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Difficult Client mixed with My Mistake

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by forvirg 1 view

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Question for all the more seasoned Consultants out there.

I have a new-ish client that I've done a small amount of work for already who was referred to me by one of my best clients.

For just a quick background: he had a problem with an internet connection share on his little home wireless network after he returned from a trip. Both computers there were running Windows 98SE and the laptop in particular was showing signs of degradation of Win98. I couldn't get the ICS working at all,though I did get the network talking again.

I told him his options - wipe out the hard drive and restore Win98 or wipe out the hard drive and install WinXP or something else (or, as ultimately happened, upgrade to WinXP).

Well, he opted for upgrading to WinXP Home on both machines. The installation became a nightmare and wound up taking me several hours. Then the network connection wouldn't work. I wound up going home last night and researching what to do. Turns out that the only known fix I came across for this was installing NetBEUI. That worked, but ICS won't work with NetBEUI.

Anyway, I digress a bit. When I arrived this morning he said "Do we need to call an expert in?" to which I replied, calmly, "my certification is in TCP/IP networking." (true). "and it appears this is a somewhat rare quirk." (also appears to be true).

I feel guilty that his network is still not working to his expectations, but am frustrated by his misunderstanding of how these things sometimes work (or don't as the case may be) and how long troubleshooting can take. I've certainly learned to couch my advice in VERY careful terms in the future, but what can I do now to help salvage this relationship or at least make a graceful exit?

Thanks!

Virginia

5 replies

by mmbarreca

Unfortunately, most people who want IT professionals expect that once one is onsite, it should only take a few minutes to fix a problem. I work primarily with doctors and I will tell you that some of them can be downright unreasonable. However, I have noticed that when you document all the steps you have made, they are a little more patient with you.

Who purchased the licenses for XP? If your client purchased these licenses, maybe you can offer to buy them from him (and thusly reinstalling Win 98SE on his machines to their original licensing) as a way to "fix" the networking issue that you were not aware of at the time of your initial recommendation. I think making a "graceful" exit at this time might cause more harm since it willlook like you came in, made a lot of recommendations, and left when the issue couldn't be resolved.

by nrayburn

I am afraid I do not have a "technical" answer to offer but I may have something else to ponder. I have had calls with customers that were similar in nature and I did was something like this..
First I admitted that I did not know the answer but I also told the client that "I will try to find out" and then arranged a call back. I found that this type of response at least cushins the fall & covers my backside when the client tries to blame me. Don't misinterrpit what I am trying to say here though. You obviously tried everything you KNEW to try and even went beyond what others would do to keep the relationship w/the client on a positive note. Periodic follow ups with the client help too - We can not fix everything and should not be afraid to ask for help,the ego may get hurt but the customer will thank you in the end.
For what its worth
NR

by gorien

i wish you had checked around before you upgraded to xp. my limited experience with xp is mixed. it is wonderful when it works, but once you found a small problem with it. the entire thing escalates into nuclear meltdown. i once had xp crash 6 time in approximately 2 hrs. i think the most expedient thing to do would be roll back on of the pc to win98se and keep the xp as the pc sharing the connection. if there is nothing wrong with the xp it should compensate for almost anything and pick up the network and share the connection.

by evillage

Get the situation to a working solution, then give the guy his final bill. Bill your actual time, then give him a generous discount. Afterwards, be VERRRRRRYYYYY busy whenever he calls...

BTW, yes, XP Home uses only NetBUEI for local workgroup networking. It also will NOT participate in a domain environment. To do ICS you will also need properly configured TCP/IP on each computer as well.

The limitations on XP Home are to disuade it's use in the business world. You should (must) use XP Pro to do significant networking involving domains.

Good Luck

Herb Cumbie

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