( ESNUG 198 Item 1 ) ---------------------------------------------- [10/11/94]
Subject: (ESNUG 196 #6) "Hotline Refuses To Help Via E-mail"
> The Synopsys hotline folks fail to respect requests to communicate via
> e-mail.... Not only are they ignoring my request to use e-mail, but they
> are failing to leave a voice message which indicates exactly what questions
> they need answered!... I specifically ask them for NO PHONE CALLS, I want
> to communicate via email; yet they repeatedly ignore this request.
From: klein@ATB.teradyne.com (Larry Klein)
Actually I had a problem that I submitted by e-mail and was answered
solely by e-mail. Then, they followed up a few days later with a verbal
questioner asking whether I was satisfied with their support on that issue.
- Larry Klein
Teradyne
---- ---- ---- ----
From: greg@cqt.com (Greg Bell)
I too prefer E-mail communication with the group and most of the time
they respond using E-mail. I agree with you on the general uselessness
of voice mail responses, but in my experience they're pretty rare.
> When I actually do call back, I'm usually forced to wait because
> the individual is not at their desk, OR they're helping someone else.
Do you think there's a 1:1 ratio between user's and techs?! I've
found the response time to be a LOT shorter than most of the other tech
support departments I've dealt with.
- Greg Bell
CommQuest Technologies, Inc.
---- ---- ---- ----
From: frazer@idtinc.COM (Andrew Frazer)
I have expereinced that same thing from Synopsys a few times over the past
two months. I also share the user's frustration. I don't know why they do
this phone only contact? Do the Synopsys people think a telephone is more
convenient than e-mail? That's very unusual.
- Andy Frazer
Integrated Device Technology
---- ---- ---- ----
From: black@mpd.tandem.com (David C. Black)
I second this user's frustration. Synopsys is not the only company to have
employees with this phone instead of e-mail attitude. (In their defense,
there are folks within Synopsys sympathetic to this user's situation.) I do
not believe it is a corporate policy, but a lack of policy.
The problem in my case is that I am rarely if ever available via phone at
work. My job role causes me to be constantly on the move within my
organization. Additionally, the lack of adequate resources makes it more
difficult to deal with phone messages than e-mail.
Successful communication requires e-mail for some individuals. Whereas, I
recognize the importance of a human touch to problems (frequently the
reasoning used by companies), it is not always realistic. In fact it is
becoming more and more the norm to use e-mail as the primary vehicle for
communication.
I would like to suggest that Synopsys issue a corporate directive to
respect individual customer's requests in this area. Perhaps this
directive should also be shared with customers so that we know the
mechanisms (e.g. Does the customer need to specify 'E-mail REPLIES ONLY'
in every communication). This is a P.R. area that companies cannot afford
to ignore. Remember, "the customer is always right even when the customer
is wrong." At least in an area such as this one.
- David C. Black
Tandem Computers, Inc.
|
|
