Does anyone actually write code for Checkfront anymore?
Hello,
I've been on the platform for over a year now and have yet to notice any fixes or enhancements come in. Is there a regular update/fix plan? When can we expect some of these things to be addressed? In all reality, I love the platform, but there are a few things I'm really needing as my business grows. I worked in software for almost 30 years, so I understand that promises can't be made, but planning can and should be done. Perhaps a list of fixes/enhancements that have been requested and some indication as to the status of them - e.g. 'in plan', 'in consideration', 'not being considered' would be extremely helpful. If fixes/updates are not forthcoming, I may need to figure out a different approach.
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Official comment
Hey all!
Great to hear from you all. Thanks for that link back to the updates page Dedric!
It's true we could be more vocal about the smaller fixes that go out on a daily basis, and we are working on that. Our communications teams are growing and we look forward to adding resources in our community so that our support team can have total focus on answering your questions while myself and others ensure you are in-the-know on the latest fixes, updates, and Product initiatives.
Although it may not look like it from the outside, not a day goes by where we are not actively updating Checkfront and looking for new ways to improve it for you!
If you missed it, you can stay up to date on our latest releases here
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I've been with Checkfront for seven years and I would describe the development during this time as "mostly inactive." They don't seem interesting in fixing the pain points and it's now fallen years behind more mature solutions. I've figured out enough workarounds to make Checkfront mostly useable for me, but I wouldn't hold out hope for future improvements if you're not happy with the current platform.
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Kristi Schultz, I've been using CheckFront for just over 4 years now.
Like you, I have a software development background, so I know not every bug and feature request can be addressed...
There are many good things about CheckFront as a platform, but I now reached the point where I believe that you either accept CheckFront as it is, or you have to move to a different platform.
I have seen SO many feature requests from the community never been implemented; bugs not been fixed, and for the last 2 years (more or less since the new forum) they (CheckFront) don't even bother being proactive on the forum.
Having a roadmap publicly shared with the community would be a good first step, but we are still waiting (!).
The main change I have witnessed is that the typical reply went from "I have added your name to an existing feature request we have" to "If you'd like to recommend a change, I encourage you to reach out to us over the forums and voice your opinion on this matter."
Either way, it feels that CheckFront has (almost) completely disengaged from its users.
(I really hope they can prove me wrong!)Here is an interesting blog post by CheckFront, that I believe they may have forgotten themselves:
https://www.checkfront.com/blog/best-booking-software-company
To conclude: I'm happy with CheckFront … since I decided to accept it is how it is and I've lowered my expectations. It's a sad but necessary truth.
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Also, and to be fair, here is the link to the Updates page:
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I've been with Checkfront since 2015 and agree it does feel slow to get stuff released (eg Resource Management). However, for tours and activities, I think it is pretty much the best solution. I do feel listened to with some of my suggestions over the years having been taken on board, one or two even quite quickly. And let's not forget their support team are really quick and very helpful with advice and suggestions for how to solve problems.
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Agree all about the slow enhancement or product development.
One key thing for nowadays systems like Checkfront is to have simple way to integrate with external systems that we can push or pull info for confirmation, plus condition to show if then else situation. (As most of us using different cloud or in-house system)
E.g. system can allow simple link to other system like member / account look out so there is a different logic or message if they are member of an organisation for different handling vs general public. Currently we can only do it separately and it's difficult to do backend check after customer paid or booked tour/activity.
Rgds
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Likewise - the 'updates' feed very much feels like little more than minor task log, and to a certain extent like, "Why are you telling me about this minor crack you've repaired, when I've been asking you about this gaping hole in the wall over here for months?"
Checkfront's brand image of being customer-first doesn't come across much in the Community platform; I understand this is a place where we come to vent our frustrations, but it does not feel like we're heard here.
I would welcome a published road-map; even if elements were delayed from initial suggested release dates, or changes had to be made to give a surprise security concern priority, it would give our community of users some visibility over what was in the pipeline.
I can see from other posts, we were told a roadmap would be coming in the near future... a year ago. Way to go Checkfront... -
We use Checkfront for a year and a bit and I have to agree that there doesn't seem to be much development and there are a couple of issues where I wonder why this has to be so complicated. However, the people I deal with at Checkfront are always super nice and helpful and try to make it work somehow.
My biggest suggestion would be for Checkfront to get serious user (Business Owner) and end user (Business owner's client) input. this blog here is most likely just the tip of the ice berg. Pick some users and hold a virtual workshop or something like that. Whenever I talk to your support, I can tell that they are programmers and IT people but not users of the system; my challenges and issues are foreign to them. Your booking workflow needs a little overhaul that would make a huge difference for many of us.
Cheers
Martin (www.handle-bar.ca)
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Hello Claire and Martin,
Thanks for raising your concerns here. While we try our best to avoid our customers feeling this way, we're also happy to hear your voice.
We take this feedback very seriously and are looking at new ways to open communication and add more transparency around what is keeping us so busy, such as:
- With the most recent release of our New Product Builder (which includes new and exciting resource/asset management tools) we've been hard at work on the finishing touches.
- Highly requested updates to the Inventory Calendar (including an Asset Calendar for those using Products) are on the horizon, stay tuned...
We've been very focused on exciting new releases, and, to your point(s), we haven't found a great way of communicating that. We'll do better.
*Existing Operators are welcome to reach out for more information in getting access to the new Product Builder by contacting our amazing Support Team.
Thanks again. Your feedback is valued!
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