Ford pulling MFT Tech Training

[Deanh]

/deepvoiceover "Challenge accepted"

 

try to enter into the system your wifi password while in range of your home...

 

try to have surround sound as your default (vs. stereo) sound setting AND have it stay...

 

try to upgrade it to a new version (Props for having the ability though!)...

 

try to set a 'mydestination' on your mobile device, transfer to your car, and have the navigation direct you there (again props for trying)...

 

try to enable the vent, no power, no a/c, just free flowing air (like with the sunroof cracked or a back window) through defroster vents, floor vent, or where ever...

 

I'm sorry, you said three. I'll stop.

 

All that said, I do still like the system as it generally works well for me, with the above annoyances, but they aren't deal breakers.

after wi-fi, apps, mentioning "mobile devices"....I lost interest...how did we survive sans all this needless crap?.........

[NightHawk150]

I actually worked at a Ford Dealership in Dallas doing this over the Summer, before I decided to go to grad school...

 

I had a base salary and would get bonuses based off of SYNC Activations and Customer Survey Responses.

[Deanh]

I have my right hand small screen on the climate control temp setting so I use the right hand D-pad to change temps. I use voice control to make phone calls. I use the right hand D-pad to listen to incoming texts and to answer and hang up on incoming calls. I use the steering wheel controls for volume and to change channels on Sirius or skip songs on the USB playlist. I use voice commands to change from Sirius to USB or vice versa or sometimes I go to the entertainment screen and use the buttons on the screen. I use the onscreen navigation menus to enter destinations - haven't tried the voice commands yet since I don't use it very often.

 

I don't know how much simpler it could be. If you need the phone menu touch the upper left quadrant. For entertainment touch the lower left and the buttons there are just like any other stereo. Navigation is on the upper right and climate control is on the lower right if you need it.

sadly Kirby, my own car doesnt have MFT, and I swear, it would be one hell of a lot easier for me at least if i personally experienced it on a daily basis, as it sits though I dont and have ZERO interest in its complexity and capacities....in fact if anything it semi angers me....wifi in a car???? seriously, I'll stick with "I spy with my little eye......."....lol....

[silvrsvt]

sadly Kirby, my own car doesnt have MFT, and I swear, it would be one hell of a lot easier for me at least if i personally experienced it on a daily basis, as it sits though I dont and have ZERO interest in its complexity and capacities....in fact if anything it semi angers me....wifi in a car???? seriously, I'll stick with "I spy with my little eye......."....lol....

 

 

Its built in for future usage...not like you can do much with it now. My car can connect up to my WiFi AP at home when I'm in the garage, but I can't do anything with it..yet. Or you can tie into your smartphone (if it can be used as a mobile hotspot) using bluetooth.

 

The thing is....if you don't have an interest in it and a potential customer does, and you can't explain it to them or help them with it, you might be losing a sale?

 

Just because you might not see the need in it, doesn't mean that everyone else thinks the same way...

[akirby]

/deepvoiceover "Challenge accepted"

 

try to enter into the system your wifi password while in range of your home...

 

try to have surround sound as your default (vs. stereo) sound setting AND have it stay...

 

try to upgrade it to a new version (Props for having the ability though!)...

 

try to set a 'mydestination' on your mobile device, transfer to your car, and have the navigation direct you there (again props for trying)...

 

try to enable the vent, no power, no a/c, just free flowing air (like with the sunroof cracked or a back window) through defroster vents, floor vent, or where ever...

 

I'm sorry, you said three. I'll stop.

 

All that said, I do still like the system as it generally works well for me, with the above annoyances, but they aren't deal breakers.

 

I've upgraded 3 times on 2 vehicles with no problems whatsoever. The majority of things you pointed out are things that the average driver does not need, and certainly not something a reviewer would be trying to do (and that's where most of the "incredibly frustrating" comments come from).

[Extreme4x4]

I think the problem here is, it is another operating system that people have to learn.

