The Epic App (Android) is clueless

[Tominator]

This is not about having your pass on your phone - a solution looking for a problem, IMO - as I keep Bluetooth turned off on my phone and keep my RFID pass card in my pocket. Rather, this is to point out that the Epic app doesn't know when I've been to half of the Epic areas I've been to:

It knows when I've been to Mt. Snow, Sunapee, and Stowe; It doesn't know when I've been to Crotched, Wildcat, or Attitash.

No big deal to me, but interesting!

 

[dbostedo]

This is not about having your pass on your phone - a solution looking for a problem, IMO - as I keep Bluetooth turned off on my phone and keep my RFID pass card in my pocket. Rather, this is to point out that the Epic app doesn't know when I've been to half of the Epic areas I've been to:

It knows when I've been to Mt. Snow, Sunapee, and Stowe; It doesn't know when I've been to Crotched, Wildcat, or Attitash.

No big deal to me, but interesting!

I can't really understand why Epic can't get this right. I understand if the lift gates need bluetooth or an RFID pass, and that sometimes those may not get picked up for tallying vertical or lift rides or whatever.

What I DON'T understand is why they don't have something in the app (or online) where you can look at your days used and where, regardless of how you get scanned. ESPECIALLY for areas where you have limited days (Vail and BC for me). I went through the Epic help desk last season, and they confirmed that there is no way to look at your account and see where you've used all your days. They simply don't make that available to pass holders - for some unknown reason... I was pretty dumbfounded.

I thought maybe having the phone pass this season would change that, but I still don't see all my days on my account. I've got 3 at Vail, 1 at Breck, and 1 at Keystone. But my Epic app says I've only got 2 days. So I am still dumbfounded.

FWIW, Ikon shows all your days in your account very simply/nicely, in the app or web (though I don't have any Ikon days yet this year).

 

[James]

I’m shocked the epic app is a failure.

 

[HardDaysNight]

I can't really understand why Epic can't get this right. I understand if the lift gates need bluetooth or an RFID pass, and that sometimes those may not get picked up for tallying vertical or lift rides or whatever.

What I DON'T understand is why they don't have something in the app (or online) where you can look at your days used and where, regardless of how you get scanned. ESPECIALLY for areas where you have limited days (Vail and BC for me). I went through the Epic help desk last season, and they confirmed that there is no way to look at your account and see where you've used all your days. They simply don't make that available to pass holders - for some unknown reason... I was pretty dumbfounded.

I thought maybe having the phone pass this season would change that, but I still don't see all my days on my account. I've got 3 at Vail, 1 at Breck, and 1 at Keystone. But my Epic app says I've only got 2 days. So I am still dumbfounded.

FWIW, Ikon shows all your days in your account very simply/nicely, in the app or web (though I don't have any Ikon days yet this year).

Not only counting days at different Epic resorts but even counting them accurately at the same resort seems beyond the apps capability. I have enabled the pass on my phone so it’s clearly scanning me as using lifts at PCMR. Of the 43 days I have skied so far it has recorded 28. Very odd.

 

[dbostedo]

I’m shocked the epic app is a failure.

 

[Tominator]

Went to Sunapee yesterday. Last year the old Epic App knew when I'd been there and registered my vertical based on lift rides. This year with the new Epic App: Nada! I don't really care, but I'm still somewhat baffled by how Epic 'fixed' something that wasn't broken!

 

[James]

but I'm still somewhat baffled by how Epic 'fixed' something that wasn't broken!

Don’t worry, in another two years they’ll invest another $10million in IT to make it much worse.

 

[Bozzenhagen]

Vail Resorts software jobs don't pay well at all. I'm not surprised by the shitshow. Although pay doesn't really correlate to bad engineering. There are engineers making more than most doctors that don't know what the hell they're doing at all.

 

[Tominator]

The app was auto-updated last night. Now it knows about the 4 times I've been to Epic areas this season, but it hasn't tracked vertical/lift rides. It would seem that it expects me to turn on GPS tracking (and maybe Bluetooth as well?) to produce any stats other than where I've been on various dates. Progress, not perfection!

 

[dbostedo]

The app was auto-updated last night. Now it knows about the 4 times I've been to Epic areas this season, but it hasn't tracked vertical/lift rides. It would seem that it expects me to turn on GPS tracking (and maybe Bluetooth as well?) to produce any stats other than where I've been on various dates. Progress, not perfection!

Thanks for the head's up... mine has updated, and now has 4 of my 5 days it should have (It's got 2 Vail, 1 Breck, 1 Keystone... it's missing a Vail day). Why's it missing one? No idea. Still needs work.

And agreed on the tracking, but as I run another GPS tracker, I haven't been so focused on that. It used to track your vertical automatically by reading the RFID in your pass when you got on a lift. Maybe with the new mobile pass those scanners don't work to do it, so you have to GPS track?

 

[BLiP]

Maybe with the new mobile pass those scanners don't work to do it, so you have to GPS track?

Perhaps. It is weird that the tracking worked fine last year, now only works if you turn on the gps tracking in the app. We encountered another bug recently. If you turn on the mobile pass (Bluetooth and GPS) and also have the physical pass on you, they will occasionally cancel each other out and the lift attendant won’t be able to scan either one. The only remedy is to turn off the mobile pass (and lose tracking) or ditch your physical pass. It seems like the ultimate idea is to get rid of the physical passes altogether.

 

[BC.]

All of your observations and comments match what I am seeing as well.....my phone was activated as my pass......it did not track anything/just that I was physically present that day. In all the years past with the card....never had any issues/always tracked my day.....which was kind of neat to track with your kids/friends.

At the end of the day/ I went to the ticket window and asked if I could just use the "card" that I have been using for years with no issue.....and get rid of the phone "pass and not have to carry my phone around.........they told me just turn off Bluetooth on your phone/ and then the "card" becomes your "primary card". In reality, I really should be able to activate/deactivate the phone pass with an option on the Epic app.....that would seem appropriate. That way we all (if we choose) can use the method that works best for us.

It's funny, they made the phone pass so you didn't have to carry the card (really so they didn't have to print cards anymore)..........I now find that I am having to carry both because of possible issues when using it (ie. scanning issues/resort charge/always having to have phone fully charged for the day when skiing)

Disclaimer: I am an anti-phone carry around with me 24/7 kind a guy............so I really wish I could just use the card like I have in the past/ with no issues

Stupid upgrade....Bush league.