Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!shadooby!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!cmic!garvey From: garvey@cmic.UUCP (Joe Garvey) Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp Subject: HP Customer Support Summary: 90% served well, let's work on the last 10%, how to do it Message-ID: <221@cmic.UUCP> Date: 30 Nov 89 20:33:20 GMT Organization: Califonia Microwave Inc., Sunnyvale, CA. Lines: 132 1) I'm a paying HPUX support customer. 2) I've been on support for years. 3) I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I started. (I believe I've learned a little bit since then :-)). 4) I agree there are some things about support that really need to be improved. I've been dealing with the Western Response Center for years. I really appreciate the great lengths they've gone to for me. The folks there a really something special. When I've had problems with them, I can talk to them and they jump... they really have a commitment to service. I don't think any of the criticisms in this news group really apply to these folks. I assume the other response centers behave similarly with their customers. The mission of the response center is to service that large number of HP support customers that fall into the category of "beginners". I myself feel I'm in that never-never land between beginner and expert (yes, I occasionally call with a simple/stupid/RTFM type question). I also call, and stump-the-panel often enough that I feel handling these calls is a problem deserving HP's attention. Actually after discussing this with the folks at the response center, I feel that the problem is they target the simple/RTFM questions. In addition, the stump-the-panel questions take a tremendously disproportionate amount of time to solve (equiv. to ~20 simple questions). Well, if a few of these difficult questions show up, then the poor SE doesn't answer the other questions. Given the choice of making one person happy, or making 20 people happy which choice does the SE make? Service the 20. Get around to the other question as best you can. It also makes it difficult to attract the attention of a subject matter expert (as Dave Taylor so appropriately designated this type of person). After this much time, I've developed some tactics in self-defense (self-offense). I learn/categorize each SE's skills. I learn their schedules. I learn how to get to other response centers, where some other SE might have the skills to solve-my-problem/answer-my-question. I know for example one of the best individuals at solving uucp problems is taking classes part time at Georgia Tech (working on a Masters Degree no-less). He often covers the phones on weekends. Guess when I call with uucp problems? Another SE who's in general very good, and especially good with disk problems tends to work late Friday nights at the Western Response Center. Guess when I call with disk related problems? When I get a new SE, yes new ones do occasionally show up, they're usually pretty green. I'll suggest if they can't answer a question to go ask another SE, and I'll tell them who to ask! After a while, they learn to do this themselves. When all else has failed I escalate, but its emotionally painful for all involved. When you escalate, you're effectively saying, "I don't think you can solve this problem", I don't like putting people down by doing this, but on the other hand, my boss insists I solve the problem *now*. What do you do? Try to be tactful, but insist on getting others involved, or forcing the problem to the local HP office. (No, I've never called J. Young... but the sign above the computer directs complaints to him... clipping from Business Week with his phone number is on the sign). The gist of this is that, the experienced user gets short-changed in response center support. This doesn't show up in surveys, because they are a minority! But it does alienate some of HP's best assests. I value the opinions of the experienced system operators that aren't HP (HP too, but they're always suspect ;-)). But HP drives these people away. I value a system more highly, the more experienced users there are... kinda like having shepherds for the flock. They solve problems and fill in when HP can't. They lend the system credibility... their presence, their use of a system indicates it's viable and useful. It's a much better guide than advertising. (It's one of Sun's best assets!) Remember the discussion/postings about "Is HP a good system to develop on?". That wouldn't happen if more "shepherds" posted here indicating all the great and wonderful things they've been doing. In order to help the Response Center help the experts, they've got to be unburdened and allowed the time to tackle these difficult questions. The mechanism for doing this is the net... but operating out of the response center. Not the MPE idiocy they've got right now (yes, I have very strong opinions about teaching unix users MPE. MPE for MPE users. Unix for Unix users... especially when all the software has been developed and is already running in the response centers! I've started to email my gripes/ questions to those at the response center. Yes, their already on the net). I advocate changing Support Line so it provides news feeds, uucp service, archives, etc for unix users. (I know Dave Taylor has suggested Interex... and I've talked to Art Gentry there, but I still perceive Interex as supporting MPE for unix. It's going to take some good will efforts on Interex's part for unix users to change my mind on that subject.) Then the response center is simply an extension of my mail system. They can run HP-only news to their customers... I believe HP has real problems advertising to Sun sales reps the problems with HPUX... but if it only went to HP customer sites, and wasn't propagated beyond that... maybe HP wouldn't have a problem. This would allow bugs to be posted, bug fixes to be circulated, HP to have archives of unsupported/contributed software, and provide a slick marketing tool too! (I wouldn't mind e-junk-mail from HP..., and from HP's point this is a great way to get to the people that fill out the purchase req's for more HP equipment!) It also means the 90%+ of the simple questions could be answered by other users.... leaving the SE's free to be problem solvers! Finally, I'd like to pass along a little story... I'd reported bugs in the man pages (format, ability to include in whatis database, etc) for years for products out of HP-LSD. I track the KPR's. Eventually, I got a new product, ended up editing every man page, as usual, and posted how upset I was this had gone on for so long. This got a fast response. The problems were reproduced. I'm sure they'll be fixed by the time a full release cycle has completed itself (~ 8-12 months). They had never heard of the KPR's I'd been calling in!!!! To add insult to injury... I was very politely told not to use the net as a back door to solving these problems. AARGH!!! Wake UP! I'm not the only one. The users are trying to implement what HP is reluctant to do with the suggestions for comp.sys.hp.bugs, comp.os.hp.patches, etc. Why does HP resist implementing a time proven system for handling questions, problems, fixes.... the net has been doing this for years. It costs next to nothing to implement (not like all the time and effort in writing MPE software). At the very least, the postings from HP not to use the net as a means of solving problems with HP ought to cease, and a formal mechanism for accepting bugs this way should be put in place. The net is a large, popular, productive tool. It's time HP acknowledges that fact. HP has always succeeded because it innovates. It's time to innovate in customer service. -- Joe Garvey UUCP: {apple,backbone}!versatc!mips!cmic!garvey California Microwave Internet: mips.com!cmic!garvey 990 Almanor Ave HP Desk: xxx ("mips!cmic!garvey")/hp1900/ux Sunnyvale, Ca, 94086 800-831-3104 (outside CA) 408-720-6439 (let it ring) 800-824-7814 (inside CA) Feel free to disagree, but disagree civilly.