From: lainhart@odel.stg.TRW.COM (Mike Lainhart)
Subject: Re: Does Adoptec refuse to support its SCSI I/F for end users?
Organization:   TRW, One Space Park  MS O1/1061, Redondo Beach,CA 90278  (310) 813-0690
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:21:12 GMT

In article <BxKE0o.DMK@news.cso.uiuc.edu> berger@atropa (Mike Berger) writes:
>lainhart@odel.stg.TRW.COM (Mike Lainhart) writes:
  [ My original complaining deleted -- BUT, see below]
>*----
>I've seen enough reports like this that really make me wonder what's
>going on.  Adaptec has been very good to me since I started using their
>products many years ago (when the ACB-4000 was a current product).
>They have sent me manuals gratis, copies of articles and technical
>explanations.  An engineer even spent a half-hour explaining RLL to
>me (at a technical level) when the first RLL PC controllers were
>released.  My recent experiences have been no different.
>
>I don't understand why some of us get great service and others report
>getting none.  I do expect to have to play a little phone-tag at times,
>and sometimes you have to talk to a couple of people to convince them
>that you REALLY need somebody with more technical knowledge (this is
>true with all companies I deal with).  But ultimately I've gotten
>what I needed.
>--
>	Mike Berger
>	Internet    berger@atropa.stat.uiuc.edu

Maybe what is going on is a disease that affects successful companies.
I have started to see support issues raised more often; both from the
user and supplier side.  Maybe the lower prices for the new higher 
technology has attracted a less informed user base that strains the
support department.  Maybe the user support engineers are engaging in
friendly half-hour chats so that they cannot serve these increasing 
numbers of perplexed users.  Maybe there was a shakeup at Adaptec during
the period that I was trying to get help.

I am certain that some people are getting served by Adaptecs user support
group: they were busy every time I tried to contact them!  I am also
certain that the people at Adaptec are capable, probably very caring,
people: when I did ultimately get to talk to a real person, they were
very instructive in pointing me to the BBS for the current version of
the drivers, pointing the finger at my two year old EISA motherboard,
etc.  My complaints are:
 
  1) It is unforgivable to leave me on hold for 10-15 minutes before
     being told that someone will have to get back to me.  During the
     period that I was trying to get this board working I spent about
     $50 in phone bills for the time I was on hold.  During none of 
     those times was I connected to a support person.  I was always
     promised a call back.
  2) I NEVER got a call back!  Admittedly, I was not in a very patient
     mode.  The longest I waited was three days.  Toward the end, I 
     would not wait more than four hours.  This is also unforgivable
     as far as I am concerned.  I hate when people cut in line, and
     if I don't get called back I assume that that means that they
     either have such a lousey product that they have a three day
     backlog of calls or they are handling the most immediate calls
     and ignoring the people who are no longer "waiting".
     The only way I got to speak to anybody was to ask to speak to a
     manager when the receptionist answered.
  3) When I finally convinced Adaptec that I probably had a bad board
     they required that I send them a copy of my receipt before they
     would authorize me to return the board AND they would not send
     me a new board as soon as they received mine.  They needed some
     time to check out my board or something like that.  I have had
     problems with other products where it was possible for the user
     support person was authorized to give me a return authorization
     and ship out a replacement (with my VISA number as security) so
     that the turn around time was a few days.  Adaptec couldn't give
     me anything in less than two weeks!
     The final straw with Adaptec was when I sent them my receipt,
     waited a week during which I called twice to check on the status
     of my return authorization, and THEN was told that they lost my
     receipt and would need me to FAX another copy.

My wife and I have learned that it never helps to complain to one
another unless we ask for what we want in behavioral terms.  So:
  
  1) Incoming calls should be answered immediately (within 1 minute).
     The person(s) answering the phone should know how long the queue
     is for user support and should be able to say how long the wait
     will be and give the caller the option of waiting.  It may be
     necessary for support people to temporarily act as receptionists
     if there is a burst of incoming calls.  If this happens to often
     the company needs to hire more receptionists or put out a new
     product.
  2) Every caller should be placed on the queue in the order in 
     which the call was received.  The callers should be processed
     in that order.  ONLY IN THAT ORDER!
  3) Make it easy to replace a "defective" product.  Adaptec has lost
     at least 10 sales just among my freinds because of the way that
     they mishandled me.  This was definitely false economy on their
     part.  If the replacement also fails, it pretty well places the
     ball back in the users court and the company would still have a
     freind.  The mailing costs are a cheap way to do user support.

You know, ultimately I got what I wanted too.  Its made by BusLogic!