| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 3197.1 | | OASS::MDILLSON | Generic Personal Name | Thu Jun 23 1994 10:46 | 7 |
| I don't think the base noter got the idea correctly. The CSC is not
trying to push away from supporting FEs in the field. This process is
designed to make the customer (you remember them, they pay our
salaries?) a higher priority.
This only relates to the ways calls are prioritized by the call-back
tracking system, nothing else.
|
| 3197.2 | Is this new? | FILTON::ROBINSON_M | No more Mr. Nice Guy | Thu Jun 23 1994 10:57 | 14 |
| *IF* we have inadequate resources, I would prefer that they were focussed
on the customer instead of on internal matters.
Two questions arise: I naturally assumed that customers got preference
over internal calls. As some one who raises internal calls, I have
always been happy with that. Was it not the case? Is this new?
Secondly, if this is now necessary due to dwindling internal resources,
to prevent impact upon customers, how long will it be before this
measure is no longer enough? Then what?
Is this just a little fine-tuning, or is it trying to bail out the
Titanic with a teaspoon?
|
| 3197.3 | Customers come first? | ALBANY::HESS | | Thu Jun 23 1994 11:18 | 5 |
| Don't forget that we "internal" people that work for MCS are almost
always working on a customer problem when we call for support. This
may mean that a customer may wait longer than needed because the
Digital person on site has to wait longer for a call back. In summary
we are all working for the customer!
|
| 3197.4 | | KAOFS::B_VANVALKENB | | Thu Jun 23 1994 11:19 | 16 |
| This process has been in place in Canada for a few months now.
There seems to be little or no difference.
Any time you are on sight log the call as a severity 1.
If you are not on site use TIMA,VTX,TIRUS or hardcopy manuals because
it may be hours before you get a call back. And in the field when you
dont know where you'll be in 30 minutes thats unacceptable.
My 2 cents
Brian V
|
| 3197.5 | RE: 3197.2 | OASS::HEARSE::Burden_d | Keep Cool with Coolidge | Thu Jun 23 1994 11:30 | 10 |
| > Don't forget that we "internal" people that work for MCS are almost
> always working on a customer problem when we call for support. This
> may mean that a customer may wait longer than needed because the
> Digital person on site has to wait longer for a call back. In summary
> we are all working for the customer!
But if that is the case, shouldn't the customer's obligation id be used and
not the badge number of the onsite person?
Dave
|
| 3197.6 | | AIMTEC::PERSON_D | Get Your Kicks With Soccer | Thu Jun 23 1994 11:53 | 7 |
| Dave's last comment is the only one that seems to show any sanity.
Use the customer's access number and log it with the correct priority.
If the priority schema is circumvented, then everyone will suffer.
|
| 3197.7 | | OASS::MDILLSON | Generic Personal Name | Thu Jun 23 1994 12:57 | 8 |
| Yes, we are all working for the customer. Basically all this did was
reverse the emphasis for support. It used to be that FE based critical
calls were placed at the top of the callback queue. Now customer based
critical calls are at the top of the list. They have also asked that
FEs not place level 2 calls anymore.
In other words, it just means that the customer's call will be listed
before the FE's call in our callback queue. Changes nothing.
|
| 3197.8 | | OASS::MDILLSON | Generic Personal Name | Thu Jun 23 1994 13:01 | 11 |
| re .4
This is the reason that this process was put in place in the first
place: abuse of the system.
If it's not a critical call (downed server or something as serious as
that), *DO NOT* log it as a critical call. You are draining resources
that _are_ needed for _real_ critical calls to you just so you can
leave.
Not fair to the CSC and not fair to the customer.
|
| 3197.9 | | HOTAIR::ADAMS | Visualize Whirled Peas! | Thu Jun 23 1994 13:03 | 12 |
| re: .5, .6
No. Those of us on-site in the consulting role need to use our badge
numbers. A good portion of our clients either no longer have support
contracts or don't have Digital gear (i.e., calling the CSC with a Sun
question).
It's no matter though. I base the severity on the impact it has on the
client. Once it reaches a certain level, I escalate the call to
critical. I do not, however, abuse this priviledge.
