Conference 7.286::digital

    One person I know who looks after this area is Darnley Fritsch @LAC in
    Florida.  Another person I know in the Mexico office is Jorge
    Gutierrez.  I've dealt with these folks for UNIX business, and don't
    know if they have other responsbilities, but they might know where to
    move it to.
    
    Mark
    

    I am the Product Marketing Manager for the Latin America Caribbean
    Territory. First of all, thank you for posting this CompuServe message
    from the disgruntled customer in this notes conference.
    
    I will take ownership of this complaint and immediately get it into the
    hands of Rogelio Velasco, Digital's Country Manager for Mexico. I will
    follow up with him to ensure that the customer's source of
    dissatisfaction has been addressed.
    
    Regards,
    
    
    Dennis Rose
    Product Marketing Manager
    Latin America Caribbean Territory
    Deerfield Beach, Florida
    
    DTN: 655-6497  or  (305) 360-6497

    Thanks - you might also want to write to the user at
    [email protected] to let them know what is happening (and to get
    further details.)
    
    				Steve

    I heard the same is true in Singapore from my ABU customer Lockheed
    Martin.  This information came from their Aisa Pacific representative. 
    Is there someone willing to take responsibility for this?  If so, call
    me and I'll put you in touch with the above individual.
    
    Regards,
    Steve

    
    
    I can tell you what part of the problem is. 
    Customers and FEs are calling the US for support now. 
    
    These people are either forced to try and relate their problem in 
    English and understand our instructions or we have to get an
    interpretor on the line who knows nothing about either side of the
    conversation except to translate a string of words.  
    Anyone who has ever tried to work a complex technical issue over the
    phone can understand how frustrating it can be when both parties are
    speaking the same language. Throw in the language barrier and it's a
    losing effort.  We need to rethink our Latin American support
    strategy, and while we're at it, we need to stop putting our French
    Canadian customers in the same position or we'll be hearing the same
    complaints from them. 

RE .5:
    Are there alot of technicians in our US support centers who would be
    willing to take Spanish/French/Portugese if the tuition were
    reimbursed?

    There are a lot of techies down this way that are born Spanish
    speakers.  It would take quite some time to train someone to speak
    Spanish/Portugese/French well enough to handle support.
    
    Buena suerte, CSC.  Esta muy dificil con una lingua sola, no?  (Y lo
    siento para mi Espanol, a mi amigos de Mexico.  Es mal, pero, yo espero
    improvar con tiempo.)
    
    								Tex

    At DEC, relatively fluent English seemed to be a requirement for
    employment in all countries.
    
    At Digital, I'm seeing more and more people who speak little or no
    English.

>    At DEC, relatively fluent English seemed to be a requirement for
>    employment in all countries.

Yeah, but I don't think we ever had language requirements for
customers...

    Technical expertise and knowledge of a language does not guarantee 
    proficiency in supporting technical issues.  You need to know the 
    technical jargon in that language and you need to stay current with it.
       
    Gunther (who is fluent in Portuguese)
    
    That's my 2 cents (centimes, centavos, pfennig, etc.).

    You're also seeing a shift.  Per the paper today, we have a higher
    percentage of foreign born residents than since 1900, with the
    overwhelming majority of these from Mexico and an even bigger
    percentage from other Spanish speaking countries.
    
    The Western hemisphere speaks Spanish, minus a majority of the US which
    speaks English, English Canada, Portugese Brazil, French Quebec, and
    some assorted Dutch, Creole, French, etc. islands the size of
    midwestern farms.
    
    I personally am excited to see concentration on this hemisphere and
    will do about anything I can to help promulgate it.  It irks me to no
    end that we've given Communist China most favored nation trading status
    instead of the democracies, developed or established, in Central and
    South America.
    
    							Tex

re .-1  "We English speakers..."

What makes you think Texans speak English?  I probably
wouldn't understand a word you say..


dave (foreign-born US resident, monolingual English speaker)

    re .9:
    
�Yeah, but I don't think we ever had language requirements for
�customers...
    
    No, but I would say if a customer has a problem which needs involment
    from engineering, the local support person probably is still his
    interface... and that person should speak sufficient English to deal
    with the problem.
    
    And anyway, in the good old days, _all_ of our documentation was in
    English only, so it would have been very difficult for customers who
    don't understand it...

    Same thing that makes me think the English speak English I guess...only
    a lot more words we say are in the actual dictionary. :^]
    
    (Porter, if you aren't good I'm gonna call and press the "pound" sign!)
    
    								Tex

    Re: .11
    
       "It irks me to no end that we've given Communist China most favored 
        nation trading status instead of the democracies, developed or 
        established, in Central and South America."
    
    Cuba is the only country in the hemisphere to which the United
    States does not accord most favored nation trade status.  
    
