The End of Ordertrack - Explained

[Mountain Mike]

Thank you sir. I used it multiple times a day for weeks.

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[SZairborne]

I used your app many times and donated to your app. Thanks for all your hard work!

 

[okbob]

Thanks for your work and diligence, much appreciated!!!!!!

 

[StephT4]

Because I’ve been tracking my order (11/22 blend) and they’ve been in sync.

You're probably one of the few out of thousands then. We are in the depths of our build/shipping process. We've been given 8 ETA shipping dates once our build was complete. When I say given, I say I know it's changed 8 times from checking the back door link, not because Ford has communicated those date changes to us. In fact, since our Bronco has been built and shipped, we've received TWO emails from Ford communicating our arrival ETA has changed. Two emails out of the 8 times it's changed.

That being said, if a customer doesn't know the back door link exists, the information they can see on their order tracker is minimal. My husband checks the regular Ford tracker. Then gets super confused how I can see an ETA and he can't. Well because, we're checking two completely different sites.

Not to mention, if you do a simple search of the forum, you'll find plenty of threads were people have had zero communication from Ford, especially after their orders have shipped. Some people's builds are just...gone, unable to even be tracked. They have zero idea where they could be sitting. The dealership we're working with had a build that was shipped, and then it just sat somewhere, away from MAP, somewhere in Illinois sitting in a rail car for 2 months with no movement, for no reason, and no explanation from Ford.

74 days and counting since our build was completed...still waiting for it to be sitting in our driveway. 45 of those days, it just sat at MAP, with no explanation as why. We just got, "Your order was built, released for shipping, and is now sitting at MAP, waiting to be shipped." Meanwhile, our dealership placed an order, had it built, shipped and deliverd all while ours was just sitting at MAP.

Yesterday, the back door link said ETA of December 10th-16th. Today, it says Jan 1-8th. No email on that change from Ford. No update. No communication. Zero, nothing, nada. 2 out of 10 score on the communication from Ford. I'm giving them a 2 for the two emails we have received out of the 8 ETA changes.

In case you've gotten this far in my rant and care Our bronco was unloaded from the rail car last night, and sits 146 miles away now. So we should see it in another 2-3 weeks...if we're lucky, probably with another 2-3 ETA changes that will never be communicated! But, what's another 2-3 weeks after 15 months of waiting, especially knowing some waited (and are still waiting) way longer after placing their orders.

 

[swooshdave]

You're probably one of the few out of thousands then. We are in the depths of our build/shipping process. We've been given 8 ETA shipping dates once our build was complete. When I say given, I say I know it's changed 8 times from checking the back door link, not because Ford has communicated those date changes to us. In fact, since our Bronco has been built and shipped, we've received TWO emails from Ford communicating our arrival ETA has changed. Two emails out of the 8 times it's changed.

That being said, if a customer doesn't know the back door link exists, the information they can see on their order tracker is minimal. My husband checks the regular Ford tracker. Then gets super confused how I can see an ETA and he can't. Well because, we're checking two completely different sites.

Not to mention, if you do a simple search of the forum, you'll find plenty of threads were people have had zero communication from Ford, especially after their orders have shipped. Some people's builds are just...gone, unable to even be tracked. They have zero idea where they could be sitting. The dealership we're working with had a build that was shipped, and then it just sat somewhere, away from MAP, somewhere in Illinois sitting in a rail car for 2 months with no movement, for no reason, and no explanation from Ford.

74 days and counting since our build was completed...still waiting for it to be sitting in our driveway. 45 of those days, it just sat at MAP, with no explanation as why. We just got, "Your order was built, released for shipping, and is now sitting at MAP, waiting to be shipped." Meanwhile, our dealership placed an order, had it built, shipped and deliverd all while ours was just sitting at MAP.

Yesterday, the back door link said ETA of December 10th-16th. Today, it says Jan 1-8th. No email on that change from Ford. No update. No communication. Zero, nothing, nada. 2 out of 10 score on the communication from Ford. I'm giving them a 2 for the two emails we have received out of the 8 ETA changes.

