Excelerate Issues Aftercare Warning to Technology Users

14/06/2006

Excelerate Issues Aftercare Warning to Technology Users As Suppliers Take the Money and Run The use of cutting-edge technology in any organisation is often a move made after careful consideration – with the potential benefits weighed up against the cost.

Often it is one person within that organisation whose commitment to the technology drives the whole project forward – and that was exactly the case when the National College for Motorsport invested in a transportable satellite broadband solution for its Race Trailer.

However, the installation and use of new technology almost always requires the correct training and continuous support from the supplier, and that is where the forward-thinking shown by the College – the country’s first Centre of Vocational Excellence in Motorsport and Performance Engineering – came to a grinding halt.

James Powell, Project Manager for the East Midlands New Technology Initiative High Performance Engineering Network based at Tresham Institute was tasked with resolving the introduction of satellite broadband technology to the National College for Motorsport, which was formed in partnership between Tresham Institute of Further and Higher Education in Northamptonshire, Oxford & Cherwell Valley College, and Milton Keynes College.

State-of-the-art equipment had been installed on to the college’s Race Trailer that boasts 12 laptops each with its own workstation and a 42-inch plasma-training screen. The intention was to allow fast and secure connection to the internet and e-mail no matter where the trailer – which is used as a mobile training facility around the UK and beyond – was located. However, until last month, the College had only been able to use that equipment a handful of times in a two-year period due to a lack of support and aftercare from its original supplier – an all too common story for those people investing in dynamic technology.

That’s where Excelerate Technology came in. With his patience at an end, James Powell went straight to Excelerate having searched the internet for UK companies specialising in this area. Within a few days, the problems were ironed out and the College’s faith in broadband satellite technology was restored.

James explained: “We originally dealt with a company which led us to believe that they were the experts in this field in the UK, and were, therefore, the only company who could provide a solution to our requirements.

“Once we began to realise that the equipment we had purchased wasn’t up to the job for which it was intended, we were extremely disappointed and very frustrated especially with the aftersales service we received. Promises made regarding support were broken on a number of occasions, and it is only since we have found Excelerate that we have been able to exploit the technology to its full potential. On a personal level, I can’t thank them enough; they have been very helpful, professional and supportive in resolving the College’s mobile broadband satellite communication and are 100% customer focused which is refreshing David Savage, Excelerate Chairman, added: “I think that the level of service experienced by the College should serve as a warning to potential customers up and down the country.

“The College put its reputation on the line by bringing in a new technology, and trusted the supplier to deliver on their promises. That simply didn’t happen and the College was left with expensive equipment which was virtually unusable provided by a supplier who was either incapable of putting things right or uninterested, even though the customer had paid in full.

“In my opinion, the dealer has given no thought to anything other than the money received for the installation of the equipment, and has profited from the fact that it managed to convince the College that no other suppliers existed. There is no doubt that this kind of unethical ‘take the money and run’ approach exists where companies can ‘blind’ their customers with science. However, this will never be the case where our customers are concerned.”

Excelerate can be contacted for a free demonstration, at your premises in its Mobile Demonstration Unit on 0845 65 85 747 or info@excelerate.info