Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!cernvax!pan!jw From: jw@pan.UUCP (Jamie Watson) Newsgroups: comp.databases Subject: Re: Support by email (long; of European interest) Message-ID: <410@pan.UUCP> Date: 22 Jun 88 21:14:54 GMT References: <406@pan.UUCP> <249@infmx.UUCP> Reply-To: jw@pan.UUCP (Jamie Watson) Organization: Adasoft AG, Solothurn, Switzerland Lines: 66 In article <249@infmx.UUCP> aland@infmx.UUCP (Dr. Scump) writes: > >The only limitation we had on foreign telephone support was on *outgoing* >calls - we do receive foreign calls (in fact, give them priority). Sorry, but as someone sitting in Europe who has tried this, I can tell you for certain that this is not true. The first time I tried to call, I was told, in no uncertain terms, that while someone would talk to me *this* time, non-U.S. sites were not authorized for telephone support, and I should not call again. Strictly fax and telex. >External email was set up only this year, and the establishment of an >email destination for support communication is in the works. Forgive me, but based on my experience in software support (~5 years), I have to say that "setting up" an email destination for support does not take a significant effort. In addition, it yields huge benefits to both parties; the customer is happy because bug reports can be made quickly and easily, and the support people are happy because this takes a lot of the pressure off - your phone isn't ringing off the hook all day long, and you don't have irate customers yelling in your ear constantly. In addition, the support person has a real opportunity to *research* a problem before giving a response, which is often not possible when the customer is holding on the phone line. >For European customers, however, this is usually unnecessary. Don't I wish... >the Munich office handles >W. Germany, Italy, Spain, and *Switzerland*. Since these offices took >over local support a month ago, customers who have sent us (in the U.S.) >questions have been referred to the appropriate European office for >future questions (or should have been :-]). Sigh. I'm sure the intentions are good here (at least, I hope they are), but I'm afraid this just won't cut it. - We buy our software in the U.S., through a U.S. subsidiary, because we got tired of the price-gouging going on in Europe. Informix is not the only company doing this, by far; they are quite typical of what is going on. The European end user price of Informix products ranges from 1.8 to 2 times the U.S. end user price - and in general the manuals are not included, while they are in the U.S.! Now, as we refuse to pay double the price for the "privelidge" of buying in Europe, how anxious do you think the European office is going to be to give us support? - The "technical" people who staff such operations over here are uniformly dismal. I know this is prejuging in the extreme; I'm sorry, but I have a business to run. I can't afford to invest my time, and that of my programming staff, in teaching someone's support staff about their own product. I've done it too many times already. I say again, all I am asking for is an email address, at the main office of a database supplier, to which I can send bug reports and expect to get acknowledgement in a few days, and intelligent response within a week or so. I don't care what company it is - as far as I am concerned, the top four of five Unix database companies are essentially indistinguishable anyway. jw Jamie Watson Adasoft AG Solothurn, Switzerland Tel: +41 031/54.35.70