Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site mako.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!tektronix!orca!mako!jans From: jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman) Newsgroups: net.micro.16k,net.micro.68k Subject: Re: data books Message-ID: <839@mako.UUCP> Date: Tue, 2-Jul-85 12:29:20 EDT Article-I.D.: mako.839 Posted: Tue Jul 2 12:29:20 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 5-Jul-85 05:22:16 EDT References: <214@sdcarl.UUCP> <1142@tekgvs.UUCP> Reply-To: jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman) Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR Lines: 29 Xref: watmath net.micro.16k:346 net.micro.68k:987 Summary: In article <1142@tekgvs.UUCP> keithe@tekgvs.UUCP (Keith Ericson) writes: >In article <214@sdcarl.UUCP> andy@sdcarl.UUCP (Andrew Voelkel) writes: >>As far as you National folks are concerned, why does it seem that there is >>an ironclad policy of charging for data books? > >Well, I've never paid for *ANY* National data books. I just call up the local >rep and say "Hi, this is me at Tektronix and I need..." Well, Keith, that's easy for you or I to say, being Tek employees, but the sad truth is that many reps don't want to talk to anyone who's company they don't recognize. My last job was with a medium-sized consulting firm (300 employees). If I identified myself as being with "Logical Technical Services" and asked for literature, they usually referred me to a local distributor who would be willing to sell me the books. If, however, I identified myself as a contractor to IBM, (which I was) I got all sorts of quick response! My advice to Andrew: use an acronym -- I got better response using "LTS", go out of your way to meet and remember reps at trade shows, etc, or even pretend you know them -- if they think they *should* know you, they are more conciliatory, exaggerate the number of units you may be using, etc. Some of these tactics are not quite honest, but in the best tradition of situation ethics, they often work. (Often the measure of one's nerve is the measure of one's success.) I would not resort to such tactics unless the company has demonstrated that they aren't interested in little fish, which is unfair and probably illegal. -- :::::: Jan Steinman Box 1000, MS 61-161 (w)503/685-2843 :::::: :::::: tektronix!tekecs!jans Wilsonville, OR 97070 (h)503/657-7703 ::::::