SE 7.0 Scheduler Workflow

[carrieswanlund]

Our shop used the day at a glance type of schedule all day long and it was so easy for making appointments. I would like to be able to have the day at a glance schedule back or the ability to schedule in a vertical fashion.
1) It is time consuming to hover over each appointment to see what the appointment is. We are putting the kind of appointment next to the customer name to offset this per Mitchell's suggestion. (thank you)
2) The color coding is not editable. But, it really was much easier to glance through the schedule to see who was waiting, dropping off, or a tow for example.
3) When making an new customer appointment once you ask the customer their name and discover they have not been in and clicking new, you have to type their name again. That is unprofessional when the last name is hard to spell and you have to ask again. We double check because people will say they have never been in but really mean the car has not been in, or their wife was in but not them.
4) The early morning drop off appointments take up the allotted time. Then when the appointment becomes a 4 hours appointment it puts a block for four hours. However, it is not really an appointment from 8-12. We only need to see when the customer is coming in and how many hours the job is.
5) The print view of the schedule is much easier (possible) to read. Having to print the schedule for the first time in 20 years seems antiquated and unnecessary.
6) I can't imaging trying quick train anyone with this kind of scheduler.
7) The pre-scheduling from Bolt-On is unreadable for future appointments. We have had to shut this feature off.

[GUTHTIRE]

Our shop used the day at a glance type of schedule all day long and it was so easy for making appointments. I would like to be able to have the day at a glance schedule back or the ability to schedule in a vertical fashion.
2) The color coding is not editable. But, it really was much easier to glance through the schedule to see who was waiting, dropping off, or a tow for example.

Regarding # 2.: We created new Resources in the Scheduler in hopes of making things easier. We've added WAIT and DROP, now there's three columns; WAIT, DROP, and UNASSIGNED. We color coded WAIT and DROP to make them stand out as well. Now visually, without hovering over each entry at a quick glance we can see how many waiters vs. drops vs. other like shop events.

[carrieswanlund]

Our shop used the day at a glance type of schedule all day long and it was so easy for making appointments. I would like to be able to have the day at a glance schedule back or the ability to schedule in a vertical fashion.
2) The color coding is not editable. But, it really was much easier to glance through the schedule to see who was waiting, dropping off, or a tow for example.

Regarding # 2.: We created new Resources in the Scheduler in hopes of making things easier. We've added WAIT and DROP, now there's three columns; WAIT, DROP, and UNASSIGNED. We color coded WAIT and DROP to make them stand out as well. Now visually, without hovering over each entry at a quick glance we can see how many waiters vs. drops vs. other like shop events.

Thank you so much. That is working well. I used wait and drop also!!! HINT: When you add resource, the order you enter them is the order they will appear from left to right. So if you want to have wait in the first column, enter it first. Thank you again!!

[Johnny5]

Good day,

The Manager platform has enjoyed a long successful run. While many changes have been made over the years, the scheduler itself had not been updated since the application was first developed back in the late 20th century. Users for many years have asked us to replace this rudimentary schedule screen with something 'modern' that would provide more capabilities and visibility to customer & vehicle details, technicians and other shop assets.

We selected a development tool that allows us to create a calendar/scheduler with a myriad of potential platforms options to take us into the future. The old schedule screen developed during the Microsoft Access days simply has no future.

Once we introduced the SE 7.0 version Scheduler, we quickly discovered there were actually more users that had quietly adapted to using the old calendar with all of its limitations and had become accustomed to it. Because we and our customers weren't talking about the existing schedule much at all, we were of the assumption that the consensus was to replace it. Users couldn't develop their own true feelings about the new schedule until they were actually using it; once that happened, it brought everything to the surface that we are working through now.

It's a given that many people do not like change; after not hearing much of anything from users for years about this (other than suggesting replacement, it's worthless) it was quite surprising to then be told that we should have kept the old calendar in the program along with the new. Given all of the negative feedback about the old schedule over the years, we were certain that so many users hated the old scheduler they would have no use for it once the new Scheduler was deployed.