--- Gavin
|
| 3197.10 | | KAOFS::B_VANVALKENB | | Thu Jun 23 1994 13:28 | 16 |
| as a FSE how long are you willing to sit on site waiting for a
call back ???
If you can afford to wait an hour or 2 then you dont carry enough
systems/site load.
Logging calls using the customers info circumvents the system in the
same way as logging it yourself with a priority of 1.
If I'm on site its priority 1
if I'm in the office it's 3
but most of the time I can find the info myself when I'm in the office.
Brian V
|
| 3197.11 | Forget the goal, what about the "unintended consequences?" | ANGLIN::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Thu Jun 23 1994 14:07 | 42 |
| I can't speak of hardware but FROM A SOFTWARE PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE...
A customer's measure of "critical" very likely DOESN'T match the
definition in .0. A machine DOESN'T have to be down for an application
to cause a major disruption, annoy users, thoroughly p*ss off a
customer, or MAKE DIGITAL LOOK BAD.
When we are on-site with a customer, OR in the office attempting to do
something for a customer (basically, ALL the time) - and there is a
software problem that IS NOT critical based on the definition in .0,
one of the services that customers BELIEVE they are paying an
"astronomical" hourly rate for is the "IMMEDIATE, OR AT LEAST MUCH MORE
RAPID RESPONSE YOU EMPLOYEE'S GET OVER WHAT WE GET WHEN WE CALL!" They
can sit and wait hours or days for a response without paying us a
fortune to sit with them and read their manuals. Historically, that
was the reason we logged calls on badge numbers and didn't NEED to
unnecessarily escalate them to critical to get a response - because we
knew we'd get help as soon as possible. And don't bother handing out
the crap about self-sufficiency in a quarter when all training was
cancelled, and has virtually never been adequate to keep up with job
demands.
However, I remember a couple years ago when we were informed that all
calls logged on badge numbers would incur a charge to the cost center.
Whether true or not, everybody simply started using customer numbers
for EVERYTHING, since EVERYTHING WE do is for some customer. Wait
times for responses went UP, customer satisfaction went DOWN... Is
that the goal?
I also recall phoning the CSC on one occasion and waiting 7:20 for the
screener to answer. When he came on the line I asked what was going on
that it took over 7 minutes JUST TO GET TO THE PERSON WHO WOULD SHOVE
THE CALL IN A QUEUE TO WAIT FOR A HANDLER. I was told "At the present
time there are 4 of us handling calls for the entire U.S. 7 minutes
isn't bad, I've seen it get OVER 20 MINUTES." When I asked what the
customers thought of this he said "Well, the new ones don't know any
better." "And the old ones" I asked? "Well, THEY'RE PRETTY UNHAPPY."
Remember, THIS ISN'T THE WAIT FOR A CALL BACK, IT WAS TO GET TO A HUMAN
TO PUT THE CALL IN THE QUEUE SO YOU COULD START WAITING FOR THE CALL
BACK!
These days, if we get a return call the SAME DAY we figure we're lucky.
|
| 3197.12 | A THREE HOUR TOUR | ANGLIN::ZWIRTZ | IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT | Thu Jun 23 1994 14:26 | 10 |
| Well this explains the 3 hour wait I had the other day for a call back.
I was lucky I just happened to be back in the office to receive the
call. Then to make it worse the support person had another call while
he was on the phone with me, and put me on hold for over 1/2 hour. That
stinks !! I think you should have some priority after you are in touch
with someone. As someone else said, we can't afford to wait for a
callback at a customers site for 3 hours. By the way I called back
after 1 hour and asked what was going on. I was told I was 3rd in the
queue with 3 Critical calls in front of me. I can see the overtime
going way up too, and Customer satisfaction going way down.
|
| 3197.13 | Been there, Done that... | VMSNET::G_CHANG | TheFaceOfADragonFlyIsNothingButEyes! | Thu Jun 23 1994 14:46 | 65 |
| I've been in both the field and the CSC and I really feel that the CSC
doesn't remember that the field exists...that's the non-MCS field
people.
