July 2006
On 3rd July 2006 John, Andy and Chris are flying out to Ottawa for a training course. Look back here for a diary of their trip which will be updated daily.
3rd July 2006
The day started at 5am, leaving behind the offices at NCI we set sail for Heathrow to catch the flight to Boston. A good steady trip, Andy and Chris napping whilst John drove like a bat out of hell with the occasional muttering from John of are we there yet?. The flight was on time and comfortable, well as comfortable as a long haul flight can be, the virgin airline crew were friendly.
John busy doing remote The catch phrase for the trip
support at 56000 feet "Are we there yet?"
Once we arrived at Boston we were surprised to find the immigrations staff pleasant and we were cleared through customs very fast, now for the second part of the journey.
from leaving NCI to arriving in Boston had only taken 17 hours with waiting time accounted for and breakfast of course, now we were to find a delay on the flight to Ottawa. After a quick trip to the bar we waited in the airport lounge for a couple of hours before boarding, an experience we all die for. the flight was smooth, watching the July 4th fireworks going off below us a day early from the window seats. Arrival in Ottawa was fun, customs staff taking an instant dislike to anyone who appeared human (Chris was fine). the cab ride to the hotel was not something to be missed either, the shock absorbers, or lack of seemed to head for every bump in the road for the 20 minute journey to the hotel.
24 hours, booked in and ready for bed, night all.
4th July 2006
A nights sleep and raring to go we all had breakfast in the Brookstreet Hotel (fantastic rooms, great food ) and off to our training course just a couple of blocks down the road.
Today was theory, even though yesterday was long and heavy going our instructor, Renock, tried his hardest to make it easy on us and did a damn good job. lots of interactive discussions and battling out theories we know we have found the right product for our customers. A telephone system has never looked so good. Its not a case of can we sell you this, it's a case of can you run your business without it?
a quiet evening spent over supper we retired early for the practical sessions tomorrow.
The Brookstreet Hotel, Ottawa The view from Andy's room
5th July 2006
Practical sessions in our training today, installation and configuration which went smoothly for most people. The auto attendant feature of the software is amazing, if you can think of any way you want your telephone calls handled this will do it. Anoher added feature we know people will find useful is the ability to call to get a fax sent to you. Scalability is unlimited, it can be provided to customers with just 3 telephones through to an install scheduled in 3 weeks time for 1700.
After the course finished and we made the calls to the office and home ensuring all was well we were taken out for the evening into Ottwawa City Centre for a meal. Unfortunately we didnt take our cameras but the buildings were incredible, Parliament House, the ring of fire, even some hotels had fantastic structures. Then back to the hotel for an early night, a big thank you to all who arranged it and those who attended.
6th July 2006
Again practical sessions filled our day with taking data from databases and then being read to you from the phone, email configuration and fax services. I honestly can't see why every business doesn't use this already. Anyone reading this please get in touch with us, when we release it late July you'll wonder what you ever did without it.
On a more personal side, in the evening we all opted for the gym and pool to get rid of the tensions of the day. Chris and John had a good workout whilst Andy soaked his poor old bones in the jacuzzi then Andy and John had a swim in the pool. Their was a slight problem in the changing rooms though, when John jumped on the scales the poor thing shouted "hey, no coach parties"
7th July 2006
Last day of the course and the end of our Ottawa trip.
The morning was spent wrapping up with the end of course exam, last minute questions and answer sessions and talks with the sales and marketing team. Once again NCI are again proud to be the first resseller in the UK for another great product that is set to be a leader for years to come.
A barbeque was set out for lunch were we talked with the designers and support team ensuring all our customers get access to the best solutions available.
The afternoon was spent mostly in the airport waiting to fly out directly onto our next trip, Boston, USA.