Pros
In the early years this was the best job I had ever had. It was actually fun to go to work. There was harmony and synergy within the the entire office. It was a wonderful team. The company allowed creativity and accepted inputs from the field on product improvements. In general, there was a good communication path with Germany. Headquarters provided the necessary tools, materials, education, and spare parts to quickly address customers needs for repairing their customers downed semiconductor test equipment. The company allowed the latitude to cultivate your skill set. I believe that the service department was stellar and carried the company to success within the United States region of their global marketplace within the Semiconductor industry.
Kontras
After a management change, the customers began to suffer. Spare parts quit being stocked locally in San Jose. Customers to date continue to incur expensive downtime, sometimes waiting more than 1 week or 2 for parts. Some customers have replaced the equipment with competitors gear because of the poor support. Senior Field Service Engineers were let go and replaced with new engineers commanding a lower salary. Management tarnished the companies reputation as on of the leaders in Semiconductor test.