IBM Corp chairman Lou Gerstner, Lotus president Jeff Papows and executive VP Mike Zisman each expressed humble apologies for the poor level of customer service offered by Lotus over the last few years. An unusually candid Gerstner admitted there were a number of deficiencies at the moment, and the company realizes we have a lot of work to do. IBM software boss John M Thompson said the weight of IBM’s service and support organization would be brought to bear to solve the problem. He cited a new world systems center in Cambridge, Massachusetts which will be available to larger customers; the expansion of Lotus’ existing open systems centers; emergency response teams – whatever they may be – and above all else, IBM’s own internal Notes deployment. At 154,000 seats now – 220,000 by June – it’s supposedly the world’s largest Notes installation. Thompson said the company is compiling cookbooks as it goes detailing the problems encountered with the system, and says it will make these available to large customers in the near future.
