Conference 7.286::digital

    Rumor has it that there is standing room only in the ALPHA booth. They
    have a ALPHA based machine running against an HP and SUN system with
    the ALPHA machine , of course, beating the pants off the other systems. 
    Also heard the HP system went down today. Benchmarking is better than
    benchsitting.

    A Marketing type told me that in one booth we had 3 G(iga-)IPS or
    B(illion-)IPS of Computes in one area alone. I also heard a figure
    describing Terabytes of Memory in total on the systems there...
    
    q
    

    That's nice.
    
    Have we sold anything yet?
    
    "jackin' the house", Bob

    re .1
    
    This message is being sent to you from the Alpha Showcase at DECworld
    '92 from the Alpha Mixed Architecture VMScluster.
    
    It has been wall-to-wall people here from the time the doors open until
    after the time they close

    I heard that the America's Cup software competition was popular. :-)
    Pjil

    re -.2
    
    Congrats to whoever brought in the competition's machines!
    Nice rebuttle to the HP slight of hand.
    
    Thanks for your efforts on *all* our behalfs,
    Dean F.

    And a mixed VAX/ALPHA cluster.....ZOWEEE!
    
    

    re .-1
    
    But of course...  It's VMS!

    The following reply has been contributed by a member of our community
    who wishes to remain anonymous.  If you wish to contact the author by
    mail, please send your message to QUARK::MODERATOR, specifying the
    conference name and note number. Your message will be forwarded with
    your name attached  unless you request otherwise.

				Steve






    Some DECworld observations: it seems to be well-attended by the
    right level of people.  Some, of course, appear to be merely "tire-
    kickers", and many are simply "glazed" at the "extravagance" of
    the whole event, which appears that it may get in the way of them
    fully seeing/examining what they came for.  Many expressed surprise
    that Digital was active in so many diverse areas.

    Monday's attendees were a surprise for me; the ratio of Digital
    employees to non-Digital seemed to be about 10 to 1.  I suppose
    this could be explained by "sales reps scoping out the place before
    their customers arrive later in the week", but for some reason, it
    surprised me.  If this is truly the reason, perhaps the "Employee
    Day" could be on the *Monday* instead of the preceding Friday,
    since many sales folks fly in for the event, and are either unable
    or unwilling to spend the weekend in Boston, waiting for the official
    Monday opening day.  If "scoping out the place" is truly an activity
    that needs to take place, then we should accomodate it and plan
    for it.

    One major irritation (mentioned by customers and employees alike)
    is that Digital is getting shafted big time by Rogal America, who
    is doing the hotel booking stuff for Digital.  Customers and
    attendees who book thru Rogal (which is supposedly *required* if
    we expect our expense vouchers to be signed) are paying full list
    price for hotel rooms.

    When I checked into my hotel (a nice one), the rate was $199/night.
    I've stayed in this hotel before recently, and am fully aware that
    if the reservations are booked and paid for 2 weeks in advance, the
    rate then becomes $149/night.  Other people have taken the "daring"
    approach, ignoring the dictate to book thru Rogal and doing it them-
    selves, and receiving rates that are less than *HALF* of what the
    rate would have been thru Rogal.

    One of the kickers was when I was at the hotel registration desk,
    another person (non-DECworld-related) was also checking in.  This
    person was paying $149/night (at the same hotel where I was being
    charged $199) because made & paid for it 2 weeks in advance.  I
    was trying to modify my reservation, make some minor changes to the
    dates I was staying.  The hotel "couldn't" do it.  Huh??  You're the
    hotel, right?  Yes, it was made clear to us at the hotel that any
    and all changes need to be done via Rogal *BECAUSE THEY RECEIVE A
    COMMISSION ON IT*!!

    Sorry, I thought we were a computer company that could do some-
    thing like ourselves, especially in these economic times when the
    financial savings of doing it ourselves would provide significant
    savings.  Indeed, the ROI, even after paying "internal cross charges"
    to have the software written by some group, would pay for itself in
    about 2 days.

    Anyway, not to burst the whole DECworld balloon via this one
    particularly negative aspect, I can say that all-in-all, things seem
    to be going very well.  Let's hope it continues for 2 more weeks
    without any major hiccups.

	re .-1
	I had no problems changing/modifing my ROGAL made reservation
	at the hotel I am staying at.   My biggest compliant is my
	hotel supplied complematary newspaper is not showing up at
	my room in the morning.  

	I will be here for the whole event which included pre-show
	setup
	/robin wheeler

	RE: .9 I'd hate to see employee day be the Monday. Employee Day is
	more then just Employee Day. It is also Dress Rehearsal. Some booths
	then need the week end to fix the things that only a full dress
	rehearsal show up. 

			Alfred

RE:          <<< Note 1874.8 by WHYNOW::NEWMAN "I am NOT a bottlecap!" >>>
    
>    But of course...  It's VMS!

Don't you mean "Open VMS"?

Yes.  And as of July, OpenVMS.

    > Yes.  And as of July, OpenVMS.
    
    I guess we're kissing VMS goodbye.  Too bad; it was a nice operating
    system, and made lots of money in its day.  But I can't imagine anybody
    new buying something with such a funny hat on.
    
    "Attention Parents.  As of now, I am no longer Calvin.  My name is
    	Calvin The Magnificent!"
    		(from memory) - Bill Watterson

    Not all systems are running Open VMS :-)
    
    One is running VMS V5.4-3, another is running VMS V5.5 and a third is
    running Open VMS Alpha.

    During the first week HP had a large truck with special ads parked out
    front of DECworld.  What a sleezy move.  The State police give them
    a ticket and told them to keep the truck out.
    
    I also saw a big white limo with and HP logo on the side, it was riding 
    around.  Strange...
    
    

    We can't really get too indignant, we have similar at HP trade shows...
    
    q
    

Not so strange.  HP ran a full page advert in Digital Review saying they'd
give free limo rides from DECworld to the local HP place to show people
"real" computing at work (or something like that).

--Scott

    I also heard that HP had a big billboard outside the Trade Center on
    opening day.  It read, "The World's Fastest RISC Machine Is Not In This
    Building."  (Or words to that effect)
    
    Pretty aggresive.
    

' The world's fastest RISC machine is not found at DECWorld, but at RISCWorld. 
For free transportation from DECWorld to our International Workstation demo
center call 1-800-xxx-xxxx'.

