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tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Consolidated Com..
·Republic Wireless
·Hollis Hosting

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tschmidt to pcme2000

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Re: FairPoint Maine

I always find it interesting when companies are having trouble they hire outside consultants.

Why do they expect someone external to the company to have more expertise then the folks actually running things on a day to day basis?

Is the CEO saying they currently don't know what is broken?

/tom

mouseferatu
Too many cats, Too many mice
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join:2004-03-16
Im not sure

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mouseferatu

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said by tschmidt:

Why do they expect someone external to the company to have more expertise then the folks actually running things on a day to day basis?

Is the CEO saying they currently don't know what is broken?

/tom
Good questions there, Tom. I do a lot of utilization and QOS/QA review contracts...

1) Bringing in someone from the outside ideally does at least two things. It adds credibility to the notion that the "C's" have great concerns about the company's problems that won't just go away, and it buys time for them to get their act together. The consultant or consulting group is under a NDA, so they pose no threat of unwanted disclosure to the contrary if something smells.

With luck, it adds a third dimension and reassures an interested party that your operations are sound and just need a little fine-tuning.

2) In the case of FP, there are any number of things broken... I have no idea if any one person really could know what is broken, as most of the original Verizon db is simply gone. The deal that FP made with the NH PUC would lead one to question if the CEO has any idea what and how badly things are broken.

I do know that I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for trying to assess what is wrong with the operation- there isn't enough available errors and omissions insurance to begin to cover that job...

~Arel

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Consolidated Com..
·Republic Wireless
·Hollis Hosting

1 recommendation

tschmidt

MVM

I agree it is often good to get outside perspective to critique your operation. Have done it myself.

But the problems they are having are pretty basic service delivery problems. Seems like they have more productive ways to spend money. But if it works and they are successful I'm all for it.

/tom

again
@myfairpoint.net

again to tschmidt

Anon

to tschmidt
What they are saying is they have no idea how to fix it. The problem is most likely poor software, can't afford new so down the tube they go.

mouseferatu
Too many cats, Too many mice
MVM
join:2004-03-16
Im not sure

mouseferatu to tschmidt

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to tschmidt
I wasn't saying that I believe that spending money on consultants is a good idea... just making the point that FP can buy some time and make excuses by bringing in outsiders. It helps legitimize their ineptitude in the eyes of some, anyway...

I don't believe for one minute that any amount of money spent on consultants will help what ails FP- as implied, I don't think that any sensible consultant would want to take it on.

The problems that we can see are likely the tip of the iceberg, and IMO they don't need an expensive outside source to tell them to begin by fixing those.

Consultants are very good at completely burying real issues in piles of paperwork that no one can understand, and can make the worst company look great. Bothers me, as I take a lot of pride in using honest methods and real algorithms when I work...

~Arel