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VinSolutions issues

Window Sticker decoding issue. The Options are not populating when viewing/printing window stickers. It used to work but hasn't for the past three weeks, at least. They keep wanting to put it back on us, that something on our end changed. This is incorrect. I can see in HomeNet that their decoder works and lists out all the options. In fact, we have HomeNet directly pull our inventory for our wholesale vehicles and all the options show up. VinSolutions exports all of our other inventory data feeds and theirs is missing the Options.

Anyone else having this issue?
 
Hi DR community. VInS user since 2018. Long time fan. While the look and design was never cutting edge to me, the platform was fast, reliable and Support was (is) unmatched, They always answer my calls immediatelyand team sounds US based. After the first 2 yeas I rarely needed Support.

Lately I find using VinS is not fun due to the interface load and refresh times. My PC at work is new, 64GB of memory. We recently upgraded our internet connection. Ping time to VinS servers is 6-9ms. Yet clicking, dialog opens and saves is sluggish.

Processing a lead in VInS requires around 42 clicks... stop the clock, customer dashboard (proper case name, click zip to load city, move phone to cell field, opt in to text), set sales rep and bdc rep, set process, send text, send email, open call log, etc ...I want a CRM with an interface that screams. VinS did not get in my way in the past. Lately I am bummed out waiting for the screens to churn. It's tiring to watch this and not lose focus. Why am I waiting on a machine?

Makes me wonder if CRM vendors experiment with lower cost methods to store info and host their platforms on which ends up serving the CRM to me in this not-snappy manner.
 
Makes me wonder if CRM vendors experiment with lower cost methods to store info and host their platforms on which ends up serving the CRM to me in this not-snappy manner.
No -- not a thing. Ever.

The reality is that bugs get introduced when making changes/improvements/upgrades. Those usually get fixed quickly.

Software is alive... it gets injuries, ages, fixed-up, killed-off, reborn. Sometimes it gets stronger, sometimes it gets weaker. If you're not directly, have your manager stay actively engaged with Support.
 
Hi DR community. VInS user since 2018. Long time fan. While the look and design was never cutting edge to me, the platform was fast, reliable and Support was (is) unmatched, They always answer my calls immediatelyand team sounds US based. After the first 2 yeas I rarely needed Support.

Lately I find using VinS is not fun due to the interface load and refresh times. My PC at work is new, 64GB of memory. We recently upgraded our internet connection. Ping time to VinS servers is 6-9ms. Yet clicking, dialog opens and saves is sluggish.

Processing a lead in VInS requires around 42 clicks... stop the clock, customer dashboard (proper case name, click zip to load city, move phone to cell field, opt in to text), set sales rep and bdc rep, set process, send text, send email, open call log, etc ...I want a CRM with an interface that screams. VinS did not get in my way in the past. Lately I am bummed out waiting for the screens to churn. It's tiring to watch this and not lose focus. Why am I waiting on a machine?

Makes me wonder if CRM vendors experiment with lower cost methods to store info and host their platforms on which ends up serving the CRM to me in this not-snappy manner.
Sounds frustrating. I've used a few different CRMs in the past but have been on Vinsolutions for about 8-9 years now. That sounds like a lot of steps you're having to take before reaching out to the customer. I don't know how your dealership or department operates, but there are some changes in your settings that may eliminate some of those clicks (stopping clock, lead assignments, lead processes, phone# field, etc).

As far as it being sluggish, I typically only have that issue consistently when I'm working from the "advanced customer search page" and trying to reassign leads using Chrome. For this, I typically switch over to Firefox and that usually works better for that operation.

I hope you're able to find a resolution!
 
No -- not a thing. Ever.

The reality is that bugs get introduced when making changes/improvements/upgrades. Those usually get fixed quickly.

Software is alive... it gets injuries, ages, fixed-up, killed-off, reborn. Sometimes it gets stronger, sometimes it gets weaker. If you're not directly, have your manager stay actively engaged with Support.
Thanks for the reply. Good to know,
 
Hi DR community. VInS user since 2018. Long time fan. While the look and design was never cutting edge to me, the platform was fast, reliable and Support was (is) unmatched, They always answer my calls immediatelyand team sounds US based. After the first 2 yeas I rarely needed Support.

