gritz@homxa.UUCP (R.SHARPLES) (06/28/85)
On 6/10 I posted an article about some problems I have had with AT&T Teletype products. Specifically: 1) the 5425 built-in modem spewing garbage all over the screen. 2) the 5620 printer port being dead. 3) the fact that Teletype lost 5 modems we ordered and wasn't being too helpful about finding them. The response I got from Teletype was incredible. About 10 days after posting the article a TTY engineer in Skokie called me about the modem problem. He said someone had read my posting and given a copy to him with the comment: "what are we doing about this?". Apparently the modem problem was one TTY was trying to solve with CTS (the manufacturer of the modem) since 1/85. TTY did test the modems and never found this problem till customers tried to use them through 2 particular brands of "port selectors". The way these port selectors (switches, whatever) strip stopbits when transmitting confused the CTS modem. After several months of working with CTS, they have developed new firmware for the modems that cures this problem. TTY is now trying to work out some way to swap the old modems for the new ones. TTY is also bringing out a new modem of their own design this summer which should end all this hassel. If you are interested in the swap, call your TTY service rep or sales rep. If you can't find them, call Skokie: 312-982-2000. As to the 5620 printer port, they say that they were going to bring out the firmware for it with the 5620 release 2 firmware. Whether it will be a free up grade they don't seem to know. Release 2 should be out 3rd or 4th qrt 85. That does not explain why they didn't get such a basic feature working in release 1, but I don't know under what sort of constraints they were working. Apparently there is a program in EXPTOOLS that enables the port. And for the 5 lost modems, the boss of the NJ sales rep called me and within 24 hours issued the paper work to credit our account with a full refund for the modems. One can ask: why did these problems start in the first place? The first two cases are a lack of communication about the problems inherent when a new product is introduced. The fault is with both sides (although it's in the vendor's best interest to solve it). In the third case, the problem is bureaucratic red-tape, which is Teletype's fault. At least they covered their mistakes well, which is a good sign. (TTY has taken measures to correct the problem which lost the modems in the first place) I can only conclude that the sentiment in Randy King's original posting is correct: THESE PEOPLE REALLY CARE!! It is this sort of response to problems that made AT&T famous in the past. If AT&T as a whole can maintain (ADOPT in the case of ATTIS!!) this attitude, we may be able to really challenge IBM and others in the market place. (I hope to god somebody at ATTIS reads the net and has the courage to show management what people have been saying about them.) Russ Sharples AT&T Bell Labs homxa!gritz