Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uwvax!werewolf!luner
From: luner@werewolf.CS.WISC.EDU (David L. Luner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.rt
Subject: IBM Support Structure
Message-ID: <8843@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 12 Oct 89 21:28:04 GMT
References: <lots>
Sender: news@spool.cs.wisc.edu
Reply-To: luner@werewolf.CS.WISC.EDU (David L. Luner)
Organization: IBM Madison
Lines: 51

A number of individuals have mistaken my earlier statement

>Please use your local branch office as a resource for questions as much as
>possible. This is the only way they will build the expertise so that they
>can answer your questions in the future.

as my suggesting that customers have the responsibility to teach their 
local branches about AIX(tm) and UNIX(tm). What I am suggesting is that
you can't expect a support structure which knows all about "CI-splits",
"//SYSIN DD *" and "ABEND 0C5" to turn about on a dime and know all about
"fseek the /etc/passwd grep and cat it" overnight. Furthermore, they still
have to support the former. 

As I said in an earlier posting:

> Technical Support:
> 
>	If you purchased your system directly from IBM, call the Marketing 
>	Representative who sold it to you. They should put you in touch with
>	the Systems Engineer at the local branch who is either responsible for
>	your account or generally responsible for AIX systems. If you do not
>	get satisfactory support from this individual, speak with his or her
>	manager.
>	
>	Caution: Systems Engineers are *not* Unix gurus. If the one
>	you are dealing with has a substantial amount of AIX expertise, so much
>	the better. If not -- remember they're not supposed to have
>	intricate knowledge of system internals. They will, however, know 
>	how to find out virtually anything you need to know. This takes time.
>	First they may have to understand the problem and then must bring it
>	up through the layers of the IBM support. This can involve many
>	electronic and real phone calls over a number of days. The keys here 
>	are patience (I omit an explanation) and planning (don't expect a 
>	very detailed problem or question to be resolved the next day -- plan
>	in advance for what you will need to know and when you will need to
>	know it).

If you don't use the resources provided, they will assume that the
documentation is perfect and the code has no bugs because nobody ever
calls them with problems. If you feel that your local branch is lacking
in the expertise or responsiveness that you need to get your work done,
talk with the management.

"You can either be part of the problem or be part of the solution."

	-- David

David Luner
Systems Engineer
IBM Madison
608-273-5243