In case you've gotten this far in my rant and care Our bronco was unloaded from the rail car last night, and sits 146 miles away now. So we should see it in another 2-3 weeks...if we're lucky, probably with another 2-3 ETA changes that will never be communicated! But, what's another 2-3 weeks after 15 months of waiting, especially knowing some waited (and are still waiting) way longer after placing their orders.

I think you are mixing the two things, what Order Track could do and what Ford could do better.

Order Track was beholden to what data Ford would provide.

Ford, on the other hand, doesn't seem to do a great job of tracking themselves. To this I agree. But it also comes down to expectations. In our minds tracking a vehicle and knowing exactly where it's at in the shipping cycle should be as easy as tracking an Amazon package. What most (nearly all) Bronco people don't realize is that the Bronco was one of the first mass production customized models for Ford. Until now if you wanted to customize it was a one-off process. And you waited and you had zero idea of when it would show up.

Did they get it perfect with the Bronco the first time out? I think we all know the answer. Will it get better in the future? I expect it to. But I have realistic expectations. Not everyone does.

 

[huey]

First off thank you for creating this tracker! Unfortunately my truck is only getting built now but I know this tracker provided plenty of people updates thst ford did not

Job well done

 

[MikeWz]

Very unfortunate that they're blocking such a project for continuing. It was fun to pop on there and check, even if nothing with Ford moved fast! Thank you for creating a fun and enjoyable platform for us!

 

[Badlands77]

Hey all,

Unfortunately I bring some sad news: Ordertrack can no longer function the way it was intended and will kind of be obsolete.

You will still be able to access your vehicle information, but the order status and shipping information will be unavailable.

---

Ford recently made a change to their web API to require a ReCaptcha token. Unfortunately It would take considerable effort and cost to defeat this protection and the cost/benefit doesn't seem to be there anymore.

Ford wasn't the only one to lock down their public API and transit/delivery information was also no longer available.

---

I created the site in good faith to provide a better tracking experience than what Ford had/is currently providing. I did so because I saw a need and believed that Ford could do better! Unfortunately, Ford's reasons for adding the extra layer of security is unknown. Ordertrack throttles transactions to Ford in order to reduce the strain Ford would incur on their API. This was intentional as Ford's tracking system is/was unreliable.

Ultimately my goal was to not circumvent anyone's security mechanisms and to use APIs that were accessible to the public. It is clear that Ford does not find Ordertrack to be an acceptable use of their service, which is unfortunate not to me, but to all of you.

Even if I was financially able to circumvent the ReCaptcha, I would not.

Ethically, it is a gray area of software engineering. On one hand, computers are programmed by people to do a task that a person shouldn't have to do. Having a computer solve the ReCaptcha would be no different than a person doing it. On the other hand, it is clear that by putting up the ReCaptcha Ford is signaling that they don't want Ordertrack or other projects accessing their API.

It's unfortunate that so many Ford buyers have to suffer through such a miserable experience when it should be nothing less than exciting! I wish that Ford saw Ordertrack as an opportunity to do better and as a demonstration that people are unhappy with the current process.

---

I'm a firm believer in open-source software and I do a lot of things for free! I love working on random projects solely on the basis of making things better. I don't care about money or fame because ultimately it's my hobby and I get to learn and grow as an engineer. I get to do things that no one will let me do at my day job. I'm too young or not "experienced" enough [insert corporate rant here]. Anyway It's all for fun and I have an endless list of projects I help with or work on on my own.

With some of the money you donated on the site, I was able to buy a couple more cheap used servers to improve the production cluster and a new firewall. I can't thank you all enough for that!

---

Nevertheless It's been a really fun experience all around and I'm glad that you all had a chance to share it with me.

I really wish this didn't have to be the end as I feel for all of you. Luckily I was able to follow my Explorer ST through the whole process as we took delivery in September. Maybe down the road Ford will make a change that makes the experience a little bit better, but for now I guess you'll have to bug customer service some more

---

While this project was completely personal, if you ever have a need for a software engineer or someone to help build a project of your own, please reach out to me at my company email [email protected]

[EDIT]
I forgot to add:

Over the last year, over 35k vehicles were searched on Ordertrack. Roughly 5,000 people would be active a day. It's such an insane number to me. I can't think of a project I've worked on that has reached so many people!

Here are some fun website metrics:
analytics.brilliantmonkey.net

Sorry to hear that! Ordertrack.app made the process somewhat bearable being able to track the progress. Thanks!

