PBS Systems Reviews

pbs

Pros:

very easy to use. switched over from cdk and this is very user friendly

Cons:

some of the search functions I do not like a whole lot

PBS allows us to calculate vehicle payments, and incorporate service and parts with accounting

Pros:

PBS allows us to calculate new or used vehicle payments in the sales department. We can easily locate a customer record or find information on a vehicle using the stock number or last 6 of the VIN number. We can also submit credit applications through the built-in RouteOne link with relative ease.

Cons:

With our DMS in the past, we had shortcuts to generate work orders or add regularly used service jobs or labour lines. PBS does not have any shortcuts so the work order write up process takes longer than expected.

PBS kills efficiency in the Fixed-OPS dept at point of sale

Comments: Overall experience has been a good one but there are some glaring deficiencies that make this DMS the wrong one for me. If you have a large fixed-Ops Dept, I would advise contacting Dealers that are on PBS directly and getting their take on it before signing a contract. I know PBS was less expensive than ADP/CDK when we signed on but I'm not convinced the trade-off was worth it.

Pros:

Customer service, they always pick up the phone. They're not always helpful but they always pick up the phone. PBS seems to work well for the Sales Dept. Management functions and reporting are at your finger tips, easy to find and easy to use, we used ADP/CDK in the past and the PBS Management functions are much easier to use.

Cons:

Very time consuming at point of sale in Fixed-Ops. It is like working with one arm tied behind your back, way too much mouse moving and clicking vs key board commands. When we first started using PBS, I remember feeling like we were 1 person short and I still feel like that today, 4.5 years later. If Parts and Service advisor efficiency was tracked the same way that our Service Tech efficiency is tracked and Dealer Principals/Managers could see what the lack of efficiency was costing, I don't think PBS would be in as many dealers. We used ADP/CDK before and we had complaints about that program as well but ADP/CDK is hands down faster and more efficient than PBS at the Service/Parts counters. PBS is much easier to use behind the scenes when it comes to reporting or Management functions but as a Parts Manager, I would choose a higher efficiency at my parts/service advisors desks 10 out of 10 times. PBS also kills efficiency in Shipping/receiving. It takes 3-4 times as long for my Shipper/receiver to receive freight with PBS than with ADP/CDK and as a result we find ourselves constantly behind with returns and other functions in our Shipping/Receiving Dept.

PBS is a very effective DMS System for Us

Comments: Very effective, easy to teach and use.

Pros:

You don't really need any or many other 'bolt-on' systems to manage your dealership effectively. One stop shop for all their modules! Vehicle Deal Mgmt, Dispatch, Vehicle Inspection Mgmt, Service Quotes(incl. parts avail. and pricing.) Tire Storage etc. I user can help influence the software enhancements....and see them implemented in a timely manner.

Cons:

They haven't included Technician service pictures/video portal for customer/service advisors yet ...but I hear it is coming soon !

Easy to use

Comments: This program is easy to learn to use on your own and the help section gives great step by step help.

Pros:

Great to track sales

Cons:

the process to use offsite is a little long but understandable to keep it secure

Just not a good company

Comments: Horrible. when looking into the company they have high turnover, their support is frustrated because they can't support you, and level 3 support will close the ticket even though the issue is not fixed to improve there own stats.

Pros:

The features when they worked. the program has a lot of potential but needs more attention

Cons:

The driver's license scanner does not check enough characters of the name. For instance if you had a customer called Mitch Howard the license when scanned would replace all the data of a current customer called Mitchelle Howardson. Thus the computer would think its the same person. When talking to support this was a use error and you need to manually change it. What's the point of the driver license scanner than? This informations is key for marketing and do you want to send the wrong info to the wrong person? All that needs to be changed is a couple of lines of code to check the whole name than just the first 4 or whatever they have it set to.

A Joke of a System

Comments: All automotive systems have their glitches but PBS seems to be the absolute worst. The system rarely works like it is intended to and to top it off customer service is horrible. If you have a issue get ready to sit on hold for an extended period of time to only be told "I will look into that for you" and not get a call back. It seems most days the staff in our office will try to figure the issue out to avoid having to deal with customer service. There use to be a survey sent after every call but apparently they didn't like what they were being told because they no longer send those out for every call, just select ones.

Pros:

The fact it is windows based and if you know windows you can figure out how to correct things yourself.

Cons:

Customer Service and inability to accurately answer questions about their own system

Not good for inventory management

Comments: Overall, it feels like "back into 90-s" :-) However, they do work on updating their software. One good thing is - very good support.

Pros:

V10 update gives a bit of hope that the software will try to keep up with "today's" technology. That said, they do have a phone app for V10 users. Great support

Cons:

RDP! Yes, it is remote desktop... in 2019 it is still desktop software :-) get ready to use VPN and RDP. Inventory management is horrible. VIN decoding, pretty much, gets everything wrong. When you ask them to send an inventory feed to your website, you will get literally 100% messed up feed. Ask them to customize it, and you will need to pay a fee of $ XXXX...

This is an awesome system! So easy to use!

Pros:

This is probably one of the easiest systems to use for a DMS that I have come across in my whole career.

Cons:

The transition from the previous system. This probably has more to do with personnel than the system itself.

Very user Friendly

Pros:

Very user Friendly, simple to use. Easy to navigate and customer service is very helpful and quick when you need assistance.

Cons:

I don't like that it is on its own remote screen, hard to use with only one computer screen if you have to use other programs