On our last tour, we traveled to stunning Italy. Today’s adventure takes us to a special place, but not one you can visit by plane or train. Today we journey into the heart and mind of one person with two gifts—the important perspective of an EMC customer, as well as the great wisdom and care of an EMC Customer Service team member. Jeff Schutzer is a passionate member of our Customer Service team, specifically supporting Mainframe products. Before joining EMC, Jeff was actually the person interacting with our service teams as the Storage Administrator through his work for several large EMC customers in the financial services industry. I had the opportunity to speak with Jeff and learn more about his transition from customer to customer service.
Q: What was your perception of EMC as a customer?
Jeff: My overall experience with EMC as a customer was great. In my job, I worked with other vendors, and I found EMC products to be the most feature rich and the Customer Service teams to be responsive and accountable. I really enjoyed visiting the EMC-hosted events in New York that brought together customers from diverse industries to learn more about the latest Mainframe features and functionality. EMC products were easy to use—as an example, I thought EMC’s Mainframe software, Mainframe Enablers, made the manipulation of the storage devices and the storage replication environment easier when compared to IBM or Hitachi (HDS).
Q: Were you ever frustrated by EMC as a customer?
Jeff: Of course there are always opportunities for a company like EMC to improve. However, even when I was frustrated, I always knew that the EMC service team would come through in the end. I found them to be clear in identifying the problem, explaining what actions they were going to take to resolve it, fixing the issue quickly, and working with me to prevent a re-occurrence. Sometimes things happen, but it is that trust that the vendor will take care of you that really makes the difference and gave my team peace of mind.
Q: Why did you decide to make the transition from customer to a member of EMC’s team?
Jeff: I already had great respect for EMC’s products and people. By joining EMC, I saw a unique opportunity to add to EMC’s service reputation and experience. My EMC teammates look to me to provide deeper insight into what customers are thinking and feeling. We are able to have open and frank discussions about what we are doing well and how we can continue to be better. I am really proud to serve EMC customers around the world.
Q: What are your top proactive tips for Mainframe customers?
Jeff: I have four tips that I believe will help our customers:
Tip #1: Keep an up to date diagram describing your Symmetrix environment. This should include the box locations, serial numbers, device ranges, RA groups, etc. If a problem does arise, this diagram can help the service representative quickly understand your environment.
Tip #2: Use the EMC Support site “Support by Product” feature to search for the symptoms that you are experiencing. Hopefully you will be able to find the answer to your problem online. If not, at least this may give you a better idea of the issue, which you can share with your service representative.
Tip #3: Keep your software and microcode up to date. Why go through an issue when it has already been resolved with these new versions?
Tip #4: Use the Mainframe Grab Tool “EMCMGRAB” to collect data if you encounter an issue. Leveraging this tool can help both you and the EMC service team more quickly diagnose and resolve the cause of the issue. This tool is included with your Mainframe product — it is distributed in the Sample Library “SAMPLIB” along with a sample parm file “GRABPARM” and JCL “GRABJCL” to run the tool. A text version of the manual (GRABDOC) can also be found in the Sample Library. You can always contact the service team if you want an upgraded version of the tool. You can view this “Ask the Expert” session to learn more about the tool and how it works.
Thank you Jeff for your candid insights and valuable tips! We hope your enjoyed today’s tour and we encourage you to leave a comment on your experience with EMC Customer Service and our Mainframe products.
Bon Voyage!
