Sage News and Discussion

After years of phone calls training the out-sourced Client Care Rep (ServiceSource employee TJ Nobrega) including providing him with Sage documentation so he could outline the enhancements with each release, our Business Care margins were obliterated. When I finally told TJ that I wouldn't be chasing down renewals and working as Sage's collections department, he called a customer (and good friend) on Friday to tell her that my company ""had decided to make a change."" TJ didn't return my call and when asking for his supervisor, I was given four different names from five different sources. Emails to each of those names were all returned undeliverable and calls to all four phone numbers went directly to voice mail (and each with a recording referencing a different name).

I think that warrants a public shaming on LinkedIn...

Sage Partners, Employees & Alumni Networking Group?

At least...

Just looking for the most effective placement. Let's see what happens. http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=106271&type=member&item=238277066

I came to this realization about a year ago. We apply it to customers not on our own Schulz Consulting annual support plan. Mostly we find that those customers not on our own plan (which btw is the main plan that should matter ) who have not renewed by deadline with SAGE are exactly as you described - we play either (a) collection department or (b) race to process a last minute payment (despite sending three to five reminder invoices). We've also found that Sage quotes a. Wrong service level (which we reference and invoice) b. Wrong amounts c. Double bills (customer pays Sage and us) Increasingly it's taking more time to double check Sage and make sure the customer is renewed properly. I personally expect maintenance margins to get to zero pretty quickly so I'm not spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to make Sage's customers more loyal to Sage. I won't recommend anyone discontinue maintenance (because I've had customers try to blame me when they want to suddenly buy new modules after higher a new zelot CFO, etc).

Update: A phone call from (and contact information for) the Client Care Team Lead, Chris March (615-777-6126 | christopher.march@sage.com) that included a genuine apology but not much else and assurance that it wouldn't happen again. My suggestion was that I would continue my notices (that, to the point of @WayneSchulz) do not/cannot/will not include an actual price, just a recommendation that they maintain the agreement. Those notices will include a reference to the Client Care Team. Connie Zervakos, our Regional Account fill-in-the-blank, called to ask me about the posting but we haven't talked.

Resolution: Chris March and I have talked. He provided a list of accounts TJ had called over the last two months and agreed to make calls into each with me so he could reinforce our relationship with Sage (which is odd considering he isn't a Sage employee). Connie said the LinkedIn post had raised some eyebrows and that I should expect a response by phone or LinkedIn reply from a VP (eventually it was a LinkedIn reply). Connie also said that it had people talking but that it wasn't ""like with @WayneSchulz.