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  • Subject: Re: IBM Spin Doctors on AS/400 Marketing
  • From: Neil Palmer <NPalmer@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 15:28:48 -0400
  • Organization: NxTrend Technology - Canada

Al,

Knowing that the only IBM'ers on this list are the good guys (ie. not
the ones who need to hear the message about marketing) maybe you could
post an e-mail address or two of some of the Ostriches who need to have
this message reinforced, and everyone one the list (especially - but not
exclusively - those who can identify themselves as Customers and not
Business Partners) could try to enlighten them.  Maybe then they'll
start to understand it's not just you and a couple of BP's bitching
(although is there a hidden message there that they don't give a damn if
it's ONLY BP's who are complaining ?).  :-(



Al Barsa, Jr. wrote:

        < snip >

> Well, as it turns out, Rochester is very upset about what I said about
> marketing.  (I did not blind-side them about this fact, they knew
> in advance.)  In fact there is a broad tradition of IBM being unhappy
> about
> what I say at Soundoff. The last time they were unhappy, I was
> complaining
> about V3R1 quality.  (20/20 hindsight being what it is, I probably
> shouldn't have used the word 'sucks'.)
> 
> I spoke about the effectiveness of AS/400 marketing, Bob Tipton spoke
> about
> it, and the audience applauded robustly and lengthy for each of us, as
> they
> did for the others that followed us.  In fact, this is documented in
> IBM's
> internal minutes from Soundoff.
> 
> Personally, I've taken a lot of heat from Rochester.  When I attended
> the
> Rochester Summit (a Business Partner event) two weeks ago, an IBM VP
> attempted to perform rectal surgery on me (a polite way of saying... -
> something better done by the Mayo clinic).
> 
> Now, the IBM spin doctors are saying that it was non-customers who
> were
> complaining, not customers.  Let me say once and for all, the AS/400
> Division has a communications problem.  I hear it every day from my
> customers, and from AS/400 users throughout the world.  IBM would like
> you
> to feel that this is a Business Partner issue, however this is a
> diversionary tactic.  This is the equivalent of putting their heads in
> the
> sand. (You would need a big desert, *SAHARA.)
> 
> The AS/400 is the best computer platform in the world, and the AS/400
> is
> IBM's best kept corporate secret.  (After all, Microsoft uses it!  Not
> to
> mention a wealth of other technology firms like Gateway 2000, Packard
> Bell,
> COMP USA and Nintendo.)  We (AS/400 Divison, IBM BPs and AS/400 users)
> are
> ineffective at communicating this message to the general public.
> 
> If you hear this response from an IBM spin doctor, please set them
> straight.
> 
> Al
> 
> PS:  This message has been blind copied to the appropriate people at
> IBM.
> I purposely decided to not list them to avoid them being bothered.
> I've
> bothered them enough recently.

Right - YOU'VE bothered them enough already, now it's our turn.
Who are they ?

> 
> PPS: An IBM exec asked me to take the word 'bullshit' out of this
> memo, and
> I was happy to oblige.


Maybe we could have a contest to see who can guess where the word
belongs ?
(Maybe Rochester would like to donate a prize ?).   :-)


-- 
... Neil Palmer                                      AS/400~~~~~      
... NxTrend Technology -Canada       ____________          ___  ~     
... Thornhill, Ontario, Canada       |OOOOOOOOOO| ________  o|__||=   
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... url:http://www.NxTrend.com        oo      oo   oo  oo   OOOo=o\   
... mailto:NPalmer@NxTrend.com     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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