Updated Customer & Location Page Design

[aquamark]

We are extremely unhappy with the new layout design for both the Customer Page and the Location Page. While there are many great things about Service Titan, it feels as though random aesthetic changes that no one requested are being implemented instead of the numerous other modules that could be improved.

This new layout design actually makes things more difficult. For the Location Page, to have the notes, jobs, invoices, recurring, and equipment sectioned off in the report style crunches the text together and prohibits quick glancing at reports. We are used to clicking in and out of jobs at quick pacing and being able to see equipment without having to scroll or only using a single tab. This I not even covering the atrocious viewing of the Recurring Services.

This update in design makes not only the workflow less efficient but it also creates the opportunity for more errors. While having the design more organized can be understood, the older format allowed for freedom of movement. The multiple report sections creates for a jumpy page, the side panel does not help in navigation, and attempting to switch back and forth between linked Location and Customer Pages is exceedingly difficult. In fact, it is just plain horrible.

For the Customer page, the design creates a much more difficult workflow. When we are trying to assist with customers, having everything in a more open display creates for easy customer communication. It also allows for multiple people within the office to view the same items or search an account quickly. The report like sections limit the view, cut off information, make it extremely difficult to access the linked Location Page, and creates a general distortion of the page’s information.

I understand the reasoning behind the design shift. I understand thinking that the ability to filter information would be preferred. However, this is not the way to do it. It does not increase out success, our workflow, or assist our customers. I appreciate being able to switch back to the old design. The same can be said for the new design flow of the Search Page. While the thought it appreciated, we would much prefer the larger issues of Mapping having a limited view, Inventory Details showing incorrectly, limitations in Reports, and other bugs we have been requesting for years be fixed before more aesthetics are changed. And when they are changed, perhaps end users from ALL fields of business should be consulted prior to their implementation. For those who rely more on the Desktop version, these changes are vastly underwhelming and difficult to work with. For now, we will be happily using the old design and hoping that the new one will not become a permanent feature.

[VTumanya]

@dwhite45 thank you for the feedback. We are glad that you overall like the new experience. Regarding the improvements let me ask you couple of questions if you don't mind.

1. By "the invoices and payments are not shown together" do you mean that they are separate tables and you would like to have one table with the information of current 2 tables or something else?
2. By "Make the sections of the screen re-arrangeable" do you mean to be able to change the order of tables (perhaps you want to see "Emails" table on top so that you don't scroll much) or something else?

[dwhite45]

1. Before the update, an invoice was shown on one line and the payment was shown below it. So much easier and faster to spot when on the phone. Even the people not in Admin could spot the payments and how they were paid. 

2. Re-arrange the screen to what we need where we need it. Some of us deal with invoices more than jobs. Some deal with appointments more. Just what we want to see first, seems like it would be great if we could arrange it to suit us better.

[VTumanya]

@dwhite45 thank you for more details. We'll try to find a solution to make the experience more convenient for you and let you know.

[glanclos]

My biggest issue is now you can not just hover over the job status and see what the description of work was on the invoice without having to open every invoice. This function made it a lot easier to find what work was done previously very quickly. 

[VTumanya]

@glanclos thank you for the feedback, we'll think about giving a possible solution to this and let you know the results.

[cshobe]

I do understand everyone will have their different opinions, and having an update does cause some inconvenience for a short period of time while we adjust to the new settings, our team actually prefers this update. There are several things in this update that I have been hoping to see happen. With any change there will be things some do and don't like. 

I prefer clicking on the left panel to get exactly where I need to go verses scrolling down the page.  Having all items in "blocks" makes it easier for my brain to see the sections. I understand it won't be the same for everyone. You can still scroll down the page like previous if that's what's preferred, but I'll just click the tab on the left. 

As far as the, "changes no one requested"... I am actually someone who requested some of these changes. I would imagine others have too. So, thank you Service Titan for making some of those happen.  

[VTumanya]

@cshobe thank you for the feedback, we really appreciate it and work hard to make your experience with ServiceTitan as convenient as possible. We are glad that you like the updates and we thank you that you requested some of the changes yourself. We'll be happy if you continue giving us feedback in case you have other requests, too so that we can make your experience even more convenient.

