Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!hplabs!pyramid!infmx!nikos
From: nikos@infmx.UUCP (Nikos Lambridis)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Informix 4gl
Summary: Facts regarding Informix European support
Message-ID: <503@infmx.UUCP>
Date: 7 Oct 88 08:11:59 GMT
References: <473@pan.UUCP> <597@white.gcm> <482@pan.UUCP>
Organization: Informix Software Inc., Menlo Park, CA.
Lines: 59

In article <482@pan.UUCP>, jw@pan.UUCP (Jamie Watson) writes:
> ... 
> As for filing bug reports, I would be happy to, if there were
> only someplace to do so (other than the net).  Informix's operation in
> Europe can be described as shaky, at best.  They claim to have an office
> in Munich, but every time we try to call them, they either just moved
> the office, or they are just about to move the office, or everyone in
> the office is gone to a conference somewhere.  ...

I have become aware of Jamie's complaints just recently, and I would like to 
respond to them as briefly as possible:

The German office employs 51 people. The company has 4 major departments:
Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Customer Services; the Technical Support Dept.
ia part of Customer Services.  We have 7 engineers working on the phone.
Our on-site machines include Sun, Nixdorf Targon 31, 32, T/A, Mannessmann, 
PCs, NCR Towers, and others.  Other machine resources are available in 
London and in the U.S.A. headquarters.

We receive an average of 260 calls a month.  We currently answer 96% of 
the SMARTware calls in under 6 minutes and 71% of the Informix database
product line calls in under 60 minutes. 

We are also responsible for Beta testing and QA of new products and
the language translations thereafter.

Our customers range from end-users to big software houses in Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece, and some of France.

To be more specific, we never heard from Jamie.  He must have called about
1 year ago, when we were moving from our old tiny office to our new one.
At the time our staff totaled 4 people!!! (as opposed to 51 now). 
I would be glad to help him and anyone else in our territory should they 
have a problem. If our engineers are not able to do it directly, we can 
find an answer within 24 hours. We welcome the calls and the challenge, 
so long as the people are legitimate customers with a maintenance agreement.

The address of our office in Munich is:

	Informix GmbH          
	Rosenkavalierplatz 14
	D-8000 Munich
	West Germany

	Phone: (+49) 89-922030
	Fax:   (+49) 89-9102173
	Telex: (841) 529339

Thank you all for your time,

Nikos Lambridis
Customer Services Manager
Informix Germany

-- 
      Nikos Lambridis                    
      Manager, Customer Services 
      Informix GmbH,  Munich, FRG
      {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!nikos