(Shameless plug for my company: http://www.rmiss.net)

If it weren't for a couple of major items, Ascolta probably would have had an overall score of 8 or more.  However, these items are (in my customer mind) major cardinal sins for a professional training company to commit. On the other hand, if it weren't for a specific individual on the Ascolta team, they could just have easily scored below a 5.  Read my comment section below for for details and a little background.

I've attended several Cisco classes at the Ascolta San Jose location:

• IDS/IPS V5.0    December 2006
• CS-MARS          February 2007
• PIX/ASA           March 2007

In addition, I WAS scheduled to attend the IDS/IPS V6.0 class in September '07 and the ACEOC class in October '07.  But, as shown in the low score, the IDS/IPS class was cancelled by Ascolta, and we subsequently cancelled FOUR seats for the ACEOC.  A portion of the IDS/IPS cancellation was our fault.  We originally had 5 seats (3 full week, 2 partial week) scheduled, but ended up rescheduling 3 of the seats due to a new campus going online ahead of schedule.  HOWEVER, if you read my comment section below, you'll quickly see why Ascolta is currently on my proverbial "Bad Side".

Overall, Ascolta is one of the industry's "Cisco Authorized Training Partner" sites.  In layman's terms, they're a Cisco training mill.  This is by no means a derogatory statement.  There is definitely a need for training centers specializing in Cisco products.  However, with so many training companies out there, if any one organization wants to set themselves apart from the 'pack', there are a few things that they must do better, and more consistently than everyone else:

• Provide Better Customer Service than the competitors
• Deliver Superior Products
• Know Your Customers
• Keep Your Promises

The training classes I had were well delivered, although 'canned'.  No supplemental training materials were provided.  The instructors were all very knowledgeable and had obviously worked with the respective products extensively.  There was one, however, that was rather arrogant.  So much so that it was somewhat distracting.  All labs were conducted on remote equipment which functioned properly most of the time.  There were a few times when instructors had to call their support organization to reboot or perform maintenance on the equipment during class.

The facilities were clean and well maintained.  They are conveniently close to the airport and there's a nice hotel right across the street.  The only person on site other than the instructor was the Branch manager.   It has been her efforts and service that has brought us back to Ascolta. 

Ease of registration has been notable.  All we have to do is call her and send a follow-up email, and it's done.  It's been worry-free.  Also worth noting is the fact that she doesn't 'spam' us with calls & emails.  I had a brief conversation with her during my first class there.  To me, it was a simple request:  "When we need training, we'll call you.  Please don't solicit us otherwise."  Thankfully, she's respected our wishes and subsequently earned our loyalty (not to mention training dollars).  It's amazing how many organizations just don't get the hint.  Training is not a perishable item.  As a customer, we are smart enough to locate the training we need, when we need it!

One more note on the Branch Manager and Ascolta.  I RARELY leave written feedback pertaining to service - poor or otherwise.  I actually sat down in July and submitted very positive feedback on Ascolta's website regarding the level of service we had received from her.  If it weren't for her, we would not have returned to Ascolta.  Update:  Unfortunately for Ascolta, this person no longer works there.  The score has been adjusted appropriately.

Scores

Comments:  The following is a compilation of my observations, experiences, and opinions regarding Ascolta.

How do you turn a $3,000 dollar customer into $50,000 or more in sales?  No amount of fancy sales work, smooth talking, sales meetings, brow-beating, or inspirational seminars can beat two simply fundamental aspects of handling customers.

1. Provide memorable, consistent customer service
2. Do what you say you're going to do

Pretty easy, isn't it?

I regularly attend conferences and seminars.  In fact, I was the guest speaker at the ISSA for their February 2007 meeting in Denver.  I especially enjoy going to Cisco Networkers.  One of the things I like about conventions is the opportunity to visit a multitude of vendor booths and speak with their sales representatives.  I've purchased several solutions from vendors in this manner.

One of the things I like to do is to circulate through the booths a couple of times before speaking with anyone.  The first time through is an opportunity to identify the vendors I'm most interested in.  The second time around is spent watching and listening to the vendors.  This gives me a chance to get an idea of the quality of the company based on how their associates conduct themselves.  In doing this, I usually 'disqualify' one or more vendors due to their demeanor, lack of professionalism, or plain lack of knowledge.

I don't spend any time at these conventions speaking to training providers.  The reasons are simple.  When I need training, I get online and find the class(es) I want, then contact the appropriate people.  Secondly, I wouldn't feel good about wasting someone's time knowing full well that I wasn't going to purchase their product.  Since I've been around the block a few times, I know what to expect from a training company, therefore I don't feel the need to engage them in that forum.

What I experienced at Networkers 2007 dumbfounded me.

When I arrived at the World of Solutions reception on that Tuesday night, I proceeded to grab some hors d'oeuvres and a free beer.  I began making my way through the vendor booths.  On my first walk through, I noticed Ascolta had a booth manned by three people.  Although I usually don't bother with training vendors, I thought I'd drop by, introduce myself, and put in a good word for Lucie Payne, the San Jose Branch Manager.

On my second trip through, I was taking my time observing vendor interactions with prospective clients.  In one particular area, I found myself within earshot of the Ascolta booth.  I decided to do my usual covert recon routine with the Ascolta personnel.  I spent somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes just watching and listening.  There are two things to realize about this.  First of all, 5 minutes is a long time to idly stand and watch/listen to someone.  Secondly, you can learn a WHOLE lot in those few minutes if you're paying attention and know what to look and listen for.

As I stood there, I sized up Ascolta's booth.  Not bad... kind of plain and uninspiring though.  You could tell there wasn't a whole lot of thought or effort put into building their booth.  They had a large Ascolta banner and a counter, that's about it.  There were 3 guys at the booth.  One of the first things I noticed was a half-empty beer bottle sitting on a shelf behind their front counter.  Now, it may sound hypocritical, but I thought it was entirely inappropriate for a representative of a company to be drinking a beer while AT THE SALES BOOTH.  The apparent owner of the libation was sitting back in a chair doing nothing much at all, except collecting dust.  The second guy (who appeared to be the alpha male) was at the back of the booth leaning against the banner, scowling and arms crossed.  He was having a half-hearted conversation with someone who was either an ex-instructor or former coworker.  In either case, the conversation was held in an obviously complaining tone.  It may be my imagination, or convoluted sense of superior professionalism, but I thought his entire demeanor was far short of welcoming.  The third guy was obviously an instructor.  He was working the booth appropriately, conversing with passing customers and appeared to be interested in what was going on around him.  I was mildly impressed with the ease in which he answered questions from multiple individuals, while on his feet no less.  Needless to say, I was not positively impacted by what I saw at their booth.  To me, if a company is going to spend their money on space rental at a convention booth, pay their employees' salary and expenses during the convention, the least the associates could do is attempt to make a good impression on the thousands of potential customers that pass by.  I decided not to introduce myself.

I continued on through the vendors.  Eventually, I chose 2 vendors to speak with.  I spent about 15 minutes at each of their booths, then decided to go back to my room.  I was tired, having arrived in L.A. late the night before.  On my way out, I passed the Ascolta booth.  I just couldn't resist....

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