When I was in the field as a sales support specialist (do we have
those anymore?), I remember having to set-up customer demos and not
having ANY documentation and needing to call the CSC for help (for lack
of anywhere else to go). The doc set wasn't anywhere on the network
but the kit was and we had to demo a product in a few hours. This
wouldn't really qualify as a Severity 1 by the definition that was given
us. If I had to stage a demo, break it down, move it, and set it up
again, before giving it to the customer I didn't have time to wait
around for a call back...knowing the length of some of the CSC queues.
I've also been at customer sites where I've had to use my badge as the
access number. A call back in 2 days was not acceptable... there was a
big problem, but not a Severity 1 (by the definition). Almost always I
was on site because of a customer satisfaction issue and the customer
was expecting ME to get faster response then they had previously
gotten (...why I was there in the first place). I actually had CSC
specialists down grade my priority after initially talking with me then
said they would research and call me back... and then never called me
back! My definition of a priority 1 did not meet their definition of a
priority 1.
Now I work in the CSC and we have Mission Critical or VAST customers
that call (are immediately put at the top of the queue) and want over
the phone "end user tutoring sessions". I have to take this call first
over the internal specialist that has a multi-million dollar sale riding
on a demo he can't get working. Granted customer's pay more for this
service but what is worth more to Digital per call? A few extra thousand
dollars or a couple million?
I have to beg to differ with .1 also. I sat in the meetings with Dick
Sellers at ALF about a month ago and specifically asked him a question
about why the field (all non MCS people, which means DC, Sales Support
and Sales) doesn't have access to TIMA or STARS databases.
The issue is basically one of funding. TIMA and STARS are funded for
MCS use only, as of today. I feel it should be available to everyone.
Customer's with support contracts have access to it. Dick Sellers
said that he would make it available to everyone if we could figure out
a way to get internal people to stop calling the CSC. He said that
internal calls make up a significant portion of our call volume and it
is felt that internal callers call because their cost centers won't pay
out the training costs and product purchasing cost required to support
our products. So Offsite services is incorrectly forced to bear those
costs.
I don't think that we should lower the priority of internal callers,
because ultimately people call into the CSC in support of some customer
somewhere. Not everyone out there is going to get this message. When
they call in with a critical issue and don't know to ask for a Severity
level 1 they will get poor response time (slower then they expect)
because they got put at the end of the queue. I think that if Off-site
services wanted to reduce the number of internal callers because it
costs us more...then they should charge the field cost centers for
services provided and have the field share in the cost of support. Also
we need to make the tools available to everyone and have the cost of
supporting those tools be spread across all cost centers that use them.
Whew! My 12 cents worth...
--Gina
|
| 3197.14 | do the right thing!!! | MIMS::JEROME_R | | Thu Jun 23 1994 14:46 | 23 |
| I have worked in the CSC for eight years and before that in the field
for five years. I understand both sides of the dicussion here and would
like to suggest a few things to help with this issue.
First do what is right for the customer. (I know we are all aware of
this). If it is critical to the customer and they have an access number
(obligation ID) then use that number, if they don't then use your badge
and state you are onsite and it is critical. If you don't get a
callback in an hour then call back and ask to speak with an MOD
(manager on duty). This will more than likely get you a callback within
fifteen minutes.
Second, don't get caught up in this process junk. People here are just
like you and me, they want to do what is best for the customer and will
try to do that whenever possible.
The bottom line is keep it simple, do the right thing by the customer,
and above all do let this stuff get you down.
keep the faith
ray j
csc/at
|
| 3197.15 | does do = don't | MIMS::JEROME_R | | Thu Jun 23 1994 14:48 | 4 |
| I meant to say "don't let this stuff get you down"
ray j
csc/at
|
| 3197.16 | Cust. Satisfaction! | NWD002::HALL_JA | | Thu Jun 23 1994 14:49 | 8 |
| This weekend a customer of mine logged a call at 7PM. When he didn't
hear from me he called back at 11 PM. I was paged at 11:20 PM. It
turns out that there were only two dispatchers on duty for the
graveyard shift in Atlanta. Customer had logged his second call be-
fore he heard from me. I didn't arrive on-site until 12:30 AM and
worked until 3 AM. Meanwhile,(on-site) conversion team was stopped
until I got there. Talk about customer satisfaction!! We need to be
made aware of the calls,first.
