What does a tow-truck driver from Russia has to do with Sun? Amazingly enough... some useful insight about our company and our products.
It happens to the best of us... our car breaks down. Thankfully, I was able to make it to work (barely). Called AAA (now I'm glad I paid for that service) and they towed me back home. Some 50 miles away. I wasn't looking forward to the big drive... but then again, it was the opportunity to learn about someone else. Everyone has a story, even if they don't think they have one (which is, in essence, one by itself).
And so, we started chatting. The usual, what I do, where I came from, etc, etc. Then came my turn to ask the question.
It turns out Roman came from Russia and previously worked for Sun. He was installing Solaris on our systems, doing some debugging and optimization. That took me by surprise. But then again, it's the silicon valley.
Roman quit Sun; wanting more money. And so he went from job to job, and then... the .dot bust. No work for 7-9 months. He was laid off, his wife, his father and mother in-law... very tragic stuff. And so, he became a tow truck driver, making 1/3 of what he was making, but liking his job. All I know is that, as long as you like your job, you've got a great job!
Oh... did I say he also has an IT network consulting business on the side??
Then my curiosity came over... what was he thinking about Sun now? Is he up to date on what we've done lately? especially since he's still involved in the industry. Am I going to be soo obvious that I'm in Marketing?? Well... no reason to be shy... I've been interacting all day at an All Hands already... I was warmed up ;-)
So I told him to be honest, and that I wouldn't take it bad. And so, I fired away the questions...
The results? We're good. He would recommend Sun products. He really likes the new x86 servers... likes the fact that he could run Windows, but would rather run Solaris himself. Solaris made improvements; but still not a very good GUI, ease of use compared to windows. He mostly gets calls from Dell users running windows. He works for small companies, sometimes friends. Everybody knows Windows. It's easy, but it "craps out every so often", which is great for him. A nice source of
revenue.
So not too bad.
While I was at it, I asked about cars. Why? because mine was sitting in the flatbed behind us, not knowing its fate. I was also looking at getting a Prius, for the eco-friendly and awesome gas mileage. Since I work some 50 miles away... Collegues and friends have one and they love it. Great word of mouth to go and buy one...or at least, that's what I thought.
Turns out he gets at least 3 calls a day for problems with Prius cars.
Some don't start. Some need a jump start. Some have hydraulic failure. wow. Was he kidding? nope. Right after he said that, he gets a call on his radio that a guy in a Prius is on the side of highway 237.
That made me think about the Tipping Point book I read earlier this year... the power of the word of mouth. Who would you rather listen to? Customers, a maven? (in this case towing cars). Would I buy a Prius?? Probably not, unless I want to see him again (who knows, he was fun)
What about Sun? At least our word is getting around. Solaris may not be as easy to use, but we've got the performance and security features that squash the competition. And there comes a barrier to entry for driving Solaris adoption... make it easy(er) to use.
Turns out he was a computer geek throughout university, before joining the Air Force and then becoming a commercial pilot. And he still tools around with FOSS on the side!
Posted by Noel on March 15, 2007 at 04:55 PM PDT #