Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
(OP)
I didn't think it was possible, but the Siemens website (US Version) has become even more unusable. An never ending series of pop-up pages with marketing fluff leading to more useless pages.
I was trying to find a manual or brochure for an older voltage regulator control, but it doesn't appear that they have any data on discontinued products. Or at least I got tired of poking at non-functional links and endless series of pop-ups.
I have no idea what they are thinking or why they thing this is a good way for a website to work. I wish ABB would just buy them out and put me out of my misery.
Aaargh!!
There - I feel better now.
I was trying to find a manual or brochure for an older voltage regulator control, but it doesn't appear that they have any data on discontinued products. Or at least I got tired of poking at non-functional links and endless series of pop-ups.
I have no idea what they are thinking or why they thing this is a good way for a website to work. I wish ABB would just buy them out and put me out of my misery.
Aaargh!!
There - I feel better now.






RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
As happened with a lot of manufacturers after Y2K, the tough times forced a lot of cutbacks in all departments. They (we) were just recently able to devote the resources and staff to making the website experience cleaner and leaner, but the word is that it will take 2 more years to implement. Part of the reason for all the pop-ups is because of individual business units that had budget money for the changes are executing their own and using redirect pages. But you are right, it's frustrating, even for those of us on the inside. I have begun to see the changes though, I know it's getting incrementally better believe it or not.
A lot of legacy products dropped off the radar in Y2K as well unfortunately. They had to make a lot of "Sophie's Choice" decisions and legacy products were frequently sacrificed. It may still be supported however, just not web-enabled because of the above issues.
Dave, please feel free to shoot me an email of what you are looking for, I'll see if I can find out anything for you using my intranet resources.
Jeff
Now I need to add "Official Siemens Apologist" to my already lengthy job description...
JRaef.com
"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems." Scott Adams
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RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
The other thing which infuriates me about several websites, not just Siemens, is that parts which have been recently superseded simply disappear as though they had never existed, even though they have previously been on the web when they were current parts. It makes supporting existing equipment harder than it needs to be.
Grrrr!
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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
It seems that in big companies each division has it's own customer support policy.
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It may be like this in theory and practice, but in real life it is completely different.
The favourite sentence of my army sergeant
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
My comment was primarily aimed at the Siemens Automation & Drives website. I don't use the T&D website very often.
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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
I'm certainly not directing my rants at you - I'm sure you're as frustrated as anyone.
I think the problem is that the website is run by the Marketing group and they have no clue that purchasing decisions by engineers are often made in large part on the availability of information and support, not the glitz of the marketing or even the marginal superiority of the product.
BTW, I located the Instruction Manual I was looking for - but not on the Siemens website.
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
Just venting! Tried this morning to find technical and info, part number, etc., on bus duct plugs for an existing ITE XL Universal bus duct. Couldn't find any technical info online. Then called the "local" number in an attempt to speak to a technical representative. Spoke to a woman who appeared to be totally clueless.... who turned out not to be "local." She wanted the description and part number for the stuff I was requesting info about. I gave it to her several times. And she still had no clue what department to pass me to! The phone conversation was basically like a Monty Python skit! And the parrott was definitely dead!
From my point of view... ITE XL Universal bus duct/busway... should have been enough info.
Did get a call from the local Siemens rep shortly afterwards and got a portion of the information that I require.... but am very very annoyed at how painful the precedure is.
Margaret
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
Back to my unofficial Siemens' Apologist role, I think it's important to realize that Siemens in the US is made up of a lot of companies that Siemens AG (Germany) bought and rolled together. But one thing that Siemens does NOT do is immediately walk in and sack an entire organization that they buy. They very slowly integrate them into the fold.
