Qwest (fwd) - the whole story

Andy Dills andy at xecu.net
Thu Apr 12 18:07:35 UTC 2001


On Thu, 12 Apr 2001, Daniel Duffy wrote:

> The whole story presents an entirely different picture...

Yes, below is the followup post I made to inet-access (but decided not to
muddy nanog with, mainly because the people who seemed to be most
interested were on inet-access).

Also of note is that there have already been posts to inet-access that
show jake.gull at qwest.com sending out the EXACT same spam that William
Valentine sent, roughly two weeks ago. How could two different people, one
a "senior account executive", one a "major account executive", send out
the exact same spam within a span of two weeks, if it was not an official
program?

I nominate Qwest for the RBL...

Andy

--------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 19:22:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: Andy Dills <andy at xecu.net>
To:  <list at inet-access.net>
cc:  <joe at qwest.com>
Subject: Full qwest thread


Ok, in fairness, and based on the numerous requests for the full thread,
below is the full correspondance between myself and the fine sales team
at Qwest in California.



Here is my reply to the first email (the full text of the email I replied
to is quoted in each instance below):

--
On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, Valentine, William H wrote:

> Who is your current network provider?
>
> Will Valentine
> Qwest Communications
> Senior Account Executive
> 925-974-4953

You're a senior account executive, and you find spam acceptable? Man,
talk about "trying to get your foot in the door only to realize that the
door is your mouth".

And to top it all off, you're rude about it! "Who is your current network
provider?" Like a traceroute or route server won't tell you that
information...

Please supply me with the contact information for your supervisor.

Andy

<.sig removed>
--

I didn't hear back from Will, but quoted below is my response to the
initial, very acceptable reply I received from Jake:

--
On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, Gull, Jake R wrote:

>
> Hey Andy just a short note to contact you in regards to Will Valentines
> email. Will is somewhat new to the industry, and is working hard to make
> exciting things happen here at Qwest. If Qwest can help you in any way
> please advise.
>
>
>
> Thank you in advance,
>
> Jake Gull
> Major Account Executive
> (925) 974-4924 Direct
> (925) 932-0599 Fax
> (413) 677-3789 E-Fax


Hahahaha...so, when you first start out, you're a 'senior account
executive'.

Cute.

Andy

<.sig removed>
--

And then he replied with a simple "No reason to be rude", nothing more,
nothing less.

So here was my final reply, which was a bit over the top, I'll admit.
What can I say, I was on a roll, I'm really sick of sales people
emailing me, and let's face it, this is Qwest we're talking about:

--
On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, Gull, Jake R wrote:

> No reason to be rude.
>

Ha! No reason to be so amazingly disengenuous either. "Senior Account
Executive"...does that mean senior in high school? Or is it Qwest policy
to make green sales droids "Senior Account Executives"?

I find it way more likely that just like at McDonalds, "large" is really a
"medium", and "super size" is "large"; "Senior Account Executive" means
"Order Taker with spamming privs" and "Major Account Executive" means
"Account Executive". I'm sure if I talk to the "Godlike Account Executive"
I'll find an actual Senior Account Executive.

I mean, seriously, call me when your company gets half a clue. I know your
networking people might have a quarter of a clue between them (however you
might want to let them know that fiber is useless without decent peering),
so you'll really need to pick up the slack in sales.

Andy
--

And then, finally, the literary master that is Jake Gull replies:

--
On Wed, 11 Apr 2001, Gull, Jake R wrote:

> Wow,
>
> Pretty big words from a guy that is part owner of a "mom and pop"
> internet provider.. How many employees do you have this week? Ten?
> Eleven? The world is your oyster Andy go get em pal. It is pretty
> hilarious, when I contacted one of your employee's today and asked if
> Excunet was a publicly traded company, her reply, "what does that
> mean"? Where did you get that one Burger King? (I'll bet the rest of
> the Excunet gang is about as sharp as a marble) I was thinking of
> investing a $100. in your company, but I wouldn't want you sharp "data
> guru's" to mistake my action as a hostile takeover. Watch out
> Microsoft, Execunet is playing hardball. Hi from California, where the
> big dog's play. Just do me one favor Andy... STAY ON THE PORCH.
>
> Have a super day.

And you do so as well. I'm in the process of forwarding your reply to
inet-access, nanog, and your supervisors.

Good luck in the unemployment line!

Andy
--

I'm personally not offended or bent out of shape; turn about is fair play.
However, if _I_ found out that one of my representatives was emailing
potential customers this way, there would be severe consequences. I mean,
even if the content didn't piss me off, the poor grammar and format would.

So, I thought I would pass it along ;>

Andy

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