So, a few miffed tweets and a blog post or two, and I find myself picked up by itnews.com.au (totally without my knowledge, mind!), and the story grows legs, and takes off all on its own. That said, I stand by what I have written, and I firmly believe that I have delivered an even handed and fair appraisal of what occurred from my personal perspective surrounding the issues with the Pre-Conference Technical Training at Tech.Ed Australia 2011. Bottom line, most delegates in the training did not get what they paid for.
Technical failures happen. In our industry, we all have to deal with them. In a previous blog, I made mention of the fact that a great organisation is made by how they respond to this sort of event.
As a result of my blogs and tweets, I had some chats and emails with people from Microsoft such as Jeff Alexander and Sarah Vaughan. Both of these guys made every effort to apologise and to make sure that I was listened too and responded too appropriately. They were responsive and attentive, and the end result has been an offer to fully refund my Pre-Conference Technical Training Fee of $715.00. I understand this offer is being widely circulated.
This is a great outcome and shows transparency and honesty from Microsoft. They delivered a product that did not hit the mark, they assumed responsibility for it, and they responded appropriately.
Another point to note: The presenters undertaking the training did a sterling job under the circumstances and should be commended! :)
To conclude - My Tech.Ed journey is going from strength to strength and I am getting a lot both professionally and personally from the sessions and the community events. Feel free to come say Hi if you see me wandering around. :)
-- Hayden McManus (@hjmcmanus)
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Posted in: [Miscellaneous], [IT Pros], [Professional Development], [User Groups, Events, Conferences, Meetups], [General Technology], [TechEd]