|
|
After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel
obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better
integration with our mail client, Outlook.
In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this
product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and
daily I have concern for my data.
The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We
encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some
of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic
ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter
account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering
the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week
(not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the
work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it
takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end
up not using it as readily as we should.
I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for
such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design.
It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge
surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into
Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM.
We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to
transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I
hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user
feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end
however.
Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it
cost us nothing. Lesson learned.
I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please
realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
|
|
Thanks for the candid feedback. We are working hard to make BCM more efficient and easier to configure and use. I completely agree
with you about there being too many screens for entering/viewing information. We are considering alternatives to eliminate this
inefficiency. I'll send you a separate e-mail to gather additional feedback in this area. Performance is another area to which we
are devoting tremendous amounts of effort in order to understand typical usage scenarios, optimize our code, and deliverable
measurable improvements.
We realize that there are many people like yourself who are looking for a contact management solution that integrates simply and
tightly with Outlook. Please know that we read every word you post and that your concerns only increase our motivation to solve
challenging technical problems. Some issues require a lot of investigation and effort to resolve. But we are definitely committed
to satisfying your needs and building a solution that simplifies your work.
At Microsoft, we "eat our own dog food". I have been dog-fooding BCM to experience first-hand what you go through each day. Please
keep posting your thoughts, because that helps me understand the degree to which certain problems and issues prevail. It's your
feedback that helps our team to prioritize work in order to deliver the most robust, performant, and integrated business contact
management solution in the world!
--
Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
"JoeM" <jom[ at ]nohostanywhere.com> wrote in message news:OzKdktpWHHA.1200[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel
obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better
integration with our mail client, Outlook.
In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this
product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and
daily I have concern for my data.
The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We
encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some
of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic
ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter
account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering
the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week
(not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the
work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it
takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end
up not using it as readily as we should.
I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for
such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design.
It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge
surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into
Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM.
We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to
transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I
hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user
feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end
however.
Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it
cost us nothing. Lesson learned.
I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please
realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
|
|
Joe,
If you are at all inclined to explore this, here is a link to a BCM
alternative that might work for your CRM needs for now until BCM further
evolves. www.avidian.com
Best wishes,
-THP
Clinton Ford [MSFT] wrote:
[Quoted Text] >Thanks for the candid feedback. We are working hard to make BCM more efficient and easier to configure and use. I completely agree
>with you about there being too many screens for entering/viewing information. We are considering alternatives to eliminate this
>inefficiency. I'll send you a separate e-mail to gather additional feedback in this area. Performance is another area to which we
>are devoting tremendous amounts of effort in order to understand typical usage scenarios, optimize our code, and deliverable
>measurable improvements.
>
>We realize that there are many people like yourself who are looking for a contact management solution that integrates simply and
>tightly with Outlook. Please know that we read every word you post and that your concerns only increase our motivation to solve
>challenging technical problems. Some issues require a lot of investigation and effort to resolve. But we are definitely committed
>to satisfying your needs and building a solution that simplifies your work.
>
>At Microsoft, we "eat our own dog food". I have been dog-fooding BCM to experience first-hand what you go through each day. Please
>keep posting your thoughts, because that helps me understand the degree to which certain problems and issues prevail. It's your
>feedback that helps our team to prioritize work in order to deliver the most robust, performant, and integrated business contact
>management solution in the world!
>After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel
>obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better
>integration with our mail client, Outlook.
>
>In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this
>product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and
>daily I have concern for my data.
>
>The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We
>encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some
>of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic
>ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter
>account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering
>the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week
>(not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the
>work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it
>takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end
>up not using it as readily as we should.
>
>I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for
>such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design.
>It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge
>surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into
>Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM.
>
>We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to
>transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I
>hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user
>feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end
>however.
>
>Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it
>cost us nothing. Lesson learned.
>
>I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please
>realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
>results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
--
Message posted via http://www.officekb.com
|
|
I certainly echo the sentiments of the original posterof this thread. I have
made the same comments myself, however not as sucinctly or eloquently, in the
past. I have two current reactions:
1. The interface is running better after using it for about a month. It is
still too slow but it is fast enough to use. And it only shuts down once a
day now.
2. Clinton, you have been very helpful and responsive to the posts I have
made. I make a post every time there is an issue becasue I know that MS can't
fix a problem I have without knowing about it. I'm sure it is annoying but so
are the glitches I face each day. I am sure that the "bugs" will be worked
out and I know that you have been very attentive to the issues.