    The difference between the Western Hemisphere countries (excepting Cuba) 
    and Cuba is that the former are members of the GATT, and thus
    automatically qualify for most favored nation treatment, while China is
    not a GATT member, and thus does not automatically qualify.  The highly
    visible annual renewals of China's most favored nation status create an
    entirely incorrect impression in the minds of many that China must be
    getting some special treat from the U.S.  It isn't. 
    
    Tom
    

>    not a GATT member, and thus does not automatically qualify.  The highly
>    visible annual renewals of China's most favored nation status create an
>    entirely incorrect impression in the minds of many that China must be
>    getting some special treat from the U.S.  It isn't. 
    
    Horse puckey!  A Communist country with a human rights record closely
    paralleling that of the late great Idi Amin receiving most favored
    nation trade status isn't getting a special treat?  Add in our trade
    deficit with them, their arms sales to countries we've declared as
    sponsors of terrorism, and I'd say they're getting a pretty nice deal,
    to say the least.  No one has satisfactorily explained to me why we
    coddle China and embargo Cuba.
    
    								Tex

      Because China is the most populous nation on earth, and its economy
    is developing at a very rapid pace, despite its still nominally
    communist dictatorship. It therefore represents a huge potential market.
    Cuba is small, has a basket-case economy, and while the present regime
    remains is unlikely to provide much of a market without receiving huge
    subsidies from somebody.
      The larger the potential profit, the easier it is to 'overlook'
    little aberrations from the civilised norm, like the torturing of
    dissidents. Sad but true; the US is not alone, most countries act much
    the same way, whether or not they sermonize to others about human
    rights. Some are just more open about it than others.
    
      And now, back to your regular program...
    
    Ken

    
    "...the US is not alone"
    
    Sounds like the drivel usually spouted to drag the US into something
    most of its citizenry are against.   It's usually a comparison against
    Europe.  "Why can't we be more like Europe?" goes the banal repertoire.
    
    Because we have/had a Republican form of gov't, whereas most European
    countries are past monarchies/current parliamentaries/future Fabian
    Socialist countries.
    
    Harumph.

>    Sounds like the drivel usually spouted to drag the US into something
>    most of its citizenry are against.   It's usually a comparison against
>    Europe.  "Why can't we be more like Europe?" goes the banal repertoire.
>    
>    Because we have/had a Republican form of gov't, whereas most European
>    countries are past monarchies/current parliamentaries/future Fabian
>    Socialist countries.
 
    Sounds like the drivel usually spouted to drag Europe into something
    most of its citizenry are against.

    
    
    MEANWHILE, BACK TO THE TOPIC..............
    
    the question remains, WHAT happened to the support organization for 
    Latin America? Did we TFSO it? Is there anyone left down there or what? 
    I know that we are getting an increasing number of calls. 
    
    Customers are frustrated. Deccies are frustrated....and I'm going to go
    and kick my dog again....... :-{

    Don't know the current details or players, but my experience indicates 
    that office has been weak for a long time.
    
    Goes back to when I had account responsibility for VW/Perot Systems and
    was trying to insert Digital as a sol'n to VW's mfg.quality problems &
    MRP needs down there (Digital enjoys a strong US relationship with
    VW/Perot).  The deeper I got into it, the more negative customer
    anecdotes about Digital historical experiences (mostly unresponsiveness 
    related) surfaced.  Making it more difficult was the fact that HP & VW 
    were shared tenants in the same bldg, but that's another story.
    
    Anyway, I don't know who the country manager for the issue at hand is,
    but suggest finding that person as a first step toward resolution. 
    
    Bill

    Re: .20 Part of the problem may be that the remote support group which
    supported Mexico (and the rest of LACT) had been funded by GIA. When
    GIA got turned in to AP and Canada and LACT went to the Americas, the
    support money got turned off (to the best of my knowledge). My former
    group (HQ GIA tech support) had to stop supporting them since we no
    longer were responsible for LACT and Canada and I don't believe there
    was a similar type of group in the Americas (except the CSC). 
    
    As to the note about the problem with our Singapore office, I'm not in
    the ABU for AP, but I could get word to someone who is. If you'd like
    to forward me the details on the problems there, please do.
    
    Debbie
    Network Services - Asia Pacific
    

    Let me make sure I've got this...  The VP of MXO in LACT had
    GIA funding at HQ, until GIA morphed into AP (not your ABU) and went
    MIA, which means MXO is SOL, minus the CSC?
    
    								Tex

ROTFL, I think I may cry, I understood .23 perfectly. Anyway, to
whoever it was that started this. Check with Art Lowenberg. I know
he's been sent down to the former LACR sites fairly recently to 
talk with them. liesl

    To .20, .21 and .22
    
    The Latin America Caribbean Territory (LACT) is alive and well. In
    fact, after overachieving its revenue, profit goals (and spending under
    its targeted expense goal for FY95), we are off to a pretty good start
    in terms of certs and ships in Q1FY96.
              
