Guest Article: Feature
Confessions of a Former Phone Company Sales Engineer
 This story is not for the faint of heart. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.
After graduating from college, James (not his real name) went to work for a large Midwest telecom firm, working in the field with technicians on installations. He was shocked to discover the company's policy was "train the technicians last," and he was asked to install products without knowing what they were, how they worked or how to fix them.
Six years later, James got out of the field and became a sales engineer. As a member of the "geek squad," he provided technical support to sales staff to help them sell the right solutions to the right customers. James learned quickly that sales staff sold products they knew nothing about.
James soon understood that fear drove the company he worked for: fear of not meeting deadlines and fear of losing revenue. Fueled by this fear, the 75-year-old local phone company brought new products to market without thoroughly testing them. The company's testing facility provided an ideal climate that did not exist in the real world. A system that tested fine in the facility failed miserably in Las Vegas during summer, where external temperatures of 115 degrees meant 180 to 200 degrees inside the system box.
The company wasn't above lying to its customers either. A classic example was a product installed in an upscale neighborhood that promised fiber optic connectivity to the customer's house, but only went as far as the curb. After that, it was copper wire into the house, and bandwidth that never lived up to expectations.
Customers became guinea pigs for new products that didn't work or didn't work right. Customers would call and say "it's broken," but no one listened. When poor management decisions led to reduced revenue, employees in the trenches lost their jobs. As James says, "The guy who made the decision should [have been] laid off instead of making other people suffer for his incompetence."
James was working in a fear-based environment. "It was the Dark Side of the Force. The energy was really negative and everyone was pissed off most of the time."
After two years as a sales engineer and eight years with the telecom company, James couldn't take it anymore and he went to work for American Fiber Systems (AFS). He still marvels at the change. "At AFS, it's almost like being on vacation. I'm still working and supporting staff, but the atmosphere is a lot lighter — people are [actually] working together."
A lighter atmosphere and a feeling of collaboration are only a few of the differences between AFS and other telecom providers. James likes the fact that he can talk directly to the people who make decisions, like the Director of Sales or the Vice President. It's a more efficient way to get things done.
AFS is a small company, so department "silos" don't exist. This means when a customer order comes in, it gets processed immediately, instead of going through 20 different departments and taking weeks. When customers call, they talk to real people instead of getting routed through multiple automated voice messages and being put on hold indefinitely.
It's lucky for James that he found AFS. But how can customers find a decent telecom provider and avoid the pitfalls James observed? They can ask their potential telecom provider three questions:
- How well do you meet deadlines? James says that most telecom providers stretch out their deadlines as long as possible to deal with the bureaucracy of multiple departments and processes.
- How was the product tested and how well does it work? Ask the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) good technical questions about the product or services, especially if you're looking at a new product.
- Am I one of the first customers to get this service? If you're buying a new technology that hasn't been fully tested, make sure to ask for a huge discount. You want to pay for technology that works, not just technology that's new.
Once you have your answers, you'll make a much more informed decision. And, as James reminds us — bigger is not necessarily better. Large telecom companies typically suffer from bureaucratic inertia, often do not take responsibility for their actions and may not do adequate testing. That's why it's nice to know that a small telecom company like AFS exists.
American Fiber Systems (AFS) provides metropolitan fiber optical networking infrastructure, dark fiber and transport services to carriers and large enterprises. AFS owns its own network, treats its customers fairly by honoring its quotes and time estimates, and makes sure real people, not recordings, answer customer questions. We believe in treating our customers they way we want to be treated. For more information about AFS, please contact us at 1-866-658-7642 or visit www.AmericanFiberSystems.com. |
