IBM support (sic) story

[Robin Wilson]

In article <1991Apr17.195425.8885 at rodan.acs.syr.edu> grboyce at rodan.acs.syr.edu (George Robert Boyce) writes:
>In trying to add a 3rd party scsi disk to my RS6000/530 server (BTW,
>why does IBM support make us call it a 7013?), I ran into two small
>problems.

{stuff deleted}

>So on Monday my SE arrives, we start from scratch and after two or
>three commands we run into the problem, he records the error message
>and agrees we should call software support. Level one support wasn't
>of much help but they did suggest that we reboot the system and see if
>that helped. It *seemed* like a reasonable suggestion so that is what

You mean "Level 2" support.  LEVEL 1 SUPPORT IS ONLY THE "800" NUMBER!!!
THE LEVEL 1 PERSON MERELY TRANSFERS YOU TO LEVEL 2.  LEVEL 1 CAN (AT BEST)
ONLY GIVE YOU STATUS (BY READING THE PROBLEM RECORD TO YOU - THEY CAN'T
EVEN ATTEMPT TO INTERPRET IT FOR YOU).  Whenever you open a new problem,
you will provide the problem description to LEVEL 2.

>hardware support insisting that there was no hardware problem, we get
>the call transfered to level two software support. Once connected, we
>got the magic commands needed to fix the problem. A third problem came
>up; I was using an old set of maintenance disks and the instructions
>didn't work. The level two support person was able to recognize my
>error, and correct it and the whole procedure took 15 minutes. 
>
>15 minutes is a damn good time for any support call and I was very
>happy. But I am still wondering how to cut down on the *six hours* it
>takes to get to the right support person.

Sigh.  This is probably the fault of the original Level 2 person who took
your call.  (BTW, If; in fact, Level 1 advised you to do anything to your
machine, there is a serious problem with the support system... Since level 
1 people don't know anything about the machines -- they support ALL IBM 
SYSTEMS, it would be impossible for them to know anything about most of
them.)  

In this particular case, I would say that you got the exception rather than
the rule.  Try to remember that level 2 is training new people "ALL THE 
TIME".  While that doesn't excuse the fact that this person sent you on
a wild goose chase, it might explain it.  If the level 2 person seems to be
telling you something that doesn't make sense, and they cannot logically 
explain to you why it should make sense, then ask them to speak to a manager.
The manager will make sure that the "best" technical person for your problem
type will assist you.

>On 4/9/91, Pierre Asselin wrote
>
>> General conclusions from earlier exercises:
>> 
>>  o  Software Defect Support is officially limited to its narrow mandate.
>>  o  Technical support is available for the RISC-6000's.
>>     It's called comp.unix.aix.

Its is actually available through the SE, and IBMLINK.  And it is getting 
better every day.  (But if nobody calls them, they won't get any better -
you have to exercise the horse if you want to win the race.)

>>  o  Accurate information on the RISC-6000's is available, but only
>>     on comp.unix.aix.

Clearly, this is not true.  The above case illustrates that.  Getting to
the right people may take a little effort, but it is there.

>>  o  Accurate information on the IBM support structure is available,
>>     but only on comp.unix.aix.

This is also not completely true.  If you ask the Level 2 manager to explain
it to you, they will provide as complete a description as (IBM policies allow
for) possible.

>>  o  To this day, IBM is convinced that it's doing a fine job.
>>  o  Hardware support does work.  Beats me.
>
>I have to argue that level two software support knows their stuff. The
>problem then is that IBM has a level one support system in place (a)
>to protect the valuable and expensive resources of level two by (b)
>answering the easy questions. I would argue that level one one does
>half of their job. They do a hack of a job of protecting the level two
>folks.

Since you really only got Level 2 support for all of your assistance, your
comments are a double edged sword.  Level 2 failed to provide the right
answer the first time, but did provide the right answer the second time.
Try to remember that Level 1 knows nothing about any of the IBM systems, 
and are not intended to answer any questions (at least for AIX support) - 
they are merely data-entry operators for the level 2 people in Austin.

>So that leaves us with comp.unix.aix for level one support, and a good
>but well protected level two support. It could be worse. I think there
>are also other possible solutions to this situation. We could try to
>convince IBM that (a) they have a support problem and (b) that it is a
>serious problem. That seems like it could be a lot of work and we
>haven't even solved the problem yet, just made IBM recognize it.

Seems that IBM is working to solve this perception.  Training takes time.
The machine is not even 1 yr old yet (officially).  The people at level 2
who know the most, have also been there the longest (by-and-large).

>My own oppinion is that IBM should subcontract level one support to
>local and regional support service companies and provide all the
>necessary support to make it work. But then I've just formed such a
>company so my oppinion is biased. Regardless, I am calling my local
>office right now to suggest it...

Dream on ;-).  They do "sub-contract" some of the level 2 and level 3 work,
but level 1 is only the phone answering service, so that will never change.


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