erik@naggum.uu.no (Erik Naggum) (12/04/90)
I don't know if this is of interest to the readers of TELECOM Digest,
since they may have read it elsewhere, already. Nonetheless, I found
this to be utterly bogus and in clear contradiction to the high
quality I have experienced with AT&T products and services.
The text of the ad goes like this:
I'm sitting in a corner office on a round planet and I'm thinking
about my son and how last night he looked at the crescent moon above
our house and said, "Daddy, broken moon, broken moon." And I told him
that the moon would be fixed soon by a silent and unseen hand;
however; the PBX that I bought for the corporation from some unknown
company might not be fixed any time soon at all, and my little boy who
is only five said, "Dad, AT&T has a REMOTE MAINTENANCE lab in Denver
set up to detect any problems that might come up with their DEFINITY
System and fix them before they actually happen. You see, Dad, a full
1/3 of the memory of a DEFINITY switch is devoted entirely to self-
maintenance." And I told him thanks for the tip and he looked up at
me said, "Straighten up and fly right, Dad, because no silent and
unseen hand is going to pay for me going to college."
I found this ad in the November-December 1990 issue of {Harvard
Business Review}, inside back cover, two pages, with a somewhat
vertically stretched picture of a young kid sans clothes, from waist
up, text running across the two pages. Yes, I did notice it and read
it.
However, does AT&T think their customers are complete idiots? I mean,
a five year old kid having the vocabulary and knowledge to say that,
or have a clear grasp of the cost of going to college. Gimme a BREAK!
And "I bought from ... some unknown company" -- sound decision-making.
No, I didn't find this charming, even though that all too clearly was
the intent.
[Erik Naggum]
Naggum Software, Oslo, Norwayavr@mtfmi.att.com (Adam V Reed) (12/06/90)
In article <15194@accuvax.nwu.edu>, erik@naggum.uu.no (Erik Naggum) writes: > However, does AT&T think their customers are complete idiots? I mean, > a five year old kid having the vocabulary and knowledge to say that, > or have a clear grasp of the cost of going to college. Gimme a BREAK! > And "I bought from ... some unknown company" -- sound decision-making. > No, I didn't find this charming, even though that all too clearly was > the intent. Congratulations, pardner, you have just been introduced to that distinctive genre of North American humor known as "pulling your leg". And, while I don't speak for the company, I'd bet some flunkey is going to catch flak for not realizing that not all readers of the {Harvard Business Review} are familiar with such nuances of our perhaps unique local culture. So lighten up, will ya? I bet even you Norwegians have some things a lot of us foreigners would find bewildering. Adam_V_Reed@ATT.com