They tried parking in front, police told them to move out, so they spent the
day driving back and forth in front of the Trade Center (this was last Monday,
I haven't seen them since)

			/ed/

    Several back re hotel rates:  All DECWORLD Staff were advised of the
    deadline/cutoff for making hotel reservations.   There were good
    reasons for the deadline-- including the rates.  There are also very
    good, sound, business reasons for using Rogal.  Digital is not getting
    raked by any stretch of the imagination.  
                           
    BTW:  The show is going very well.  All areas of DECWORLD are well
    attended.  Feedback is positive, from Digital execs and customers
    alike.  
                                         
    Regards,
    
    Marcia Landingham
    DECWORLD Program Office

    re.          <<< Note 1874.21 by MYGUY::LANDINGHAM "Mrs. Kip" >>>
                      -< The Facts on Hotel Reservations >-

>    Several back re hotel rates:  All DECWORLD Staff were advised of the
>    deadline/cutoff for making hotel reservations.   There were good
>    reasons for the deadline-- including the rates.  There are also very
>    good, sound, business reasons for using Rogal.  Digital is not getting
>    raked by any stretch of the imagination.  
    
    Actually the only comment in this note and its replies concerning hotel
    accomodation, was someone from LKG complaining that they weren't
    getting their morning paper at their hotel. Why were are putting people
    in hotels within reasonable commuting distance of their own homes I
    don't know...
    
    There was dicussion elsewhere, however, about Rogal. How their
    negotiated rates were higher than available from just asking for a
    cheap rate at the front desk.
    
    q
    

Ok, explain this: VTX Travel says the Digital-negotiated rate at the Logan 
Hilton is $99/night. I paid $120/night through Rogal. I inquired about this 
when making reservations with Rogal and at check in at the Hilton and after a
fair amount of "uhhhh, errrr, duhhh" I was told the $99 was a "restricted rate"
and that the $120 rate was the best I could get. SO, when I stay at the Logan
Hilton for a few nights sometime when DECworld isn't happening, I get a lower
rate... and when the hotel knows its going to have a sh*tload of guests
practically guaranteed, they hit them with a higher rate? Sounds like a load
of crap to me. 

Jim

    It turns out that the Digital rate (the cheaper one) is only for a few
    rooms, and not for large events. The only way that the hotels will hold
    large blocks of rooms for us is if a higher rate is
    negotiated...because of the risk of holding them. Rate negotiations
    took place a long time ago, and Digital was closely involved. It's like
    the airlines, there are lots of rates. This time of year, with so many 
    college graduations, etc. it is very difficult to get 55,000 room
    nights (that's no exaggeration) held for our event. And so we agree to
    the rates (which are higher than their posted rates, more than their
    discounted specials.) In turn, the hotels hold the rooms, and we now
    need to fill them. In '90 many people went out on their own and booked
    rooms, trying to save the Company money...and the rooms that were held
    were left empty, so we paid twice! So sometimes you just have to trust
    the system. What may seem obvious, isn't always the whole story.
    
    Anyway, DECWORLD is going well...over 8200 customers came through last
    week, and I'm hearing lots of success stories of business that has been
    closed. The staff has been great and upbeat, which is really contagious
    with customers. 
    
    Deb

Re: .24

What risk of holding them?  You said yourself that we paid twice (i.e. we 
incurred the cost of the empty room) in '90.  It seem to me that the hotel 
can only profit at our expense.  Are we sure that an empty room will not be 
used by the hotel for a late night check-in?  I cannot claim any knowledge 
of booking large blocks of hotel rooms, but it appears to me that we should
of negotiated a special rate in our favor, not the hotel's.

    This is contrary to the way business usually works. Normally, if
    you reserve or buy a large block of ANYTHING you get a better
    rate, not a higher rate.  If Rogal's commission is based on a
    percentage of what Digital pays, where is the incentive for them
    to negotiate a better rate?
    
    But then, nothing surprises me here any more...
    
    Rick

Re .20

>' The world's fastest RISC machine is not found at DECWorld, but at RISCWorld. 
>For free transportation from DECWorld to our International Workstation demo
>center call 1-800-xxx-xxxx'.

And I heard a rumor that if you were to peek inside the HP box, you'd find a
prototype quantity chip whose name happens to be the first letter in the
greek alphabet.   ;-)

--Scott

    re hotels, I don't believe one word of the "this is the best we could
    do" crap.  And re a few back, I just stayed at the Logan Hilton (a pit,
    btw) this week 1 night; the "Rogal rate" was $130, not the $120 that
    you stated you paid?  Calling several hotels in the downtown Boston
    area (including the "prime" hotels such as the Long Wharf, the Park
    Plaza, etc), NOT mentioning DECworld, Digital or Rogal, I was quoted
    rates (and availability!!) that were at least $10 and as much as $40
    per night LESS than the "Rogal negotiated rate".
    
    Also, my night this week at the Logan Hilton was made thru Rogal,
    changing from the hotel Rogal had me booked at, based on a request from
    my manager to find something "more reasonable".  Rogal changed me to
    the Hilton, but neglected to cancel me out of the other hotel.  Now the
    other hotel is trying to charge me as a no-show, since the reservation
    was never cancelled.  Rogal has been unresponsive in trying to fix this
    problem.  Is Digital (ie, me) really liable here, since it was
    guaranteed with MY credit card?
    
    As was mentioned (.9?), we are a computer company, can't we handle
    something like this on our own?  Based on what I've seen first-hand,
    you're going to have to present some pretty hard facts to make me
    believe that using Rogal to handle DECworld housing was the most
    beneficial decision, either from a business aspect or from a financial
    aspect.  It appears to me that the "Rogal negotiated rates" were
    negotiated with the goal of being able to obtain the highest possible
    commissions -- at Digital's ultimate expense.
    
    Sorry, I don't buy it.
    Jon

re:   <<< Note 1874.22 by CREATV::QUODLING "Ken, Me, and a cast of extras..." >>>

>>    Actually the only comment in this note and its replies concerning hotel
>>    accomodation, was someone from LKG complaining that they weren't
>>    getting their morning paper at their hotel. Why were are putting people
>>    in hotels within reasonable commuting distance of their own homes I
>>    don't know...
    
