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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:The Digital way of working
Moderator:QUARK::LIONELON
Created:Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5321
Total number of notes:139771

5198.0. "Who else pays attention to our ads?" by ACISS1::s_coghill.dyo.dec.com::CoghillS (Steve Coghill, NSIS Solution Architect) Fri Mar 21 1997 14:32

Be careful of what you advertise. You might get taken up on it.

This week my boss went to a nearby, DoD facility in Dayton, 
Ohio, which will remain nameless (it's named after the inventors 
of controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight, and the 
electric car starter). He was to give a presentation on Digital 
services. 

He was expecting a small crowd, and he walked into a conference 
room filled with people he wasn't expecting. Ray was one of 
them. (Ray is one of our primary antagonists at this site.) As 
my boss got up to speak, Ray went to a corner of the room, 
turned on the TV and started a video tape. It was a recording of 
a recent March Madness game. A Digital commercial came on that 
ended with "Digital. Whatever it takes."

Ray then asked, "Okay. How is Digital going to do 'Whatever it 
takes.' to meet our needs?"

The question is, "Is Digital ready to do whatever it takes?"
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5198.1PADC::KOLLINGKarenFri Mar 21 1997 14:365
    So, your boss didn't know what that customer's computer systems
    needs/problems are and had no proposed solutions for them prepared
    before he went on site?  What's the phrase I'm looking for...doing
    one's homework...
    
5198.2You missed itACISS1::s_coghill.dyo.dec.com::CoghillSSteve Coghill, NSIS Solution ArchitectFri Mar 21 1997 14:4410
I think you missed the point.

My boss knows the customer well. We have over 15 people onsite at 
this base.

The point is, that before my boss even had a chance to put his 
first slide up, the customer threw our commercial into his face 
with the attitude, "I don't believe Digital means a word of 
this."

5198.3exitTWOTOO::SMITHPWritten but not readFri Mar 21 1997 15:237
    Hi Steve,  
    
    	I like this Ray person already. At least he did not put up
    our Monkey ads on the overhead:-). Probably saving them for his
    next visit!
    
    Phil
5198.4And the rest of the story is...KYOSS1::FEDORLeo Fri Mar 21 1997 16:046
    >>as my boss got up to speak...
    
    	What's the rest of the story?  I'm sure your boss recovered, what
    was the net result of the presentation?
    
    
5198.5You don't get it, do you?PTOJJD::DANZAKPittsburgher �Sat Mar 22 1997 22:5428
    re:.1
    
    Whoever wrote .1 has *NOT* been out in the field of late.  "A large
    DOD facility in Dayton" speaks of WPAFB (Wright Patterson Air Force
    Base) which I go to every once in a while.
    
    You could probably put *ALL* Digital facilities in the US on that site
    and STILL have room to land transports.  It is a bit large and has
    very diverse requirements.
    
    Whoever wrote .1 has also *NOT* done field support in a while. When
    you travel over 1,000 miles/week because there are not enough people to
    cover a multi-state area...just GETTING to the customer is a major
    enough feat.
    
    Wake up, smell the roses.  You've cut marketing to the bone - not that
    we ever did GOOD marketing, taken all the field support away, demand
    that we sell, don't provide engineering support (wait on the 800# for
    hours for a field rep), downsize the field engineering support by 60%
    and then WONDER why when you build stupid chips people don't buy them.
    
    Unless they meet the customers need, are marketed, explained etc., to
    the customer we could be building cowchips.
    
    Aside from that, it's easy to spend that day learning the customer
    needs...
    
    aarugh...they just don't get it.
5198.6CSC32::PITTTue Mar 25 1997 14:5719
    
    We (the employees) at least KNOW that "whatever it takes" is not and
    cannot be true. Whatever it takes implies that we'll BUY whatever
    equipment we need to simulate customer problems, or that we'll do whatever
    it takes to keep the BEST talent working here so we can resolve
    customers problems in a timely manner. It means whatever you need us to
    do to fix your problem, we'll do it. Well, we DON'T do that. We have
    limits. 
    It sounds to me like Ray called our bluff. I think the ad creates an
    unrealistic image of a company with unlimited resources and funds. 
    That's what it takes to do 'whatever it takes'. We don't HAVE
    whatever it takes....we gave most of it away....
    
    Maybe a more truthful statement would be "we'll do the best we can
    with what we have, and we'll do it pretty damn well in spite of
    ourselves"
    I'd like to see Ray refute THAT statement ;-)