scotto@crash.cts.com (Scott O'Connell) (06/30/90)
In article <9883@sybase.sybase.com> jeffl@sybase.Sybase.COM (Jeff Lichtman) writes: > >I'm curious. Why do people ask the net at large for technical support, >instead of getting help from the people who sold them the product? I ask the net at large because I've been burned/mislead by manufacturers so many times. I hate to name names, but Informix technical support has (in the past) been so bad that I stopped calling them months ago. I always got the same answer from them "It works on the "stores" (their sample database) database so it must be your problem". After complaining to management they put me in touch with a responsible tech named "Gretchen". If she didn't know the answer SHE FOUND SOMEONE THAT DID! Not only did she know of all the bugs I'd been having problems with (and had described to others at Informix) she told me they were documented for the support techs. Why they didn't take the time to look in that database for my problem I don't know. Anyway, when I called once and asked for Gretchen I found that she'd been transferred to another department. I gave the tech that answered the phone a chance to prove to me that my original six months of unresolved problems was a fluke, but that didn't prove to be the case. As a solo system administrator/programmer for a company with 7 SCO Xenix based PC's I just don't have the time to go through the whole game of finding a good support rep again. It's common for us in the real world to find a bug AND A WORKAROUND before ever getting a callback from the support group of a particular piece of software. Once on this net I asked an Informix question and was given three different methods of solving my problem. I'd been through the support route with the answer "it can't be done". > If you're paying for support, why not use it? Well for me I'm paying support to get upgrades. I've already been shown that the support isn't worth much but I stay on the mailing list and get discounts on upgrades. NOTE: In all fairness to Informix, these comments are based on my previous contacts with them. I haven't called for support since January 1990 due to the problems I had with their support department. >Jeff Lichtman at Sybase >Manager, Data Server Engineering >{mtxinu,pacbell}!sybase!jeffl -or- jeffl@sybase.com -- Scott O'Connell - N6ZEK UUCP: {nosc, hplabs!hp-sdd}!crash!ipars!scotto ARPA: crash!ipars!scotto@nosc.mil INET: scotto@ipars.cts.com
jeffl@sybase.Sybase.COM (Jeff Lichtman) (07/01/90)
> And when there *is* a bug, I'd think other Sybase users would like > to know that it exists. I've seen no other conduit for this. We distribute two lists of bugs with every release: the Corrected Problem Report (CPR) and the System Problem Report (SPR). The latter contains descriptions of known problems with the product at the time of release. You can find these files in $SYBASE/install/SPR. There is one set of files for each product. For the server, the files are called cpr_ds and spr_ds. In this case, the bug was not in the SPR list for 4.0, because it was discovered after 4.0 was shipped. So, there is a window where Sybase users might not find out about known bugs in the product by reading the SPR list. In cases like this, it is legitimate to call Sybase Tech Support and ask whether the problem is a bug. It's also legitimate to ask the net for help, but the net at large won't necessarily be able to give you the help you need. That is why I encourage Sybase users to call Sybase Technical Support when you have problems with the product. --- Jeff Lichtman at Sybase {mtxinu,pacbell}!sybase!jeffl -or- jeffl@sybase.com "Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent..."