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 (http://www.ssv.com)

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.

As long as Jan keeps her position, we are all good. If not, we need to organize a bloody coup in Osaka.

Dan

I've got to go to Los Angeles to talk to anybody that really knows the products, especially the higher end stuff.
Shooting Star Video (http://www.ssv.com)

Hi Jeff,

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

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.


Just because people get laid off doens't mean that there is less work to do. The workload stays consistant but now there are fewer hands to do it. So yes Tom there is an impact to the layoffs, outside of the human factor of losing friends, it means that those left behind have more work to do.

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 (http://www.ssv.com)

Just because people get laid off doens't mean that there is less work to do. The workload stays consistant but now there are fewer hands to do it. So yes Tom there is an impact to the layoffs, outside of the human factor of losing friends, it means that those left behind have more work to do.

Best,

Jan

I know this Jan, thats why I was no longer angry once I actually talked to the rep. You have to understand that I hadn't heard about the layoffs at that point, and that 1 1/2 weeks is far too long to wait to talk to tech support under normal circumstances, most people would have indeed been angry. But I understand now, and again I appreciate your responsiveness. And yes, I feel for those who have lost their jobs, its very tough out there right now and I am quite thankful to still be working, knowing that its not guaranteed to me. I'm sorry if I sounded insensitive, it was not intended.

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!
Shooting Star Video (http://www.ssv.com)

Jeff if you send me a PM I will send you Doug's contact info, including his email. You will find him to be very responsive and pretty darn smart. When you have a new relationship it is always possible to start things differently. You know the old saying, when one door closes another one opens.

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