 

Apple people know IOS, Razor, and other, people know Android. Blackberry people know the Blackberry OS, and so on. Put them on another phone, with another operating system, and there is a steep learning curve. My husband still struggles with his Android phone, after having a BB for a couple of years.

 

Since there is no standard with operating systems, you will never produce an infotainment system that is easy to operate for everyone. Well, if you want it to do much of anything.

 

BTW, the navigation works great by voice, once you learn the correct prompts. It is just "navigation," "destination address, point of interest, etc," then the address. I works very well, although it does take a few moments for it to find the address. Also, it will often give you a few options since so many address's can sound the same. You then tell it which line number. Frankly, once I got over knowing what the correct prompt is (and it tells you this), it is very easy.

 

Anyway, I really like ours. I do have to do the update though. I'm on 3.5.

[Deanh]

Its built in for future usage...not like you can do much with it now. My car can connect up to my WiFi AP at home when I'm in the garage, but I can't do anything with it..yet. Or you can tie into your smartphone (if it can be used as a mobile hotspot) using bluetooth.

 

The thing is....if you don't have an interest in it and a potential customer does, and you can't explain it to them or help them with it, you might be losing a sale?

 

Just because you might not see the need in it, doesn't mean that everyone else thinks the same way...

wasnt really my point, but I understand.....IMO, its tech for techs sake, and the world has started revoving too much around their fixation with "smart" phones.....

[Deanh]

I think the problem here is, it is another operating system that people have to learn.

 

Apple people know IOS, Razor, and other, people know Android. Blackberry people know the Blackberry OS, and so on. Put them on another phone, with another operating system, and there is a steep learning curve. My husband still struggles with his Android phone, after having a BB for a couple of years.

 

Since there is no standard with operating systems, you will never produce an infotainment system that is easy to operate for everyone. Well, if you want it to do much of anything.

 

BTW, the navigation works great by voice, once you learn the correct prompts. It is just "navigation," "destination address, point of interest, etc," then the address. I works very well, although it does take a few moments for it to find the address. Also, it will often give you a few options since so many address's can sound the same. You then tell it which line number. Frankly, once I got over knowing what the correct prompt is (and it tells you this), it is very easy.

 

Anyway, I really like ours. I do have to do the update though. I'm on 3.5.

in So Cal the system has difficulty recognizing all the exotic "Spanish" street names...quite humorous actually....

[Deanh]

Its built in for future usage...not like you can do much with it now. My car can connect up to my WiFi AP at home when I'm in the garage, but I can't do anything with it..yet. Or you can tie into your smartphone (if it can be used as a mobile hotspot) using bluetooth.

 

The thing is....if you don't have an interest in it and a potential customer does, and you can't explain it to them or help them with it, you might be losing a sale?

 

Just because you might not see the need in it, doesn't mean that everyone else thinks the same way...

question of ignorance....if you COULD do anything with it if the Wifi was avail...exactly WHAT would you have the capacity to do....

[akirby]

Use the built-in web browser that was promised but never appeared.

 

Access real time information for navigation, weather maps, etc.

 

Automatic MFT/sync updates when the vehicle is parked at home.

[Deanh]

Use the built-in web browser that was promised but never appeared.

 

Access real time information for navigation, weather maps, etc.

 

Automatic MFT/sync updates when the vehicle is parked at home.

thx, but that really just underlines my case......tech for tech sake.....I would t feel the need foer ANY of that....people are WAY too wrapped up in this stuff...to each their own though.....

[Deanh]

Use the built-in web browser that was promised but never appeared.

 

Access real time information for navigation, weather maps, etc.

 

Automatic MFT/sync updates when the vehicle is parked at home.

sadly it seems mosts kids nowdays, LIVES revolve around the internet, social networking, texting and the next I Phone....I must have had a REALLY shitty childhood missing out on all this "neato" stuff....lol....crazy I swear.....

[Extreme4x4]

We had none of that when I was a kid. I'm 49 now. I certainly am not all wrapped up in tech, except I do spend a fair amount of time on my computer. My phone, it is a device that I use as a phone. I will check certain things on the internet, but for the most part, it is a phone. That is why I still have my 3-year-old BB.

