Outraged. Just referred a colleague to use her domain (not posting it publicly here) to Zoho, just as I have other colleagues, clients, friends. Expected the exact same free plan features as I have and as everyone else I ever referred got.
I was helping her set it up, and after creating and starting the migration following all the DNS MX SPF DKIM changes, went to enable IMAP in the Control Panel. I know from having used Zoho for 5 years that though IMAP access is always included, for some reason it is never defaulted to on, only POP.
To my surprise, I see that POP and IMAP are both disabled. No problem, I think. I go to enable each one and to my disgust and dismay, discover that "Available exclusively with paid plans" pops up instead. No POP, No IMAP, no SMTP, it turns out that Zoho Free is now only a crummy substandard webmail-only plan. Maybe webmail and your own app, but utterly locked out of any "real email programs". Not what I had, not what most of us had, not what anybody expected they were referring as a good thing.
NO PRIOR NOTICE. (Yes, that is yelling. I'm quite upset at your sneaking in this degradation of what you offered.)
Anyone of us Zoho Free users likely expects that when we refer someone new to Zoho to use the same service with which we have been very satisfied, she or he is going to get the same service.
There was no message there that IMAP and POP are no longer included (and obviously not SMTP either anymore.) Even on the signup plan choice, there's a positive note of "webmail access" but by any sensible expectation, the classic "reasonable person" (as the lawyers love to say in court) expects that means, "Oh that's lovely, they also have webmail, how convenient", not, "Oh no, it is ONLY webmail."
Please reverse this really bad policy. It is not going to help you get new paying customers, it is just going to block off the inflow of new customers overall. Your free service has sufficient limits, especially on overall storage space, that there are plenty of incentives for upgrading if people discover they really like Zoho and start using you a lot more, including docs and file space. Also, for significantly growing small but many-employees businesses.
Shutting off "normal email access" (POP, IMAP, SMTP are what is "normal" in the email world) just is going to anger and dismay existing customers enough that you won't get nearly as many referrals anymore. Plus we won't trust that you won't suddenly change the terms of the deal for existing users. I know that I will be warning all my existing referred users, who are at present quite happy with Zoho, to consider getting out from you before you take away what they have.
At minimum, you should have done very obvious notifications, not fine print in misleading ways, for many months, including a proactive message upon referral BY a free-with-IMAP user TO a new user that their referred colleague was going to get a lousy bad plan in comparison to what the referrer had.
And anybody who got referred without that should immediately get an upgrade, not to the full features of the paid plan, but to the features of the old free plan.
I feel both cheated by you, and that my professional credibility was damaged by you, due to this inadequately announced degradation of what I referred, thinking it was the "real Zoho" plan. I fully expect you to fix my latest referral's account to have those capabilities on her free plan. (Everybody else's too, I would hope, as there is a whole class of people who probably were damaged by your inadequately disclosed action.) And then to start making a better announcement in advance, a real announcement, really in advance, so that we existing users don't get fooled into referring someone to something that is no longer as good as what we thought it was.
Please do the right thing. Make it right for recent referrals, defer this change until you have given many months of really OBVIOUS notice. Then it's all fine, then people can make smart decisions about whether to refer you and to what kind of plan to use in the referral.
