Peacelover, your timing is impeccable. I've been working on what you're about to read since yesterday. It needed some editing from the original info that I sent privately. Essentially the same, just my context and spelling cleaned up a bit. Also a little sanitizing to avoid potential misunderstandings.
At any rate you should also know that I thought I sent the report to you, and it was never my intention to leave you out. Not real proficient with the Netscape e-mail. Just a shame you turned out to be such a whiner. Go figure.
Rich
Part One
I have had many of you on the board request me to make my report of my visit to TSIG public. Most of you have already received this and a few of you have been very civil in your private discourse with me regards this issue. I have therefore, decided in favor of doing same and hope I don't get too much flack from the you-know-who-who's for my perspectives.
Please keep in mind that I plan to revisit again this week and I am accumulating new questions for this trip. Nay's questions welcomed, as long as they are definitive and not feigned interest, disinterested "innuendo." (Not to be confused with the great Italian suppository manufacturer of the same name.)
My background
For almost 30 years was analyzing, specifying, selling and contracting for the installation of highly sophisticated workstations for just about every major corporation in the NY, CT, NJ and NYC territory. That included call centers, brokerage firms, hospitals, everything under the sun. This work included all the contacts at the highest of executive levels, working with 1st tier management long before there was even a hole in the ground. Over this time span, it encompassed more than 200,000 workstations from jobs consisting of 1 station to more than 2,200 stations at a single site.
The Company, Facilities
TSIG is real. It has fabulous facilities at drop dead low rental rates. There are a total of about of 50 people working there working in 3 shifts. And about a total of 70 workstations for some expansion. There is additional square footage for expansion of another 50 workstations. They will probably grow into this rapidly with the plans and potential that lie ahead. IMHO
According to Rob Gordon, TSIG had a very bad experience with Siemens. Over $1,000,000 worth of brand new telco equipment is waiting to be picked up to be returned to Siemens at the time of my visit. This is a result of a long ordeal where TSIG bought into Siemens technology, had the hardware installed, paid $600,000 cash deposit, and then was put on hold by Siemens for the software that was not in existence. Rob Gordon said that if they were a larger company they would not have hesitated in dumping Siemens, but since $600,000 was a substantial sum to TSIG, and they kept being told by Siemens next week, it dragged on to the point of essentially killing their heretofore customer base. Prior management is not without tainted hands, although one could always argue RG was the boss. IMHO, Siemens and TSIG will be in court re this issue for some time to come.
Fast forward to today. Lucent Technologies has completed installing state of the art call center equipment and it is humming along. If TSIG has credit or cash problems as such we are all aware, and are continually reminded, it apparently hasn't hampered their ability to get new state of the art equipment directly from Lucent Technologies, get it installed, (no small feat in and of itself, I know,) and now utilize same in pursuit of new business. Additionally, Rob Gordon told me TSIG owns this equipment. |
