Re: HELP w/ IBM bureaucracy

[Lou Forlini <lforlini@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 12:50 PM -0500 3/29/01, D.BALE@handleman.com wrote:
>Couldn't I just save the trouble and send a letter off to Lou?
>
>Or would I be better off sending it to the current
>AS/400-iSeries-eServer-midrange manager?

    Send the letter to the top.  I did it once and got a personal 
visit from an IBM VP (OK, so there's probably a couple hundred of 
them).  Their job is to listen to your whole story (be ready to tell 
it again in detail, even if it's all in your letter), ask you what 
you would like them to do to fix it, and then get the appropriate 
people in IBM to make it happen.  In this case it will probably be 
your branch.  Very important: don't forget to include the part where 
you say you are *trying* to keep on being an IBM customer.  Throwing 
in some stuff about how long you have been a loyal customer is also 
good.  They have to think you're salvageable to do anything.

    You do need to understand that when you use the big gun, your 
local branch will forever fear and loathe you.  Not necessarily a bad 
thing...

    Good luck,

    - Lou Forlini
      Software Engineer
      System Support Products, Inc.
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