|
| 3197.17 | The last few comments are re-assuring. | WRAFLC::GILLEY | Pay freeze? That's what *you* think. | Thu Jun 23 1994 15:18 | 23 |
| RE: last few
I live in the field rubbing shoulders with customers every day, 5 days
per week, etc. I have to justify my 120/hour rate. One of the ways I
do this is by letting people know that I can get answers by hitting the
network, notes files, and the CSC. Many times, the CSC has saved my
tail with a simple but obscure problem (thanks DBMS support team!). If
the manager really wants us to stop calling, he better be aware of the
consequences. One of the reasons, so I'm told, that my rate is 120/hr
is to pay for the overhead of the CSC - they called it a corporate tax.
If I no longer get the service..... you figure out the rest.
Recently, I learned of an *amazing* tool: STARS (TIMA?) I know it as
STARS. This must be one of the best kept secrets for DC. Since our
local office cluster is supported by DC folks, and the MCS people
'need' us, well, it's a symbiotic relationship. The cousin to STARS is
DSN - another amazing tool. The best way to describe both of these
applications is to make an analogy to the needle and the haystack
search. They will find the needle.
You DC unit managers out there. Your people need these tools.
Charlie
|
| 3197.18 | CRG = Call Response Group | CSC32::N_WALLACE | | Thu Jun 23 1994 15:50 | 23 |
| <<< HUMANE::DISK$CONFERENCES:[NOTES$LIBRARY]DIGITAL.NOTE;1 >>>
-< The Digital way of working >-
================================================================================
Note 3197.16 Process Improvement? 16 of 17
NWD002::HALL_JA 8 lines 23-JUN-1994 14:49
-< Cust. Satisfaction! >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This weekend a customer of mine logged a call at 7PM. When he didn't
hear from me he called back at 11 PM. I was paged at 11:20 PM. It
turns out that there were only two dispatchers on duty for the
graveyard shift in Atlanta. Customer had logged his second call be-
fore he heard from me. I didn't arrive on-site until 12:30 AM and
worked until 3 AM. Meanwhile,(on-site) conversion team was stopped
until I got there. Talk about customer satisfaction!! We need to be
made aware of the calls,first.
MCS is in the process of closing down all the regional call dispatch centers
(Chicago, Dallas, etc...) and centralizing this activity in two locations,
CXO and ALF. You would be doing everyone a favor by letting the CRG Manager
in Atlanta know about this.
|
| 3197.19 | Escalation | NWD002::HALL_JA | | Thu Jun 23 1994 15:53 | 4 |
| RE:Letting someone know.
It was escalated to my manager.
|
| 3197.20 | I only do what I can. | RHETT::DAVIDSON | | Thu Jun 23 1994 17:12 | 7 |
| I'm in the csc doing software support for a small obscure product, SCO
unix on pcs. Three weeks ago we where a 3 person group with 1 person
out on ltd. Now we are a 2 person group with only me handling calls. If
your priority is high (1) I may get to you in an hour or 2, low maybe
tomorrow.
Jim Davidson
|
| 3197.21 | Poor planning IMHO | CSC32::C_DUNNING | | Thu Jun 23 1994 17:55 | 32 |
| Hi Jim...you may not remember me but I was a call screener
in Santa Clara several years ago and now doing the same in
Colorado although the scope of call logging is much greater
here.
I can REALLY relate to what you are talking about regarding
meeting response times. Last Friday night was a NIGHTMARE.
It is truly getting scary to answer the phone around here
especially after-hours...if it's not the general public
screaming at us telling us they are returning their new PC
or printer because there is no after hours support for it,
it's a frustrated field rep(justifiably so) wanting to know
why they got paged for a call that wasn't theirs(dispatched
incorrectly). I had a customer that night that logged 2
calls that had 2 hr rspns times that kept calling back wondering
why they had not gotten a call from field service. I got tired
of sending the "call back" messages to the dispatchers. Instead
I looked in champ-field and found the calls had not yet been
dispatched at all after 2 hours from initial log time. I simply
dispatched them myself. All the other CSS's were having the same
experience.
