Is this why ADP does what ADP does?

[Jay Daniels]

deboss: While one might not think you have an interest in what ADP does since you are utilizing another DMS, that is quite the contrary. If ADP decides to start listening to its clientele then people like you might be interested in what they have to offer. When reading the posts on Dealer's Edge, I keep hearing catch phrases such as "stable platform" and others that don't come to mind at this late hour. At my dealership I often hear of instances that things don't work as expected. With as little change as has occured over the last forty years, wouldn't you have expected that the 'bugs' would have been worked out by now? Evey day I learn new things that work well, however I am still amazed at how many keystrokes it takes to accomplish a simple task.

I would be interested in comparing notes off this forum in the interest of not boring other people, particularly the people who could care less what the competition is doing. I would particularly be interested in corresponding with your parts manager.

I promoise I won't be a problem.
DevilsAdvocate.JD@GMail.com



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It is a good thing when seeking perfection to learn to accept excellence as a suitable alternative. It is not a good thing when seeking excellence to accept mediocrity as a substitute.

Do not hesitate to expect of others what others expect of you (excellence).

Jay Daniels

[TheOne]

Jay,

Yo have been beating this DMS thing to death, but I fail to see in any of your posts anything resembling substantive suggestions. I've been involved in many stores and consequently have been exposed to virtually all of the available DMS systems. ADP is in my opinion about like the rest. Some of the things contained in their system they do very well, some not so much. Sometimes Their customer service is dialed in and world class, sometimes they are not.

I agree that there is much that they can improve on, and when I feel like I have something to offer that can benefit us all I call them and generally find them most receptive. I have little trouble reaching the correct people probably because I am offering real suggestions backed by factual data rather than whining and complaining.

I am not a particular fan of ADP, my preference is actually Reynolds, but I am interested and since you opened the thread I would very much appreciate if you would turn the discussion towards more of a constructive conversation.

and yes I have been on here a while under this name and one other, and yes I am a frequent poster........

I also find the Devils Advocate position to be one of critisism by pointing out fault. I personally only find this useful for testing systems and processes prior to implementation. Used after the fact I believe the correct term is 5th quarter Quarterback.

[This message has been edited by TheOne (edited 08-01-2009).]

[exmopar]

Sorry, I missed that one. Have a great day. Talk again soon. Goodbye. Hasta la vista. Au revoir.

[deboss]

Jay,

Sorry for slow reply, been a little hectic. Cash for Clunkers must have been designed by the same persons that designed RIM - good theory but falls short in reality!!!

I enjoy participating in the DealersEdge Forum and have learned from it. Anticipate continuing to do so even when it begins to cost. I feel I have received value from it and someone has to pay the piper. Not too sure there is any benefit in either myself or my Parts Manager engaging in an extended private dialog concerning ADP. We have not used ADP for many years and we are not in a position to fairly compare with our DMS that we have a pretty indepth knowledge of. I am not even sure of what program(s) ADP is selling now days. Years ago we were on what I think was called the "Mainframe" system I think it ran on an 8600/8800/9200 box as I recall. It was hardwired into the serial ports and used green screens. I assume most everyone is now using PC's for terminals now. The ADP system we had was adequate just expensive and every 5 years we had to "reup". I am certain we were paying for features we were not using and probably not using some to them to their full extent.

Most likely unless you have a stripped down version of ADP it will do what you need it to do. Figuring out how to do it is the challenge. Although we enjoy great support on our DMS we from time to time discover a "better" way to utilize program. I will state without hesitation the AutoSoft DMS has advanced in leaps and bounds the last several years. Features have been added, and untold upgrades to where is is a "Cadillac" of a program in our minds - all without an upgrade fee!!!!

[Jay Daniels]

DeBoss:

Thank you for the courtesy of the reply. You apparently understand proper etiquette as many others may have simply opted to not reply. My intent is not to engage in dialog regarding ADP but instead gain insight as to what the screens on AutoSoft look like. The only screens with which I am familiar are ADP, *&* (I almost got lynched when I mentioned R&R earlier) and a proprietary system ADP bought in the late 90s.
I looked at other DMS forums here but Im not sure people on those threads are capable of constructive input. It is not my intent to waste a lot of someones time but just to educate myself. An Anonymus identity can easily be obtained on Yahoo, Hotmail or gmail. I totally understand your unwillingness to divulge your identity.

It is my thought that people like you, myself and countless others are the people ADP should attempt to contact so they can see the other side of the coin.

