I'm the editor in charge of Network World's Opinions pages, where
we run letters to the editor. Daniel Briere forwarded me your comments
on his recent column. Would it be OK if we ran this as a letter to the editor,
either in print or online?
If so, I would need to include your last name, if you could provide that. We
do not publish email addresses.
Appreciate it if you could get back to me on this as soon as possible.
Thanks.
Best regards,
Susan
Network World
~~~
Sent: Wednesday, October 22nd 2003
Subject: It's all about "SERVICE VALUE".
Hi Daniel (Mr. Brière),
I enjoyed reading your October 13th 2003 NetworkWorld article,
"Hey telco, where's my support?" especially as I worked for a Bell
Canada company that was struggling to be less bureaucratic and
more entrepreneurial.
What struck me there was what I perceived to be a blue-collar lineman
culture driven by engineers that ran the show and who thought NOT in
terms of revenue streams, but product, and NOT even in terms of
bundling products which they are currently doing.
Today, I don't think it's about product nor the bundling of products,
but "SERVICE VALUE" of which product, maintenance, and support
constitute only a subset of the WHOLE DEAL and which is the term
used by Mr. Mark Gibb in his October 13th 2003 NetworkWorld article,
"What a surprise! Novell rethinks itself" in the sentence, "... adopting
Linux lets Novell focus on the bigger and more profitable goal of
delivering service value ...".
I feel the term, "service value" (so adroitly used by Mr. Gibb), is A MUCH
MORE SUBSTANTIVE TERM then the one constantly bandied about by
university Commerce/MBA graduates, "value proposition", which suggests
- at least to me - something that is valued for its potential for market
success, but still only at an embryonic stage.
You made the excellent point that you had to call to get the information
you needed rather than just visit the company's website which is more
convenient, (In fact, you did both at the same time.), but, as you so aply
demonstrated,
visiting the SBC website proved to be a fruitless exercise, and thereby
suggested - in my view - that your relationship with SBC was debased
(especially today, when we have come to expect more in the way of
service by those who CAN deliver more).
Today, we live in a service-oriented world: it's all about service.
How CAN I help you?
And good service builds good relationships and good relationships
are profitable for business.
Hopefully, SBC will understand that the suit it wears is it Web-interface,
and if that is SHABBY, then, there is reason to suspect that it's dropping
the ball. (Hopefully, it's not the bottom of the 9th inning for SBC, a 20%
shareholder in Bell Canada.)
I'd like to thank both you and Mr. Gibbs for your thought-provoking
articles and the weekly NetworkWorld magazine for bringing it all
together.
Best wishes,
Ken
~~~
Ottawa, ON, Canada
~~~
K+ President
Net-POWer!