As the customer service rep for our Indianapolis small business computer customers, I listen carfeully to anything they have to say. I listen to the praise as well as the complaints. As much as we love the praises, we analyze every complaint or concern from our customers. One of the issues that we experienced lately relates to our computer help desk. The service the clients were receiving was fine. The problem was when they received it. For example, when someone at their office comes in early and finds there is a problem, they would call into the helpdesk. The helpdesk does not open until 8:00 so the person is not able to get assistance until the helpdesk would call them back about 8:15-8:30. Port-to-Port has listened and we're changing our hours to start the helpdesk at 7 am.
What does this story have to do with computers, consulting, etc.? It is never bad to evaluate who you are using against other people and services. If you have a good network support group or computer outsourcing company, they will want to know where they are behind and will want to improve. If the school had said, "Let's try these things to get back to that higher standard," we would have stayed. We liked the school, we liked the people. As I am sure you are with the people that support your computer network. If you don't like the company that supports you or you don't like the people that support you, maybe you need to evaluate why you use them. If you've talked to them and gotten answers like my private school gave me, you should see what other options are available. My small busines computer support company takes feedback from our customers extremely seriously. We don't take a squeaky wheel approach to it either. We assume that if one company is telling us they have a problem, many are feeling the same pain and we need to make changes quickly.
Don't allow your computer network services company to take your business for granted. Make them work to continue to earn your business. We know that's what our customers expect, and we do all we can to deliver. Every IT consultant in the nation should do the same.
One of mycolleagues and I went to the gym after work the other day to work out. As the workout went on we both noticed how sore we were becoming but said that's good because it means we are improving ourselves. It is that way for our Indianapolis small business computer support customers as well. As their businesses mature and grow, they have to keep exercising them to keep them strong and growing. Our task as their computer consultants is to work along side them so their technology can change as it needs to. Sometimes, we are involved in those planning meeting but other times we are not. Often, people don't realize that a decision they're make directly impacts their computer network and should at least include input from the outsourced IT department. We have had trouble with a couple of clients lately in this area. One of them uses email to run their business. Due to the amount of email they were storing we needed to make
changes to their system to allow them to keep the email in the way that they prefer. We attempted to change their behavior by archiving email instead of keeping it. They decided as an organization that they wanted to keep the email. ( As their computer consultants we can only advise them.) So, we spent many late nights dealing with corrupt mail storage to get them working. The reality is that they have outgrown their current configuration and need to do some significant upgrades. So even though the large bill for equipment may be painful, it is necessary for them to continue to grow and develop.This incident reminded me that they hired us to be their computer consultants. Our not saying something turned out to be more painful than just telling them what they needed to hear and addressing it from there.
I had a meeting with one of my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers. She mentioned that they had some old computer stuff that needed to be removed from their office. A couple of techs were scheduled to pick up the equipment from their office. Boy were we surprised to find
filing cabinets and shelves filled with old IT equipment...two vehicles full of stuff! It took 3 hours and 3 people to go through the stuff to see if there was anything of value. When we finished, there were a few items that we are keeping for spare parts ( a couple USB keyboards and mice, software and spare monitor). The client wants to help other organizations as much as they can, we will be formatting the laptops and desktops to be reused at another of our Indianapolis small business computer customers. Just like at home, the rooms need to be cleaned out in your offices as well. And even though my boss still has a couple of Apple Newton's in his desk (He says the portable device technology is headed back toward this idea.), most of the stuff you stashed away has no usefulness after it's been put away for more than a few months.
