Hi, Tom. Look, these forums are difficult in the sense that there is a lot of false information out there, mixed with emotional responses. I really try to be careful to be constructive and helpful in my responses to legitimate questions. Responding consistently through 20+ pages of posts by both Portal customers and non-users is not easy, and it’s not always a one-size fits all “announcement”. That said, here’s what I’d like you to know...
We’ve been very transparent with our rewards members. We often send messages directly to card holders or specific groups of dealers that decisions or news affects, so as not to waste other people’s time. Not all of those dealers read all of those messages. The truth is that whenever there has been an update to give, we have done that directly, usually via our site.
We have right around 1k dealers enrolled in the rewards program. Of those dealers, not too many take to this forum, but some obviously do, and that’s ok. I can understand their frustration, I really can. We don’t like the missed payments any more than you or our cardholders do. We’ve been running the rewards program for more than two years now - we certainly didn’t plan or expect to have a problem with two months of payments this far in. This isn’t about lies or malice. All of our loyal dealers who have supported Portal since day one know how we operate. Sometimes you have to make a tough decision in order to protect what matters most. In this case, what matters most are the thousands of dealers who rely on us to run their businesses every day. Keeping the platform running for these dealers was and is priority #1.
This whole transition that we’re going through right now to a paid SaaS model has been surprisingly rewarding for us. Sure, it’s been difficult. But what’s been incredible has been all the support we’ve received from our most loyal dealers. I’ve never received so many thoughtful messages of encouragement from dealers as I have over the past month. Of course, we’ve received messages from dealers who are upset that we are charging, or that we are charging too much. We’ve received a lot of ideas of how we could or should have done it differently. The positives are what encourage us that we’re doing the right thing for dealers and the industry. Messages like (and I quote): “Don’t hang your head because of this business model shift, hold it high and know that for many of us you have already succeeded in creating a life altering product”, and “we want Portal to not only survive, but thrive. We love the platform, not even blinking at the cost”, and lastly, “I love you guys, we aren’t going anywhere.” These were a total surprise, but a critical reminder that all the hard work we put in doesn’t go unnoticed. Sometimes it’s too easy to get distracted by all the negativity. I’m proud that our team has stayed focused on what matters most and that they've kept their heads up despite the negativity around our decisions and path to this point.
Tomorrow is a new chapter for Portal. We will turn on our subscription service and a group of dealers committed to supporting our vision will be formed. Thanks to everyone who’s joining us, let’s kick some ass together!
- Josh
P.S. We initiated a large rewards payment yesterday and sent an announcement to cardholders. That means that we will be caught up to the end of April for all cardholders, with the exception of those two outstanding months, Sept & Oct ‘18. We haven’t given up on that balance, we just can’t give an ETA yet. Oh, and everyone will be automatically issued a new card in June, there have been a few concerns about this.
