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Drawing the line- simple answers vs consulting

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28 replies

by service

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I've been in this game for a very long time.(I predate PC's (anyone remember Burroughs and 1/2" tape?)
To get to the point. I'd like to know where my colleagues out there draw the line when they get a call from a new customer who merely wants an answer to a simple question.
We all get the "how to, where is, I lost" pleas for help.
I understand the concept of give a little, gain a customer and new business....but my problem is even after all this time I can't figure out where a "little" stops and you begin doing telephone tech support which should be billable.
Any thoughts?

28 replies

by jdclyde

IF you can answer a question in one minute, chalk it up to good will.

Does it sound like it could be complicated?

You notify them that you have service staff that would be able to look at this.

by tig2

Although I generally look for the context of the question. If it appears that there will be a number of follow up questions, I define the limitations, generally explaining that I can provide a solution to the problem but that I make my living by providing those solutions.

by drech

I agree with Tigger and would add that what I tell my clients is: I have 2 minutes right now and am getting ready to work on another clients issues, what can I answer for you. If it goes to Question 2-3-4, then just stop and say"Are you a contract client? My contract client get 1 hour a month of phone support, but since you are not I will have to bill you for my time. If you want we can continue, what do you want to do at this point? By the way, I can set you up to evaluate your company and get you on a contract or I can bill you at $xx/ hour for phone support. When I have done this, most client will go one way or the other on the spot, so be ready. As a follow up send this customer a current billable hours price sheet and a blank maintenance contract. If they don't sign today, they may next week. Bottom line"Don't give your knowledge or time away for free."

by cg it

I build into the cost of my service contracts X # of hours per month of tech support. Usually an hour every month for 12 months. That way I'm not billing them to death and making myself to expensive to have on contract.

by mikeaaaaaaaaa9

I am often told by my partner, bill, bill, bill! I know how eawsy it is for those of use with knowledge to provide a quick answer to those without. I accept the call and listen to the question. We have been around long enough to know if they are scamming us to get their pc fixed for free or if it is just a real plea for a small insight that sends them on their way. TThe more people I help, the larger my business grows. Our reputation has been established and word of mouth moves us forward like grease lightning. I will not charge for the simple responses. Some (most) of my clients do have maintenance agreements and I do provide 15 minutes free help desk per incidient. We know who abuses and who does not but I cannot count how much our business has grown because I readily answer questions that many others would charge for. Some will always take advantage of you, some won't. They are the clients I want and many of them I earn the right to be their IT support. Don't change, it comes back over and over.

by too old for it

You can expect to hear "your guy was out here six months ago ..." as an opening gambit. YOu are supposed to reply, "well OF COURSE I'll answer your questionf ro free". After all that is what great-uncle Milo, or the kid next door in his Amiga tee shirt would do.

I had a partner for a while who would do that until we figured out how much business he was giving away. Let great-uncle Milo or the Amiga kid take his shot. They'll be back, and it will cost more by then to fix after it's all messed up.

by j.lupo

Even though I am not my company, I know that I don't just stop to answer a "quick" question. My time is money, but we don't want to price too much or we lose business.

I have found that if they think it is quick and I ask to qualify that quick, we deal only with what is fair and not crazy. Generally I use the 1 hour rule, but if I am onsite I might use 1/2 hour because I am even more accessible to them.

by jdclyde

if you still have part of a billable hour, then you go ahead. Just warn them before starting a new billable hour.

by j.lupo

1 free 1/2 hour, everything else is billable. :) This cuts down on the interrupt Lupo for quick answers when Lupo has deadlines to meet. ;)

Though I like your interpretation too. Hmmm, maybe a stop watch on my desk. .....

by jdclyde

don't be so hard on yourself. I am SURE that I will agree with you again! You have to think positively! :D

by service

Thanks for the input. I've been actually checking the clock when I get the call and TRYING to shut down the conversation after 5 minutes or so. But... even with new customers (hopefully they'll remember the phone number when they actually break something) its hard to do.
As for contract customers that's a bit different. They tend to listen a little closer and occasionally even do what I ask them to do. Imagine that.

by thomasderk9

It's a terrible problem because you want to help people and folk want FREE HELP. You need an algorithm and fortunately, Microsoft is stopping Win 9x, including ME support. Are you going to fill in the gap with long reboots for free or are you going to charge?

