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Old 10-21-2013, 11:06 AM   #1
XDCX
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Default Does your Dealership use an Electronic Menu Board for Service and Parts?

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Originally Posted by erich03 View Post
Got some electronic menu boards in place ( fancy televisions that show pictures ) and just general parts stuff.
I would really love to hear what the new electronic menu boards have done for your Service and Parts sales. (I'd like to start a new thread.)

I'm somewhat of a tech-geek and I like the boards for that reason but at the end of the day does the ROI (Return on Investment) cover the expense?

I'm guessing that the OEMs will be pushing electronic menu boards on their dealers because they convey a modern image for the dealership but do their "real world" sales improvements justify the cost?
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Old 10-22-2013, 02:38 PM   #2
erich03
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Originally Posted by XDCX View Post
I would really love to hear what the new electronic menu boards have done for your Service and Parts sales. (I'd like to start a new thread.)

I'm somewhat of a tech-geek and I like the boards for that reason but at the end of the day does the ROI (Return on Investment) cover the expense?

I'm guessing that the OEMs will be pushing electronic menu boards on their dealers because they convey a modern image for the dealership but do their "real world" sales improvements justify the cost?

The new electronic menu boards are working out pretty well for me. We have two of the LG 32 inch TV's. I think they cost about $300 each and the wall bracket was another $50. All in all, not too bad on the investment side initial cost wise.

As for the pictures, this is where I don't like the LG TV. There is no ability to load pictures into internal memory. I have to use a USB memory stick. Makes for easy changing of pictures though. Im using Open Office, and can build a picture and export it as a JPEG in 5 to 15 minutes, depending on what Im doing and how technical I want it to be.

I just mirrored the paper menu board that was up on the wall when I built the pictures for the menu board. My Toyota DSPM gave me a tip. Told me when he was in a Motel here recently, they had some Did you Know factoid pictures every 4th or 5t one to break the monotony. Good Idea, I did it and I have actually watched people on the Service Drive and in the waiting area looking at the menu boards just to read them. I have had people catch me on spelling errors too, so I know they are looking at the menu boards.

As far as ROI, it will take a while, but I have cut a dozen keys and replaced at least a dozen remote transmitter batteries because customers have read something on the menu board about not getting caught without a working transmitter or loosing a set of keys. Service manager says he has had customers add service to an RO because they saw it on the menu board also.
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Old 10-23-2013, 10:52 AM   #3
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Thanks for the update.

I split your post off and created a new thread in the event some of our other members want to share their experiences with electronic menu boards or learn more about yours.
As I understand it, it appears you created your own electronic menu boards, meaning you supplied the hardware and created your own message board using Open Office. (I'm guessing you used something like Powerpoint from MS Office.)

If I can ask, where have you displayed your electronic menu board - is it behind the Service Advisor's Write-up area or is it in the customer waiting area? (Or perhaps somewhere else?)
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Old 10-24-2013, 04:09 PM   #4
erich03
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I did create my own messages. Created them in Open Office Draw as an odf drawing, then exported them as a jpeg. Simply copied the jpegs to a jump drive and loaded it in the TV.

I have one of the menu boards in the Service Advisor's Write-up area. It can be seen by people standing in front of both of our Advisors. I have another in the Parts retail area / customer waiting room. It can be seen by people sitting in the waiting area and also by people in the show room down the hall.

Cant figure out how to post an image, but if you want a copy of a quick pic showing what I did, Id be happy to email it to you.
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Old 10-25-2013, 11:41 AM   #5
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Cant figure out how to post an image, but if you want a copy of a quick pic showing what I did, Id be happy to email it to you.
That would be great.

Just send the picture(s) to my XDCX@DealershipForum.com email address and I'll add them to this thread.
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Old 10-25-2013, 03:57 PM   #6
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We have the TV, just waiting on the GOOGLE TV interface so we can use it. When we built the new place, they put an extra TV that they planned to run a history of the county/town, and our dealership on, but nobody ever set it up, so I am co-opting it for my accessories display
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Old 10-28-2013, 10:43 AM   #7
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We have the TV, just waiting on the GOOGLE TV interface so we can use it.
What will the Google TV interface allow you to do - stream content from the Internet?