Recent Topics
Collections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing
"Mark, I think the payment link isn't working. Can you send it again?" Staring at a message, Mark got on his phone. This was the third time the same customer had asked him that week. A few minutes later, another message came, "Hey, the invoice total seems
Account name not populating when importing contacts
When importing a csv file to add contacts the account name is blank? Every other filed gets mapped and imported correctly, i.e contact name, phone number. However not the account name which I have mapped to "company" field in my csv file
Suggestion to improve zoho writer
I am using your product, I believe it is very useful, however, i was writing a note and I needed to draw an arrow in different angles to explain a point and I couldn't. it would be helpful, to add draw functions to the zoho writer. thanks
Almost all Flows are being queued
A few days ago I saw one of my Flows status was Queued. This was the first time this had ever happened. Now, almost every Flow that triggers is Queued for at least a few minutes. If I re-trigger the Flow (which causes separate problems) they sometimes
Zoho Analytics & Zoho Creator - Modified Time value
I'm trying to use the Zoho Creator system field 'modified time' in Zoho Analytics, but it's consistently showing 12 hours 'out' In Zoho Creator In Zoho Analytics Is this a constant difference that I just need to correct with a timezone change - or is
webhook basic authentication
II want to use a webhook to send out a SMS. Unfortunately Twilio does not use an authToken but basic authentication. I created the webhook as POST and get this url: https://{username}:{password}@api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{account}/Messages?body=<BODY>&to=+155555555&from=+1555555555
Managing functions
Can someone let me know if there are any plans to improve the features for managing functions in CRM? I have lots of functions and finding them is hard. The search only works on the function name and the filter only works on function type. I have created
Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift
Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities
Custom function return type
Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding
Issue with Hour Calculation in Zoho People Attendance Module
I have noticed an issue in the attendance regularization feature of Zoho People. When trying to regularize past dates, the total working hours are not calculated correctly. For example, if I enter a check-in and check-out time for a previous day, the
Free webinar alert on November 19 - Email driven strategies - Master personality based styles
Hello Zoho Community! Want to make email management easier, smarter, and more you? We’ve got just the session for you! Join our interactive, game-based webinar to discover how Zoho Mail adapts to your personality and work style. Learn practical hacks,
Push Notification for New Bookings in Zoho Bookings App
when a someone schedules an appointment through the booking page, is there any option to receive a push notification in the mobile app?
Automation in Zoho Sprints
Hi. I have a Sprints board with the following statuses: ToDo, InProgress, CodeReview, Testing, Preprod, Live When a ticket is moved from e.g. Testing to Preprod, the following tags should be modified: remove 'tested OK' remove 'ready for Preprod' add
Export Purchase orders as Excel
Is it possible to export purchase orders as excel rather than PDF? Our suppliers don't want orders made in PDF, they need it to be excel
Cliq iOS can't see shared screen
Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards
Draft & Schedule Emails Directly in Bigin
Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to email in Bigin. We'll go over each one in detail, but here's a quick overview: Previously, you couldn't draft or schedule emails in Bigin, but
Create CRM Deal from Books Quote and Auto Update Deal Stage
I want to set up an automation where, whenever a Quote is created in Zoho Books, a Deal is automatically created in Zoho CRM with the Quote amount, customer details, and some custom fields from Zoho Books. Additionally, when the Sales Order is converted
Auto sync Photo storage
Hello I am new to Zoho Workdrive and was wondering if the is a way of automatically syncing photos on my Android phone to my workdrive as want to move away from Google? Thanks
Send email template "permission denied to access the api"
Hello, Per the title, I'm trying to send a Zoho CRM Email template based on the advice given here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/specify-an-email-template-when-sending-emails-in-custom-functions (I'd prefer to send right from Deluge
Zia’s AI Assist now helps you write clearer notes — in seconds
After helping recruiters craft job descriptions, emails, and assessments, Zia’s AI Assist is now stepping in to make note-taking effortless too. Whether you’re recording feedback after an interview or sharing quick updates with your team, you can now
Add Prebuilt "Partner Finder" Template with Native Zoho CRM Integration in Zoho Sites To: Zoho Sites Product Team
Hi Zoho Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request a prebuilt "Partner Finder" template for Zoho Sites, modeled after your excellent implementation here: 🔗 https://www.zoho.com/partners/find-partner-results.html ✅ Use Case: Our organization
Shortcut to fill a range of cells
