Technically Speaking

I work for a nationwide company, that has offices in over 60 cities. We all perform almost identical functions, but we use four different platforms and at least that many software systems to accomplish related tasks. I remember the roll-out for one of these systems; managers had to drive to a far away facility to attend an elaborate presentation by the vendor and company executives. When the system went "live" a number of problems began to surface, as the system was sometimes unreliable and did not provide the level of detailed information that is often required. Use of the system was monitored by the corporate office, and I soon received a call asking why our facility was not using the system consistently. I explained the situation, and they responded by sending a team from the vendor to essentially make another sales pitch. I explained what the issues were and provided examples, only to be assured these were temporary issues. Five years later the problems are not entirely resolved, but with a long term contract in place the vendor does not have much incentive to improve. I think the corporate executives who make important purchasing decisions should solicit feed-back from staff member before making expensive, long-term decisions.