[VTumanya]

@aquamark hello, I am the Product Analyst of CRM team. Thank you very much for the detailed feedback. It's very important for us so that we are able to design an efficient and easy to use page. Nonetheless, can you please specify in more details couple of inconveniences you mentioned so that we are able to understand the core issues and try to find solutions, specifically:

1. By "We are used to clicking in and out of jobs at quick pacing" do you mean that when you go to the job page from the location page and then go back to the location page, it takes more time than it did on the old design?
2. By "being able to see equipment without having to scroll or only using a single tab" do you mean that you want to see all columns at once on "Equipment" table on the location page without having to scroll or that there are unnecessary column that you don't need to see which makes the table scrollable?
3. what do you specifically mean by "atrocious viewing of the Recurring Services"?
4. what do you specifically mean by "attempting to switch back and forth between linked Location and Customer Pages is exceedingly difficult"? How does that difficulty appear to you?
5. what do you mean by "The report like sections make it extremely difficult to access the linked Location Page" considering that you can quickly access "Locations" table on the left sidebar and that "locations" table is on top right after notes?

I would really appreciate if you can specify the inconveniences mentioned above so that we are able to try to think on possible solutions. In the meantime, if the design is too inconvenient for you, we have the option to switch back to the old design, however we would like to understand the inconveniences and try to think on possible solutions to make the experience with the new design better.

[aquamark]

Hello, thank you reaching out to me! I understand that change is necessary for growth but the new layout is a bit off putting still. I understand having sections grouped together in a way that makes them easier to view. The ideas behind being able to search for notes, moving the Location Page Link towards the top, and having the navigation tool bar are excellent. In theory, it should work well. However, the Reports format, in my opinion, what is throwing everything off. 

1. By "We are used to clicking in and out of jobs at quick pacing" do you mean that when you go to the job page from the location page and then go back to the location page, it takes more time than it did on the old design? 

Short Answer: yes. Going back and forth between the two pages or a job and the two pages takes much longer when searching for specific customer information. Before, it would take us 2 minutes to take in the information. Now, we have to scroll, edit how many lines are shown, scroll again, click, take in the information, click out, scroll, back to Location, scroll, information, scroll, back to Job.

In the older version, we are used to being able to glance at everything without having to tab pages or edit columns. We would have Customers on the phone, open their page and be able to see the next Job scheduled, their Account Balance, any open invoices without payments, and pinned notes with minimal scrolling. Now, the order, separation of AR, separation of Jobs and Appointments, the addition of tasks, makes it difficult. I agree with another comment that being able to tailor a page to a company would be helpful with this format going forward.

2. By "being able to see equipment without having to scroll or only using a single tab" do you mean that you want to see all columns at once on "Equipment" table on the location page without having to scroll or that there are unnecessary column that you don't need to see which makes the table scrollable?

The way the equipment was set up, you could see an Install Date, Model, Status, and Tags all without clicking. Now, the way the table breaks down, you have to scroll over to see the information and, from my view point, the column width and order doesn't seem to be editable. This would solve quite a few of our problems. We would be able to delete the columns we don't need and adjust the order to what we need most.

3. what do you specifically mean by "atrocious viewing of the Recurring Services"?

I do apologize for the excessive language but it is a bit frustrating, as for our company, this has been a difficult point. The Recurring Service Event Table was set in Future to Oldest Date View. This then had you tab over and you could easily see what Recurring was going by Date. The table is un-editable, so you cannot simply look and see what is going on that date. Instead, it is broken down by Service. Not terrible but it makes for a large difficulty when, as is the case with some of our customers, have ten different Events going at the same time and you want to ensure they were all booked properly. This and AR are perhaps some of my larger complaints.

4. what do you specifically mean by "attempting to switch back and forth between linked Location and Customer Pages is exceedingly difficult"? How does that difficulty appear to you?

To me, it would make more sense if the navigation tool took you to the Customer and Location Page with a click. having it in the middle of the screen inside of a table makes it easy to miss. Perhaps it is just the view point or that it is inside of a table, but the navigation bar could have more of a linking function instead of simply taking you too the table. 

Overall, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I do see some of the benefits but I believe there is room for improvement. Thank you. 

[VTumanya]

@aquamark thank you for the clarifications, it really helps us improve the product to try to make everyone's experience smoother and more convenient. Almost everything is clear for me, we'll try to give solutions to what you mentioned and let you know, but can you explain in more details the issue related to the 4th point? Where would you like to have the locations clicking on which it would redirect you from customer page to location page?