I know Google's new Chromecast device for $35 will allow a person to stream content from a smartphone, tablet or laptop via WiFi to their HDMI equipped TV. I've never used Chromecast but I've read a lot of favorable reviews.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tnpartsguy View Post
When we built the new place, they put an extra TV that they planned to run a history of the county/town, and our dealership on, but nobody ever set it up, so I am co-opting it for my accessories display
I like your style....

As the old saying goes - "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission."
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Old 10-28-2013, 01:05 PM   #8
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GM's use preselected background videos that stream from Youtube so you either need a smart TV with the Google app or buy a set top box with the Google App.

We don't have our TVs yet for this but they are in the near future. It will be my task to set it all up when we finally make the purchases.

Originally, they said you could use a Smart TV with the Google app but then they changed it to "needing" a settop box. I'm not buying into that. I had called their tech support a month or so ago and asked why it changed. He told me off the record that it was some dealers couldn't get it set up correctly and they changed the rules to make it easier. More expensive but easier. I'll be starting off with just the TV and will even do it wirelessly (another no-no according to GM). I'll make it work
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Old 11-04-2013, 11:17 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zep33 View Post
GM's use preselected background videos that stream from Youtube so you either need a smart TV with the Google app or buy a set top box with the Google App.
Thanks for the information - that's really interesting.

In some ways it seems like a waste of bandwidth to have the displays on a dealership's electronic message board stream from YouTube but then again it does provide GM an easy way to update their videos and make sure everyone's on the same page.

Does anyone use an electronic message board to display services and prices? I think a message board behind the service write area displaying the price for oil changes, tire rotates, 30K Service, etc. would look professional and might increase sales.
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Old 12-03-2013, 11:53 AM   #10
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Forgot about this thread - We got our TVs and have had nothing but problems since day 2

Here's a thread I created and the responses over on the "other" board:



I got our TV yesterday - A 47" LG with the Google TV built in. Had it set up and running the GM App in about 20 minutes - Piece of cake

However, this morning I came in and turned it on to an update from LG. Ran the update and now everytime I try to run the App, I get this message

"Unfortunately, GM Digital Signage has stopped" on the TV. I was logged in properly to Google on both the TV and the digital signage website (through chrome)

rebooted everything, deleted profiles, reinstalled the app, etc, etc, Same thing everytime... Not having any network issues - all other apps work - even watched an episode of Family Guy on Netflix

So I called GM tech support to see if maybe the service was just down or something this morning. Nothing from them so they're going to escalate it it level 2 support. She then scheduled a call back on Wednesday the 27th - yeah that's right , a week from now. I asked her if she realized how ridiculous that sounded but she didn't get it - not that I expected her to. She did say if she hears something sooner, she'll call me though. Unreal

Anyway, so now I'm here asking if anyone else has run into this issue since GM isn't going to be much help as far as I can tell?

This thing worked flawlessly yesterday and nothing at all today. I have a feeling it might have had something to do with the LG update this morning

------

Zep,
It's probably just another one of GM's "ENHANCEMENTS" that we get so often on RIM.

------

I thought the built-in google TV's weren't supported?

I'm having issues too, but it's more with content, the you tube and news tickers aren't working, they try to load but time out. I just don't have time to fool with it right now.

Isn't is funny how the Parts guy gets stuck with all the BS around the store?Richard

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Officially, they're not but they were in the original reference guide. I called them a while back to ask why it was removed and I was told that some dealers had issues setting it up so they removed it to keep it simple.

I'm sure to get any official support from GM, I'll have to get the Google TV box but I ran this flawlessly for about 3 hours yesterday afternoon using Wifi and just the App on the TV so I know it does work

I also tried hard wiring internet to it this morning beacuse you're not "supposed" to use wifi but that made no difference either

All I get is that circle with GENERAL MOTORS in the middle and the blue ring going around it (loading screen I'm sure) that ends with "Unfortunately, GM Digital Signage has stopped"

And since I can't get past that anymore, I can't redownload the token to connect the the TV to the website (I deleted the existing one while troubleshooting this)Zep33

------

Just called tech support back because I have very little interest in waiting up to a week for a call back. I was hoping to get someone different that could at least give me a clue as to what's going on.

As soon as I mentioned I was having a problem with the Digital Signage, the level 1 person told me there's a known issue with LG TVs with integrated Google TV. I hadn't even told her yet that's the TV I have or that I already had a case opened. Apparently they've been getting calls all day about it. Good news is they said they're aware of it and working on it and didn't say a word about not having the Google TV box, trying to pass the blame.

