Service rant
Last week, I wanted some product info on some silicon, I go to the companies website, and there is nowt on there, just a form to fill out to request more info. So I send that off with a sarcastic remark about hating silicon companies who don't publish basic datasheets. Then that gets a "stuck in the queue" response via email from their server! Then today I get a one line response from someone there:
"But isn't [my company] also producing [technology I am interested in] silicon?"
Is this customer service?! And it turns out that the initial response is from the company director of technical marketing! My god how has this man survived 20 years in marketing in Silicon Valley?!
I know I'm having a bad day, but really, did I deserve this?!
Bob
Read on for the full story
--
I understand, sorry for my misunderstanding.
Our [requested product] is only a proto product, certain marketing people wanted to make press with a non-real product. Our next product was called [nnnnnn], also not a real problem -- victims of an unfinalized electrical standard which keeps changing. We are at v1.1a Draft 4 now -- Draft 5 comes out later this week and will be voted to release next week hopefully.
We should have a real, compliant product towards the end of 1Q'08. It will be called the [nnnnnn]. First silicon Feb, but metal change likely to bring into full compliance.
Here is a product brief.
Again sorry for the frustration.
[Director of Technical Marketing]
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Hannent
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 7:23 AM
To: [Director of Technical Marketing]
Subject: RE: Contact Form Submission
Thanks for your quick and considered response.
I cannot express the level of my disappointment in the response from [your company]. I was interested in knowing more about your product because I saw a press release, I looked through the website and although I find a reference to the part I see nothing more. So, in persisting, I have to send a feedback form which initially returns (by email) an error report from your servers and several days later I get your carefully considered response.
For your reference, [my company] is primarily a CE manufacturer with no silicon fabrication facilities, prefering to rely on the volume chipset manufacturers for the core components and then using one of our factories in either Poland, Korea or China for product fabrication.
I will not be requiring any datasheets now, thank you kindly for your attention.
Yours sincearly,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: [Director of Technical Marketing]
Sent: 04 December 2007 15:03
To: Bob
Subject: RE: Contact Form Submission
But isn't [my company name] also producing DPRX silicon?
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 4:31 AM
To: [general drop box]
Subject: Contact Form Submission
Below is the result of your feedback form:
It was submitted by: Bob [snip]
on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 04:31:00
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
title1: Chief Technologist
company: [snip]
infoRequested1: [product ID removed]
comments: My comment is that I hate silicon vendors who hide even the most basic of specifications so I can't decide if I want to use their products.