I'll be bach..... Jim
"Clinton Ford [MSFT]" wrote:
[Quoted Text] > Thanks for the candid feedback. We are working hard to make BCM more efficient and easier to configure and use. I completely agree > with you about there being too many screens for entering/viewing information. We are considering alternatives to eliminate this > inefficiency. I'll send you a separate e-mail to gather additional feedback in this area. Performance is another area to which we > are devoting tremendous amounts of effort in order to understand typical usage scenarios, optimize our code, and deliverable > measurable improvements. > > We realize that there are many people like yourself who are looking for a contact management solution that integrates simply and > tightly with Outlook. Please know that we read every word you post and that your concerns only increase our motivation to solve > challenging technical problems. Some issues require a lot of investigation and effort to resolve. But we are definitely committed > to satisfying your needs and building a solution that simplifies your work. > > At Microsoft, we "eat our own dog food". I have been dog-fooding BCM to experience first-hand what you go through each day. Please > keep posting your thoughts, because that helps me understand the degree to which certain problems and issues prevail. It's your > feedback that helps our team to prioritize work in order to deliver the most robust, performant, and integrated business contact > management solution in the world! > -- > Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights > "JoeM" <jom[ at ]nohostanywhere.com> wrote in message news:OzKdktpWHHA.1200[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel > obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better > integration with our mail client, Outlook. > > In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this > product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and > daily I have concern for my data. > > The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We > encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some > of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic > ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter > account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering > the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week > (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the > work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it > takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end > up not using it as readily as we should. > > I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for > such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design. > It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge > surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into > Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM. > > We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to > transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I > hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user > feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end > however. > > Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it > cost us nothing. Lesson learned. > > I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well. > > > > |
|
That is an excellent and appreciated response. Thank you for taking the
time to respond honestly, and to fill us in on your progresses. Much
appreciated!
"Clinton Ford [MSFT]" <ClintonFordMSFT[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:O4V0bZqWHHA.5008[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
[Quoted Text] > Thanks for the candid feedback. We are working hard to make BCM more > efficient and easier to configure and use. I completely agree > with you about there being too many screens for entering/viewing > information. We are considering alternatives to eliminate this > inefficiency. I'll send you a separate e-mail to gather additional > feedback in this area. Performance is another area to which we > are devoting tremendous amounts of effort in order to understand typical > usage scenarios, optimize our code, and deliverable > measurable improvements. > > We realize that there are many people like yourself who are looking for a > contact management solution that integrates simply and > tightly with Outlook. Please know that we read every word you post and > that your concerns only increase our motivation to solve > challenging technical problems. Some issues require a lot of > investigation and effort to resolve. But we are definitely committed > to satisfying your needs and building a solution that simplifies your > work. > > At Microsoft, we "eat our own dog food". I have been dog-fooding BCM to > experience first-hand what you go through each day. Please > keep posting your thoughts, because that helps me understand the degree to > which certain problems and issues prevail. It's your > feedback that helps our team to prioritize work in order to deliver the > most robust, performant, and integrated business contact > management solution in the world! > -- > Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights > "JoeM" <jom[ at ]nohostanywhere.com> wrote in message > news:OzKdktpWHHA.1200[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I > feel > obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better > integration with our mail client, Outlook. > > In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this > product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and > daily I have concern for my data. > > The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We > encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, > some > of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic > ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter > account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on > entering > the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the > week > (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during > the > work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it > takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we > end > up not using it as readily as we should. > > I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released > (for > such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design. > It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge > surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into > Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM. > > We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to > transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I > hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to > user > feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end > however. > > Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it > cost us nothing. Lesson learned. > > I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well. > > >
|
|
Clinton,
What you might have emailed me was bounced, I'm sure. I don't use my name /
email on the news groups.
If you will send again, please try:
m j b o s k o
[ at ]
jmt systems (dot com)
Thanks!
And thanks all for your replies.
