After the Flood: July 15-17, 2010 Nashville - the 18th Shop Mgmt Users' Workshop
The flooding that overtook parts of Nashville in May was part of a rare 1,000 year event. There were other news stories that occupied much of the airwaves that same period, which kept this massive flood from being the #1 news item. If you lived here, you knew it was, despite which news items were displayed. The storm front covered Middle Tennessee and simply never moved for days. In addition to the lives, homes and businesses damaged and disrupted, Music City musicians also lost many treasured one-of-a-kind instruments to raging flood waters.
For a brief time, we wondered if the July Shop Management User’s Workshop could even take place as scheduled, due to the damage in the area. Amazingly, the city started to get back on its feet over the next several weeks as we watched cautiously. Some facilities, such as the Opryland Hotel, are still a long way from returning to regular service; however the majority of downtown Nashville was spared. After touring the city to confirm what would be open for attendees to visit, my recommendation was that we go full speed ahead with the event as planned.
By now everybody knows our kickoff Thursday evening reception is going to feature great food, and this was no exception. If you had the shrimp, you know what I’m talking about! This is also our opportunity to chat with attendees about what they really need most to take back to their businesses from this training event. We definitely hear a wide range of questions or comments, some that may never occur to us, not working inside the actual shop environment every day.
I must say from some of the user comments about daily operations, it sure looked like we got here just in time! Some long time users were needlessly “under water” with their management software due to some counterproductive habits or simply a lack of product knowledge that we successfully addressed during the workshop. We’ll have more to say on that a little bit later.
Users attend these events because the software is such a large part of their daily work lives. They want to be sure they are getting the most value out of the software used daily in thousands of professional repair businesses with the least effort. We applaud this and always enjoy doing our part to help to make the shop's workday world a better place. Headbanging is for concerts not software!
This is generally the first time customers actually meet the people behind the software products and the bill they pay every month. It’s fun to watch people light up as their perception of who we are changes before our eyes in a matter of minutes, sometimes even seconds. Its people talking to people now; and that changes everything. They may share something they’re struggling with or what they wish the software would do for them. We listen and either address it on the spot (because it’s more of a one-off type of request that a group would not always appreciate) or wait, alluding to the content of the workshop book and our presentation itself, where all attendees will collectively benefit.
As always, we do our level best to provide a framework for two days worth of instruction; users provide quality interaction, in a mixture of best practices and new concepts to consider. We keep it lively and involving since shop folks are not used to being seated for long periods. We watch to make sure everybody's plugged in and we’re not missing questions. We work to keep attendees focused with an element of ‘what’s going to happen next’’ to spike the prepared material. Attendees comment that the interplay between John and myself is very good and makes it more interesting than hearing a single presenter the entire time.
Those of you that know John are aware of the passion he displays as the senior product manager of shop mgmt products, having involvement with every phase of it since 1995. He interpreted requests into solutions with today’s software as well as offering glimpses of how improved functionality will be implemented in Manager SE 6.4 release due to hit the market in several weeks. If you happen to be into motorcycles, racetracks and all that goes with it, he’s also your man.
We began with our announcements; this event is AMI (Automotive Management Institute) certified for 30 credits should attendees decide to pursue. We say there will be flashbulb moments for attendees happening at different times. We just never know at which moment they will be having them! People will start beaming and the vibe expressed at first break indicated that we are on the right track; users were relieved that they getting what they needed. They are truly amazed that many of their functionality requests are already available in their software today, on our radar or part of the forthcoming Manager SE 6.4 software.
On Friday evening, we all joined David Niemiec at an informative industry trends reception. By this time, attendees have had two great meals and they know not to miss out! The focus was on marketplace trends, dealerships and how shops can better compete. Attendees were briefly shown the industry trends and statistics for performing maintenance work, the power of incremental sales as well as the various BPS (Business Performance Services) product options we offer to provide enhanced customer loyalty and marketing capabilities. It was eye-opening to see how shops could perform higher profit work while also increasing credibility and loyalty with their customers. Despite already having a long day, attendees hung in there with us before going off to check out Music City on a Friday night. They managed to paint the town one color or another, but no country music entertainers were harmed in the making of this event.
Now what exactly did I mean when I described some shop management software user’s as being “under water”? Let’s start with the WIP (Work In Progress) screen; one attendee described theirs as “six feet long” and another says “they had about 5 years worth of outstanding invoices, because the owner wanted to keep an eye on them”. Two simple procedures would prevent this kind of chaotic view they had to work with. By showing them that posting Invoices as work is completed and saving any “keeper” Estimates to Revisions, the WIP screen could be brought into sharp focus and therefore more usable on a daily basis. There are other tricks like creating User List profiles that filter out Estimates or Repair Orders; by the time they saw this, they knew they got more than their money’s worth with this workshop event. It was like freeing them from the table in Braveheart! Some proclaim our 200 page book provided with a workshop is gold.
Post workshop: Folks ask how they can keep this new learning vibe going and we respond they should be on the forum and take a look at PerformanceCenter. This is an internet-based training site for 24/7 access to recorded modules and monthly live events. Module quizzes allow users to test their knowledge (making further discoveries) and then apply for MPC user certification when they pass all six quizzes. If you have additional people at your facility that need shop mgmt software training, this internet asset may provide the best answer right now. No travel, go at your own pace, watch anywhere you have broadband internet and audio available.
Are you a member of the Shop Management User's Forum? Whether you’re into drag racing or needlepoint, there are internet communities dedicated to your hobby. This is the same thing for your shop mgmt software. Click on the Forum button in the mgmt software toolbar and use Register to create a forum account for posting questions and getting email notices when answered. Whether you have a question about labor, parts catalogs, reports, marketing, discounts, there’s an area to discuss and learn.
By referring to the forum constantly throughout the two days, users found it to be very connected to the helpful positive workshop vibe, with friendly people working it, 24/7. For some shops, this may be the first time they’ve done anything like this on the PC. Then they wonder why they waited so long! There’s no dress code, you can be on the forum anytime, even cozy at home in your pajamas. Just go to managerforum.net at home or your smart phone to keep up with us.
The workshop theme continues to be turning ordinary users into power users and Nashville 2010 was no exception. People tend to get pretty revved up about what they’re going to do with all this new knowledge when they get back to the shop, even if it’s Sunday!
Debi Garrett always makes sure we have a great time and the workshop attendees offered some extended applause in appreciation of her efforts that made this event a very comfortable success and time well spent for all concerned. After the workshop concluded, I gave my San Diego office pals a tour of Nashville, grabbed a nice dinner and took a few pictures for M1’s Facebook.
We will host one more workshop event this year in Las Vegas - October 2010. We’ll keep everyone posted with registration details on the Shop Mgmt User’s Forum and shop management software user emails when registration details are in place. Thanks again to all for a successful event; we hope to see you or talk with you very soon on the shop management software users’ forum.