	There are alot of aspects to the show that must be handled after
	normal show hours and on weekends.  People are on call 7 x 24 to
	ensure the network is up, systems are up, etc.  People are also
	working second and third shifts to ensure we have no surprises
	when the floor opens to Staff at 7am.

    Won the boat race too but they would not give me the big picture
    because I was an employee.  Fred.

    What's the boat race?  Do you have to row around the wharf?

    
    The boat race is kind of neat.  There's one of the prototype America3
    set up on the second level by the entrance.  There a four or so
    DECstations running some boat design software.  So, when each of the
    four designer/racers has completed his/her design, it's shipped over
    to a PC running something called Matador (I think).  This is the race
    part.  On a big monitor you watch your boat compete against the others
    and a computer generated America.  If you win you get your picture
    taken on the America3.  Kind of gimmicky, but fun.  
    
    A guy in my group won.  When he told them he was a Deccie, he sort of
    got the bum's rush...told him they would mail him his picture.

    The race software was developed by simplifying the actual software used
    in the design of the America3 syndicate boats, to the point that a
    non-proficiant computer user could design a boat in about five minutes,
    and race it in the computer.  Gimmicky yes, but then the booth was meant 
    for fun. If the workers at the booth were doing their job, and I was one
    of them, they should have been stressing the importance the application
    of leading edge technology has in launching a successful America's Cup
    campaign.  The resulting boat design as an aside has been called "a
    rocket" by Dennis Conner, the previous cup winner who was racing
    against America3 for the right to defend the cup this year.  He lost
    that right seven races to four in the best of thirteen finals.
    
    The unfortunate, and unforseen problem we encountered in the first few
    days of the show was that Digital employees, not customers, were
    monopolising the demo.  Customers, who apparently didn't have time to
    waste, would see the line of Digital employees at the machines, and
    just walk away.  The creation of the prize, which required taking the
    winners photo, scanning it into a computer, lengthy manipulation of the
    image, and finally printing, took about twenty to thirty minutes each. 
    The operator quickly got bogged down.  On Wednesday or Thursday of the
    first week it was decided that the best way to address both problems,
    was to allow Digital employees to race boats, but disqualify them from
    the picture taking.
    
    Quite frankly, although I wasn't involved in the decision, I agree
    fully with it.   We had Digital employees, booth workers or salesmen,
    spending hours at the demo, repeatedly attempting to win, in order to
    get the prize.  Who was taking care of their duties at DECWorld?  I
    don't know. :')
    
    Happy Sails...
    
    Al

    Well I took my customers there and taught them how to win.  There
    is a logic to it after you watch the wind patterns in a race or two.
    I am an instructor pilot but not a sailor.  -  Fred

    
    I spend less than 2-3 hours tour the floor. From exhibition point of
    view, it's indeed very impressive effort for such coporation events.
    
    Alpha Showcase definitely worthwhile to see it. It beat HP, Sun
    in handsome /performance/speed.
    
    eXcursion is very positively show how we can create value added
    solution for best of both world.
    
    There's more on Token Ring, Relay Frame demo stuff. 
    OSF/1 and Open/VMS is the buzz word for almost every both now. I wish
    this time we get more homogeneous message for customer.
    
    I had to agree one point mentioned in earlier reply that more DEC
    employee than customer on the floor, at least when I spend time there.
    You can easily get idea by viewing their badge.
    
    Michael...
    
    

    I spoke with a couple of salesmen who had won a certificate to
    have their picture taken during the first couple of days, and had given
    them to their customers.  The customers were thrilled about it.  I also
    passed out finished photos to several customers, and it was great to
    see their reactions to it.  
    
    It was a big hit with the customers, and that's the name of the
    DECWorld game.  Some sales people used it to their advantage with their
    customers, and I was impressed at how they put the customer first above
    their own wants.  Others did not.  Sorry if my previous entry was
    offensive to anyone.  There certainly are many many Digital employees
    who take their responsibilities at DECWorld very seriously.  I hope it
    shows up soon in our balance sheet.  ;')
    
    Happy Sails...
    
    Al

    RE: More DEC employees then customers at the show. I suspect that
    DEC employees at DECWORLD fall into two categories. One group working
    the booths and a second group being account management people coming
    with the customers.

    As someone who spent time in the field I think it is very important 
    that the account team know what the customer sees and hears. Also
    these kinds of demos can be very helpful in closing sales if there
    is a "closer" there. I don't believe engineers and most other people
    working booths are the right people to close business. So the sales
    types have to be there.

    And of course you have to have technical people and prepared speakers
    to do the demos and answer questions on the spot. And you want to make
    sure that someone doesn't have to wait 20 minutes to ask a question 
    between demos.

    That accounts of much of the large number of DEC employees there. As
    for the rest, if there really are "extra" people there, I suspect that
    most of them are taking advantage of a chance to educate themselves on
    products that they would not otherwise get to see. not all customers
    get to come to DECWORLD. It is helpful for people who will be talking 
    to those customers to actually know what they are  talking about. Being
    able to say "we were showing these at DECWORLD and so they ..." is a
    lot better the saying "I read about these in ...".

    All too often a field persons first experience with a product, hardware
    or software, is when they see it a a customer site. That's not good as
    it puts them off balance at the start.

    Also DECWORLD is a unique opportunity for field people (and engineers)
    to learn about and see third party software and solutions. A great
    learning experience for those with open minds and a chance to look
    around.

    			Alfred

    True, there is a rather large contingent of employees at DECworld, but
    because the CSOs and the customers have badges that look essentially
    the same as we staffers, it's difficult to tell at first glance who's
    who. I think saying there are a lot of employees overshadows the
    numbers of customers attending DECworld '92, which according to my
    sources, are exceeding the numbers who attended in 1990.
    
    Mike

	I haven't been to DECworld since 1987.  I also haven't
    spoken to a "customer" since DECworld '87.  As a Senior
    Software Engineer with 8 years at DEC, I know of relatively
    few reliable means of collecting customer requirements short
    of talking to the actual customers myself.

    	It is for these reasons that I sincerely hope I will
    be able to go to DECworld this year.  Unfortunately, due
    to delivery dates based on management commitments made long
    ago beyond my control, I won't know if I'll be able to go
    until late next week.  Hopefully the show won't be over by
    the time I get there.

    				-davo

RE: .39 (davo)

DECworld is not your only way to poll the customer environment.  You should
align yourself with key Sales Support resources who have customers using the
type of products that you design.