"Clinton Ford [MSFT]" <ClintonFordMSFT[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:O4V0bZqWHHA.5008[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
[Quoted Text] > Thanks for the candid feedback. We are working hard to make BCM more > efficient and easier to configure and use. I completely agree > with you about there being too many screens for entering/viewing > information. We are considering alternatives to eliminate this > inefficiency. I'll send you a separate e-mail to gather additional > feedback in this area. Performance is another area to which we > are devoting tremendous amounts of effort in order to understand typical > usage scenarios, optimize our code, and deliverable > measurable improvements. > > We realize that there are many people like yourself who are looking for a > contact management solution that integrates simply and > tightly with Outlook. Please know that we read every word you post and > that your concerns only increase our motivation to solve > challenging technical problems. Some issues require a lot of > investigation and effort to resolve. But we are definitely committed > to satisfying your needs and building a solution that simplifies your > work. > > At Microsoft, we "eat our own dog food". I have been dog-fooding BCM to > experience first-hand what you go through each day. Please > keep posting your thoughts, because that helps me understand the degree to > which certain problems and issues prevail. It's your > feedback that helps our team to prioritize work in order to deliver the > most robust, performant, and integrated business contact > management solution in the world! > -- > Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights > "JoeM" <jom[ at ]nohostanywhere.com> wrote in message > news:OzKdktpWHHA.1200[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I > feel > obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better > integration with our mail client, Outlook. > > In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this > product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and > daily I have concern for my data. > > The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We > encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, > some > of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic > ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter > account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on > entering > the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the > week > (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during > the > work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it > takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we > end > up not using it as readily as we should. > > I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released > (for > such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design. > It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge > surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into > Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM. > > We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to > transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I > hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to > user > feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end > however. > > Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it > cost us nothing. Lesson learned. > > I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well. > > >
|
|
When will MS produce a users guide for BCM 07? I think it would help answer
some of the easier questions & help get people past the beginner stage so we
could get a bit further into the program's features before we had some other
road block. The list of questions we see on this site would be much shorter.
On the positive side, Microsoft has done a much better job on their version
of a CRM than Intuit has. Their CRM isn't on the same level, full of bugs,
help is imposible to get to, features are much more basic & they don't seem
too interested in improving it much.
Back to my original question; when will a users guide be available?
"JoeM" wrote:
[Quoted Text] > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel
> obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better
> integration with our mail client, Outlook.
>
> In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this
> product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and
> daily I have concern for my data.
>
> The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We
> encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some
> of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic
> ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter
> account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering
> the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week
> (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the
> work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it
> takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end
> up not using it as readily as we should.
>
> I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for
> such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design.
> It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge
> surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into
> Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM.
>
> We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to
> transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I
> hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user
> feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end
> however.
>
> Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it
> cost us nothing. Lesson learned.
>
> I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please
> realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
> results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
>
>
>
|
|
I've tried every version since it initial release. Every time my use of BCM
stopped after a few weels.
Main reason is that I can not Exchange Active Sync the contacts folder to my
smartphone.
Where is the add-in?
Been asking every version, never happens.
Too bad.
"Clinton Ford [MSFT]" wrote:
[Quoted Text] > Thanks for the candid feedback. We are working hard to make BCM more efficient and easier to configure and use. I completely agree > with you about there being too many screens for entering/viewing information. We are considering alternatives to eliminate this > inefficiency. I'll send you a separate e-mail to gather additional feedback in this area. Performance is another area to which we > are devoting tremendous amounts of effort in order to understand typical usage scenarios, optimize our code, and deliverable > measurable improvements. > > We realize that there are many people like yourself who are looking for a contact management solution that integrates simply and > tightly with Outlook. Please know that we read every word you post and that your concerns only increase our motivation to solve > challenging technical problems. Some issues require a lot of investigation and effort to resolve. But we are definitely committed > to satisfying your needs and building a solution that simplifies your work. > > At Microsoft, we "eat our own dog food". I have been dog-fooding BCM to experience first-hand what you go through each day. Please > keep posting your thoughts, because that helps me understand the degree to which certain problems and issues prevail. It's your > feedback that helps our team to prioritize work in order to deliver the most robust, performant, and integrated business contact > management solution in the world! > -- > Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights > "JoeM" <jom[ at ]nohostanywhere.com> wrote in message news:OzKdktpWHHA.1200[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel > obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better > integration with our mail client, Outlook. > > In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this > product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and > daily I have concern for my data. > > The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We > encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some > of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic > ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter > account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering > the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week > (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the > work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it > takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end > up not using it as readily as we should. > > I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for > such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design. > It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge > surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into > Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM. > > We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to > transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I > hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user > feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end > however. > > Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it > cost us nothing. Lesson learned. > > I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well. > > > > |
|
Don,
There will be a version of BCM 2007 for Dummies released within the next few
weeks. It is authored by Lon Orenstein who regularly participates in this
newsgroup.
