Did Your Scout Directory Go Dark?

Are you a customer of Scout Directory (http://www.scout.directory/) and see this notice? If you are left stranded as this company exits the business, don’t worry. We see this all the time. We can help.

Out of Business Scout Directory

Call us or email us 866.476.1872 and info@touchsource.com to get an emergency shipment new directory software. As long as you have an HDMI port in the back of your directory, which most modern commercial signage from the last 7 years has…we can send you a plug-and-play solution. Most clients moving to our solution from home grown solutions or regional vendors like Scout Digital love the ease of use, easy upkeep and gorgeous designs we have. Let us help you recover from quickly.

Check out our Directory Software options and sample designs. Also, check out our TouchSource Express digital directory in a box solution. We offer the industry’s most popular solution, and we’ve been in business for 35 years. We’re not going anywhere.

Why does this happen to good property managers? It goes something like this. A busy property manager is asked to research digital directories and get a couple of bids among 100 other tasks they are juggling. Buying a digital directory is similar to buying a car: It’s not an everyday purchase — it’s something most people buy once every 5-7 years. To make the best choice, you’ll want to know what features are important for tenants and visitors, how to maintain your unit, and how easy it is to use. But unless you’ve bought and used a directory for your property before, it may be difficult to understand the differences between different products.

Facing that situation, some take the path of getting demos, asking for customer or peer references, and researching the quality of the product and vendor to ensure a good experience. Others are enticed by the promise of low upfront costs and don’t have time to qualify a vendor thoroughly.

Surprise! (Not the good kind). Much to the chagrin of many a property manager and building owner, the lowest bid product can come with unexpected costs and surprise risks. Financially unstable vendors can suddenly go out of business, as Scout Directory, Respario and Roam.io customers have experienced post-pandemic. Other vendors don’t have the scale of established providers like TouchSource and can’t manage through the complexities of the global supply chain. Others are sold on the idea that all digital directories are the same….until you have a service issue. That’s when many discover that they incur costly surprise charges for a phone call with the support team.

“Gotchas” to watch out for. Many people don’t read the fine print about the product they buy. Many so-called “low-cost” vendors only sell do-it-yourself media players with poorly constructed user interfaces. They’re hard to use, take training or IT support to maintain, and may be built on outdated software platforms. While most show lovely screen designs, their “backend” interface was built when AOL was still an internet carrier. Expect to wrangle with outdated software tools only to be pointed towards complex documentation written by (and for) IT professionals if there’s an issue. Are you new in your role at a building with a system like this? Expect to spend hours figuring out the tools without any training help from your DIY vendor.

Some companies pretend to be full-service product providers but say in tiny fine print that they’re just resellers of hardware screens that *can* work with their software. You must assemble both together when the products arrive to your building. And if something isn’t working, you are required to call the hardware manufacturer for issues. The hardware manufacturer often points people back to the original vendor, claiming software issues. It can take hours and days spent on the back and forth to identify what the issue is, let alone getting the issue resolved.

It’s a frustrating. We know this because so many turn to TouchSource after a bad experience, and upon the recommendation of colleagues. Whether or not you choose to go with us, here’s our advice for your replacement strategy:

Call Team TouchSource for ideas and options. Call: 866.476.1872 Email: info@touchsource.com