With respect to design input, we do absolutely invite all users feedback to help us deliver a good user experience. We even previewed early designs on this forum and at our live workshop events where the response was overwhelmingly positive. We also had some users review the SE Scheduler documentation to be sure users understood how it was to be configured (customized) to each shop. We have found many users simply did not read the instructions and this negatively impacted their early user experience. Once some of these details were understood by users, they were able to adapt more easily.

Several users have pointed out in their feedback that printing from the schedule is problematic. We have placed a patch on http://m1files.com that will install two new schedule reports; ‘Scheduled Events by Technician’ and ‘Scheduled Events Summary’ to achieve this aim. These two reports help duplicate what was listed in the prior version of Schedule screen. We continue to create new reports (based on user feedback) and will shortly have a patch that includes ‘Scheduled Event by Resource’. In the meantime we also have approximately 15 development stories that will be worked on, those stories include no less than a dozen suggestions from users.

As for putting the old scheduler in the new program, this is not an option because the database structure has changed. There is no practical method to go back in time; it’s just not pragmatically feasible. We are not trying to force the new scheduler on anyone; the current distribution is to include it on all new orders and by request with existing customers. It has been our hope that users would explore, investigate and adapt. The feedback is clear that the current version of SE 7.x Schedule is not exactly what users had hoped for and this is what created this completely unanticipated "value" that the old Schedule holds for some users.

Our objective is to address this situation as quickly as time permits, using all of the user input received on the forum and customer calls to guide development efforts to streamline its functionality and usability going forward. Until such time as the next version appears, please review the user tips found within the forum as they are going to help during this period. Our commitment is always to bring new innovation to your management software and we will continue working to get this right.

[motley06]

Good day,

The Manager platform has enjoyed a long successful run. While many changes have been made over the years, the scheduler itself had not been updated since the application was first developed back in the late 20th century. Users for many years have asked us to replace this rudimentary schedule screen with something 'modern' that would provide more capabilities and visibility to customer & vehicle details, technicians and other shop assets......

Great response. I know I've mentioned it already, but I would really like to encourage Mitchell to work with RLO for the scheduling aspect of their software. I think a great piece of software that could be scaled to any size shop would come from the partnership.

I think a large problem is that MOST (not all) shop owners THINK they know what they want in a scheduler, but really don't. I feel like I was one of them a few months back. I really had no use for a scheduler when the old software was out, but I for some reason thought it looked 'old and outdated'. Around the time the new schedule software came, my business really started growing and I finally started working the front desk full time, with 2 guys in the shop. I was excited to use the new scheduler, so I watched all the videos and gave it try. I went into it thinking the new software was exactly what I needed for a 'visual' aid in managing workflow. Turns out, I was wrong. I ended up trying out the paper scheduler RLO teaches about in their management class. I actually went into using their scheduler with a slight negative opinion about it, since it's an 'old school, spiral bound, hand written schedule' Turns out, it does exactly what I need. I must say this, without the training on how to use their schedule, it would be worthless. They have a system/method that is tried and true.

TL;DR I think a lot of shop owners, myself included, thought we knew what we wanted in the new scheduler. Turns out, we were wrong. My suggestion, seek out advice from RLO. They've been training shops how to be successful for 30 years.

Just one small shop owners opinion

[SKLINE17]

I love the new scheduler. Works very well for us. We have 3 techs, 1 general service tech, myself and another owner, a service writer and an assistant service writer. Now I know the scheduler is not perfect by any means, but I would pick this any day over the old one. It helps know what each person has going on each day and more organized. The new report they have out to print is good. I print one for each person every am so everyone knows what is going on each day. I wish I could print each technician off separately, but that could hopefully change. Anyway is you ever have any questions let me know. Be more than happy to show you how we do things here. skline@next-generation-auto.com

[mchegger]

Thanks for posting, yes I am really interested in seeing how you make it work! I will shoot you an email.
Marcus

[John C.]