-THP
don becker wrote:
[Quoted Text] >When will MS produce a users guide for BCM 07? I think it would help answer
>some of the easier questions & help get people past the beginner stage so we
>could get a bit further into the program's features before we had some other
>road block. The list of questions we see on this site would be much shorter.
>On the positive side, Microsoft has done a much better job on their version
>of a CRM than Intuit has. Their CRM isn't on the same level, full of bugs,
>help is imposible to get to, features are much more basic & they don't seem
>too interested in improving it much.
>Back to my original question; when will a users guide be available?
>
>> After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel
>> obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better
>[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
>> realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
>> results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
--
Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/outlook-bcm/200703/1
|
|
Yes, I must unfortunately agree with JoeM on this one. While we get a lot of
help and serious guidence by savy MS people here, the product leaves a lot to
be desired. And I consider myself a lyal MS Office supporter so it is hard to
say this....
I also did the big mistake of converting thousands of contacts to BCM, but I
actually will encourage JoeM to reconsider staying with BCM. I deeply regret
I did not realize the mistake at once and took the job to get my data into
someting else and more useful at once.
BCM lacks even the most fundamental capabilities for a CRM.
Who can use a CRM where you can not even distibute email newsletters to
groups of customers through outlook without revealling every single email
address in the "to" field? With no possibility to send blind copies to the
business groups you make up in BCM....what use do you then have for the
program?
The only reason to stay with BCM is that I hope someone at MS must realize
that this feature is the most important one missing in BCM+outlook....and do
something about it. Still waiting in 3 years but......
--
"There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid answers"
"JoeM" wrote:
[Quoted Text] > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel
> obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better
> integration with our mail client, Outlook.
>
> In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this
> product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and
> daily I have concern for my data.
>
> The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We
> encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some
> of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic
> ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter
> account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering
> the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week
> (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the
> work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it
> takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end
> up not using it as readily as we should.
>
> I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for
> such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design.
> It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge
> surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into
> Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM.
>
> We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to
> transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I
> hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user
> feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end
> however.
>
> Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it
> cost us nothing. Lesson learned.
>
> I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please
> realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
> results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
>
>
>
|
|
Thank you for your candor. We are working very hard to identify and fix the
issues you are encountering. I am personally contacting and meeting with
existing and potential customers in order to focus the development team on
solving blocking issues and enabling new capabilities.
If you would be willing to assist with this effort, please send mail to
bcmteam at microsoft.com so I can get in touch with you. This invitation is
open to everyone on the newsgroup.
--
Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
"REALISTIC" wrote:
[Quoted Text] > Yes, I must unfortunately agree with JoeM on this one. While we get a lot of
> help and serious guidence by savy MS people here, the product leaves a lot to
> be desired. And I consider myself a lyal MS Office supporter so it is hard to
> say this....
>
> I also did the big mistake of converting thousands of contacts to BCM, but I
> actually will encourage JoeM to reconsider staying with BCM. I deeply regret
> I did not realize the mistake at once and took the job to get my data into
> someting else and more useful at once.
>
> BCM lacks even the most fundamental capabilities for a CRM.
> Who can use a CRM where you can not even distibute email newsletters to
> groups of customers through outlook without revealling every single email
> address in the "to" field? With no possibility to send blind copies to the
> business groups you make up in BCM....what use do you then have for the
> program?
>
> The only reason to stay with BCM is that I hope someone at MS must realize
> that this feature is the most important one missing in BCM+outlook....and do
> something about it. Still waiting in 3 years but......
>
> --
> "There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid answers"
>
>
> "JoeM" wrote:
>
> > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I feel
> > obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better
> > integration with our mail client, Outlook.
> >
> > In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this
> > product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic and
> > daily I have concern for my data.
> >
> > The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. We
> > encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, some
> > of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and problematic
> > ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter
> > account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on entering
> > the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the week
> > (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome during the
> > work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it
> > takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we end
> > up not using it as readily as we should.
> >
> > I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released (for
> > such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable design.
> > It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge
> > surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into
> > Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM.
> >
> > We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to
> > transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new customers, I
> > hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to user
> > feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end
> > however.
> >
> > Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and it
> > cost us nothing. Lesson learned.
> >
> > I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please
> > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
> > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
> >
> >
> >
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|
Clinton,
In the hopes of contributing to a more rapid release of an updated BCM
version (3.1, 3.2, 3.5?) in the near future, this is a great invitation!