You will gain insight into how the products solve real world customer problems,
(and where they don't), and the Sales Support person will be overjoyed at having 
access to such a knowledgeable resource.

In the end, Digital wins more business, increases customer satisfaction, and
is positioned to build more competitve follow-on products.

The best product in the world is not necessarily the one that's engineered best...
Its the one the customer believes they can't win without!

My $.02

Bob

P.S.  I think that the intention of the Partners programs are to facilitate the
      above.   If Engineering management is not promoting this behavior, then 
      I would elevate the issue through the ODP.

    From yesterday's Boston Herald -
    
    "Ex-state tourism chief Richard Rust is back in Boston handling
    logistics for the massive DECWorld conference.
    
    "Rust, you may remember, was convicted of federal charges of
    defrauding the commonwealth while in office and was sentenced to two
    months of 'home detention' in January.  (Sounds like what you give a
    naughty teen-ager.)
    
    "Now that he's been sprung, he's picked up work from Boston conference
    planning czar Andrew Rogal whose company is involved in the massive
    effort (hotel reservations, transportation, etc.) for the computer
    company's annual conference.
    
    "Rust, former head of the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism,
    seems to have shaken off his legal woes and is out and about on the
    social scene, too.
    
    "The hospitality honcho was spotted at a nightclub opening with Rogal
    last week and again yesterday, dining at the Bostonian Hotel.
    
    "File under: Free At Last."

 DECWORLD '92 HOTEL RATES
 
 A number of questions regarding DECWORLD '92 hotel rates have been asked by 
 Digital staff and employees planning to attend the event.  These are 
 legitimate and reasonable questions from individuals concerned about 
 company expenditures.  Listed below are the three major issues and 
 explanations which will give all interested parties an understanding of how 
 the hotel rate structure was negotiated and how it controls Digital's 
 costs.
 
 1.  DECWORLD'92 rates are higher than VTX Preferred Individual Transient 
     Business Rates.

     The VTX preferred rates are specifically negotiated as individual 
     transient business rates. Hotels take positions on individual transient 
     rates based on average expected sales, with the expectation that the 
     number of rooms to be occupied at the reduced rate will be limited.  
     Hotels cannot and will not commit so many rooms to a drastically 
     discounted rate as to make it impossible for them to meet average daily 
     rate goals.
 
     In order to hold a large number of rooms for a lengthy period of time 
     without any financial commitment on the part of Digital, it was 
     necessary to negotiate special DECWORLD '92 discounted rates.  These 
     rates are market oriented based on demand for the hotel, time of year 
     and other business already booked by groups competing for the same room 
     inventory.
 
     In the specific case of the Guest Quarters, Digital has a tiered rate 
     which includes two rooms at $75.00 and 35 rooms at the $99.00 per night 
     VTX rate.  Other hotel contracts provide us with complimentary
     room nights and half price rooms designed to reduce Digital's costs.  
     At DECWORLD '90 we had no complimentary rooms or other reduced rates.
 
 2.  DECWORLD '92 rates as compared to DECWORLD '90 rates.
 
     A number of questions have arisen as to why virtually every hotel is 
     more expensive in 1992 than 1990.  The major reason is that hotel rates 
     in Boston are seasonally driven, with the spring - April, May, June - 
     and the autumn - September, October, November - as high season.  Hotels 
     are able to command a premium during these months of the year over 
     other times of the year.  While Boston hotels are happy to have an 
     excellent piece of business - and make no mistake that DECWORLD '92 is 
     important to them - they will not provide massive inventory for any 
     organization unwilling to pay the rate.  This is simply because there 
     are other customers standing in line for the same resources.  For this 
     reason we will always obtain less expensive prices in the summer 
     (DECWORLD '90) as compared to the spring or autumn.
 
     Naturally, those hotels with the greatest demand, such as the 
     Marriott Longwharf, will seek to charge the highest rate.  However,
     the DECWORLD '92 rate is still below the average daily rate of other
     group business booked at the hotel both before, during and after
     DECWORLD '92.  In fact, the Marriott Longwharf has resisted taking 
     as many DECWORLD '92 attendees as in 1990 due to enormous demand for
     their hotel.
 
     Other hotels have been far more cooperative and the increase in their 
     rates is modest.  This is probably due to the fact that they do not 
     hold as strong a market share in Boston as the Marriott.
 
     In addition to the increases due to seasonal market driven demand, 
     hotels do incur increases in their operating costs which they seek to 
     pass along to users if the demand exists.  Given that we are operating 
     in the highest demand season, we are faced with the choice of not 
     taking rooms in prime locations or accepting the rate increases.  There 
     are other citywide conventions and college graduations during the 
     DECWORLD '92 timeframe.
 
     Electro '92, a major electronic and computer trade show, is meeting in 
     Boston over part of the DECWORLD '92 dates.  This meeting and trade 
     show comes to Boston and the Hynes Convention Center every two years 
     and has made a long term commitment to Boston as a meeting site.  It 
     would be expected that they would be able to buy their volume based 
     convention rooms at the lowest possible price, even during peak season.  
     However, a comparison of the Electro '92 hotel package (they are using 
     9 of the same hotels as DECWORLD'92) finds that we are less expensive 
     in 8 of the 9 hotel properties, by as much as $20.00 per room night.  
     However, Electro is getting something for its premium price and 
     advanced planning.  At certain key hotels it does have significantly 
     larger blocks of rooms.
 
 3.  Commissionable Convention Rates
 
     The DECWORLD'92 hotel package is made up of commissionable convention 
     rates.  The conversion to this type of rate structure will save Digital 
     approximately $500,000 in actual registration costs.  That is, the 
     registration costs have been reduced by offsetting hotel commissions 
     earned by the registration company.  Additionally, Digital has had to 
     sign no direct hotel contracts thereby limiting liability and 
     eliminating any potential need for tying up deposits in order to 
     operate the DECWORLD '92 program.
 
     In no case have all hotels raised rates to fully cover the commission 
     as a way to recover costs.  Instead, most have accepted commissionable 
     rates as a cost of doing business.  In fact, many hotels such as the 
     Lafayette and Meridien are actually taking in fewer net dollars when 
     adjusted for commissionable rates and season.
 