Win 2K is actually for terminals. If the XP, whether it is home, pro, or MCE, is not SP2, tell your cu to upgrade it to SP2 before they call you. Those pirated XP Pro corporate editions are just a world of pain. MCE prior to MCE 2005 are horrible. There is stuff going on now with those prior editions that we are never going to know.

I will digress with MCE 2005. I have a directly from Microsoft install cd that SAYS 2005, but actually it is 2002 or 3. So, since I wanted Xbox 360 magic and dual tuner support, I got 2005 off the Internet, except is was pirated and I ratted to Microsoft and even got my money back. So then I got what I wanted from Tiger Direct with a lovely Microsoft remote control, which I have put on my Atlantic Georgia 3250 cable box and it works!

Let me share, that last sentance is nothing less than miraculous. The Tiger Direct is the same old 2005 labeled CD, installed as earlier version, but then there is a bizarre third CD that upgrades to MCE 2005, but does not admit it in system properties.

If it is Win 2K pro less than sp3, just say, "No." If it is XP and less than SP2, just say, "No." And otherwise, bill by the nanosecond.

You want to build you customer base? Tell them the truth.

by dr_zinj

Man, I remember that stuff. Used to be able to read it straight too. LOL. Another now useless skill.

by therealpauper

... and another lost source of free and plentiful confetti ... HEHEHE. Those punch-outs worked great, didn't they ??

by mitchschultz

I understand your situation. This holds especially true with clients that you have been servicing for quite some time. They call with questions and expect answers, but don't expect to be charged. I was guilty of this many times, however, I also felt I was being taken advantage of. If a client called and had an issue, I would explain to them that if I could help them in 15 minutes or less, then I would not bill them. However, if the answer was going to take longer, or if research was necessary to find a solution, then they would be billed for that time accordingly. My clients then began to appreciate my time. They realized that this is what I did to earn a living. When they were billed for phone support or time spent researching, they were willing to pay for that time.

by kkwias

I have found that when I set up the client's expectations in the initial meeting,this is not an issue.
I usually tell them that if I can answer a quick question within 3-5 minutes, I will. If it takes longer, or if the client is struggling on the telephone, it is an on-site. (Struggling means they cannot navigate the commands...i.e. server issues, whatever..). This, of course,, assumes that we have an on-going support relationship-either contract, or I'm in there on a regular basis.
I do not extend that curtesy to people who are not active clients. I usually tell thiose clients that it has been a while since I've been there and I cannot answer over the telephone without an on-site.
Remember, a basis for doing business is a two-way street. -Works for me.

by troylphipps

I've done consulting work for quite sometime and it has to be done on a all or nothing basis - either purchased "incidents" or the meter is running. The key to this is informing the customer of what is to be billed, because if you "give the little" each and every time there's that expectation of "free support"

by laduerksen

My current situation is a wholesale distributor and system builder. We give much more free support than any of my previous places of business.

The biggest problem with "free support" is that it is viewed as "valueless". The more you give the less perceived value the service has.

At a previous job I used to invoice for everything and then have a discount line item canceling out the labor charge just so that the customer saw a dollar amount that was given to them.

I also had my techs wear lab coats with the company logo. You never go into a doctor?s office or hospital or anywhere else and get service from someone in a lab coat and not expect to pay something!

If your sales people don't establish the customers expectations properly, the support department needs to in a way that is not rude, over bearing or threatening.

Setting customer's expections early and telling the customer what we expect from them in the relationship is key.