Good evening: I'm writing because I haven't been able to find a feature that allows you to select a range of cells, type in one of them, and then use a key combination to type in all of them. In Excel, the keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Enter. I haven't found
Introducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM
Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience for
Object required error
Hi, I am getting an 'Object required' error on the line Call HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws, startOfWeek, endOfWeek) when I run the ShowCurrentWeek macro but not when I run the ShowCurrentMonth macro. Any ideas? Regards, GW Option Explicit Sub HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws
Zoho CRM - Rename "Estimates" in CRM Finance Suite Integration to "Quotes"
I'm not sure if it's been 2 or 3 years now since Zoho Books renamed Estimates to Quotes. I still see "Estimates" in the Zoho CRM integration. Could this be added to Translation settings so that some customisation could be made on an account by account
Its 2022, can our customers log into CRM on their mobiles? Zoho Response: Maybe Later
I am a long time Zoho CRM user. I have just started using the client portal feature. On the plus side I have found it very fast and very easy (for someone used to the CRM config) to set up a subset of module views that make a potentially extremely useful
All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs
The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Latest update
New Series Announcement - Ecommerce Marketing Tips
Running an online business is more than just having a website. It’s about getting the right customers to discover you, trust you, and keep coming back. To support your growth journey, we’re launching a weekly Marketing Tips series right here on Zoho Commerce
Marketing Tip #7: Add a blog to your online store
A blog is more than content. It’s a magnet for new customers. Sharing product guides, styling tips, or industry insights through blog posts builds trust and helps you rank higher on search engines. Try this today: Write one blog post answering a common
Kanban view on Zoho CRM mobile app!
What is Kanban? The name doesn't sound English, right? Yes, Kanban is a Japanese word which means 'Card you can see'. As per the meaning, Kanban in CRM is a type of list view in which the records will be displayed in cards and categorized under the given
Allow Regular Users to Directly Transfer Ownership of Files & Folders
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to file and folder ownership management in Zoho WorkDrive. At the moment, a regular user cannot directly transfer ownership of their files or folders
STOCK history in zohosheets
is it possible to get historical stock value using stock function in zoho sheets? i could not see from and to period in the helper document.
Triggering rules on lead conversion
There is no field on the Rule list for rule conversion to trigger an alert on liead conversion to a potential. I assigned a rule to file on any creation or update of a lead. The lead was changed a lead to a potential but no rule was fired. Rajesh Bhadra
Customised Funnel
We are running the standard plan for our ZOHO CRM. I have been asked if there is a way to combine data from the Calls module, Deals module and Contact Module into 1 funnel, similar to the view you can get when viewing Deals By Stages, you can see the
Trigger Zapier on Deluge Insert Into Function?
Hello, To get around the limitation of not being able to trigger a Zapier Zap on Record Update(this would be extremely useful to be able to do btw), I have created a Deluge script to copy the data from Form A to a Trigger Form B using the Insert Into expression from a Custom Action button on a Report from Form A. This action does not trigger the Zapier Zap whereas manually adding a record or duplicating an existing record does trigger the Zap. Is Insert Into not the same as a manual Add in the context
Can you inject JS in an HML+CSS+Deluge Page?
I have an HTML + CSS + Deluge page and need just a little vanilla JS functionality. However, it seems like Zoho Creator does not allow that. I'm required to create a JS widget. Is this correct? If so: 1. Won't this quickly consume my API limit if there
Display Client Name in Zoho Creator Client Portal Dashboard
Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. Zoho Creator recently introduced the option to set a client’s display name in the Client Portal settings, which is very helpful for providing a personalized portal experience. However, there is currently
Unified Inbox for all, including fetched mails
I fetch mails from different third-parties mailboxes. But I need to switch mailbox too see fetched mails. It's strange. All mailboxes have one shared disk space for own mail and fetched mail, but why do we need to switch mailbox (on the left bottom) to
Zoho unified inbox
The new changes have definitely improved things for switching between accounts. But zoho still desperately needs a unified inbox. It sucks to have to enter filters and folders for each and every inbox. This seems like such a simple thing, i wonder why Zoho hasn't done it?
Marketer’s Space - Multi-Channel Campaigns for the Biggest Shopping Week with Zoho Marketing Automation
Hello marketers, Welcome back to another post in Marketers Space! The biggest shopping week of the year is almost here, and it’s your moment to shine without the stress. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, being present across email,
Next Page