As a good employer you want to educate and train your staff whenever the budget allows. I was asked by one of my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers to provide their staff with 45 minutes of training. As their computer tech support department, I had to really think about what I wanted to tell them. So, I asked for input from our computer helpdesk and network services departments. We decided that the best things to train them on was what not to do. As IT people we take it for granted that you do not select yes on every pop up that shows up on your screen but most people do. People like to put cute little animation in their emails not realizing that it takes resources from their machines and frequently installs crap on them too. (Crap is a technical term you may have hear from your own network support professional.) What about all those cute screensavers or animations? Everyone loves to have their machine slow down when their dinosaur mouse walks across the screen. Then you have to think about all the "free" stuff. Is anything ever really free? Most of the free stuff puts things on your machine like spyware and tracking cookies. Finally, I will be discussing where people save files. Most people assume that because they save things it is being backed up. Well, that is not always the case. All documents stored on the machine are not necessarily being backed up. So, they need to make sure that all company stuff is saved to a network location and not to their own machines. Will this training help this client with 50 employees? I believe that it will probably save them frustration and about 50 hours of tech time over the next year for our company. So, the investment should have its rewards.
In a meeting recently we discussed what we can do to help my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers. We were discussing leasing computers instead of purchasing. At first glance, I really did not like the idea and was ready to shoot it down. I thought what is the difference between leasing a car (which I do) and leasing the computer. If you think about the reasons you lease a car they apply to the computer as well. I decided to lease because I didn't want to worry about the "extended" maintenance on my car. As with a computer you don't want to have to worry about paying to replace the hard drive in the computer. As with a car, you might have to have work done to it but you don't typically have to pay for those repairs. Another reason is that you can get more bang for your buck. Same thing goes with the computer. You can get newer equipment at a lower price because of how you are paying for it. Instead of paying a large upfront cost you are just paying it monthly. Last reason that I considered leasing was for the latest and greatest. Under the program we are considering offering to our Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers, they would get the upgraded software at no additional cost, so when office upgrades happen they would be in the rotation to get the new software at no additional cost. How great is that to get upgrades at no additional cost. They definitely don't offer that with the car lease. My minivan is still a minivan.
Check back for more updates on this program because it might be just the thing you are looking for.
I spent time volunteering at a local organization and enjoy most of that time that I spend there. I love working with the children and seeing their reactions. I enjoy what I learn about myself and my own children. I am given responsibilities that I take very seriously. As part of that I take all criticism to heart and truly evaluate it. I had someone at that organization react to a change that had been made without first listening to what was done and why. I listened to what they had to say and if the criticism was contructive or if was honestly just complaining because they didn't get a say. I found that was exactly the situtation. They had a reaction without listening. It almost made me willing to give up all my volunteering to avoid dealing with this again. In the end, they did listen and came to apologize about the misunderstanding.
I realized that many times we as technical people do not listen to what our Indianapolis small business computer support clients have to say. Many times we just react and so often we miss out on the very important details that are being said by a quiet voice. I know that I have been known to just fire the gun and not listen, but as I have matured over the last few years, I hope that my attitude reflects that of someone will listen first and react later. I hope that my Indianapolis small business computer support clients would agree with that statement.
When all the hustle of life gets you down take a moment to enjoy the sunshine. I care deeply for my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers to the point that I neglect other things in my life. I try hard to balance work, family, and church but it doesn't always work out that way. Last week, I was challenged by an organization that I volunteer with on a project that I was overseeing. I became upset because I had followed procedure, documented it and yet I was being second guessed. I started to think about how that might relate to my work life and how many times do I second guess people I work with because I do care for my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers. After doing some evaluating, I realized that I do spend more time than I should analyzing what other people are doing. So, this afternoon I am going to take a moment to enjoy the sunshine with my kids. Everything will continue to function and if something comes up, it will give someone else the opportunity to deal with the problem and grow from it. I am always just a phone call away.
In todays society people communicate via email, text message and rarely via a telephone conversation or meeting. I am no different than anyone else in that I send a lot of emails. However, recently I have found that many of my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers do not respond as well to email as they do to a telephone conversation or a meeting. When I started doing a little digging, I found that many times when I send an email I start talking geek, whereas in a conversation, I can tell when the person is losing interest or doesn't understand something. No one wants to respond by saying "Hey I don't understand". They will just choose to ignore the message until you contact them.
Here is a quick example of something that happened with one of my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers this past month. The client needed to have a network overhaul done. We sent them an email laying out all of their options (with prices and pros and cons). Seems simple enough if you are the one that knows what words like RAID, domain controller, licensing server mean. If you don't understand those terms, you think, "I will just leave things as they are because it is working and I don't have the time to think about it." In the end, thru a simple 15 minute conversation I was able to example what we were recommending and why. The decision was made and replacement parts were ordered within 24 hours.
