Re: And then there's Crisco...
I recently had to download the entitlement keys for a firmware update for three IBM Power8 servers.
That's an entitlement key to allow an update of the firmware. Not the firmware itself, but a key to allow me to update the firmware (this is apparently a new system to try to lock customers into IBM support).
Of course, the web site accepted two of the serial numbers , and rejected the serial number of the third system saying it did not exist! So, I raise a hardware call (firmware is regarded as part of the hardware by IBM).
I then spent the next two days, several emails and a couple of phone calls to persuade the hardware support centre that it was not me trying to update the firmware, nor me trying to enrol the key, but actually generating the key that I had the problem with. Once I had convinced them, they said there was nothing they could do, the system was under support and I should be able to get the key, but that process was not something they had any dealings with. Had I tried pressing the button that reported a problem on the entitlement website.
Several more emails, some containing screenshots then got them to admit that I would not be able to see the button, as my email address on the support account showed that I was working for IBM, and only non-IBM end users would be able to see the button. They suggested that I raise a feedback on the website,
A day later, I get a response from the feedback team, who say that they only could provide help on the website, and as I could get to the entitlement page, the website was working properly, and there was nothing they could do about the applications that the website called. Had I tried raising a software call from the Power support pages.
Two days later, I get a response from a rather bemused software team saying that firmware was a hardware support issue, and I would have to raise a hardware support call.......
As I now had three email addresses for all of the teams I had been in contact with, each pointing at one of the others, I wrote a new mail addressed to all three, quoting the last response from each of them.
I ended it up with an appeal that I didn't care which of them sorted this out, but that one of them had to be in a position to solve my problem, and could they discuss it amongst themselves to work out who it would be. I also said that if I didn't get an answer, I would have to tell the end-customer for whom IBM run these systems, that IBM wasn't able to support their own machines to provide the Spectre fixes that IBM had said were needed to protect the machines.
I actually then got a call from a very apologetic 3rd line support rep. from the US, who read me out the key he had generated for the system, and said that I should be able to confirm that I could use the entitlement website the following day to download it. And I could!
I must admit that I breathed a sigh of relief, but I wish that I hadn't had to go round this loop.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