I love the new scheduler. Works very well for us. We have 3 techs, 1 general service tech, myself and another owner, a service writer and an assistant service writer. Now I know the scheduler is not perfect by any means, but I would pick this any day over the old one. It helps know what each person has going on each day and more organized. The new report they have out to print is good. I print one for each person every am so everyone knows what is going on each day. I wish I could print each technician off separately, but that could hopefully change. Anyway is you ever have any questions let me know. Be more than happy to show you how we do things here. skline@next-generation-auto.com

That's awesome, SKLINE17, but you appear to be an outlier. Could you share how you are making it work for you?

We got it this morning. Seriously, I'm not trying to pile on, but it seems like it's going to take me some time, to make this work for us. We used the last scheduler similar to how we used the scheduler in our previous software, for how are shop is set up. I have read this thread and some others, and I may be able to find some workarounds that could get us closer to what we are use to, but until I can spend the time with it (I can't believe I'm going to type this) I think we are going to go to paper and pencil.

Edit: I take back the above, after trying Carrie's workarounds, I've found a way to make the scheduler work, for us... for now. Awful lot of steps, to do something that should be relatively easy, by easy I mean scheduling an appointment.

[SKLINE17]

I love the new scheduler. Works very well for us. We have 3 techs, 1 general service tech, myself and another owner, a service writer and an assistant service writer. Now I know the scheduler is not perfect by any means, but I would pick this any day over the old one. It helps know what each person has going on each day and more organized. The new report they have out to print is good. I print one for each person every am so everyone knows what is going on each day. I wish I could print each technician off separately, but that could hopefully change. Anyway is you ever have any questions let me know. Be more than happy to show you how we do things here. skline@next-generation-auto.com

That's awesome, SKLINE17, but you appear to be an outlier. Could you share how you are making it work for you?

We got it this morning. Seriously, I'm not trying to pile on, but it seems like it's going to take me some time, to make this work for us. We used the last scheduler similar to how we used the scheduler in our previous software, for how are shop is set up. I have read this thread and some others, and I may be able to find some workarounds that could get us closer to what we are use to, but until I can spend the time with it (I can't believe I'm going to type this) I think we are going to go to paper and pencil.

Edit: I take back the above, after trying Carrie's workarounds, I've found a way to make the scheduler work, for us... for now. Awful lot of steps, to do something that should be relatively easy, by easy I mean scheduling an appointment.

Sorry I just saw this message. I will be out of town until the 24th. Give me a call or shoot me an email after that. I would love to try to help. skline@next-generation-auto.com 715-688-2166

[John C.]

No worries, SKLINE17, I've found some workarounds, but thanks for the offer, I do appreciate it.

[Silky7]

It is not possible to offer a switching between schedules, as the amount of data saved is completely different. However, we are re-organizing the Appointment tab to give you a much cleaner, quicker at-a-glance view of your appointments. It will be very similar to the information as it was presented in the old schedule.

[kootenay]

It is not possible to offer a switching between schedules, as the amount of data saved is completely different. However, we are re-organizing the Appointment tab to give you a much cleaner, quicker at-a-glance view of your appointments. It will be very similar to the information as it was presented in the old schedule.

Thanks for the response and thanks for acting on the complaints.

[auto check]

<<<It is not possible to offer a switching between schedules, as the amount of data saved is completely different. However, we are re-organizing the Appointment tab to give you a much cleaner, quicker at-a-glance view of your appointments. It will be very similar to the information as it was presented in the old schedule>>>

The appointment tab would be a great 'quick glance' view of the daily operations. Or would make it easier to find customers. However, when I check this tab there is close to 150 appointments to sort through? I don't understand why there is so many? It goes back 22 days. The last 22 days of appointments are irrelevant at this point.

The color coding on the scheduler is fantastic and helps me pinpoint the type of jobs coming in. ie: wheel alignments need a specific hoist. Oil changes are done by specific technicians. Otherwise the rest of the schedule is a hindrance and does not help us determine work loads with any accuracy? I believe any update that comes out would be an improvement.

[BERGMANS1]

TIP: If you go into the scheduler options, you can set how many days you want the scheduler to go back. We have ours set for 5 days.

[Johnny5]

Happy New Year everyone. Attached to this message is a pdf file previewing changes in the schedule for 2017 - version 7.1.7 & 7.2. We've visited, looked and listened to number shops to improve the functionality and bring back features from the old scheduler.