 

[JonD]

Thank you so much for your work. I tracked my truck for awhile.

 

[handerson5486]

Ford should hire you.

As a software engineer who received an offer from Ford, they don’t pay nearly enough unfortunately. Creator of this project has some serious skills.

 

[Mobius]

You did good, donkey.

 

[Evenrute]

I spammed the living shit out of the Ordertrack.app when my Bronco finally shipped. I found out that my Bronco was delivered to my dealer literally less than 30m of it being dropped off at the dealer. I immediately drove to my dealership.. When I pulled up, there it was. The sales manager and salesman came out with stunned looks on their faces. The sales guy said "Did anyone call you? How did you know?"

I gave a smirk and said, "I have ways. Go get the keys!" I looked at my Bronco and cheered.

 

[Chrome_Pony]

Ford should hire you.

He's too focused on positive customer experience. That's an automatically disqualifying trait.

 

[sgraing1]

I have my Bronco 7/2022 and my wife has her Edge ST 12/2022.
THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[d_bearhugs]

Hey all,

Unfortunately I bring some sad news: Ordertrack can no longer function the way it was intended and will kind of be obsolete.

You will still be able to access your vehicle information, but the order status and shipping information will be unavailable.

---

Ford recently made a change to their web API to require a ReCaptcha token. Unfortunately It would take considerable effort and cost to defeat this protection and the cost/benefit doesn't seem to be there anymore.

Ford wasn't the only one to lock down their public API and transit/delivery information was also no longer available.

---

I created the site in good faith to provide a better tracking experience than what Ford had/is currently providing. I did so because I saw a need and believed that Ford could do better! Unfortunately, Ford's reasons for adding the extra layer of security is unknown. Ordertrack throttles transactions to Ford in order to reduce the strain Ford would incur on their API. This was intentional as Ford's tracking system is/was unreliable.

Ultimately my goal was to not circumvent anyone's security mechanisms and to use APIs that were accessible to the public. It is clear that Ford does not find Ordertrack to be an acceptable use of their service, which is unfortunate not to me, but to all of you.

Even if I was financially able to circumvent the ReCaptcha, I would not.

Ethically, it is a gray area of software engineering. On one hand, computers are programmed by people to do a task that a person shouldn't have to do. Having a computer solve the ReCaptcha would be no different than a person doing it. On the other hand, it is clear that by putting up the ReCaptcha Ford is signaling that they don't want Ordertrack or other projects accessing their API.

It's unfortunate that so many Ford buyers have to suffer through such a miserable experience when it should be nothing less than exciting! I wish that Ford saw Ordertrack as an opportunity to do better and as a demonstration that people are unhappy with the current process.

---

I'm a firm believer in open-source software and I do a lot of things for free! I love working on random projects solely on the basis of making things better. I don't care about money or fame because ultimately it's my hobby and I get to learn and grow as an engineer. I get to do things that no one will let me do at my day job. I'm too young or not "experienced" enough [insert corporate rant here]. Anyway It's all for fun and I have an endless list of projects I help with or work on on my own.

With some of the money you donated on the site, I was able to buy a couple more cheap used servers to improve the production cluster and a new firewall. I can't thank you all enough for that!

---

Nevertheless It's been a really fun experience all around and I'm glad that you all had a chance to share it with me.

I really wish this didn't have to be the end as I feel for all of you. Luckily I was able to follow my Explorer ST through the whole process as we took delivery in September. Maybe down the road Ford will make a change that makes the experience a little bit better, but for now I guess you'll have to bug customer service some more

---

While this project was completely personal, if you ever have a need for a software engineer or someone to help build a project of your own, please reach out to me at my company email [email protected]

[EDIT]
I forgot to add:

Over the last year, over 35k vehicles were searched on Ordertrack. Roughly 5,000 people would be active a day. It's such an insane number to me. I can't think of a project I've worked on that has reached so many people!

Here are some fun website metrics:
analytics.brilliantmonkey.net

Thank you so much for your work on that. When I was tracking my bronco your site made it bearable. You are wonderful engineer. Hope you find some more personal projects you can work on.

Feel bad for all the people waiting on theirs that cannot use this source.

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