12/18/2004 Update: After contacting Microsoft and speaking with a representative, all of my certs, ets where mailed to me. In fact I received 3 copies of most of my certs, card with my name and id and pins...
If YOU are having problems getting your welcome kit I suggest you start out by emailing MCPHelp@microsoft.com to find out who you need to contact (it will differ from country to contry).
Please don't post your personal information in my comments, I don't want anyone trying to take your certification from you!
Are there really welcome kits with cool stuff and discounts in them? Last October I got my MCAD (and of course along the way the MCP) ordered my welcome kits and never received them.... Last Month after getting my MCSD ( the one I really cared about) ordered my welcome kit and still nothing.
Ok I know it has only been 3 weeks, the MCSD welcome kit could show up any day now. Allegedly there is a discount to a one year MSDN subscription in the welcome kit. My subscription expires June 30. I will be on my honeymoon (in Seattle no less) June 21 - June 28, so I am trying to get the discount now so I can not worry about it. So I call the MCP people, they tell me to call the MSDN people who then tell me to call the MCP people....
The MCP people seem really nice and tell me they are sorry and that this basically hardly ever happens. They actually stress that fact so much that I start to wonder if really there is a policy that the welcome kits may not actually get sent out until you call and complain.
The MSDN people also seem really nice, but seem to be a bit clueless about the discount that I am talking about.
So I go to the chat help on MSDN (for subscribers) here is my discussion thread:
Welcome to the MSDN Online Concierge
The session has been accepted.
{MSDN GUY} Hello and welcome to the MSDN Online Concierge. How may I assist you today Jason?
{Jason Haley} i have a question about my subscription and the discount i get for finishing my mcsd cert
{Jason Haley} the mcp people sent me to the msdn hotline who then sent me back to the mcp people
{Jason Haley} here is the problem
{Jason Haley} my subscription is up june 30
{Jason Haley} i just got my mcsd last month (may 21), ordered the welcome kit - but have not received it yet
{Jason Haley} in that kit, there is a discount form... but time is running out
{Jason Haley} i get married next weekend and will be on my honeymoon until july 1
{Jason Haley} any ideas?
{MSDN GUY} WIth that certification you are eligible to enroll as a registered partner, however the certification would not come with any MSDN Benefits. You can find more information on www.microsoft.com/partner
{Jason Haley} MCPs, MCDBAs, and MCSDs certified on or after January 1, 2000, receive a discount on a one-year MSDN® CD subscription during their first year of certification. Please submit the form included with your Welcome Kit to get this discount.
{Jason Haley} https://partnering.one.microsoft.com/mcp/special_offers.aspx
{Jason Haley} what does that mean? are they not talking about the msdn subscriptions?
{MSDN GUY} I do not have access to that site Jason.
{Jason Haley} the text is what I pasted
{Jason Haley} to me it sounded like i get a discount on a 1 year subscription to msdn
{MSDN GUY} Ok Jason. Did you submit the from from the welcome kit?
{Jason Haley} like i mentioned earlier, i have not yet received my welcome kit yet
{MSDN GUY} Ok Jason, From my experience it took my welcome kit a little over a month to come in the mail.
{Jason Haley} yea, that is what I was told, but I never received my mcp or mcad welcome kits from last October... so you can understand I really am not too confident I will recieve it before my current subscription expires
{MSDN GUY} There is an MCP Customer support email address you could contact to try to check the status of your welcome kit. It is MCPhelp@microsoft.com
{Jason Haley} ok, i'll try them
{Jason Haley} thanks
{MSDN GUY} No problem, Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
It sucks when big companies do this sort of thing. I have worked in some very large companies and know why and how this all happens (the disconnected customer experience) but none the less it sucks each time it happens.