"Vernor Vinge - The Cookie Monster" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

Victor laughed. "DonтАЩt worry about losing the job, Dixie Mae. Heh. ThereтАЩs no way it could have
lasted even through the summer." He gave his usual superior-knowledge grin.

"YouтАЩre an idiot, Victor. Doing customer support right will be a billion dollar winner."

"Oh, maybe . . . if youтАЩre on the right side of it." He paused as if wondering what to tell her.
"But for you, look: support costs money. Long ago, the Public Spoke about how much they were
willing to pay." He paused, like he was trying to put together a story that she could understand.
"Yeah . . . and even if youтАЩre right, your vision of the project is doomed. You know why?"

Dixie Mae didnтАЩt reply. His reason would be something about the crappy quality of the people who
had been hired.

Sure enough, Victor continued: "IтАЩll tell you why. And this is the surprise kink thatтАЩs going to
make my articles for the Bruin really shine: Maybe LotsaTech has its corporate heart in the right
place. That would be surprising considering how they brutalized Microsoft. But maybe theyтАЩve let
this bizarre idealism go too far. Heh. For anything long-term, theyтАЩve picked the wrong
employees."

Dixie Mae kept her cool. "We took all sorts of psych tests. You donтАЩt think Professor Reich knows
what heтАЩs doing?"

"Oh, I bet he knows what heтАЩs doing. But what if LotsaTech isnтАЩt using his results? Look at us.
There are someтАУsuch as yours trulyтАУwho are way over-educated. IтАЩm closing in on a masterтАЩs degree
in journalism; itтАЩs clear I wonтАЩt be around for long. Then thereтАЩs people like Don and Ulysse.
They have the right level of education for customer support, but theyтАЩre too smart. Yes, Ulysse
talks about doing this job so well that her talent is recognized, and she is a diligent sort. But
IтАЩll bet that even she couldnтАЩt last a summer. As for some of the others . . . well, may I be
frank, Dixie Mae?"

What saved him from a fist in the face was that Dixie Mae had never managed to be really angry
about more than one thing at once. "Please do be frank, Victor."

"You talk the same game plan as UlysseтАУbut IтАЩll bet your multiphasic shows you have the steadiness
of mercury fulminate. Without this interesting email from Mr. Lusting, you might be good for a
week, but sooner or later youтАЩd run into something so infuriating that direct action was
requiredтАУand youтАЩd be bang out on your rear."

Dixie Mae pretended to mull this over. "Well, yes," she said. "After all, youтАЩre still going to be
here next week, right?"

He laughed. "I rest my case. But seriously, Dixie Mae, this is what I mean about the personnel
situation here. We have a bunch of bright and motivated people, but their motivations are all over
the map, and most of their enthusiasm canтАЩt be sustained for any realistic span of time. Heh. So I
guess the only rational explanationтАУand frankly, I donтАЩt think it would workтАУis that LotsaTech
figures . . ."

He droned on with some theory about how LotsaTech was just looking for some quick publicity and a
demonstration that high-quality customer support could win back customers in a big way. Then after
they flushed all these unreliable new hires, they could throttle back into something cheaper for