So with the Robicon (MV Drives) purchase, they had a very successful and knowledgeable sales force in existence through rep agencies. To their credit, Siemens has NOT canceled the rep agreements and rolled the sales responsibility into other existing divisions, they retained the entire Robicon sales and engineering forces that still remained (many had already left before hand because of troubles with Robicon's ex-parent) and created a new Large Drives division around them. What Siemens also didwas to acknowledge the Robicon people's abilities to know and handle the complex world of large drives, so they actually handed over responsibility for the pre-existing German MV drives to that group as well, then moved people familiar with that product line into that division. That is recent enough however that the word has not reached every nook and cranny of Siemens as of yet.
What that means, margaret695, is that if you call a local Siemens Energy & Automation field office (who is responsible for Low Voltage drives) and ask about Medium Voltage VFDs, you may get shuffled around a bit as we all try to learn this new organization plan, but eventually you will get the best people for the task.
tommy75,
As to ITE bus duct, assuming you called someone at SE&A here in the US, all I can say is, I'm embarrassed. However if you called Siemens USA, the umbrella corp in New York, they might flounder a bit. Siemens USA is the US parent not only of Siemens Energy & Automation (SE&A), but also Siemens Medical, Siemens Engineering, Siemens Transportation, Siemens Power Generation etc. etc. etc. Remember, you are speaking of a company that did $96+ billion in sales last year. There are a lot of parts to Siemens, one person cannot know every single product line.
And by the way, ABB ($22 billion sales 2006) buying Siemens? Pfffft...
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
That was exactly what happened when ASEA bought BBC. ASEA was a much smaller company than BBC was. But with a lot more "go". The (ase)ABB(c) that came out of that business developed in the right way until a certain non-technical guy with some business training took over and made a Titanic out of that fine company.
As much as I like Siemens in many ways, I also see their problems. One of the more serious problems is the inability to see, understand and react when things, be it technology or policies, don't work. It seems to be a central European weakness and I have lived with it for fifty years. Yes, that is true. I did my first apprentice with Siemens, Stockholm in 1957.
The problems come and go like waves. Right now, I think that we are on a performance crest, or on the downslope of it.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
What was fine company? ASEA, BBC or ABB?
And w/o joks, were is perfect power generation part of ABB??? But Ludovika, Vasteras, Baden, Turgi are still provide high level of products.
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
Agree. Ludvika is a fine division. Pioneered HVDC (Ygne, Gotland in the fifties). Still delivering around 50 % of all HVDC installed.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
The way it was described in business papers made me think it was a buy. The headlines went like "David eats Goliath" and so on.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
I'm picking up exactly what your putting down!! I've followed the whole BBC-ABB-ALSTOM-SIEMENS/ALSTOM-???
for quite some time and all I know is I have an ABB oh wait... an Alstom oh wait... a Siemens VAX HP, a Flender-Graffenstaden gearbox, an ABB oh wait... an Alstom Generator and an ABB oh wait... an Alstom oh wait... a Siemens LP. Wait, who am I supposed to call for the generator again? Anyways thats kinda what I got when looking for a quote on the M.V. Drive but I think it comes down to the people actually taking your info. I called our local office, then the other local office, then I was transferred to the other local office, then to an Ohio office and so on all the while everyone wanted to know exactly what I was looking because " Please, before I come unglued, just get me to the M.V. drive guru." would not suffice. Wierd... What the heck is PC load letter??
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
"ABB was a fine company before P.B."
What do you mean P.B., sorry for misunderstanding.
Regards.
Slava
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
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100 % recycled posting: Electrons, ideas, finger-tips have been used over and over again...
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
As, I understand , a new one ( don't remember initials) change this situation.
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
here are few useful links I usually use in my searches:
http://ecatalog.squared.com/
http://www.ab.com/products.html
http://
https
OF course I don't have links for US users because I don't work on that market but you can find product information for Euro market and than be redirected to US appropriate site when you launch query abut some product class. They are same in basis just they change standard voltage and Protection standards.
RE: Siemens USA Website - Just Venting
By which I mean, I'm trying to quote ABB marine generators, and their website appears to be all fluff, and ...
... hold that thought.
A guy from ABB just called in, said he met me at the workboat show, and promised to have someone from their marine division call me real soon.
Not as handy as having a fact- stuffed website, but any port in a storm.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA