Wanda,

I wish I could count the number of times I literally fought with the saled department over a setup that I was provided with.  We begged that they at least come over and sit in operations for a day or two just to see what was involved in each order.  They never had the time.  I still think that before you can effectively sell a product you need to be in operations for at least a year.  I actually applies for a sales position and was turned down because I "Didn't have sales experience".  Meanwhile 2/3 of the clients that the division have was brought in by word of mouth because of the service provided....not marketing. 

It is also true that the the people on the phone are the ones  that are always the representatives of the company.  How they treat the vendors will carry along way in how easy there job is to do.  I learned this the hard way, as I have stated in other threads.  I did learn how to abstract, not because I wanted to, but because it made me better at my job.  I didn't like that end of it.....not my thing.  I became more understanding and patient because of learning that.