-THP
Clinton Ford [MSFT] wrote:
[Quoted Text] >Thank you for your candor. We are working very hard to identify and fix the
>issues you are encountering. I am personally contacting and meeting with
>existing and potential customers in order to focus the development team on
>solving blocking issues and enabling new capabilities.
>
>If you would be willing to assist with this effort, please send mail to
>bcmteam at microsoft.com so I can get in touch with you. This invitation is
>open to everyone on the newsgroup.
>> Yes, I must unfortunately agree with JoeM on this one. While we get a lot of
>> help and serious guidence by savy MS people here, the product leaves a lot to
>[quoted text clipped - 54 lines]
>> > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found better
>> > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
--
Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/outlook-bcm/200705/1
|
|
Mr. Ford contacted me directly via phone following my initial creation of
this thread - he is not talking, he's walking the talk. In speaking with
him you will find, as I have, that he is very committed to improving this
product. He wants to talk to actual customers about their actual
experiences, that is HUGE. He is not afraid to listen to frustration - that
is MAGNIFICENT!
This is a step in the right direction!
"Clinton Ford [MSFT]" <ClintonFordMSFT[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:CA097E66-6279-4D59-99F0-F863897B00C8[ at ]microsoft.com...
[Quoted Text] > Thank you for your candor. We are working very hard to identify and fix > the > issues you are encountering. I am personally contacting and meeting with > existing and potential customers in order to focus the development team on > solving blocking issues and enabling new capabilities. > > If you would be willing to assist with this effort, please send mail to > bcmteam at microsoft.com so I can get in touch with you. This invitation > is > open to everyone on the newsgroup. > -- > Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights > > > "REALISTIC" wrote: > >> Yes, I must unfortunately agree with JoeM on this one. While we get a lot >> of >> help and serious guidence by savy MS people here, the product leaves a >> lot to >> be desired. And I consider myself a lyal MS Office supporter so it is >> hard to >> say this.... >> >> I also did the big mistake of converting thousands of contacts to BCM, >> but I >> actually will encourage JoeM to reconsider staying with BCM. I deeply >> regret >> I did not realize the mistake at once and took the job to get my data >> into >> someting else and more useful at once. >> >> BCM lacks even the most fundamental capabilities for a CRM. >> Who can use a CRM where you can not even distibute email newsletters to >> groups of customers through outlook without revealling every single email >> address in the "to" field? With no possibility to send blind copies to >> the >> business groups you make up in BCM....what use do you then have for the >> program? >> >> The only reason to stay with BCM is that I hope someone at MS must >> realize >> that this feature is the most important one missing in BCM+outlook....and >> do >> something about it. Still waiting in 3 years but...... >> >> -- >> "There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid answers" >> >> >> "JoeM" wrote: >> >> > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I >> > feel >> > obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better >> > integration with our mail client, Outlook. >> > >> > In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this >> > product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic >> > and >> > daily I have concern for my data. >> > >> > The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. >> > We >> > encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, >> > some >> > of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and >> > problematic >> > ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter >> > account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on >> > entering >> > the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the >> > week >> > (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome >> > during the >> > work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it >> > takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we >> > end >> > up not using it as readily as we should. >> > >> > I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released >> > (for >> > such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable >> > design. >> > It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge >> > surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into >> > Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM. >> > >> > We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to >> > transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new >> > customers, I >> > hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to >> > user >> > feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end >> > however. >> > >> > Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and >> > it >> > cost us nothing. Lesson learned. >> > >> > I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please >> > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found >> > better >> > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well. >> > >> > >> >
|
|
Hopefully Mr. Ford will have enough political clout within the vast reaches
of the Redmond bureacracy to make a positive difference in a timely manner.
-THP
JoeM wrote:
[Quoted Text] >Mr. Ford contacted me directly via phone following my initial creation of
>this thread - he is not talking, he's walking the talk. In speaking with
>him you will find, as I have, that he is very committed to improving this
>product. He wants to talk to actual customers about their actual
>experiences, that is HUGE. He is not afraid to listen to frustration - that
>is MAGNIFICENT!
>
>This is a step in the right direction!
>
>> Thank you for your candor. We are working very hard to identify and fix
>> the
>[quoted text clipped - 89 lines]
>>> > better
>>> > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well.
--
Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/outlook-bcm/200705/1
|
|
Hey, I didn't say he'd be able to push water up hill! :)
"mrtimpeterson via OfficeKB.com" <u8453[ at ]uwe> wrote in message
news:72b0c9e421426[ at ]uwe...