     Hopefully, this explains the DECWORLD '92 hotel rate situation.  Please 
     remember that Digital has signed no hotel contracts, has had to make no 
     deposits, carries no liability for use of the rooms, has reduced its 
     expenditures for registration services by approximately $500,000 and 
    will acquire complimentary and other discounted rooms.  We have also 
     negotiated hotel rates during peak season in an extremely market driven 
     environment which are less than other major meetings being held in 
     Boston during the same dates.
 
     If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call me.  
 
 Regards,
 Roger Shaller
 DECWORLD Purchasing Manager

    
    re: .42
    
    Would that all our concerns and apprehensions regarding Digital's
    seemingly questionable high-level decisions could be so satisfactorily 
    and professionally explained.  Thank you, for that entry.
    
    /Mike

    Re .42
    
    I'd like to echo the comment made in .43. Thank you for taking the time
    to enter this. It may be a pain responding to people that raise issues
    but responses such as this, I believe, really serve to raise the morale
    of employees.
    
    I just wish some of the high level execs in the company could be
    equally open and definitive with information.
    
    By the way I've heard a lot of positive comments made about DECworld
    by both customers and salesreps (I've been working a booth). Just today
    a friend of mine who works for "National Semiconductor" commented on
    how well organized the show was and contrasted it favourably to another
    trade show. I've also seen many sales reps thanking booth staff because
    they're happy with what their customers are being told.
    
    I hope it pays off for Digital.
    
    Dave

Why was DECWORLD booked for the hotels' busy season?

If I understand .42 correctly, under no circumstances should Digital be paying 
for a reservation that we have cancelled through Rogal.

So in answer to the question posed in .26, I would suggest that you contact
the author of .42 and explain your disatisfaction with Rogal.  Unlike the 
hotels which we must do business with due to their location, we CAN change
travel service organizations if Rogal is unresponsive.

Bob

   I also worked the photo taking for the sailing exhibit during the second week
   of the show, the people coming through were mostly customers and their DECsales
   reps. Overall the boat design challenge, display boat (Jayhawk first boat built
   for the America3 campaign) and exhibits had the desired impact, giving the
   customers a bit of fun while showing them what DEC hardware and software can
   do.

   This was an excellent idea quite well done.

   Also this was my first time working a trade show, I was impressed with the DEC sales
   people who were with their clients. Other Deccies were understanding once we explained
   because of the numbers our need to handle only customers.

   I enjoyed helping and would do it again.

   Didn't see any sign at all of HP, except getting whipped in the Alpha
   demo.

   /mike

Re .42: Thanks for the excellent explanation, Roger.

Now tell us why your name is one ALL of the "Spirit of Boston" tickets... :-)

Regards,

Jim

p.s.: Roger and I go way back and I was the first to point out to him that his 
      name was on all of the cruise tickets. Since he's the DECworld Purchasing
      Manager, its not too surprising, but he was quite astounded when he saw
      it. Its a good thing they didn't restrict those going on the cruise 
      based on the name on the ticket, eh?

    From someone that was demoing the Development Engineering station in
    the Aerospace area, showing our ASD/SEE solution that the F22 contract
    is using.
    
    I just got home this past friday evening. Two days last week, they
    had to stop admitting people into DECWorld floor. We had too many
    people in the WTC. So the customers are coming.
    
    From my booth, we were constantly demoing our software from around
    8:30 AM on tuesday to 3:00 PM, then I was able to take a break. This
    last week on wednesday and thursday, there were 6 groups of customers,
    that had their Digital sales rep with them, after demoing ASD/SEE they
    told their sales rep to get someone to them to explain how they could
    order these tools.
    
    They see the value of this software package, and they want it. This 
    software package is not cheap. One customer said that he had paid
    $85,000 for one piece of software back in 1985, which contained one
    seat. Ours costs from $20,000 to $100,000+
    
    Our particular portion of the Government section was a complete
    success. We had interest from all areas. Both commercial and
    government. 
    
    There are success stories at DECWorld this year.
    
    We will see some of it within the next 6 months, and more within the
    next year.
    
    My .2 cents.
    Dave
    

    I have to agree with comment that there were too many DECies for each 
    customer at any given point of time on the floor. IHMO some of them were 
    just acting busy or using this show as an excuse to meet some of their 
    pals...

    There were lot of marketing types who is supposedly herding around the 
    customers ( At least that is what some of them said  ). While this may
    be true for most of the marketing folks, I do not believe that all DECies
    had truly busy with the customers all the time.

    I happened to know some of these marketing types..

    They have NO application knowledge
    They have NO hardware knowledge
    They have NO industry knowledge
    They have NO software knowledge

    I wonder what they have been telling the customers ...

    May be they talked about Boston weather or how good the food is at "Spirit 
    of Boston" !?  I wonder what the customer might have thought about some
    of these phony marketing types...

    Yes ! They all were BUSY with the customers ! 

    Nobody asked - Just my opinion ...

    Jay

    PS; Hopefully at least in the next DECworld, they will restrict the
    number of DECies in the floor at any given time ...

>    They have NO application knowledge
>    They have NO hardware knowledge
>    They have NO industry knowledge
>    They have NO software knowledge

    Is this urban legend or what? I've heard this level of rhetoric aimed
    at marketeers for years, and I can tell you that although that may be
    true of some, I personally know some "Marketing Types" with more
    engineering experience and knowlege than most people will ever have.
    
    Mayhap I know a different subset to the "some" of the "marketing types"
    that you refer to, but I refuse to believe that we employ many people so
    patently inadequate.
    
    
    
    	- andy

    re .51
    
    Perhaps the other thing they DON'T have is technological arrogance, and 
    their added-value is that they DO understand how to talk to customers 
    AND understand their basic business problems.
    
    When is this company going to stop sniping from functional redoubts 
    really regard itself as a team ?
    
    John

    Be positive, list the good ones.
    
    Start with people like Bill Gassman, Tom Welsh....

    I guess I've been lucky. There are a lot of top notch people working
    at the booth I've spent this week at. There are two type here:
    Technical and marketing. I think we need both. The marketing people
    may not have a clue as to doing a SYSGEN or helping to restart a
    cluster after we kill the power to half of it but they do know a
    lot. They knows features and benefits. They know what the competition
    has and how we match up. They know schedules, futures, directions,
    and strategies. They are well prepared with the answers to most 
    common questions. And they know enough to bring in a technical person
    when the questions get deep. 

