My Personal Tips
Handling Update Requests
A primary objective for user update requests should be to respond to them in a timely manner. Nothing looks worse to a user than getting a response to their update request from 2 years ago.
- When replying, be polite and always assume the user was right. Users don't submit false reports maliciously. It doesn't mean they did it correctly or at the right location on the map, but if the response is rude or short ("i can't tell what you are talking about") then the user won't bother to reply. Replies to requests for more information are hard enough to come by as it is.
- Always sign your replies (best to use your Waze username). Part of the signature (or the response) should inform the user how they can contact you - either an email or a link to compose a PM to your private message inbox in the waze forums.
- Do not leave URs open because you don't have enough information. Ask for more information, and if the user doesn't respond, either:
- Take a field trip if you are close
- Close the request
- When replying to a request asking for more information, make the very first part of the response a DATE that you intend to close the request if no response is received. Use a "PC" prefix on the date, meaning "Pending Close"... like this "PC 8/24 Thanks for your request"
- Do not assume a user reported an error in the exact location on the map that the problem occurs. You must play detective to a certain degree. In particular, check the connectivity of all segments in the area.
Routing
- Do not route onto Parking lot roads... they can be drawn on the map but should not be used for routing. I'm not sure if Waze routing algorthm does this or not, but it makes sense to document as such on the map anyway.