rusty@GARNET.BERKELEY.EDU (rusty wright) (08/30/90)
What's this crap I'm getting from field service all of a sudden? Previously I was able to call the Atlanta 800 number when I had a hardware problem on a DECstation and give them the machine's serial number and they could figure out that the machine was still under warranty and send someone out to fix it. Now my field service person (Henry Glaess) is saying that I'm supposed to have some sort of 'access number' and that I was supposed to call Atlanta when I received the machines and 'register' them for warranty. Nobody sure as hell told me anything about this, and now that my machine (which is still under warranty by many months) isn't working field service is creating obstacles to getting it fixed. What an organization.
grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins) (08/30/90)
In article <9008291727.AA06453@garnet.berkeley.edu> rusty@GARNET.BERKELEY.EDU (rusty wright) writes: > What's this crap I'm getting from field service all of a sudden? > Previously I was able to call the Atlanta 800 number when I had a > hardware problem on a DECstation and give them the machine's serial > number and they could figure out that the machine was still under > warranty and send someone out to fix it. Now my field service person > (Henry Glaess) is saying that I'm supposed to have some sort of > 'access number' and that I was supposed to call Atlanta when I > received the machines and 'register' them for warranty. Nobody sure > as hell told me anything about this, and now that my machine (which is > still under warranty by many months) isn't working field service is > creating obstacles to getting it fixed. What an organization. Well, contact your DEC sales person and point out that you have a serious problem. It is up to them take care of getting you though the DEC maze or assign your problems to someone in the office in charage of service/contract administration until they do. Be insistant and don't let them forget about it and sooner or later they'll do what they are supposed do. Now something like getting your own name on software and correspondance, instead of the person gone 2 or 3 years is a bit more difficult.... -- George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr but no way officially representing: domain: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com Commodore, Engineering Department phone: 215-431-9349 (only by moonlite)
tp@mccall.com (08/30/90)
In article <14076@cbmvax.commodore.com>, grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins) writes: > In article <9008291727.AA06453@garnet.berkeley.edu> rusty@GARNET.BERKELEY.EDU (rusty wright) writes: >> What's this crap I'm getting from field service all of a sudden? >> Previously I was able to call the Atlanta 800 number when I had a >> hardware problem on a DECstation and give them the machine's serial >> number and they could figure out that the machine was still under >> warranty and send someone out to fix it. Now my field service person >> (Henry Glaess) is saying that I'm supposed to have some sort of >> 'access number' and that I was supposed to call Atlanta when I >> received the machines and 'register' them for warranty. Nobody sure >> as hell told me anything about this, and now that my machine (which is >> still under warranty by many months) isn't working field service is >> creating obstacles to getting it fixed. What an organization. > > Well, contact your DEC sales person and point out that you have a serious > problem. It is up to them take care of getting you though the DEC maze or > assign your problems to someone in the office in charage of service/contract > administration until they do. Be insistant and don't let them forget about > it and sooner or later they'll do what they are supposed do. [extreme shudder at the idea of having to rely on a DEC salescritter to help solve a problem, and especially to do so in a timely manner] In the past, I have found that if you call Atlanta and tell them you need to register your machine, they will take all the relevant info over the phone (have your serial number handy) and assign you an access number immediately. Then tell them you have a problem, and they'll pass you on to the service person, armed with your bright shiny new access number. It has worked for me in the past. I've been told variously that I should have registered my machine (like you, no one ever told me so), that the salescritter should have registered the machine, and that the (similarly competent and responsive) DEC contracts administration people should have registered the machine. The bottom line is that you can do it yourself, on the phone, in about 10 minutes, and that will be the end of it. (Hint: send the access number info to whoever maintains your DEC service contracts. They may need it in the future. If you don't, you could end up with your machine registered twice. Atlanta will eventually notice, and you will lose another 15 minutes on the phone sorting out the mess. Thus sayeth the voice of experience.) -- Terry Poot <tp@mccall.com> The McCall Pattern Company (uucp: ...!rutgers!ksuvax1!mccall!tp) 615 McCall Road (800)255-2762, in KS (913)776-4041 Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
mf@ircam.ircam.fr (Michel Fingerhut) (08/31/90)
George Robbins writes: >Well, contact your DEC sales person and point out that you have a serious >problem. It is up to them take care of getting you though the DEC maze [...] I wish it were true. They (because they change often; in the last 5 years I've had over half a dozen "your DEC sales person") always point me to someone who points me to someone else and so on ad nauseam and infinitum. It would appear from their way of operating that they don't use computers nor have heard of them. During the last year I was told many times I had no software support (that's why I NEVER get updates of ultrix releases), because I had no contract. Well, how many times did I reply by telling them the number of the contract we signed with them and paid for? This is just ONE OF MANY instances of severe mismanagment there. [And so we have a biprocessor 5820 running single processor because Ultrix 4.0 is not available to us]. Besides, George, you must be lucky if you're able to contact your DEC sales person, because I can't. He's always either "away from his desk," "with a client," "on vacation." His secretary (if one manages to get hold of her) dutifully takes a message, with no result at all: you have to call again and again and again... And when they switch jobs you don't really know about that. So when I tried reaching my salesman, Mr. B. (say), after a long while (the days it took) he said "oh but now I'm in marketing, you shoud try Mr. M. (say)." But then I tried him, and he was away on vacation, and they pointed to Mr. W. (say), who did not know anything about our contract problems or any other problems. Whom should I contact now? They never listen anyway, they don't give a s**t about support. Buy from them -- they are at your feet.
tihor@acf4.NYU.EDU (Stephen Tihor) (09/02/90)
Gee, we have hbeen having a problem lately and DEc has used up its supply of good will, so I have started using standard Digital Repair technology. Log all discussions, who, when, what. Find out each person's Boss's name and external phone number. Call them. If that doesn't work find out their boss from their secretary and escalate it. Eventually you will solve your problem or get to know the nice people at the President's Hotline.