Linda posted on February 08, 2010 09:07
Over the next couple of weeks, I have decided to post a series of suggestions that will help you save money on your computer support. These tips will also help you evaluate whether or not you are working with the right computer support company or not.
Tip Number 1 - Ask your computer support company to let you or your staff get involved with your project so you can learn to be more self-sufficient and shave off billable hours.
One of the best ways to save money on your computer support is to learn how to handle some of the basic, routine issues that arise in house. If you can be involved in the project you are outsourcing, it will go a long way to make you or your designated staff member competent to handle many of the small issues.
Many computer support companies will want to keep you as far away from your project as possible. After all, if you have to call them about every little issue, they will be able to bill you for more time. I don't think that is ethical and that is why we always try to involve our clients.
Let me illustrate this with a story: Recently, one of our clients was upgrading several machines in their office from Office 2003 to Office 2007. After loading files to the server, we needed to install the new software on a dozen machines. Since this particular client has a staff member whose responsibility is to provide first level support for all network issues, our technician showed her how to perform the upgrade. She was then able to perform the upgrades herself, saving billable hours and gaining valuable knowledge in the process.
We have been able to save other clients considerable money just by teaching them how to solve and fix problems while we are doing it. We also document everything we do for our clients in detail. All of the details are printed on the invoices and are available in our customer portal, allowing them to refer back to anything that has been done in the past.
Of course, not everyone wants to be involved at that level, and it's fine if you don't. But don't you think that should be a choice you make and not one that your computer support company makes for you?