As a company, Viome has always taken a strong stance that our customers - our tribe - are what drive the innovation of our company. With each individual and each test, we are able to slowly but surely uncover the secrets to unlocking the mysteries of chronic diseases.
Recently, Viome has initiated a new phase in our future that translates to more improvements, streamlined processes, and faster results to all our customers. But during this process, we’ve had to make some updates to our company that ultimately caused a temporary slow-down in how we were analyzing samples. Over the last several weeks, we’ve faced a number of difficult calls and emails asking about the delays in results. For some of you, what we hoped would just be a couple of weeks before you received your Viome Scores and Recommendations and embarked on your health journey, turned into months. And unfortunately, we failed to get ahead of the problem and be transparent about why these delays occurred and how they impacted you.
As a company, we wholeheartedly apologize to all our customers, long-term and new, who have been patiently waiting for their results.
Nobody likes to admit they’ve bitten off more than they can chew, but in an attempt to optimize and improve our services, we temporarily bottle-necked them. Rest assured, we believe the issue has been resolved - but that does beg the question: what exactly was the delay about?
Growing Pains
It might seem a little surprising, but as a company Viome is still fairly young. Founded in 2016 (just 5 short years ago) we’ve experienced incredible growth and opportunity as we’ve developed innovative technology that analyzes a person’s gut microbiome and equips them with the dietary tools for improved health. But our growth is ever-expanding and evolving as we are dedicated to enhancing our technology and breaking out into new research areas to make an impact on many chronic diseases.
That growth has allowed us the opportunity to move our lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico right next to our headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. As we began transitioning equipment and our staff across state lines, it also caused a delay in sample processing. We faced obstacles in getting our new building ready and experienced long-delays of our own to insure the safety of our teams during Covid-19. We also confronted unforeseen challenges with USPS correctly rerouting your samples to our new facility. Though it took a few weeks to get situated and up-and-running, these issues combined unintentionally impacted how rapidly we were able to get out your results.
The New ETA
As we saw the issue unfold, we’ve since picked up the pace - hiring new staff as we expanded and ordering more specialized equipment to automate and process your results faster than ever. We’ve also begun to cross-train our laboratory team, increasing their ability to problem solve and tackle challenges as they arise to prevent bottle-necking in the future.
And we’ve also begun a new process of updating our results to new and improved recommendations thanks to the data we’ve received from each of you!
We’re officially out of our backlog and processing all new samples as they come in. Now, we’re seeing turnaround times averaging two weeks upon receiving your results to get your recommendations and results to your Viome App.
But While You’re Waiting...
Though we are deeply sorry for the stress and frustration you may have felt while we get our feet back on the ground, there are a few things you can do to help re-inspire your excitement and prepare for your first steps.
If you’d like tips on how to get ready before your results arrive, visit your app at my.viome.com, and from your Nutrition Tab, select “Guide to Following My Recommendations.”
But you can also check out our article on What You Can Do Now While You Wait for Your Results and learn some tips on how you can best prepare for your results and get you on the right track towards optimal health and healing today!
The information on the Viome website is provided for informational purposes only and with the understanding that Viome is not engaged in rendering medical advice or recommendations. Viome provides this educational information to share the exciting developments being reported in the scientific literature about the human microbiome and your health. Viome products are not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease.
