It’s a clear cry for help and one that cannot be ignored for much longer. The verdict of the recently concluded Golden Rhino Awards 2004, conducted by 360 Magazine, is that vendors need to urgently spruce up their act when
it comes to replacement speed and turnaround time and ensure that the product receives the same standards of service–irrespective of the location where it is sold.
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The Golden Rhino Awards has been initiated to recognize the most reliable vendor in a particular product category. Of all the 12 criteria that partners had to rate a vendor’s performance on, it was Replacement Speed,
Turnaround Time and Uniformity of Service that received an overall low rating across all the 24 product categories that were evaluated. And the poor ratings are not limited to companies with a minuscule channel presence. Even the bigwigs feature in the black list on these criteria.
While response to Golden Rhino Awards 2004 was overwhelming, it was also enlightening. The results are an unbiased view and a true reflection of the ground realities of the Indian IT marketplace. Manufacturers efforts to increase geographical reach was appreciated and acknowledged by partners, with an overall high rating in the Location and Spread of Services criterion.
p____p But when it came to issues like Online Help, Quality of Toll-free Helpline and Support Extended by Company, the ratings were dismal. Thus proving that the channel is ready to use more of the electronic medium to conduct its
business, but vendors are still to realize this fact and provide an adequate platform which will address this need.
p____p We hope that the results of the Golden Rhino Awards 2004, give you what it gave us–a rare and truthful insight into the mind of the channel partner.