Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site tove.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!gymble!umcp-cs!tove!mark
From: mark@tove.UUCP (Mark Weiser)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: DEC
Message-ID: <333@tove.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Sep-85 14:35:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: tove.333
Posted: Tue Sep 17 14:35:40 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Sep-85 01:52:16 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Maryland, Laboratory for Parallel Computation, C.P., MD
Lines: 29
Summary: DEC field service is good!

A piece of netmail dated August 10 from ...!gymble!speaker, a former
student of mine, complained bitterly about DEC field service for "our
machines".  The message physically originated from the University of
Maryland Computer Science Department Laboratory for Parallel
Computation.  However, the author is not currently associated with the
University, the Department, or the Laboratory, and the machines being
refered to as "our" are in fact at the company at which he now works,
no where near the U. of MD.

I have been associated with DEC machines on this campus since the first
780 was delivered in 1980.  I was in charge of their acquisition and
maintenance for several years and have recently been one of their
heaviest users.  During all that time I have been extremely impressed
with DEC's field service.  It has been prompt, helpful, often speedier
than their own estimates, and good natured.  In my opinion the fellow
who often responds to service calls on campus is one of the most
competent F.S. engineers with whom I have ever had to work in my
fifteen years of cursing hardware.  Our configurations have lots of
third party hardware, but he has never indulged in finger pointing.  In
fact, he has sometimes commented approvingly on our choice of third
parties as providing high-reliability alternatives to DEC.  DEC field
service in general, and this gentleman in particular, have really sold
us on DEC and kept us in the fold.  I'm sorry speaker has had such
troubles, but he does not in any way reflect the Univeristy of Maryland
experience with DEC field service, which has been uniformly positive.
-- 
Spoken: Mark Weiser 	ARPA:	mark@maryland	Phone: +1-301-454-7817
CSNet:	mark@umcp-cs 	UUCP:	{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!mark
USPS: Computer Science Dept., University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742