Google Analytics – worse than it appears?

UPDATE:
Just got this email from Urchin, err, Google Analytics CS (emphasis mine):

“Thank you for your email. You do not have to change your pages or add new Google Analytics code. This is not causing your reporting delay. Large amounts of unprocessed data on our end is causing the delay. Your existing Urchin On Demand code will communicate with Google Analytics to collect your data flawlessly.”

Well, the blogosphere is buzzing about the Google Analytics launch, and it’s not, unfortunately, with joy.

For those of us who have been paying Urchin-On-Demand customers, the transition has been especially painful. In the run-up to the rebrand as Google Analytics, the performance of Urchin’s “real-time” analysis has degraded from 4 hours of lag, to 8-12, including missing blocks of data that get filled in 24 hours later.

As of right now, I’ve not seen data since Sunday at 5PM.

But here’s the part that worries me… while others, including Jeremy and Ethan (via) have commented as I did, above, about performance issues… I’ve yet to see anyone comment on the fact that Google Analytics prescribes a modified tagging methodology.

I’ve filed a support ticket w/ Google to verify that they are still supporting the __utm.js-only approach that we paying customers have been using, but given the way the transition has transpired (i.e., there was no warning of the methodology change), I’m very concerned about whether or not my data is being tracked at all… That, and the fact that it takes 48++ hours (normally) to get a CS response makes this experience rather disconcerting.

My fingers are crossed that Google didn’t totally blow this and is in fact still capturing my data, and will support the __utm.js approach until all customers have had sufficient time to make the transition… but a little communication right about now would be most welcome.