Zap gives inconsistent results and I can't figure out why

Hi @WaterOrg 

For us to have more info…

• post screenshots showing how your Zap steps are outlined and configured in EDIT mode
• outline specific examples for us where it work VS does not work as expected
• check your Zap Runs history details to see the DATA IN/OUT for each Zap step to help you trace the data flow and troubleshoot

Hi Troy, thank you for reaching out :) Here is more info which will hopefully help narrow in on the issue.

1. Here are screenshots of how my Zap is configured

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2. Here is an example of the zap that ran as expected

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2. Here is an example of the zap that didn’t

The zap that worked has “true” in the data out next to interests. The zap that didn’t work has false. But why would that be?

The way the workflow is configured is that a person fills out an Airtable form on our website with their email. This sends the info to our Airtable table where we have an AT automation setup to fill in the “groups” field. It’s just occurring to me: could it be that sometimes this automation is not done fast enough and the Zap is triggered before the field is filled in by the automation?

Thanks for your help!

@WaterOrg 

In Airtable, create a View with Filter conditions to check the fields have values before being processed by the Zap.

For the Airtable Zap trigger step, then select the View you configured in Airtable for the field: Limit to View

Also, make sure to configure this Mailchimp field: Replace Groups

That tells Mailchimp how to handle the Groups you selected.

Click the field label to see a tooltip for more info.

Excellent, that makes sense to me. I’ll give this a try. Thank you!

Hi @WaterOrg,
 
We just wanted to see how everything is going with your Zap. Did Troy's recommendation get the job done? Feel free to reach out if you need further assistance with your Zap. We're glad to address any concerns and assist you.
 
We're looking forward to your response.

Hi @JammerS, thanks for checking in! Since the issue was inconsistent results with our Zap, we will give it a little time to see if our results have now become consistent. I’ll make sure to come post here again when we have a verdict. I’m pretty hopeful though! 

Hi @WaterOrg,

We will look forward to it. Could you keep us posted regarding this one? Thanks a lot.

Hello again @Troy Tessalone and @JammerS,

I was very hopeful that this new configuration would work, but sadly it’s not the case. Here’s a reminder of my current setup:

• We have an airtable form on our website with a single “email” field to subscribe to our newsletter.
• In Airtable, we have an automation set up to add the names of two Mailchimp groups in a field
• I have now created a view in Airtable where I use the filter options to include in the view only contacts for which both groups appear
• I modified my Zap to limit it to that Airtable view.

Again with the zap that didn’t work, “false” appears next to interests in the data out.

Any more thoughts about how to fix this issue? Thanks :) 

Hi @WaterOrg,

I’m jumping in to see if I can help!

It looks like you’re using an outdated Mailchimp action that could be the reason why the Zap is giving inconsistent results. Could you please try updating the Mailchimp action to the latest version? Here’s how: https://help.zapier.com/hc/en-us/articles/18755649454989-Update-to-the-latest-app-version-in-Zaps#h_01HV9A8X430H5HP0X976XRC0A2

After following the help doc above, please try triggering the Zap again to see if it’ll still show inconsistent results.

I'll be keeping an eye out for your response!

Hi @ken.a, thanks for your guidance :) I followed the steps to update the Mailchimp action and tested the trigger again but it was unsuccessful. Any more thoughts?

Thanks for giving that a try @WaterOrg.

I also noticed that you may have typed in a static data on the “Groups” field. Could you please try choosing from the static dropdown instead? You can click on the 3 dots next to the field and select the static option to select a value on the dropdown.

(view larger)

Kindly give it a try and let me know how it goes? I'll keep an eye out for your response!

Hi @ken.a,

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. :) I actually didn’t type in any data, I had chosen from pre-filled available options. But I believe I had clicked on “custom” in the 3 dots, and not “static”. I’ve edited the zap to now follow the “static” path. I still end up with a custom value though (see screenshots below). Is that normal?

I’ve done two tests anyway and they seem to work. Yay! Since my issue was inconsistent results though, I’ll give it a bit more time to see if this had truly resolved the issue. 🤞

Hello again @ken.a,

It seems that all is working smoothly now. 😀 Thank you for your help! I would still be curious to understand why I still end up with a custom value even when following the “static path”, and perhaps understand the difference between custom and static and how it interacts with Mailchimp, if that’s simple enough to explain. ;)

Thanks again for everyone’s help in this thread. Much appreciated!