    Regarding the comments in .21....
    
    >Don't know the current details or players, but my experience
    >indicates that office has been weak for a long time.
    >
    >Goes back to when I had account responsibility for VW/Perot Systems and
    >was trying to insert Digital as a sol'n to VW's mfg.quality
    >problems & MRP needs down there (Digital enjoys a strong US relationship with
    >VW/Perot).  The deeper I got into it, the more negative customer
    >anecdotes about Digital historical experiences (mostly unresponsiveness
    >related) surfaced. 
    
    Your comments may have been accurate a couple of years ago, but they
    no longer apply to LACT. Interestingly, Volkswagon of Mexico just
    ordred and installed several million dollars worth of DEC 7000s,
    AlphaServer 2100s and related equipment.
    
    Like the rest of Digital, LACT downsized significantly during
    1990-1995. During this period and its related transition to more of an
    indirect transition model in the four LACT subsidiary countries
    (Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico), responsiveness and qulaity
    of support to customers no doubt suffered.
    
    However, we have a strong team of country managers today in each of
    these countries. Digital's SBU, PCBU and NPBU business has grown
    significantly durin gthe last two fiscal years.
    
    There are now over 2,300 Alpha systems installed in Latin America.
    Brazil distributes over 70% of its SBU through indirect channels. The
    territory as a whole approaches 60% on this measurement (far ahead of
    other territory's SBU distribution mix).
    
    Today LACT has over 130 channels partners, most of whom are connected
    to us via the Digital Partner Network or the Internet.
    
    Digital has won several awards the past couple of years for its product
    offerings, service and support within the territory. The most recent of
    which was the coveted Infromatica Hoje award in Brazil.
    
    I am certain that we still have weak areas to improve upon, but the
    point that I would like to make is that LACT has improved significantly
    during the last couple of years. We have strong leadership, aggressive
    marketing, an expanding # of channels partners, established
    joint-marketing relationships with Microsoft, SAP, Oracle and other key
    ISVs at the Latin America and Caribbean level, and the results vs.
    budget to indicate that LACT is a profitable, growing area of business
    for Digital.
    
    Thus, I invite you to retire your out-of-date misnotions and "my
    experience indicates..." type of comments with all due respect. Like
    the rest of Digital, LACT has truly accomplished a strong turn-around.
    
    Regards,
    
    
    
    
    Dennis Rose
    Systems Marketing Manager
    Latin America Caribbean Territory
    
    DTN: 655-6497
    (305) 360-6497

    Re: -1
    
    I am very glad to hear your news - without qualification.  It was very
    frustrating to see all of the VW opportunity down there and not be able to
    capitalize on it.  VW was having to open PPC's (post production
    centers) to rework paint & assembly problems (in the US) because of all of
    the quality problems.  We and our partners had the solutions in
    Basestar, Consilium, G2, etc.  The folks in the U.S. VW Hq. knew it, but 
    our past Mexico legacy prevented cooperation with the local VW mgmt team.
    
    And as I said earlier, HP shared the same office bldg. as VW.  
    
    Same thing hurt us with SAP R/3 (since won).  US & (to a lesser extent)
    Canada were for Alpha, but VW Mexico wouldn't hear of it.  What may
    have helped us is the Gedas people from Germany - AND the fact that
    VWoA's new president came from Mexico (& was able to get a less biased
    picture of us.
    
    Thanks for your explanation and you should all feel proud of the
    turnaround.  Just as a piece of advice to help your VW marketshare
    gains, you might want to call Steve Woodward at Perot Systems in Auburn 
    Hills, MI (810)340-5571.  Steve was my lead sales support person for
    VW.  He left Digital earlier this year.  He's sharp.  
    
    Was responsible for our Alpha, Pathworks, Teamlinks, Linkworks, NT, and 
    some other Digital inroads.  He should be able to help define the VW 
    power base down your way and how the US team can help you.  My key VW 
    source of inside info has since retired.
    
    Tell him that I gave you his name and let him know about the dramatic
    improvements that you folks have made.
    
    Congratulations!
    
    Bill Thomas DTN: 264-0018

    
    
    re .25
    
    I'm glad to hear that support is thriving in LACT. 
    Does that mean that phone support will be picked up again by Latin
    American organization? All the changes in the world won't mean much
    if we still have customers and field support folks who don't speak
    English, calling for technical support from people who don't speak 
    anything BUT English. 

    Telphone support is still handled through the CSCs and sometimes
    language remains an issue. We have approximately 6 people here at LACT
    who provide hardware and software support (in English, Spanish,
    Portuguese and Creole) and that certainly helps. 
    
    The quality and quantity of subsidiary country support resources has
    improved in Brazil and Venezuela in partuclar. The distributor
    countries may soon see some limited in-country support put in place to
    help them provide better service to their customers.
    
    Regards,
    
    Dennis