 

I don't find the technology to be intimidating, however. If you are patient with it, you can learn it pretty fast. I just think that most people are too impatient, and expect everything immediately. When that doesn't happen, they start pushing buttons willy nilly and then can't understand why it didn't do what they wanted in the first place.

[akirby]

Maybe that's it - people think its a smart phone and don't press hard enough.

[RichardJensen]

try to enable the vent, no power, no a/c

 

Uh, as near as I can tell, you can't do that in any modern vehicle. The fan's always on. And as far as turning the A/C off goes, wouldn't you just tap the A/C button on the console? I mean why would you even bother doing something like that with MFT in the first place?

[RichardJensen]

try to set a 'mydestination' on your mobile device, transfer to your car, and have the navigation direct you there (again props for trying)...

 

And doesn't this capability *also* require a nav app on the phone that supports MFT? In other words, is this a feature that Ford could implement unilaterally?

[Bryan1]

Jim Seavitt, owner of Village Ford in Dearborn, Mich., hired such a specialist, who, he said, is busy constantly. Seavitt does not want to see the allowance end.

 

"That pays his salary," he said.

 

Seavitt estimates that he receives about $7,500 a month in allowance money, or about $90,000 a year. He would not say how much the specialist is paid.

 

edit: How much of this is actually going to the specialist?

Edited September 24, 2013 by Bryan1

[silvrsvt]

Seavitt estimates that he receives about $7,500 a month in allowance money, or about $90,000 a year. He would not say how much the specialist is paid.

 

edit: How much of this is actually going to the specialist?

 

 

Well working in the Gov contracting world, I know that the specialist is prob lucky to see about 50K of that...I know as a contractor, I only see maybe 3/4 of what the labor rate is for the job I have, with the rest going towards benifits (which I have to still pay into) and money the company makes off me.

[akirby]

Jim Seavitt, owner of Village Ford in Dearborn, Mich., hired such a specialist, who, he said, is busy constantly. Seavitt does not want to see the allowance end.

 

"That pays his salary," he said.

 

Seavitt estimates that he receives about $7,500 a month in allowance money, or about $90,000 a year. He would not say how much the specialist is paid.

 

edit: How much of this is actually going to the specialist?

 

I'd say no more than $30K and that's probably a stretch. Any teenager could do it. And that's precisely why it needs to end. The dealers are getting increased sales from MFT and other high tech options. Training should just be part of their normal overhead.

[silvrsvt]

sadly it seems mosts kids nowdays, LIVES revolve around the internet, social networking, texting and the next I Phone....I must have had a REALLY shitty childhood missing out on all this "neato" stuff....lol....crazy I swear.....

 

 

thx, but that really just underlines my case......tech for tech sake.....I would t feel the need foer ANY of that....people are WAY too wrapped up in this stuff...to each their own though.....

 

I didn't grow up with it either (or at least the extent that people under 25-30 have), but it is sure nice to have the option to do it. I know I get annoyed with my Mustang because it only plays CD's and I don't even have an option to hook up a MP3 player or smartphone to it.

 

Plus look at this way....back about 10 years ago people here where bitching about all the buttons that where showing up on the F-150 of the time to do things with, we switch away from that to a touch screen and we get people bitching about that now!

 

In all honesty, with owning MFT for about 6 months now, I don't do that much with the central touchscreen and most of my stuff is done with pushing a button on the right hand side of the steering wheel to change the song/station, change the volume, or to activate the voice commands to call someone. Once in a while I'll use the Sirius Travel thing to get gas prices or check the weather, but I can do that from my phone also. I'll use the navagation once in a while when I go some place I haven't been before, but the annoying thing is that when I look for a POI of say Wegmans, it gives me one that is 40-50 miles away instead of the newish one that is only 15 miles away or so...

