Re: HELP w/ IBM bureaucracy -- MIDRANGE-L

Dan

might be just the thing to make them start "co-operating"...

Cheers
Evan Harris

>Thanks for the suggestions, Denis.
>
>Just exactly how do I determine who to write to?  I'm not sure I'd call my
>M.R. to find out. <g>
>
>Dan Bale
>IT - AS/400
>Handleman Company
>248-362-4400  Ext. 4952
>
>-------------------------- Original Message --------------------------
>2 things you may try:
>- Write a letter to IBM. They are very sensitive to written document. In it,
>  name names and explain it the way you did it with us. Do not address it tou
>  your rep (put her as CC to it). address your note higher at IBM.
>- Do what I do when I cant get a correct answer from a rep. Ask for his/her
>  boss, if that does not work, ask for the boss boss. Insist, the bosses are
>  the one that can override burocraty.
>
>Good luck
>
>Denis Robitaille
>Directeur services techniques
>Cascades Inc
>819 363 5187
>fax 819 363 5177
>
>
> >>> D.BALE@handleman.com 03/28/01 04:17pm >>>
>I've got a situation that's starting to rear it's REALLY ugly head.  This
>situation occurred prior to my arrival here and the principal player in our
>organization with which this situation occurred is long gone.  As you read
>this, please note that I AM NOT JOKING!  Everything I present below is
>"factual" as has been told to me by IBM.
>
>We have two AS/400s (both 9406-510's running V3R7) at two of our branches
>whose serial numbers begin with '44'.  According to IBM, '44' indicates that
>the box was manufactured outside the U.S. and a serial number beginning with
>'10' indicates that the box was manufactured inside the U.S.
>
>The problem is that IBM's records show these two systems as beginning with
>'10' with the correct last 5 digits of the serial number.  This apparently was
>not a problem with all of our previous dealings with IBM since I was told
>that, normally, IBM only refers to the last 5 digits of the serial number,
>ignoring the first 2 digits.
>
>Several weeks ago, with my new responsibilities to manage all of our AS/400's,
>I attempted to use SNDPTFORD to order SF98370 (PSP).  The system dialed up
>IBM, connected, but was returned a message from the IBM connection that "
>Service requester not registered with IBM Service." (CPF8C3B).  After various
>calls to our marketing rep, the branch's C.E., and several other IBM'ers
>patched through on conference calls, over several weeks, this is what I'm
>being told:
>
>Basically, IBM is, for reasons unknown to me or anyone at IBM that I've talked
>to, unable to change their systems to show that the serial numbers on the two
>affected boxes are, in fact, 44* boxes, and not 10*.  What they *are*
>supposedly able to do is to "flip a bit" that stays "on" for a period of time
>(have not been told how long a period of time that is) that will allow me to
>use IBM to order cume PTFs and MF PTFs (we do not have a software contract
>with them, and I am unable to find paperwork that would tell me whether we
>have any with a BP from whom we may have obtained the system from   man, this
>s*cks!).  Also, there is a unexplainable delay for when the "bit" is turned
>on; I was told I'd have to wait SIX weeks for the "bit" to be turned on!!!
>
>Upgrading the OS on these boxes supposedly wouldn't solve the problem either,
>even with the subscription service, since IBM will still see our boxes as 44*
>instead of 10*.  If I were to attempt an upgrade to V4Rwhatever, I would have
>to make absolutely certain that I had a wide enough window for the "bit" to
>remain turned on, or else I'd have to wait another SIX weeks to turn it back
>on.
>
>It gets better.  Last week I politely complained to our marketing rep that
>this was causing undue hardship on our company and wanted someone, anyone, at
>IBM to fix this problem once and for all.  It was then that she told me that
>we wouldn't want to do that because if we do, all future software orders for
>these two boxes would have to be handled from overseas, which she strongly
>suggested that I would not want to do.  Even if it could be done that way, she
>said, doing so would cause us to lose the ability to transfer our licenses
>over to any new AS/400 we would replace the existing AS/400s with (something
>that will probably happen within the next two years).
>
>Again, and in the words of Dave Barry, I am not making any of this up!  This
>whole issue has the potential to explode to the point where my company
>discards the AS/400s with a more generic solution at the branches.  In fact, I
>have already been called upon by my managers, as part of their new due
>diligence responsibility, to make the case for replacing the AS/400s we have
>with new iSeries boxes instead of a more generic server.  I have made what I
>believe is a compelling case with them to stay on the iSeries architecture,
>but IBM certainly isn't making my job any easier.
>
>Has ANYONE had to deal with this type of problem before?
>
>PLEASE, try to keep to the topic with useful dialog!  With that in mind, all
>thoughtful replies are solicited and deeply appreciated!
>
>Dan Bale
>IT - AS/400
>Handleman Company
>248-362-4400  Ext. 4952
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