Perhaps you have a better situation where you are, Erik.

Here, the only thing I remember clearly over the last 10 of the many years I've been here is that the distributors have sales rep's who constantly want to bring their boss or a mfg sales rep around to impress them with what they know, which, frankly, isn't much. I also remember that they like to gossip, and they like to talk about what's going on in your shop, regardless of whether they understand it or not. The result is that lots of worthless scuttlebut travels into and out of their circle of acquaintance, and that can be prejudicial to how you're treated in terms of service from them and from others.

They clearly know and care a great deal about how to extract money from your organization, but don't know much about how to render quality service, nor do they care.

Aside from an occasional lunch, which they buy in order to be able to expense their own, I've gotten nothing of use from distributors in at least 15 years. Manufacturers' rep's however, have been very helpful.

I'm sure that my perspective is different from that of an engineer employee, as I work for multiple clients, yet manufacture nearly nothing. I look to distributors with a jaundiced eye because of how I've seen them treat my clients. The manufacturers have always treated my clients well. The distributors have not.

The Philips support I got last time I attempted to get some, was not useful. When I contacted the local rep, and I don't think there is one any longer, I felt as though I'd been slimed, just as though I'd been dealing with a real-estate salesman. Maybe that's the reason there isn't a Philips rep here any longer.

RE