Since this is a brand new TV, I have no idea when this Google update was actually released but must be pretty recent. I do remember saying no to the update yesterday because I was in the middle of something when it popped up.

------

Bulletin came out last night:

"Important Update for GM Digital Signage Users using LG Google Integrated TVs – 2013 GA and G2 models:



To continue using the GM Digital Signage app, DO NOT ACCEPT ANY ANDROID/GOOGLE TV UPDATES to the system. Upgrading to the Android version to 4.x (where x is any number) will cause an incompatibility with the Digital Signage app and the Digital Signage app will stop working. Only the most recent LG devices are experiencing this issue at this time, but it important to refrain from updates to any Google TV device until the incompatibility workaround/resolution can be addressed. At this time, this is only affecting the LG Integrated TV's (Google TV is within the TV itself, not a separate connected device like Sony/Vizio), and only impacts more recent LG models produced. GM has not recommended LG integrated TVs since Digital Signage's production launch in April 2013, so it unlikely that your device is affected.



However, if an Android upgrade has been accepted and the error message “Digital Signage app has stopped” is displayed, please call the U.S. GM GlobalConnect Help Desk for assistance at 888-337-1010 prompt one, then prompt two."

------

btw, The Vizio box is MUCH easier to use than the Sony, and about 1/3 the price.

------

This Android 4.2.2 update is what killed the GM App for now. Was looking into just getting a STB instead of waiting for GM to fix this issue. But all of them use the android operating system don't they? I know the Sony one does and it appears the Vizio does as well. I believe it's a requirement of Google TV. If that's the case, it's only a matter of time until this latest Android operating system rolls out to those other units. LG just happened to be the first.

One of the "features" of the update to jellybean 4.2.2 was the removal of Flash support. If GMs app issue is related to the removal of Flash, then all units that get upgraded to 4.2.2 will end up with the same problems.

I called GM this morning to try and get a hold of someone specifically in the Digital Signage department and am waiting for a call back....

I'll update when/if I hear back
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Old 12-04-2013, 11:59 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zep33 View Post
Forgot about this thread - We got our TVs and have had nothing but problems since day 2

I'll update when/if I hear back
Thanks for the update - sorry to hear you're having problems.

As I understand it, the problem with the GM Electronic Signage is limited to dealers who are using a LG TV that's been updated to a recent version of Google TV.

Hopefully since GM is aware of the problem (and LG is a major TV maker now) they'll come up with a solution quickly.
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Old 12-05-2013, 07:45 AM   #12
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They're aware of it but as stated in the last part of my last post, the update is only specific to LG TVs right now. As soon as the other makers roll out their Android 4.2.x update (which will happen), everyone will have the same problem. It's not an LG issue, it's an Android issue. I hope GM realizes that. The operating system is the problem, not the hardware.


People are actually pestering Sony now wanting the 4.2.x update that the LG owners got. There are a bunch of good things in the update and people have been wanting this update for quite some time now.

Last edited by zep33; 12-05-2013 at 07:55 AM.
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Old 12-26-2013, 09:06 AM   #13
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Default Example of GM's Electronic Service Menu

One of our members sent me a picture of what their Electronic Service Menu looks like.

Here's the picture:


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Old 01-02-2014, 01:01 PM   #14
shwngo
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We have 2 for service and one for the showroom. One behind the service desk, on ein the waiting room. The showroom one Subaru feeds info to it and it is touch screen. They did a live release of the 2015 WRX from the LA auto show right in our showroom. It is a pretty cool thing and customer seem to love it, they can watch videos, commercials, or build their new Subaru and explore all the options for it. .
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Old 03-03-2014, 07:07 AM   #15
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Erich, I am about to do the same thing here at our store. If you could let me know about how many slides you did and the timing of the slides, that would be great.
Thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by erich03 View Post
I did create my own messages. Created them in Open Office Draw as an odf drawing, then exported them as a jpeg. Simply copied the jpegs to a jump drive and loaded it in the TV.

I have one of the menu boards in the Service Advisor's Write-up area. It can be seen by people standing in front of both of our Advisors. I have another in the Parts retail area / customer waiting room. It can be seen by people sitting in the waiting area and also by people in the show room down the hall.

Cant figure out how to post an image, but if you want a copy of a quick pic showing what I did, Id be happy to email it to you.
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