[akirby]

While some of it is obviously just "tech for tech's sake", most of it is super useful. It's something you wouldn't miss if you didn't have it but once you've had it you don't want to go without it. I can now check my email any time of the day, any where. I can find restaurants near my current location and get a moving map to guide me there while on foot. I can take pictures and videos and send them to anyone at any time. I can watch movies and play games on my iPad or iPhone on the plane or anywhere else. If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some question comes up I can look up the answer immediately. I can look up phone numbers and addresses anywhere anytime.

 

The nice thing about texting is you can do it asynchronously and silently as opposed to a phone conversation. I can send a text and you can respond 1 minute, 10 minutes or 2 days later. I can text with someone who is also on the phone or in a meeting or at an event. I can text my fast food order to my daughter and she doesn't have to remember it or write it down. I can use an app to order food directly. I can sign in at Great Clips for a haircut before I arrive.

 

I can keep loyalty cards, boarding passes and other documents and use them electronically. I can pay for stuff directly using my phone. I can take credit card payments. I can use it as an alarm clock or jukebox. I can even use it as a flashlight.

 

You're right, Dean - it's just not useful at all.

[fordmantpw]

but the annoying thing is that when I look for a POI of say Wegmans, it gives me one that is 40-50 miles away instead of the newish one that is only 15 miles away or so...

 

That's OK, my wife's iPhone does the same thing. We were looking for a Sonic a month or so ago, and it had us going left off the interstate. As we turn left, my daughter says "there it is, behind us". Is was only off by a couple miles, but still, it happens no matter what you use.

[fordmantpw]

While some of it is obviously just "tech for tech's sake", most of it is super useful. It's something you wouldn't miss if you didn't have it but once you've had it you don't want to go without it. I can now check my email any time of the day, any where. I can find restaurants near my current location and get a moving map to guide me there while on foot. I can take pictures and videos and send them to anyone at any time. I can watch movies and play games on my iPad or iPhone on the plane or anywhere else. If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some question comes up I can look up the answer immediately. I can look up phone numbers and addresses anywhere anytime.

 

The nice thing about texting is you can do it asynchronously and silently as opposed to a phone conversation. I can send a text and you can respond 1 minute, 10 minutes or 2 days later. I can text with someone who is also on the phone or in a meeting or at an event. I can text my fast food order to my daughter and she doesn't have to remember it or write it down. I can use an app to order food directly. I can sign in at Great Clips for a haircut before I arrive.

 

I can keep loyalty cards, boarding passes and other documents and use them electronically. I can pay for stuff directly using my phone. I can take credit card payments. I can use it as an alarm clock or jukebox. I can even use it as a flashlight.

 

You're right, Dean - it's just not useful at all.

 

If it weren't for 'tech for tech's sake', we wouldn't have any of that you mentioned. When tech first arrives, it is normally just 'tech for tech's sake', and it become so much more useful as more people get their hands on it.

[Deanh]

Jim Seavitt, owner of Village Ford in Dearborn, Mich., hired such a specialist, who, he said, is busy constantly. Seavitt does not want to see the allowance end.

 

"That pays his salary," he said.

 

Seavitt estimates that he receives about $7,500 a month in allowance money, or about $90,000 a year. He would not say how much the specialist is paid.

 

edit: How much of this is actually going to the specialist?

answer......possibly 1/3...........

[Deanh]

I'd say no more than $30K and that's probably a stretch. Any teenager could do it. And that's precisely why it needs to end. The dealers are getting increased sales from MFT and other high tech options. Training should just be part of their normal overhead.

problem is Kirby, unless you OWN a vehicle with said syestem, and are constantly using it, its IMPOSSIBLE to memorize....and if you are anything like me ( I have the attention span ofa gnat and outrightly REFUSE to spend 3 hour wading through badly written instruction manuals to master the COMPLEXITY ) look at the thickness in your manual of the Sync instructions....ridiculous...and I fully understand why consumers ignore tha manual and just head to the closest dealer...I would say Ford should supply some sort of interactive DVD one could insert in the MFT equipped cars.....that would be my suggestion...