So, take the time to talk. You might learn something about yourself and your business.
In order to service my Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers, I have spent time at conferences to see what we can do better. The conferences that I have been attending allow me to get to know other companies that do the same kind of work we do. Once I meet these people, I am able to establish friends and relationships with others that can understand what we are doing. One particular conference was good for meeting others but the breakout sessions weren't as helpful as other conferences in the past.
Another conferene was primarily presented by vendors and not our peers. When things are presented by vendors the sessions are just a big sales pitch. When the computer consulting providers are presenting they share things that happened and how they made it through difficult situtations. Even if the computer consultant is telling what product they are using then they are telling why that product worked for them and some problems they might have had.
How often do you create a to-do list for yourself whether at work or home? How often do you get to complete that list on the day that you set aside for accomplishing those tasks? If you are anything like me, you create a list then set aside the appropriate amount of time to accomplish all those tasks. Then you end up with one item completed from your to-do list. That is the very thing that has been happening to me regularly at home and at work.
I take pride in caring for my Indianapolis computer consulting customers. I try to be prompt in getting back to them to let them know what I am working on for them and the status. I try really hard to make sure what I am doing for them is complete and what they expect. I would guess that the majority of them feel that way about me. Now the problem I run into is because I do these things well other things keep getting piled on. So, my list of 10 customers I am going to call today is actually 20 because I have to follow up on other things for people that didn't get done. I have to fill in for them in another role because they weren't able to get what they needed to have done. When people ask do I like my job, I answer, "No I love my job in computer consulting." I couldn't dream of doing any other job or working for another company. But sometimes there just isn't enough time in a day to complete all the tasks that I have to accomplish.
It isn't just work, I have a list of things that I want or need to do around the house or at the church but those lists just don't get done unless I neglect another area of my life. So, if you are anything like me, you know that you don't want to sacrifice one area for another. So, keep your list and cross them off even if it is slowly one or two at a time. But remember you are making progress and you are doing the best that you can. There is only so much time in a day.
Port-to-Port has had a computer Help Desk for many years. Part of the functions of the help desk is to take phone calls and email requests from our customers. The help desk technician attempts to fix what can be done remotely. For those items that can't be completed remotely, a technician is scheduled to go visit. For the last year we have attempted many different variations of the help desk. We went from having a dedicated person on the help desk to rotating through our technical staff. We have found that in order to have a good computer help desk we need to have a person dedicated to doing the help desk and embrace it to make it work. So in order for our Indianapolis computer services clustomers to have a relationship with us they have to know that the person on the help desk really cares about them. So, we have stopped having a rotating help desk and gone back to a dedicated person. Our primary help desk person is now Chris. If you would like some additional information about Chris, check him out on our website.
In order to have a relationship you have to have communication. When you think about an office full of technical people communication isn't a word you would normally associate with them. Port-to-Port is trying very hard to make communication a word that you would associate with us. As staff we are strongly encouraged to communicate to the point of over communication. We aren't there yet but we are working on it. Our help desk has started scheduling things instead of letting things sit in the queue. Even though we aren't able to get it addressed as soon as we would like, we are at least letting people know what is going on. Not only have we made changes with the help desk but we have made changes so that Damon and I function as the Client IT Managers. One of our functions is to be the client advocate with vendors, our technical staff and whenever it is needed. Damon, owner of our company, has direct business experience that allows him to bring additional insight that many business owners find helpful. If you would like to know more about Damon check him out on our website. or check out some of his thoughts on his blog. We are all trying hard to communicate more with our Indianapolis computer services customers. They are starting to see us change and are pleased which is a great sign. But with every change other problems surface. How we respond to those problems shows us what we are really like at the core.