I know dispatching is not the easiest task to perform and that
there is a learning time frame needed, but things should be
smoother by now. In afterhours in Colorado we have 3 experienced
champ-field dispatchers. We are especially familiar with the
field reps in the western area. But we are not being utilized
for dispatching. The bottom line is a lot of the consolidation
grief could have easily been avoided.
Talk to you soon I'm sure,
Clay
|
| 3197.22 | If you think stars is cool try comet | MIMS::JEROME_R | | Thu Jun 23 1994 17:56 | 16 |
| re .17 If you think stars is amazing then if you have access to the
world wide web look at comet. the address is:
http://www-comet.alf.dec.com:8031/ (supported version)
or
http://www-comet.alf.dec.com:8033/ (unsupported but better)
This tool searches not only stars but but several other database all at
the same time and alot faster than stars.
ray j
csc/at
|
| 3197.23 | I've got the hook in my mouth..... | GNATS::GILLEY | Pay freeze? That's what *you* think. | Thu Jun 23 1994 19:58 | 5 |
| ray,
is there a notes file? Doc?
charlie
|
| 3197.24 | | NYOSS1::CATANIA | | Thu Jun 23 1994 21:20 | 7 |
| I have a process improvement!
HOW ABOUT MAKING THE DAMN CD-ROM DOCS ELECTRONICALY SEARCHABLE!
There I feel better now!
- Mike
|
| 3197.25 | | CSCMA::SMITH | | Thu Jun 23 1994 21:20 | 50 |
| I am in the CSC, I support the hardware so 95% of the calls I take are
Field Engineers. Previously I took 30-50% of my calls with a 'direct
dispatch', they got straight through to me, no wait. Now they have to
go in the queue so we can play phone tag for the next hour. We are
certainly letting them know the difference between and 's1' and 's3'.
I was in the Field before, often you are at a site with no phone
that you can tie up. The customer doesn't really want to stay off
the phone for you to wait for a call back. Very often the number
on the phone is not correct and you sit and wait but it never rings.
People are forever telling me that the field person is not there, just
minutes after they called in. If you push, then they manage to find
them.
Lately I have noticed more and more field people leaving pager numbers.
The procedure then, is that we do the waiting, after a page we are
supposed to wait for 15 minutes, doing nothing with the queue. How's
that for time management?
---
Anyway, this is not even close to hitting the nail on the head. Many
of my calls you'd never find in a book. They're due to changes in the
parts and products, things that didn't break yesterday, new patterns,
new problems, Premature releases of new products, new software
or hardware revisions. Just keeping up with "what goes with what" and
"what their calling it now" with hardware and software is mind-boggling.
I have no clue how sales can possibly do it, I have trouble and I
specialize.
Clean up the product when it goes out the door and the calls will go
down, period. Then we won't have to be playing with 's1's and s3's'.
Product development KNOWINGLY releases poor products and updates, often
warned by us that it will cause major heartaches, but comforted by the
knowledge that the CSC's will somehow pick up the pieces. Rush, Rush,
out the door it goes. I know it's hard to believe but we even sell
products we know will not work without other products that aren't yet
available! A salesman called me from New York three weeks ago and asked,
"What are you people, insane?!!" I really feel powerless, today we
are STILL shipping the product, no one listens in engineering, they
don't hear.
Someday, someone may realise that with every call we get in the CSC
there's a customer who was disappointed with us.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see how many calls per product shipped
we get? Wouldn't it be nice if product development was 'graded' on
their releases this way? Maybe they'd even CARE about our calls?
Wow, that would be a change!
Sharon
|
| 3197.26 | | NYEM1::CRANE | | Fri Jun 24 1994 07:05 | 6 |
| I`m confused????? How many groups are there in this company that calls
themselves CSC`s? We have CSC`s in the field and their title is
Customer Service Consultant...are we talking the same title with
different job discriptions?
|
| 3197.27 | Customer Support Centers | DV780::FRASER | Rocky Mt PSC, Gov't Soln Arch | Fri Jun 24 1994 07:23 | 3 |
| In the US, there are THREE (3) Customer Support Centers. One
in Colorado Springs, CO; Atlanta GA; and the old Parker Street, MA.
|
| 3197.28 | CSC's.... | MSDOA::SCRIVEN | | Fri Jun 24 1994 08:40 | 3 |
| The CSC's in the field are Customer Support Consultants.....