    The technical people keep the systems running. Not always easy when
    you have ~16 systems in 4 clusters and several stand along nodes.
    Especially when you power down 5 nodes 4 times a day. They are also
    available and ready to talk to customers about real systems and real
    answers to real problems. 

    Could we get by with fewer people? Perhaps but I wouldn't suggest it.
    We certainly need the mix we have.

    				Alfred

    You hit the nail on the head, "TOP NOTCH PEOPLE." 
                      
    DECWORLD is a Sales event.  It is for Sales and their customers. 
    Marketeers help in the sales effort.  Technical people keep the wheels
    turning.  This is a tremendous team effort and together, we've all
    worked hard to make this the best DECWORLD ever!
                                  
    Rgds,               
    Marcia Landingham 
    

    With all this talk of so many marketing people around ... how did this
    happen:

    I was with my customer waking through what shall remain and un-named
    area.  We encountered an area with a small sign listing the virtues of
    the product which was being demonstrated:

    	"Jerry, what's this, never heard of it, sounds interesting"

    I wasn't aware of the product so turned to someone nearby with a
    "staff" badge and asked if there was anyone who could explain that
    particular product/demo:

    	"I don't know, I think he stepped away for a while"

    Oops, flags are going up.  I asked the receptionist at this area if
    there was anyone who could help demo/explain this product to my
    customers:

    	"I don't know where he is, do you want me to see if I can find
    	someone to help?"

    My customers were standing there with their hands folded in amazement. 
    I *wanted* to respond with something to the effect of "no, I was asking
    just for the Hell of it" but being the professional that I am ...
    simply asked that someone be found who could help!  We stood there for
    nearly 10 minutes ... with not one single response.

    Being the master of diversion ... I told my customers that we'd try to
    come back to that area later but we had to continue our walk through
    the floor.

    Needless to say, I was more than mildly upset.  My customers were not
    amuzed.
    
    Fortunately, this was a rare exception and not the rule.
    
    We never returned to that area.

    Jerry

    		

    Jerry,
    
    I'm very sorry for the negative experience you had.  
    
    To eliminate this problem, we've had special training in many areas--
    including demo training, Sunday orientations (each Sunday), to include
    overview, and "content cluster" drill downs.  Part of that orientation
    included how to respond to questions or how to find answers to ques-
    tions that were outside your particular area of expertise.  The folks
    in each content area with white carnations are there to provide expert
    guidance.  The folks in the gazebo and other information booths are
    also very capable of finding the right answers to questions.  And
    lastly, the Program Team is very carefully trying to monitor and assist
    in situations such as your's.
                                             
    BTW:  Sales reps were welcome to attend the Sunday orientations as
    well.
    
    Rgds,
    marcia

    No, Marcia, make that 99.999999% successful. 
    
    One singular, very isolated event.  If *everything* was perfect it
    would scare the dickens out of me!
    
    Jerry

I had a negative experience that really floored me (no pun intended). I'm in
Sales Support and was without my customers at the time, but wanted to
follow-up on a question they had. I went to the appropriate area and asked one
of the MANY staff people: 

Me:	"Can you tell me how many licenses we have sold for Product XXX?"


Staff:	After looking at my badge stated with a rather uncooperative tone to
	his voice: "We don't give out that kind of information, why do you 
	want it?"

Me:	"Well, my customer is interested in the product, but there are 
	factions within his company that don't think XXX is very widely used
	and they asked me the question. We do have the opportunity to generate
	some revenue here."

Staff:	Now glaring at me with a 'get outta my face, you jerk' attitude:
	"We don't release that information to customers, do you think we
	tell the public how many VAXes we sold?"

Me:	"Uhhh, yes, actually we just announced our <insert large number>
	VAX sold. Look, I'm going to get this information for my customer,
	even if it requires a PID, so if you know the number can you please
	give it to me."

Staff:	"No, go find it somewhere else."

Me:	"well, thank you very much!"

I went to the other side of Product XXX's display area and asked another Staff 
person who immediately gave me the number of licenses we currently have sold 
for XXX. I then found the Product Manager for XXX and told her of my recent 
experience and then found the person who was responsible for that exhibit area 
and told him. I knew there was some training done for the staff people and that
attitude and helpfulness where stressed. Obviously, this person was not paying
attention to any of that. If I had the authority, that guy would have been an
ex-DECie faster than you could "rightsized". Fortunately, my customer was
nowhere around. Supposedly this guy was from engineering and didn't deal with
people much. I don't care how good he was technically, he had no business
being on the floor of DECworld. 

Add to this the number of Staff people I saw just standing around shootin' the 
breeze and I just didn't have a good feeling about the numbers (too many) or
quality of people (not knowleadgeable about the products/technologies they 
were supposed to discribe/demo, etc). In certain areas only a few experts were 
available who really knew a particular product or technology and they had
lines of customers waiting to talk to them while other Staff members stood
nearby twiddling their thumbs.

Luckily, I was able to minimize the impact of these shortcomings on my 
customers and they were very impressed with the show.

Regards,

Jim
Senior Sales Support Consultant

P.S.: To all of those who worked so hard on DECworld, please don't take this 
      as a condemnation of the whole affair. I was very impressed and think it
      will generate many millions of dollars for Digital. With the resources 
      we have at Digital, having the best people on the floor should have been
      easy.

headline: . DECWORLD '92 COMES TO A CLOSE AMID CUSTOMERS' AND CITY'S PRAISES.


  BOSTON, May 15 /PRNewswire/ --Today, after three weeks of enthusiastic
response from customers, DECWORLD '92 came to a close at Boston's World Trade
Center.  In spite of the still weak global economic conditions, 30,000
business executives from around the world traveled to Boston to attend Digital
Equipment Corporation's (NYSE: DEC) international customer symposium to learn
about and to see the solutions that Digital and its partners are providing to
meet today's business needs.  Boston officials acknowledged DECWORLD's role in
contributing to the local economy stating that nearly $50 million was
generated for local business by those attending the solutions exhibition.
    
  According to Deborah Nicholls, chairperson for DECWORLD '92, "This was a
tremendous success.  The attendance was 20 percent higher than we had
originally forecast resulting in approximately 500,000 customer relationship
hours, time Digital employees spent working with customers, during the three
weeks.  Throughout DECWORLD, the atmosphere on the floor was positive and
charged with enthusiasm. This was true of both our customers and our
employees."

