Subject says most of it. Can't find a single manual ever since they "updated" the website and broke all the links. It's been months now...
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I'm equally bummed about the "upgrade". If they'd just allow you to do a secondary search in the results it would fix a multitude of problems! The old site you could enter a subset of a part number and get all the variations.
NO
Pat
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I'm equally bummed about the "upgrade". If they'd just allow you to do a secondary search in the results it would fix a multitude of problems! The old site you could enter a subset of a part number and get all the variations.
Helping us fix old trains doesn’t help them sell new ones.
Cutting off parts access isn't going to help marketing either, that word will get around. 
@rplst8 posted:Helping us fix old trains doesn’t help them sell new ones.
It doesn't help them sell new ones if they're not making what we're trying to fix...
Why in the world did they change to begin with. The old system worked very good for me. Makes no sense at all. They keep playing around and they will be very, very sorry. It comes from the top.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I'm equally bummed about the "upgrade". If they'd just allow you to do a secondary search in the results it would fix a multitude of problems! The old site you could enter a subset of a part number and get all the variations.
Yep, the new design is sheer madness. When IT completes an update doesn't management require they verify that it actually works?
I don't understand why they are not getting the message. It is not a good rendition. Reboot the old system.
Either they're not listening, or fixing it doesn't fit into some Grand Plan they have in mind.
This fiasco certainly seems to be a case of some web weenie making something that "looks pretty" with no thought to functionality. A lot of that going on, I see it all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if behind the scenes at Lionel, they still have access to the old web pages.
@romiller49 posted:Why in the world did they change to begin with. The old system worked very good for me. Makes no sense at all. They keep playing around and they will be very, very sorry. It comes from the top.
There has been a “continuous improvement” mantra in business for many years now. My experience when required to participate many years ago was that “continuous frustration” is a far more accurate description for everyone involved.
@Chuck Sartor posted:I don't understand why they are not getting the message. It is not a good rendition. Reboot the old system.
Why they aren't getting the message is indeed, a mystery.
That said, part of the reason they might have migrated to a new system was because of unpatched security flaws with the old website. There's no way for us to know for sure, but often it's security concerns that drive business decisions when it comes to websites and computer software.
It doesn't excuse the execution though.
While lionel trains have always been considered "toys" . The current staff at Lionel is more "toy makers", than "model train makers".
The website, the trains. It's more about the latest whizz bang tech thing as opposed to more solid and reliable.
Nearly every product release has some issue that didn't exist in previous runs, i.e. wrong paint, bad gearbox, faulty audio board , the list goes on and on.
The blue tooth control constantly goes in and out of functionality.
These are toy people at Lionel, not train people.
Having said that. I had less issues with my Fisher Price stuff as a kid.
@rplst8 posted:That said, part of the reason they might have migrated to a new system was because of unpatched security flaws with the old website. There's no way for us to know for sure, but often it's security concerns that drive business decisions when it comes to websites and computer software.
I doubt I'd call it "secure". Just hit ESC whenever you're viewing a parts expansion, suddenly the site crashes and presents you with the Oracle Netsuite login screen!
Attachments
Kind of concerning when a set I purchased from the 2020 Vol 1 catalog has not one replacement part, just an owners manual online. Noticed just recently some starter sets from 2021 have been added. For the engines, the parts are all listed except for shells. Guess if you need a shell, you are out of luck.
One would think they would keep the old one up and running until the new one was de-bugged and fully functional but, hey, that's just me. 
There is an old saying “don’t fix what isn’t broke”
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I doubt I'd call it "secure". Just hit ESC whenever you're viewing a parts expansion, suddenly the site crashes and presents you with the Oracle Netsuite login screen!
I saw the word "Oracle" and suddenly everything wrong with this new support site made sense
The previous parts web site worked fine for me. I wish they’d return to it and make upgrades if needed.