[Quoted Text] > Hopefully Mr. Ford will have enough political clout within the vast > reaches > of the Redmond bureacracy to make a positive difference in a timely > manner. > > -THP > > > > JoeM wrote: >>Mr. Ford contacted me directly via phone following my initial creation of >>this thread - he is not talking, he's walking the talk. In speaking with >>him you will find, as I have, that he is very committed to improving this >>product. He wants to talk to actual customers about their actual >>experiences, that is HUGE. He is not afraid to listen to frustration - >>that >>is MAGNIFICENT! >> >>This is a step in the right direction! >> >>> Thank you for your candor. We are working very hard to identify and fix >>> the >>[quoted text clipped - 89 lines] >>>> > better >>>> > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well. > > -- > Message posted via OfficeKB.com > http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/outlook-bcm/200705/1>
|
|
I tried email to Clinton Ford [MSFT]"
<ClintonFordMSFT[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> but the email was returned.
How do I contact him?
--
Neil
"Clinton Ford [MSFT]" <ClintonFordMSFT[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:CA097E66-6279-4D59-99F0-F863897B00C8[ at ]microsoft.com...
[Quoted Text] > Thank you for your candor. We are working very hard to identify and fix > the > issues you are encountering. I am personally contacting and meeting with > existing and potential customers in order to focus the development team on > solving blocking issues and enabling new capabilities. > > If you would be willing to assist with this effort, please send mail to > bcmteam at microsoft.com so I can get in touch with you. This invitation > is > open to everyone on the newsgroup. > -- > Visit team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights > > > "REALISTIC" wrote: > >> Yes, I must unfortunately agree with JoeM on this one. While we get a lot >> of >> help and serious guidence by savy MS people here, the product leaves a >> lot to >> be desired. And I consider myself a lyal MS Office supporter so it is >> hard to >> say this.... >> >> I also did the big mistake of converting thousands of contacts to BCM, >> but I >> actually will encourage JoeM to reconsider staying with BCM. I deeply >> regret >> I did not realize the mistake at once and took the job to get my data >> into >> someting else and more useful at once. >> >> BCM lacks even the most fundamental capabilities for a CRM. >> Who can use a CRM where you can not even distibute email newsletters to >> groups of customers through outlook without revealling every single email >> address in the "to" field? With no possibility to send blind copies to >> the >> business groups you make up in BCM....what use do you then have for the >> program? >> >> The only reason to stay with BCM is that I hope someone at MS must >> realize >> that this feature is the most important one missing in BCM+outlook....and >> do >> something about it. Still waiting in 3 years but...... >> >> -- >> "There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid answers" >> >> >> "JoeM" wrote: >> >> > After converting my CRM data from another popular product into BCM -- I >> > feel >> > obligated to share my experiences. We chose BCM hoping for better >> > integration with our mail client, Outlook. >> > >> > In short, Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing this >> > product to its customers. Even though its free, its too problematic >> > and >> > daily I have concern for my data. >> > >> > The longer story is that it is extremely slow and combersome to use. >> > We >> > encounter at least one bug every week in using the product (to be fair, >> > some >> > of those are recurring). Outlook itself has been sluggish and >> > problematic >> > ever since installing BCM. There are too many screens to enter >> > account/contact data - so much so that each of us have given up on >> > entering >> > the info until having to enter a whole batch of data at the end of the >> > week >> > (not something we like to have to do, but its just too cumbersome >> > during the >> > work day). Same goes for enter customer notes and other such logs - it >> > takes too long to drill to and then load the account/contact info so we >> > end >> > up not using it as readily as we should. >> > >> > I think the idea of BCM has promise - its just too bad it was released >> > (for >> > such a long time too) without having a truly functional and usable >> > design. >> > It doesn't fully integrate well with Outlook either, which was a huge >> > surprise and setback. The contact search and add functions, built into >> > Outlook, aren't capable of functioning directly with BCM. >> > >> > We're stuck with using it now, sadly, because we don't have it in us to >> > transfer all that data again. For folks like us, and for new >> > customers, I >> > hope Microsoft has plans to enhance this product; at least listening to >> > user >> > feedback - will they? History doesn't give us much hope at this end >> > however. >> > >> > Though, back of my mind, I do realize that we get what we pay for. and >> > it >> > cost us nothing. Lesson learned. >> > >> > I wish I could give a more positive feedback - and, in fairness, please >> > realize that this is only one installation -others may have found >> > better >> > results. And I would be interested in hearing those as well. >> > >> > >> >
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