I dont understand why, when I make a negative statement regarding ADP that I am instantly attacked by loyal users. It is as if they believe they have the ultimate tool and will protect it. My primary concern is to improve the product. Surely everyone out there cant be content with standing there pressing the enter and endless other keys to get somewhere they should be able to get faster.

There are some who accuse me of being a whiner. Most recently TheOne. Let me make one thing CLEAR. If all the items of which I have been accused of whining about were addressed; I probably wont be working when they were implemented. I currently work because I choose to work; not because I 'need' to work. My comments in this forum are intended to benefit others, not myself.

Unless the users of a product demand better, they will continue the receive the same product that has been out there for years.

DeBoss: Perhaps you should suggest to AUTOSOFT they create a website where you can take a TEST DRIVE.


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It is a good thing when seeking perfection to learn to accept excellence as a suitable alternative. It is not a good thing when seeking excellence to accept mediocrity as a substitute.

Do not hesitate to expect of others what others expect of you (excellence).

Jay Daniels

[TheOne]

Jay Daniels,

Your statement:
"My only objective is to get someones attention that can make a difference."

Your posts are full of suggestions for others to take action. Deboss ask Autosoft to create a website for a test drive for example. Obviously you have a problem with your DMS, but as of yet have not been the slightest bit specific about what they are. If someone came to your business and said "I don't like your product and you should change it", without providing one word of specific areas that need improvement, how much attention would you give them? If they were allowed to speak until finished (as you have) and still failed to provide one shred of specificity how much of your product would you change?

I suspect if you would actually address real issues that you may have with the system you could actually create a dialogue that might just get you that attention that seems so important to you...

[exmopar]

From user id eason in the Arkona forum - I don't think I could have put it better myself:

"Arkona, ADP, R&R, Autosoft, Automate and your calculator are all just tools. Learn to use it and it will serve you well. If you keep insisting that the buttons are in the wrong order you will never get the results you need."

'Nuf said.

ex


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No, i'm sure you said left, right?

[cantfind122]

Jay,

Once again I will say I agree with your desire to improve on things even though they maintain the status quo. My analogy of Robert Duval in Apocolypse Now was an attempt at mirroring that image. In his mind surfing was everything and the war was just a distraction to that end. He LOVED the status quo because it enabled him to do the crazy things he had built around him in the security of his military career. There are many dynamics to change and that analogy is only one of them. In my "illustrious" career one of my jobs was to stand in front of dealer folks and explain why the factory did certain things certain ways. Legal reasons, financial reasons and philosophical considerations were some of the topics. And they had merit, however, I do agree if taking your hand off the keyboard to use a mouse (for argument sake) doesn't promote an expeditous and user friendly program perhaps it should be looked at. I agree with one of the moderators in an earlier post who said that anyone who doesn't consider constructive critique is probably trying to hide something. Just food for thought.

[Gerry Laughlin]

I have really struggled with whether to jump in on this.

"Arkona, ADP, R&R, Autosoft, Automate and your calculator are all just tools. Learn to use it and it will serve you well. If you keep insisting that the buttons are in the wrong order you will never get the results you need."

I can't say I agree with this statement. It is over simplified. If I need to frame a garage I can buy a hammer or I can buy a Paslode nail-gun or a dozen tools in between. I like my Bostitch nail-gun because I know how to get a jammed nail out of it quickly and it's other eccentricities, in other words I like it because I know it. Now if I was going to have to train someone how to frame a garage I can show them how to use a hammer, my Bostitch nail-gun or the best tool (in my opinion) which is a Paslode nail-gun, it is a quick and easy tool to learn. If I am just training one a person I am probably going to show them how to use my Bostitch because it's what I have, but if my Bostitch breaks or I have to train a few people I would be a fool not to go with the Paslode. This is how I feel about ADP and R&R, we tolerate them because we know them and we are comfortable with them plus they are most likely already in our store. Look at how frustrated some of us on this forum have become trying to use the opposite system from what we are used to, I have heard people that know ADP quite well complain when they tried to learn R&R and vice versa. That right there should tell us something is wrong with these systems. They should be easy to teach and easy to learn. Neither of the big systems comes remotely close to being easy to use. I really think anyone coming in from another line of retail would look at our most popular DMS's and wonder if they were back in the 80's. And just so nobody can say that I am whining without offering suggestions, if someone asks me I always suggest they look at all the players in the DMS market.

[This message has been edited by Gerry Laughlin (edited 08-06-2009).]

[exmopar]

Gerry, I couldn't agree with your last statement more, BUT if you are using ADP, R&R, Arkona, etc, and this is what your dealer has provided, looking elsewhere is not an option. It's like I previously stated about Windows - we all hate it but it's all we got.