  Beyond its function as a solutions showcase featuring demonstrations,
workshops, and one-on-one consulting sessions, DECWORLD is also one of
Digital's most efficient and effective sales and marketing tools.  "It's a
customer call on a global scale," says Nicholls.  "It goes beyond stimulating
interest.  Because customers can actually see and have a hands-on experience
with the solutions that are available today for their business challenges, we
feel that DECWORLD is very successful in shortening the sales cycle."

  In addition to the benefits DECWORLD has given to Digital, it also served as
a boon for the local economy.  Patrick Moscaritolo, president of the Greater
Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc., comments, "DECWORLD is the
largest show or convention that happens in Boston.  It is five times larger
than the average convention we get in the city. Based on an economic impact
model used by the international association of convention and visitor bureaus,
DECWORLD's guests have spent an estimated $48.9 million on hotels,
restaurants, local transportation, and retail items.  In addition, the event
has contributed $1.1 million tax revenue to state and local governments. And
beyond the dollars which are generated, a project of the scope of DECWORLD
generates jobs for all the support that is necessary."  DECWORLD '92 Facts and
Figures:

  -- Computing power on the DECWORLD floor --

     -- Over 1000 MIPS, 500 GB of storage and 1 TB of nearline
         storage

      -- Over twice the compute power of DECWORLD '90 using only two
         thirds of the computer room space

  -- 700 workstations performed 350 demonstrations
  -- 160 seminars were given daily

  -- Over 14,000 messages were sent over the electronic messaging
     system set up for the event

  -- Almost 14 percent of the customers who attended were from
     outside of the United States

  -- 26 hotels were used in Boston and Cambridge
      -- Between 100 and 500 rooms were used in each hotel every
         night

      -- There were over 50,000 room nights with guest staying an
         average of two and a half days.

  -- 7,500 people were carried to and from the World Trade Center
     every day through a transportation system made up of 60 buses,
     two water shuttles, and helicopters from Digital Aviation

     Services
  -- Over 75,000 meals were served at breakfast and lunch
  -- At snack time, the chocolate chip cookies were the clear
     favorites with over 200,000 consumed

  DECWORLD is Digital's customer symposium and solutions conference and is the
largest single vendor exhibition in the information technology industry.

  Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is the
leading worldwide supplier of networked computer systems, software and
services.  Digital pioneered and leads the industry in interactive,
distributed and multivendor computing.  Digital and its partners deliver the
power to use the best integrated solutions -- from the desk top to the data
center -- in open information environments.

  ----

  Note To Editors:  DECWORLD is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.

  /CONTACT:  Ralph Cohen of Digital, 508-493-2960/
13:35 EDT

    Maybe we should go into the chocolate chip cookie business.

    Those cookies were great and also fattening. They were good.
    
    Spent two weeks eating them.
    Dave
    

    re -2 or -3: ~700 workstations for 350 demonstrations~
    
    Can someone interpret this statement for me?  To me, it seems to
    be saying that, on the average, for each demo, 2 workstations are
    required.  What am I missing here?
    
    thanks, Joe.

	RE: .66 Things depend on what's being shown. The booth I worked at 
	had 6 workstations. Two were OMS stations as are required for a MDF
	cluster (which we were showing). One was a monitor of activity on an
	FT 610 to show the pieces we were "killing" during the demo. Two more
	were using DECW$BANNER to show activity continuing on the two main
	clusters that we were "doing things too." One more was being used to
	show RTR activity across the network. Hard to see how we could have
	shown all we did with less.

			Alfred
	
	

    re. -2.. I'm more concerned about the "1000 mips" and 700 workstations.
    Certainly these systems provided more than 1000 mips - right. 8-}
    
    		Fred Deady
    

    Similarly, I did a double take on that number.  My customer has a
    requirement for a 3,000 MIP installation and I'd hate to think he
    needs the equivalent of 3 x DECworld's!
    
    Calvin

    I've been catching up on some notes after spending time at a customer
    site, and just stumbled upon the discussion about a couple of negative
    experiences at DECworld.
    
    Seems to me there are a couple of concerns related to these incidents.
    
    For one thing, despite the training, it seems we still had problems. 
    Maybe the quality of the training needs to be reviewed?  Or at least
    the quality of the results.
    
    For another thing, it appears from the postings that there was no
    effective mechanism for addressing problems when they did occur.  
    Maybe it was expected that there would be no problems because of the
    training, but if so that seems a foolish error on the part of the
    planners.  In any case, I certainly hope there was provision for
    feedback concerning negative results, and that the channel was used
    effectively.
    
    
.61>  I then found the Product Manager for XXX and told her of my recent 
.61>  experience and then found the person who was responsible for that exhibit 
.61>  area and told him. I knew there was some training done for the staff 
.61>  people and that attitude and helpfulness where stressed. Obviously, this 
.61>  person was not paying attention to any of that. If I had the authority, 
.61>  that guy would have been an ex-DECie faster than you could "rightsized". 
    
    I hope he was at least an ex-DECworld staffer that quickly.  
    But sad to say, I expect not.  Which to me says that the booth captains
    and other management types share culpability.
    
.61>  Supposedly this guy was from engineering and didn't deal with
.61>  people much. I don't care how good he was technically, he had no business
.61>  being on the floor of DECworld. 
    
    Ah, but that's how we reward the good little techies.  Many of them are
    so narrow-minded that they don't believe they need to attend training,
    or take it to heart.  They know their skills are so highly valued by
    their local management that they'll still go to DECworld, so why
    clutter their mind with nonsense about dealing with people...
    
    It would be really interesting to know if there was any control on the
    training session attendence, sufficient to find out if the individual
    in the example cited did in fact attend training?  Even better would be
    to know which training session, then that specific session could be
    reviewed for effectiveness as well.  Ideally, floor badges wouldn't be
    issued until prescribed training was successfully completed, and would
    be pulled at the slightest hint of a problem, but that's too much to
    expect from our present management structure.  They can't (or won't)
    tackle the tough challenges like raising productivity per employee by
    increasing productivity rather than decreasing employees, why should
    this be any different?
    
.61>  If I had the authority, that guy would have been an ex-DECie faster 
.61>  than you could "rightsized". 
    