|
| 3197.29 | | AIMTEC::PERSON_D | Get Your Kicks With Soccer | Fri Jun 24 1994 09:06 | 17 |
| We may be getting into a rat hole on this one. But, we all have it
rough now and must do what is right for our customers. You have seen
and heard it from both sides. I worked in the field for 7 years and
have been in the CSC (Customer Support Center - Alpharetta, GA) for 6
years and see both sides, and it is going to get worst before it gets
better. Last Month my team was 4 Specialists (supporting - ALL-IN-1
Time Management, CXP, VTX, A1-DESKtop, Mobilizer, Russell Calendar
Mangement, and MAILbus Postmaster), this week I am the only one left.
I assume none of the people in this NOTES CONF. made the changes in
policy. We all just need to understand the whole picture and do what
is right for our customers.
Regards
Dwight
|
| 3197.30 | | CSCMA::PARADISO | Discombobulated Employee Community | Fri Jun 24 1994 11:55 | 14 |
|
Re: .27
> In the US, there are THREE (3) Customer Support Centers. One
> in Colorado Springs, CO; Atlanta GA; and the old Parker Street, MA.
Close. The three currently are;
CXO - Colorado Springs, CO
ALF - Alpharetta, GA
SHR - Shrewsbury, MA
-d
|
| 3197.31 | The US CSC | OASS::HEARSE::Burden_d | Keep Cool with Coolidge | Fri Jun 24 1994 12:13 | 4 |
| And of course, they are simply the three sites, but (all together now..) 'We
are all 1 CSC'
Dave
|
| 3197.32 | first access the web, then comet | MIMS::JEROME_R | | Fri Jun 24 1994 15:06 | 23 |
| re: .23
>> ray,
>> is there a notes file? Doc?
>> charlie
I would suggest you start by looking in the "sofbas::internet_tools"
notes file for info on how to get access to the web server nearest you.
If there is no info on how to do this I am sure some kind noter would
be glad to give you some direction on how to gain access to the web
server nearest you.
After that you use the address I wrote in a previous note and follow
the directions on the home page. It is in a GUI enviroment so for the
most part it is point and click.
Hope this helps
ray j
csc/at
|
| 3197.33 | | WRAFLC::GILLEY | Pay freeze? That's what *you* think. | Fri Jun 24 1994 15:10 | 1 |
| Off i gooooooooooo
|
| 3197.34 | Reprioritization Clarification | BSS::CLOUGHESY | | Fri Jun 24 1994 16:57 | 71 |
| To add a bit of clarity to the rationale behind the reprioritization,
I wanted to include the memo that was sent to all managers in Onsite
Service Delivery and all Offsite (CSC) employees.
Offsite Management is not trying to put up brick walls between Offsite
Service Delivery and Onsite Service Delivery. We've been attempting to
do a better job of partnering with our Onsite counterparts as we all
go through some pretty crazy times here in MCS. The decision to
reprioritize internal calls in the Offsite queues was a joint decision
between Onsite and Offsite Management.
MCS Leadership has asked all of us to drive toward self-sufficiency of
both Offsite and Onsite...this was not an arbitrary decision made by
Offsite Management.
Here's the memo:
From: BSS::CLOUGHESY "Offsite Service Delivery Business Mgr - Central
States - 592-5449" 16-JUN-1994 10:34:31.51
To: @ONSITE_STAFF
CC: CLOUGHESY,@DM,@DBM,@DPM,J_RAPOSA,MTS$"cth::chuck wilson"
Subj: (I) Reprioritization of Internal Calls in Offsite Queues
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | |
| d | i | g | i | t | a | l |
| | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
Interoffice Memorandum
TO: Onsite Service Delivery DATE: 16-Jun-1994
Offsite Service Delivery FROM: Offsite Service Delivery
District Mgrs. & Steve Aleshire
SUBJECT: (I) Reprioritization of Internal Calls in Offsite Queues
Due to the reduced number of technical resources available and in
in keeping with Digital's emphasis on focusing on maximizing our
level of service to our external customer, exploring revenue growth
opportunities, and cutting expenses, Service Delivery has been asked
to reprioritize their work. Multivendor Customer Services Leadership
has provided direction regarding Offsite and Onsite self-sufficiency.
