Genesys CTI User Forum > Announcements Scratch Board

Genesys Support - getting better or worse?

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tony:
Thank you Paul - I have left you a PM... :)

Tony

victor:
[quote author=Paul Roberts link=topic=3817.msg16930#msg16930 date=1235448907]
Hi there everyone,

Been a while since I've posted on here. Hope I'm still welcome... :(


[/quote]

Paul,

of course you are welcome. I think conversation in this thread moved away from Genesys Support problems to something else entirely, so we better probably split the topics (and ban our Brazilian friend, Cav, from any more posts in a process  >:D ).

I think the whole thing boils down to less of "feeling used" than of feeling useful. You have to concede that right now there is not a lot of effort in Genesys about harnessing the energy and support of overall Genesys user community. You have been our most ardent supporter and it will be some time before all your ideas about harnessing the incredible potential of Genesys user community will be realized. Re-starting Genesys forum is a good move; however, as I have mentioned in my previous emails, you will be going head-to-head with PS, TS and whatever other two-letter and three letter and even four-letter acronyms. 

In some ways, I think all of us here are a bit full of ourselves, because most of us here are simply because we are Genesys Fans. Genesys did not ask us to become fans, yet, here we are, asking to be recognized for ...just being fans. And we huff and we puff when we do not get something shiny in the mail telling us how much Genesys is grateful to us for what we do.

This reminds me of pretty much every Anime Fan club that have regular meetings, dress up in tight shiny pink and green costumes, have shiny laser guns and a collection of used manga books they trade among themselves. Unless they are organized and have a nationwide following, Anime Publishers try to stay away from them. And in most cases, for very good reason: no worth the trouble; too much hassle; not connected to direct revenue and so on and so forth.

While most of us are working with Genesys, many of us are not in a position to really make a difference for Genesys. We usually get there when Genesys implementation has already been decided upon, plus in rare cases when we do make a case for Genesys roll-out, we depend on that roll-out even more than Genesys, so it is in our own best interests to push Genesys product as much as we can.

I guess our own dependence on Genesys CTI makes ALU less interested in what we have to say, because this is not where the money is. The money is with decision-makers and here most of us are much much below that. We are the techies, the consultants, we are Genesys Fan Club. Until now, it was hard to measure the economic impact our activity has Genesys sales. And because of that, this makes us irrelevant.

No one has asked me to start Genesys Forum, yet I did it. The result is that we have on average 300,000 hits a month on this forum. It is hard to argue the immense benefit Genesys enjoys from this site. Yet, while ALU's marketing budget is measured in hundreds of millions and Genesys is paying huge sums of money to advertise its products, this site is yet to receive a cent.

Pavel launched Wire. Did Genesys offer him anything? Yes, an interview for a second edition and some money that probably will not even be enough to cover the printing of letter "W" in the title of that magazine. And that magazine was ALL ABOUT GENESYS.

I was thinking: what would happen if I start allowing ads from Avaya or Cisco on this forum? Or how about allowing posts soliciting Genesys to Avaya migration? I get a dozen offers a week from different companies willing to pay for placing an ad like that.

I wonder - how much would Avaya give me for this forum...
I wonder how much Cisco would pay Tony to write HOW-TO GUIDES for migration from Genesys CTI to Cisco
I wonder how much more Genesys TS costs would be if we decided to stop answering all Genesys-related queries from India

What does Genesys think will happen if I let Google walk freely on our website? How many Genesys SIers would still show up on front page when you google "Genesys CTI"?

I am sure that you, Paul, are not the only person in the company who is realizing that it is time to take advantage of the immense opportunity this user base offers; however, I have this nagging feeling that you are the only one who wants to see that we all get the credit we deserve.

