My Panasonic Sales Rep. was Laid Off
I found out today that my Panasonic regional sales rep. was laid off. I don't know how many others in the sales dept. around the country suffered a similar fate. It's a shame that a Panasonic town like the San Francisco Bay Area doesn't have manufacturer field representation. I've got to go to Los Angeles to talk to anybody that really knows the products, especially the higher end stuff.
Jeff Regan Shooting Star Video |
Earlier this month Panny announced laying off 15,000 people and closing 27 plants worldwide. This follows suit to other mega-electronics companies like Sony, JVC - everybody is feeling the pain of this economy.
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As long as Jan keeps her position, we are all good. If not, we need to organize a bloody coup in Osaka.
Dan |
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You do not have to go to LA, you only need to call LA, Doug does know how to get on an airplane and travel. All you need do is send me a PM and I will give you Doug's contact info. Best, Jan |
I called Panny tech support shortly after I bought the camera, as I thought there was a problem (turned out there wasn't). It took 1 1/2 weeks and 2 more phone calls before someone finally called me back. Although I was polite, I must admit I was angry, but he was apologetic and explained that they had a tremendous backlog right now in tech support. I wonder if the layoffs are affecting this as well.
It is good to have Jan around |
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Best, Jan |
Thank you Jan. I didn't mean physically, I was used to emailing and calling Joe Falcone, but a local presence is always preferable. My Sony reps. are close by and have given me rental house pricing since the '90's, something that I can't get from Panasonic. If only Sony made some products I was interested in!
Jeff Regan Shooting Star Video |
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Best, Jan |
Panasonic is a much smaller organization than Sony however, after meeting 50% of the US sales force and west-cost support staff I can say without reservation that Panny has a reputation for getting more done with less resources than their competitors.
In '06 the entire sales force was constantly on the go; demand for all things P2 (and especially broadcast sales) outstripped availability by a margin of at least 50 to 1 and sometimes more. Between all the sales meetings, marketing events (including biggies like NAB), normal customer meetings and the never-ending swarm of emails and phone calls every Panny rep I met was completely swamped and worked a 50-80 hour week just to keep their heads above water. Then you've got the few like Jan who spearhead entire product line development and jump-stop across the country on a never-ending travel schedule that leaves them with almost no personal life. All because people like us people are prodding them with "I want XYZ yesterday...". If it wasn't demanding to be a Panny rep before it's damned-near painful now with fewer people across the board. After all is said than done I can say from seeing these people work firsthand that regardless what you think of Panny products you're far better off in the hands of any Panny rep - even today - than any other manufacturer. Period. |
Thank you Robert, I appreciate your insights and appreciation.
All the best, Jan |
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