You've seen this in both the decentralization of Regional Support
and Offsite escalations direct to engineering.
In support of these efforts, starting June 20, 1994, customer software
calls to Offsite Service Delivery will be prioritized above calls
from internal Digital personnel. In cases when you are working with a
customer that has a critical problem, as defined by the IPMT Level 1
Definition below, your call will be placed in the queue above customer
calls that are of a lower severity. In these critical cases, we do
not expect this to impact you or your customer negatively. However,
when logging other calls, please understand that there will be longer
response times.
"IPMT Level 1 Definition:
A catastrophic outage. The customer cannot produce. The
customer's system, application or option is down and no
procedural workaround exists."
Regards,
Offsite Service Delivery District Managers,
David Hawk, Frank Owens, Wanda Pechink, & Pat Witkum
Americas Zone Technical Expertise and Capabilities Manger,
Steve Aleshire
|
| 3197.35 | More .02 | POBOX::CORSON | Higher, and a bit more to the right | Sun Jun 26 1994 15:37 | 13 |
|
re .25
Sharon -
Doesn't reading note 3197.34 make you feel much better? MCS
is trying to make your life less complicated, by adding additional
complexities. Isn't that nice of them?
In all seriousness folks, until we go pure vertical as a
company, we are just fooling ourselves. I wonder, can RP read?
the Greyhawk
|
| 3197.36 | | HANSBC::BACHNER | Two beer or not two beer.. (Shakesbeer) | Tue Jun 28 1994 09:09 | 4 |
| Re: .24
Did you ever try Bookreader's "Search" menus ? (Available since V4.0, if memory
serves right).
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| 3197.37 | | NYOSS1::CATANIA | | Tue Jun 28 1994 10:16 | 3 |
| .last
Mea Culpa
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| 3197.38 | Full circle again please. | TIMMY::FORSON | | Fri Jul 01 1994 12:14 | 55 |
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As alot of other people have noted, there are alot of people that
have done time in the field and the center. I've been a support
engineer for several years now and worked with the center in a bunch
of different ways. Unified support was one that came to mind...
I think there are a few basic flaws in the grand plan.
First, not everyone has access to TIMA and TIMA has been gutted.
Almost everyone in the upper positions in the TIMA org are gone and
TIMA, at least at my level, has no funding. We've bet the business
on a technical solution that is in danger of being smothered.
Second, I've been a TIMA system manager for several years. TIMA
is not the grand collection of the combined knowledge of the universe.
Real live people put information into the databases. Real live people
sweat the details and discover the fixes. The CSC and internal support
did a great job of making sure that one person in every sight was not
doomed to repeating the process for every problem. The districts have
been told to obsorb the field support ranks and become self sufficient.
Some districts opted to TSFO the incoming support people to handle head
count issues.
Third, The shortage in resources was created through downsizing.
And the solution in the districts was to downsize more. My fear is that
we are rapidly approaching critical mass. Below that, we will be unable
to maintain the furnace that drives our business. As any scout knows,
throwing wood on a dwindling fire does not insure a restart. It
somtimes triggers a failure. One of the I's in IISG stood for INTERNAL.
We (digital) built this support group for this reason. We no longer see
the need for a portion of the business that the field built almost all
delivery plans around. I pity engineering the most. They have been
stripped, but will still be expected to be the last answer in anything
technical. Without the INTERNAL center at full speed, and with the
support in the field being redirected toward revenue and management
issues, Engineering will be overrun. Custer had better odds.
Fourth, District Self sefficiency depends on training in the
district. As everyone knows, training has been visited by the great
guidence counceler and is still scattered between the ICU and the
morge.
I truely believe we are moving toward vendor neutral service. We will
work on any vendor's equipment with the same level of spares and
training as any vendor would. That is to say, "We'll send an untrained,
but highly skilled engineer out next week to work your issues, MR/MRS
customer and he/she can tell you then that we don't stock any parts
ether". :^)
I've never been accused as to having any gift for vision but I
suspect that this plan will trigger a district reaction simular
to the old branch support. The very thing the center was to replace
back in the early 80's.
Jim
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