It should normally be set in the sales cycle but this is not a perfect world. I've seen several replies addressing how others have corrected mis-guided expections

by techproguild9

For my best customers I don't even track the time. For other customers I start the clock right away. If we wrap it up within 5 minutes I don't charge them. All help over 5 minutes gets lumped together and billed as an hour or two on the next invoice. If they question it I can show them all of the calls and them ask if they would like to discuss a service contract.

by pcmystro

Dear Nice guy,

I have been dealing with customers myself for a considerable time and can feel your pain. When you are a private consultant every customer is precious and you are always concerned about word of mouth. With that in mind, you owe it to yourself and believe it or not your customer to 'Draw the line'. I recommend doing it early on in first engagements by setting a price and time limit on support calls or offering a set price for a certain number of 15 minute calls per month for example. Unfortunately, you most likely already have that handful of customers for which is too early to provide this 'early warning' so the best bet is to give warning with your next complimentary phone call or visit. I have begrudgingly told my customers that I would be more than happy to help them this time but if they want me to provide the best level of service that all my customers expect and deserve then we will have to set some guidelines for price and availability going forward. Surprisingly, you will learn that the customers you want are the ones that will respect your decision and request and honor it with a financial agreement.

Hope this helps
PCMystro

by misbah.husein

This is so common and I think all people of service industry end up doing this to some level.

I think the best way to gauge how far you have gone from what you should have, is to know precisely what are your obligations to the customer and make sure your customer also understands it clearly. That way, when you tell them to read up on a site etc. then they would still appreciate your help. Keeping a website of frequently asked questions, and directing customers there also helps save time.

by service

To all...

Thanks to all for the replies. It does help to be able to bounce these types of questions off my colleages. (A tip of hat to the CNET and their advertisers for sponsoring this forum...I'd guess they already know but it bears
repeating.)
My thinking was always on the right track...I just have trouble enforcing my own policies.
I do agree wholeheartedly about letting the clients in on the loop...most don't seem to object to being billed for advice if they perceive value for their money.
Most companies seem to appreciate the 'straight from the shoulder, even if it hurts' approach.
As for the 'out of the blue' callers who don't want to take the time to learn basic procedures (how do I reinstall windows, what's the 'start' button, etc) perhaps they are some of those customers who aren't coming back anyway and there's no real harm done when you have to cut them short and suggest they bring the problem in.
This has been a very valuable dialogue from this end. Thanks again.

by paul.tiffany

I'm amazed to read the dialogue on a question that was largely resolved years ago by outsourcers. Hourly billing is inherently a disincentive to providing high-quality, proactive customer service. Change your billing algorithm to $/month/user. In your Service Level Agreement include Service Level Targets as the primary driver with minimum levels set in Service Level Requirements. Targets allow setting higher goals and encourage working through issues on a partnership basis.

If you change to this algorithm, you'll have a relatively predictable income stream, your clients have predictable costs and you won't have to be worrying about bill, bill, bill.

by louisn

One aspect that hasn't been addressed, is the value of your expertise. As a networking expert, I can offer some one-minute solutions to problems that cost me hours (sometimes days) of troubleshooting to resolve. So should I offer it for free because I can supply the solution in one minute? I don't think so ...

I have a story that beautifully illustrates the value of expertise.

This guy had a fishbone stuck in his throat and in great pain and agony, runs over to his neighbour who is a doctor. The doctor removes the fishbone in a couple of minutes.

A month later the guy receives quite a hefty account for the procedure from the doctor. He is very upset.

He rushes over to the doctor and says: "How dare you charge me this exorbitant fee for something that took you only minutes?!"

The docotr replied: "Well, we can always put the fishbone back and then negotiate the price."

by asplus

Bill a block of hours in advance, say 50 hours at a reduced rate under your base rate. Then, if the customer uses more than 15 minutes of your time on a single call, charge it against the block of hours. If they call multiple times during the same day, using 2 or 3 minutes each time, consider deducting from half an hour to one hour or more from their block of hours.

Do not forget to send time sheets which carry the balance of time available each week detiling used time this week.

Bernard Le Jour
Systems Integrator
AS Plus Informatique Inc.

by betty

Do you pre-allocate time based on the #of machines they have? How do you determine 50 hours? If the customer goes over that block then what? I assume you bill at standard rates? If they don't use the block do they carry if forward or does it fall off the schedule?

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