General Stability
Tim Bouwsema
It seems like the past few months has really taken a nose-dive with how long it takes to open work orders, save changes, and anything related to the server side operations in Protractor. As of this morning, I have an advisor that can't log in because Protractor won't "Determine The Client Version".
There's been acknowledgement of shortcomings, but it doesn't seem like any changes or fixes have a lasting, meaningful impact on the overall stability of the program, and if the program isn't stable then none of the other features on offer are worth anything.
A
Amber Grassing
I agree with this. I have been looking at other shop programs due to this.
Stefan Kennett
There has definitely been a major nose dive in reliability. I hear complaints from my advisors on the slowness of the program daily. On more than one occasion I haven't been able to enter a bill until the next day, Catalogue issues require several work arounds, Several times the program just stopped working, I have one advisor that screenshots every invoice because she is scared that the program will shut down when a customer comes in to pay, the list goes on. It is very frustrating and my only answer to my team is "maybe one day it will get better." It hasn't and it has been ongoing for way too long. In the past we had Mitchell (2007-2023). I always loved it because it NEVER failed, major strong point! We moved to protractor because it has much more to offer. We quickly fell in love with it...then things changed and we have lost that love. Stability and consistency is number one. Please figure out how to bring that back!
T
Tommy's Motors
We agree wholeheartedly. I've spoken with several other shop owners who have been loyal Protractor users for years, (We have been on the program for about 20 years) and there is a growing sense of frustration with both the recent stability issues and the lack of meaningful innovation.
It feels as though we're dealing with more than isolated performance issues. Work orders take longer to open, saving changes can be painfully slow, and server-related operations seem increasingly unreliable. These are fundamental functions of a shop management system, not minor inconveniences.
Personally, my concern is that we're seeing recurring issues addressed with patches and workarounds rather than meaningful improvements to the underlying platform. To use an automotive analogy, it feels like we're performing an alignment every month without addressing the bent frame that's causing the problem in the first place.
Beyond the immediate concerns, I think many of us are wondering about the long-term direction of the program. Is the focus primarily on maintaining the existing system, or is there a longer-term plan to modernize the platform and build something that can continue to evolve with the needs of our shops?
Many of us have invested years into Protractor, built our processes around it, and would prefer to see it succeed rather than be forced to consider alternatives. But reliability, usability, and continued development are fundamental expectations, not optional extras.
Hopefully, more users will add their voices here so this concern gets the attention it deserves. I'd be interested to hear whether others share these concerns about the platform's long-term direction, not just its current stability.