Cheers,

JD

7.2-scheduler.pdf

(794.58 KiB) Downloaded 670 times

[Jeff @ Able Auto]

Nice. Happy New Year!

[carrieswanlund]

Thank you for listening!!! Thank you!

[Johnny5]

Changes coming in next release:

Schedule Changes:

• Appointments will appear in one of four groups:
  • Previous: Appointments that have end date before
    Today: Appointments that started today, or started earlier and end today or later
    Tomorrow: Appointments that start tomorrow
    Future: Appointments beyond tomorrow
    Each group will have a sum of order hours
  Add a search box to find: Vehicle YMM/License/Vin, Customer First/Last, Subject, Phone, Notes, Email, Technician, Resource, RO/INV#, Hat#.
  Add drop down for Appointment State: Selection is saved (per user, as all scheduler view settings are).
  Add filter check boxes for RO phases (EST, INV, RO/SO, Posted INV). When not checked, unchecked are filtered out of view. Selection should be saved (per user, as all scheduler view settings are)
  Add drop off time to Appointment editor - CRM Extraction util will use this time if present for sending appointment reminders
  Appointment Promised time to updates to changes made to the Order or WIP detail
  Schedule editor and scheduler tab tooltip will show order's promise time when an order exists, not the scheduled promised time
  Sync technician on appointment with changes made in WIP, Schedule, or Order:
  New appointment will use the Default Labor Tech when not in Technician View
  Creating an appointment from an existing Order will use the Order's Labor Tech
  Changes to Labor Tech made on the WIP will update associated Schedule items Labor Tech
  Order Technician assignment will update when changed in appointment editor
  Dragging appointments on the schedule to a different tech will modify all defaulted Labor Tech on order
  Shop Events default technician now set to none
  Included option to control auto adjustment of Appointment time span to match Order hours. This option is found Schedule
  As a user when creating an appointment for a new customer, populate subject field with company name if present)
  Drop off, promise, start and end now have a separate date controls
  Rename status column on appointment and shop event tab to "Appt State"
  Add Order Phase Column (EST, RO, INV, P/INV etc, ) to schedule view
  Optimize Timeline layout and add a Timeline button to Ribbon
  Add column to the WIP to display Drop Off Time
  • Right click on Drop Off cell in the WIP will give options to open Appointment or WIP Detail
  Two new schedule reports appear under the management tab.: Scheduled Events by Technician Scheduled Events Summary
  A print button within scheduler now prints the Scheduled Events Report.

System changes:

• Changed display formats to not displayed seconds in WIP for Promised, Time In, Completed and Drop Off
  Updated spell checker to all new control. The custom dictionary is shared between all workstation, the check will underline in red of incorrectly spelled words, right click on misspelled words to open a context menu that includes correct spelling.
  Michigan invoice now fills in tech name in MI disclaimer box
  Fix divider line on Invoice printouts
  Fixed Vehicle screen starting cursor position when License is at the top
  
  Plate-to-VIN will alert the user when creating a vehicle record with a duplicate VIN
  • When VIN is determined via Plate to VIN, the system checks for duplicates
    The system will then display the duplicate VIN permitting user to use that VIN or select the vehicle previously assigned to
  When a nontax customer and/or vehicle has a symptom applied, appropriately tax labor lines
  MfgDate is always saved in the format yyyy/mm/dm regardless of windows date format settings

[sbebenelli]

Changes coming in next release:

• Updated spell checker to all new control. The custom dictionary is shared between all workstation, the check will underline in red of incorrectly spelled words, right click on misspelled words to open a context menu that includes correct spelling.
  
  Fixed Vehicle screen starting cursor position when License is at the top
  
  Plate-to-VIN will alert the user when creating a vehicle record with a duplicate VIN
  • When VIN is determined via Plate to VIN, the system checks for duplicates
    The system will then display the duplicate VIN permitting user to use that VIN or select the vehicle previously assigned to

Looking forward to these three updates. Thank you!

[aasinc]

Why do estimates appear on the scheduler?