    That would make too much sense.  RIFfing based on competence level? 
    What a concept!  Better to let good people in useless groups go while
    keeping marginal performers in critical niches on board, right?

    
    Re .70:
    
    I don't know if this applies to the engineer in question in preceeding
    notes. When my group was approached to provide technical support for
    DECworld demos, it was decided that none of us could afford to spend
    the entire time required, so a number of us were there for one day each.
    This was less than optimal for a number of reasons, but the most
    important one for this discussion is that we couldn't possibly justify
    a day of DECworld training for one day of duty. I did attend a short
    training session close to home and focused specifically on the demo,
    but none of the "DECworld etiquette" stuff alluded to elsewhere.
    
    The other main problem with this scheduling scheme was that I spent
    half of my one day there getting acclimated. (For the first two hours,
    I had trouble pointing customers to the nearest rest room.)
    
    My suggestions to those of you who plan the next Deathworld:
    
      o  Don't accept one-day staff schedules from anyone, especially
         engineering. It's wrong all around. The absolute minimum
         committment should be three days, but shoot for a week.
    
      o  Insist on the full gamut of training for anyone who will be on the
         floor, especially engineering. I'll be the first to admit that
         as a group, we tend to be defficient in the social graces required
         for this type of work.
    

    There were some 32,000 visitors to DECWORLD 92. Thousands of Digital
    employees worked the show. There were probably millions of human
    interactions a day. To expect that all of them went well is a bit
    unrealistic. I myself had no bad experiences at all in the week I
    was there. None.

    Bad experiences need to be worked on but I've always believed in the
    instructions reported to have been given by John Paul Jones. "Punish
    in private, praise in public." I worry sometimes that as a company we
    get so involved in beating up one an other and ourselves that we lose
    sight of our accomplishments. In my life I try to spend as much time
    praising good work as I do criticizing bad. It makes my whole mood
    better.

    By all means provide feedback to managers whose people do not perform.
    But by the same token reward the behavior you do like with proper
    praise. Those of you who complained about "bad" behavior did you also
    provide praise for people who did more than required? One of the nice
    things about DECWORLD was the little stars that were given out for
    above the call of duty work. Positive reinforcement is something all
    too often lacking. Not that people worked to get little stars but I'm
    sure it didn't hurt the people who got them to know they were
    appreciated.

    From my point of view DECWORLD was terrific! I got to talk to customers
    again. I got to tell them about products I believe in and explain how
    Digital can solve their problems. I also go to learn a lot about
    Digital's products myself. I learned a lot of other things as well. 

    I learned that DEC people *do* know what teamwork means. The people in
    the booth I worked were from a number of different groups. Yet each
    person worked as hard as they could to explain all the products a 
    customer asked about - not just their own. I saw Digital people talking
    to other Digital people melt away at the blink of an eye when a
    customer came near to ask a question. I saw people excited about
    presenting solutions and helping customers. Whether a customer wanted
    a detailed presentation or just a pointer to "where are the donuts."
    Digital people were ready to help.

    DECWORLD made me feel good about Digital, Digital products, and most
    of all good about Digital's people. I'm proud to have been part of it.

    		Alfred

    I have to agree with Alfred.  I was there for all three weeks, and by
    and large, the staffing at DECworld was professional and competent.
    
    Naturally, in the millions of interactions that occured there were
    bound to be screw-ups, but there were many, many more encounters where
    the customers walked away feeling valued, informed, and good about what
    they'd heard.
    
    Some people see things and notice the patterns; others see the same
    thing and notice the exceptions.  Neither method of looking at the
    world is better than the other; however, all too often those who see
    the exceptions speak out, while those who see the patterns stay silent.
    
    Let me speak as one who saw the pattern: the vast majority of
    interactions between staff and customer at DECworld were handled
    couteously and professionally.
    
    					andrew 

Although the one negative incident I described is getting more than its share 
of visibility, I certainly echo the sentiments of the past two replies.
DECworld was a monumental event and it was organized, planned and executed 
just about as well as anyone could expect. For our Account Group it more than 
fulfilled its purpose. I was proud to be a Digital employee after touring the 
exhibition floor. I don't want the one incident I raised to tarnish what was 
overall an excellent marketing event for Digital.

regards,

Jim

Ahhh Gi'day...

    If I remember correctly, it's a requirement of the DECville assignments
    that:

    Only assignments of >/= 1 week will be accepted
    Training is MANDATORY (although I've gotten out of it before)

    I suspect  there  probably  is  a similar requirement for DECworld, but
    when you're stretched for good people, the rules are more "flexible"

I don't want to sound too negative but I think that after we spend as
much money as we did on DECworld that some intensive soul searching
ought to be done.  In other words their should be an comprehensive
QUALITATIVE analysis.  Having N quotes from customers on how great it 
was is only anecdotal evidence.  If a large number of those customers
don't go back and increase their buying from us then DECworld was a
waste of money...if they do then it was all worth while.

Unfortunately the only evaluations I have heard and expect to hear on
DECworld are the automatic rah-rah-rahs.  Everyone involved with putting
together DECworld - the highest to the lowest levels - proclaim DECworld
was a tremendous success.  

If I were the president of Digital I would order two studies:  One tell
say why DECworld was a success and another to tell why it was a failure.
Then I'd try to judge which was true and then decide:

1) If we should continue to do DECworlds
2) If the format or scope should be changed

DECworld looks like it was a tactical success.  Let's see if it was a
strategic one as well.

John

    In fact, the level of intense measurement called for in -1 is indeed
    going on. It was underway during DECWorld and is ongoing. 

    Does somebody have a pointer to where I can get the DECworld
    expense account rules for housing?
    
    I'v been told that up to $99/night was approved for DECworld attendees? 
    What about room expenses for those who couldn't get the $99/night
    rooms?  How do I get an exception?

 >   Does somebody have a pointer to where I can get the DECworld
 >   expense account rules for housing?
  
    VTX DECWORLD has some information regarding lodging with Q&A's.  

- Jim

    I have been sent VAXmail with the answer I needed.  Thanks.
    
    The problem sees to be that the officially approved lodging rates are
    higher than petty cash's normal amounts, and nobody told petty cash to
    accept the larger amounts.  Therefore EVERY expense voucher requires a
    cc-signed explanation letter.

    Waste a tree! You know it makes sense,