Re: Compuserve Oracle Support: Worth It??

John Hough wrote:
>
> Bob Yeh <Bob_Yeh_at_vaffx2_at_cscuuxch.dayton.csc.com> wrote:
> >Are you saying to get the support I have to buy the support from Oracle
> >also? If I already have one of the metallic support from Oracle, why do
> >I still need support from Compuserve?
>
> You are not getting support from Compuserve, you are getting support on
> Compuserve. This support is provided by Oracle, and they don't do much
> for free. (They wouldn't be in business long if they did) The reason you
> mightwant this instead of the phone line could be one of many.
>

It's nice to say things like Oracle can't provide support for free. But it is cheaper for Oracle to provide online support then phone support. A lot of this online support requires me to spend more time using the service then placing a phone call. Once I place a phone call and start talking to someone. That person is paid by the hour by Oracle. But if I open a TAR with Oracle using the RTSS system I must spend my time filling in the form, hoping I formatted it correctly. Also, instead of having an Oracle service person search their database, I spend my time attempting to formulate a query that will send me back some usefull information.

The list goes on and on. But I've wasted more time using the RTSS system then simply calling Oracle and opening a TAR. The only nice thing I liked about the RTSS system was I could send an email daily to see the status of a TAR once opened, but of course this assumed that the email made through to Oracle and was processed by their system. At least with a phone call I had a positive feed back that I did or didn't reach Oracle.

-- 

Ed Bruce
<Bruce_at_ha.hac.com>
<ebruce_at_iquest.com>