Fostering Teamwork and Communication

[dthomps -at- foundationsoft -dot- com]

Hi,
This may be a strange request, but I figured there's at least a few of you
who play similar roles in your company, so I'm looking for ideas and
insight.
 
Part of my job is to teach our Customer Support Department about the new
developments in our software when it is released. I technically fall under
the R&D Department, but because of this job duty, actually work closely with
both departments. 
 
The two departments have what I imagine is a classic problem -- they
severely dislike each other. Because I facilitate the communication between
both departments, I bear the brunt of this. When I hold training classes for
support, they gripe at me about everything under the sun, and when I return
any comments or suggestions to R&D, they gripe that Support's not doing
their job, doesn't understand, yadda yadda yadda.
 
I'd like to find a way to get the two departments to see the other side of
the fence a little more clearly and am planning to devote my next training
session with Support to this. Anyone have ideas for workshop activities,
games, etc. that will help Support to understand how the R&D process works,
why bugs sometimes happen, how to make constructive comments rather than
just complain, etc.?
 
TIA,

Dannette Thompson