# Your feedback inbox

Step 4 of setting up Kudos. Two minutes, most of it waiting for an email.

Nothing is sent to any of your clients until you finish step 6.

## What this step decides

When Kudos asks a client how things went, they get two choices. One leads to your public Google
listing. The other leads to a private feedback box that only you see.

**This step sets where that private feedback lands.**

It matters more than it looks. A client who is unhappy will often say so in that box and nowhere
else, and that is the one message you want to read the same day.

## It is not the same as your reply-to address

Easy to confuse, so worth being explicit. There are two different addresses in Kudos and they do
different jobs.

| | Reply-to (step 3) | Feedback inbox (this step) |
|---|---|---|
| Set on | The shared sending path only | Every practice |
| Receives | A client hitting Reply in their mail app | A client filling in the private feedback box |
| Triggered by | The client choosing to write to you | The client using the feedback form on the review page |

They can be the same address, and for most practices they should be. But they are set separately,
and setting one does not set the other.

## The steps

1. Enter the address where private feedback should land.
2. Press to send a verification code. It arrives by email.
3. **The code expires in 15 minutes.** Enter it on the same page.
4. Once accepted, step 4 is done.

Use an address a person actually reads. A shared practice inbox is fine and is usually the right
answer; a no-reply address is not.

## If the code does not arrive

In order of likelihood:

1. **Check the spam or junk folder**, and search your whole mailbox rather than just the inbox. In
   Gmail, search `in:anywhere Kudos`. Mail that is filed rather than delivered looks identical to
   mail that never arrived, and this is the most common cause by a wide margin.
2. **Wait two minutes.** It is usually faster, but a queue is a queue.
3. **Check the address for a typo.** Correct it and send a new code.
4. If it is a practice-wide inbox, check whether a rule is filing anything from an unfamiliar sender.

Send a new code rather than retrying an old one. Codes expire, and an expired code and a wrong code
give the same answer on purpose.

## What each message means

| What you saw | What to do |
|---|---|
| That inbox is confirmed. You can receive private feedback there. | Nothing. Step 4 is done. |
| Code sent. It expires in 15 minutes. | Check your email, including spam. |
| That code did not work. It may have expired, so send a new one and try again. | Send a new code. This one sentence covers a wrong code, an expired one, an already-used one, and an address changed since it was sent. We do not say which, deliberately. |
| Too many attempts. Wait an hour, then send a new code. | Wait an hour. Trying harder will not help and sending another code immediately will not either. |
| We could not confirm that code. Try sending a new one. | Send a new code. |
| Too many codes sent. Wait an hour and try again. | Wait an hour. |
| That does not look like an email address. Check it and try again. | Check for a typo, a missing `@`, or a trailing space. |
| Enter the address first, then send a code to it. | Fill in the address box before asking for a code. |
| Finish the sending-address step first, then come back to this one. | Step 3 is not complete. Go back and finish it. |
| Sending is paused for your practice. Contact support to resume it. | Email support. This is not something the setup page can undo. |
| Something changed while you were on this page. Reload and try again. | Something about your account changed between loading the page and pressing the button. Reload. |
| Too many changes in a short time. Try again in an hour. | Wait an hour. |
| Only the account owner can change this. | Ask whoever created the Kudos account to do this step. |
| Only the account owner can do this. Sign in as the owner. | As above. |
| Your login is attached to more than one practice. Contact support. | Something is set up unusually on your account. Email support. |
| You were signed out. Sign in and try again. | Sign back in. |
| We could not save that address. Try again. | Try again. If it keeps happening, email support. |
| We could not send the code. Try again. | A temporary fault. Press the button again in a minute. If it keeps happening, email support. |
| We could not check that code. Try again. | A temporary fault. Enter the code again. If it has expired, ask for a new one. |
| We could not read your account. Reload and try again. | A temporary fault. Reload the page and start this step again. |

## If you are using an AI assistant

**What it can do for you**

- Explain the difference between this address and the reply-to on step 3
- Walk you through finding a code that was filed rather than delivered
- Explain any message you have seen

**What it cannot do**

- **Read your email.** The code is in your inbox and only you can get it.