[b][color=red]I am tired of being a fan, if that means being screwed left and right. It is time for some recognition. A real one.
[/color][/b]

cavagnaro:
:-X Will post even when I have been banned  ;D
I completely understand you Vic, as you know I also support an Alcatel forum, similar to this one. We also have a lot of tempations from competitors asking us to buy the forum, even once Alcatel offered a sum, which was not even a decent one. However we always decline because we love what we do, as I do on this forum. I understand the feeling completely and agree 100% with you. However expecting to Genesys or ALU offer to recognice our job (and the support we give to their support guys...) is asking a pig to fly...at least not in the way we would love to see.
So as a fan, will stay as a fan because I chose to...if Genesys or ALU gives (not us) but to the forum some recognition will be as steping the moon, as that exciting.  ;D

PS: I'm already tramiting my Brasilian residency...lol

Adam G.:
[quote author=victor link=topic=3817.msg17006#msg17006 date=1235708923]

Pavel launched Wire. Did Genesys offer him anything? Yes, an interview for a second edition and some money that probably will not even be enough to cover the printing of letter "W" in the title of that magazine. And that magazine was ALL ABOUT GENESYS.

[/quote]

Yo Herr Shvetsky,

I have to stand up here. Since The Wire has come out Genesys have helped a lot more than than you suggest. Every day I'm speaking to a different person in SF or Dallas or Canada or the UK and all of this because Paul is opening doors for the magazine. So far this week alone I've interviewed a VP and had in-depth, multiple, discussions with lots of people about GVP8 and the SDKs. On top of that I'm reading documentation until 2am every day as ground work for my GVP8 review. This is all possible because of Paul. Yes, I have been frustrated in the past but with hindsight this is what I should have expected - until the mag went out it was pure vapourware but now it exists, it's a whole different scenario and Genesys are helping as much as they can. By the interest I'm getting it looks like The Wire could be the unofficial Genesys house magazine. Does anyone here know if there is an in house magazine?

As for the financial side you're almost right. I'm trying to get advertising from Genesys Partners and Genesys themselves to cover the costs as I paid for the first edition out of my own pocket. The second edition will happen too but I personally can not afford to do a third edition and various people at Genesys have been informed of this. So far no-one has offered or paid a cent to help. What The Wire is, is the most cost effective way Genesys and their partners have to communicate with the existing community. Is there a better way to 'up-sell' their software and services?

victor:
Pavel,

this is the point - it is all Paul. He is the one who recognized the importance of this community. It was him who pushed for promoting on this forum. It was him who pushed for you to get the meetings with the right people. In other words, this is all thanks to Paul and I am thankful to this guy. But, I am seeing how hard it is for him to do this too. And this is what bothers me. He is supporting us because he really believes that this is the right move for Genesys; however, there is only so much that he can do. And this is the problem. We need to give him more ammunition, since it is in our best interests to make sure that he gets heard and his ideas about how to encompass online community presence into Genesys corporate culture are actually implemented. So, I have decided to reconsider allowing Genesys competition to start advertising on this forum. I bet that with Avaya IC article blatantly posted next to HOW-TO Genesys-to-Avaya GUIDES on this forum will probably get things rolling much faster and will have much more impact than anything else we might do.

As for The Wire, Pavel they are doing this because you caught them off-guard and published a magazine all on your own. Plus, since you are actually going to mail it to people whether or not Genesys supports you or not gives them little choice. By the way, I am a bit surprised you think that telling Genesys that unless they front up your third edition The Wire is history is going to somehow persuade them to give you more money. Think about it - are you reaching any new audience that they cannot cover already? Are you providing them with any new value that their own publication cannot generate on its own?

If someone started a magazine about Star Systems and started emailing it to my employees and clients, I would make sure that I get my voice heard in it and I would throw in some money to buy good will, but if I were told that unless I pay for printing the magazine is going to be gone, I would let it die. Nicely. Because, I would not want it to exist in a first place run by someone from outside without my full control. Plus, it would be cheaper and more effective to build upon that issue and start my own mag, adding user content to it along with official STAR news.

I am pretty certain that expecting Genesys to foot The Wire is a bit silly and presumption. You need strong financial backing, Pavel, otherwise, you will lose money. You need a lot more than a shiny (and really awesome!!!!) edition to convince Genesys that you can reach an audience that their PR machine can't.

For the record: I love The Wire and I want you to succeed.
Also, for the record: I want Paul to succeed. But, we can't forget that Paul is a low-level manager in a division inside ALU and there is only so much he can do. This is why I think I better start making waves. BECAUSE we need Paul to succeed.

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