Customer:Shop software

[Let'sgoflying!]

This weekend I heard about software in which the shop makes a list of the defects and posts them to your account with a description. Beside each, is a designation "airworthy item/future repair suggested/aesthetics item" (or some such). Also is the price to repair. And, photos of the defect.
You can then deselect items you don't want done and your total at the bottom automatically adjusts. I am told it is proprietary software this one shop made, and uses. This shop is a specialty shop, only does a certain model and many customers fly across the country to get there, leave the airplane for a week. So they need a better way than the telephone to demonstrate to customers what the situation is.
I thought it sounded really useful.
I realize it probably has downsides. And there are POAers who will point them out.
Anyone heard of it before?

 

[bnt83]

I'm sure its a lot more common than you think. The company I work for has its own full time software engineers, and yes customers can access a whole lot of data about thier projects through a customer portal that is part of the giant program. It all works pretty darn good.

My brother works for a company that contracted out the building of a work order mamagment program, and its flakey at best and support has been the same. Sucks because for the size of that company its pretty lame.

 

[Bell206]

This weekend I heard about software in which the shop makes a list of the defects and posts them to your account with a description. Beside each, is a designation "airworthy item/future repair suggested/aesthetics item" (or some such). Also is the price to repair. And, photos of the defect.
You can then deselect items you don't want done and your total at the bottom automatically adjusts. I am told it is proprietary software this one shop made, and uses. This shop is a specialty shop, only does a certain model and many customers fly across the country to get there, leave the airplane for a week. So they need a better way than the telephone to demonstrate to customers what the situation is.
I thought it sounded really useful.
I realize it probably has downsides. And there are POAers who will point them out.
Anyone heard of it before?

I've seen it at the business/commercial level shops and high-end helicopter shops. There is also a Cirrus-only shop that runs something similar. If you have the customer base to cover the cost of it I would think it would be a win-win for everybody.

 

[Paulie]

Aircraft specialities has one that you can check the progress of parts, supposedly. Every time I checked it said in process. Then I got a call saying it was done where's our money. Absolutely useless.