such the graphics are nowhere-near final. They are just whatever I whip together on the fly as I work. There are three graphics on the screen. The notepad takes you to the summary page for the notes system. Clicking the stack of cash says, “Wohoo! I’ve got my rebate. Close this rebate out.” Likewise, the red stop sign says, “Man, this crappy company screwed me out of my rebate money. Close this rebate because I give up.” If a user doesn’t close their rebate after a certain amount of time, it will automatically be marked as “failed.” I am not sure how much time should pass, though. My initial though was 120 days, but now I’m considering that a rebate is considered a loss and automatically closed when twice the expected period passes. For example, if the rebate form says your check will arrive in six to eight weeks, we would double the highest number, and automatically close your rebate as “failed” after sixteen weeks. The user can, of course, reopen the rebate if they end up receiving it. When the nightly recount and rebuild occurs, however, it will be re-closed and failed.

Screenshot 4.	This is the Closed Rebate Summary screen, reached by clicking “Closed Rebates.” It provides a summary of rebates categorized as successful or failed. There is an icon that will take the user to the notebook page for that specific rebate, and the funky-looking red and green curvy-arrow-thing is the Reopen button– one click and the rebate is reopened.

Screenshot 5.	This is the Notebook summary page, accessed by clicking “Notebook” at the top. It provides a summary of notes on all open and active rebates in the system. Clicking on the title row in the top table will take you to the detailed notes page for that specific rebate. Clicking on the title of the note, however, will bounce you down to the bottom of the page so you can read the note then and there without another pageload. Notes are divided into four different categories: General, Email, Phone, and Mail. The idea is that you can mark each note with the subject matter. If you email the company and want to make a record of it, make an email note. If you called them, make a phone note. If you just want to record the secret phone number of the CEO of the company that you uncovered by digging through newsgroup archives, make a general note. If you resubmitted your rebate through the mail, make a mail note. I think you get the idea.

Screenshot 6.	This is the “Add Note” feature, reached by clicking the icon that corresponds to the type of note the user would like to create (this page is not function with live data, and hasn’t been shown). This feature currently works, although the note summary that it feeds the user is not live data, nor are the previous notes that are listed below. It will be working soon, though. Adding a note is meant to be fast and easy, and they system is coming along nicely.