Informix VARS vs. Informix Direct Sales Reps

I recently ran across a situation were <apparently> I was in direct competition with an Informix sales rep. My company and my client are separated geographically and the Informix sales rep. made a case to the CIO of my client that Informix support would have to come from the other side of the country -- Further, he implied that that customer wouldn't be privy to no cost consulting if he purchased the software from my company (due to the geographical difference -- Both in the US). Meanwhile, I worked countless hours with the customer to correct and clarify statements made by the Informix sales rep. The day my contacts at Informix informed me that they had the information I needed for a proposal, the rep submitted a proposal directly to the client and took the contract. What kind of nonsense is this? I'm curious to know if this is an isolated case or if others VARs have had direct competition with Informix. I'm fuming and the entire marketing group is also -- We're thinking we have to rethink our marketing strategy with Informix. Please send Email of your experiences and I'll keep them strictly confidential if you request. Thanks. (Please note: The situation was actually more clear-cut than this. I've spared the details because they aren't appropriate for this newsgroup.) -- To err is human, to moo bovine. Clay Irving (clay@panix.com)