Lately I find using VinS is not fun due to the interface load and refresh times. My PC at work is new, 64GB of memory. We recently upgraded our internet connection. Ping time to VinS servers is 6-9ms. Yet clicking, dialog opens and saves is sluggish.

Processing a lead in VInS requires around 42 clicks... stop the clock, customer dashboard (proper case name, click zip to load city, move phone to cell field, opt in to text), set sales rep and bdc rep, set process, send text, send email, open call log, etc ...I want a CRM with an interface that screams. VinS did not get in my way in the past. Lately I am bummed out waiting for the screens to churn. It's tiring to watch this and not lose focus. Why am I waiting on a machine?

Makes me wonder if CRM vendors experiment with lower cost methods to store info and host their platforms on which ends up serving the CRM to me in this not-snappy manner.
Question: Have done any research on what dealers are using besides Vin? I know this is coming off as a plug but DriveCentric but we are the modern "Engagement Platform" that progressive dealers are using. It feels like Google, FB and Messenger all in one. ;). You can get to where you need to go in 1 or 2 clicks. We even have an IPhone Watch app. :). If you are open to just take a look, I'm happy to show you what we do so you know for the future. Keeping up with technology is hard to do these days.
 
No -- not a thing. Ever.

The reality is that bugs get introduced when making changes/improvements/upgrades. Those usually get fixed quickly.

Software is alive... it gets injuries, ages, fixed-up, killed-off, reborn. Sometimes it gets stronger, sometimes it gets weaker. If you're not directly, have your manager stay actively engaged with Support.
One thing that isn't spoken about, but we all know... software is handcuffed to the technology they are originally built on. Without a complete overhaul, parts of the system are stuck in the time when it was launched. DMS systems are the most obvious example of this, but VinSolutions lives by this rule too.

Matt Watson was the CTO of VinSolutions, and what he did was fairly brilliant. Although I doubt he understood it at the time. He stitched things together faster than the database could keep up. His goal was to implement every feature request a dealer asked for and then publicize it. He got a lot of attention on the system this way, and they sold it to Cox for a hefty payday... hence, brilliant.

During my Cox employment days, I was told that Dell makes a "super server" that only like 6 companies purchase. Most of them are doing supercomputing tasks such as weapons systems. And one company that purchases it is running a CRM. I may not be entirely accurate in that statement, as I heard it secondhand, but it was definitely the cherry on top of all the battles we had with Matt Watson's spam here on DealerRefresh. And it still makes me laugh :lol:

Tekion is the freshest CRM on the market with a respectable user base. DriveCentric before them.

The downside of CRM development is feature chasing. It is brutal! Every dealer wants specific features from their last CRM, and they bog down innovation with these requests. Because of this, new CRMs are not just dealing with the regular bugs on new technology, but also the race to implement features that maybe 5% of users will actually use. It slows the introduction of new systems to the market.

Anyway, VinSolutions has matured under Cox's ownership. It will never be a tidy little system, and it will never be innovative against newer tech. Many dealers find it a solid solution for their needs, but most use a CRM as a paperwork tool, end-of-month email spammer, lead-answering system, and sometimes as a workflow engine. If you're looking for more, I would suggest using other solutions to plug the gaps.
 
Agreed Alex.... LOL. Very Brutal!!!

Clarifications on your comment. Tekion does not sell the CRM to plug on to any DMS, just Tekion DMS. Now, if you ask a dealer, would you ever buy Tekion CRM as a stand alone. What would they say?

Lastly, plugging in solutions is not a solution. It's a "Bandaid". Diagnose the issue and solve it with what's available. In the medical industry as a parallel, how many medications do you want to be on as a patient? Probably 1. Doctors treat the symptoms and then add on other medications to treat the side effects. Patients spend more money and get frustrated on the amount of meds they take daily.

Close the month strong everyone. :)