The computer network services change and develop just as your life has. Kids use technology in their classrooms to learn and to do work. Instead of going to the library they go to the Internet to find information. In order to graduate from college you have to spend so many credit hours in computer courses. So where do you turn to get prepared for business computer support? Think about where you gained your knowledge, from those with the most experience and expertise. Why not look at computer computer outsourcing? Look for a company that is setup to do business coputer support. Would you go to you plumber to fix your flat tire? No you would look for someone that fixes flat tires. Look for a company that is looking after the business side as well as the computer side. We provide this exact service. We don't specialize in home computers or fixing flat tires. We specialize in working with businesses to help them accomplish their business objectives. When you have time, take a look at the services we offer. We might be able to help you. If we can't, we might be able to recommend a good company to fix that flat tire. www.pertingo.com
That very same thing can happen with your computer network services. You can have an internal IT person who doesn't quite meet your need. You might have an internal help desk and you still aren't quite satisfied. So you decide to try something different: computer outsourcing.
A good computer outsourcing company should be able to provide you with the same things that you had with an internal person...computer help desk, network support, as well as so much more. As an Indianapolis IT consulting company, we try to provide the business with all the functions they had with internal staff. Since we have more than a single technical person on staff, we can provide new ideas, another way to think about things and someone to always be around.
So, when the people who provide your technical support can't quite meet your needs, think about going out. Try computer outsourcing. It might meet that need you have.
Consider a relationship you are in whether family, religious, professional or social. Now consider how you felt when they weren't completely honest with you. Think about a time when you might not have been completely honest with them. Why were you not honest with them? Was it because you were thinking of their feelings? Were you concerned about their reaction? Good open communication is something that saves a relationship. This open communication is required with any computer consulting service. It does not matter if you are talking about computer consulting, network support, computer helpdesk or general business computer support.
A good computer consultant listens to her customers to hear what they are attempting to accomplish as an organization. The consultant should be able to give the business different options, pros and cons as well as a recommendation. The ultimate decision should belong to the customer. As the communication and trust develop the decision process typically takes less time. Good open communication also means that you are willing to admit when you have made a mistake. For a number of years I worked on our computer helpdesk. I developed relationships with our clients because not only did I listen to them, fix their problems but I was honest with them. I didn't have a problem saying that I screwed up and what I was going to do to prevent that from happening again.
Having changed my role in our organization, my communication has not decreased but actually increased. I need to think about my relationship with my clients as I think about my relationships outside of work. I not only have to communicate what I have done and am going to do but also what I have done right and wrong.
I did a lot of jobs while in college, including working for a real estate company and a local school system. While working at the school system I met Damon Richards the owner of Port-to-Port. I fell in love with the philosphy of company the work environment. I then came to work for Port-to-Port 2 semesters short of finishing my degree. Port-to-Port committed to education assisted me in any way they could for me to finish my education.
While at Port-to-Port, I have held many roles. I started out as a trainer. I did okay at this but in the end we didn't see the volume that supported a full-time trainer. While being a trainer we realized that I had the natural ability to troubleshoot and put technical explainations into normal words. So, I started working in the field with the technical staff to increase my knowledge of computers and troubleshooting the problem. When it was decided that Port-to-Port was going to start having an internal helpdesk I sat as the sole helpdesk person for a number of years. Needing a change of pace but not wanting to leave Port-to-Port I was asked to take on the role of the customer services rep. Since I had the people skills from working on the helpdesk and the technical skills of helping to design and keep networks up, I would be able to handle all the intended functions of this new role.
For our Computer Consulting clients, we recommend that they have a warranty on their equipment. If your office can not function without the device we recommend that you have warranty from the manufacturer on the equipment. If the equipment is under warranty and there is a hardware failure, the vendor is responsible for getting you a replacement part in a predetermined amount of time. Then if the part is no longer available they will either provide you with an upgraded part of a replacement equipment.
For most servers we purchase them with a 3 year warranty with the option to extend it for 2 more years. We start out with a three year warranty because the needs of the business may change and technology may change as well. If at the end of the third year we evaluate your server to see if it will meet your needs for another year or two.
We purchase all dekstops and laptops with a three year warranty. We have tried to get our Indianapolis IT consulting clients on a three year rotation. Due to budgets and other financial issues many of our clients are on a four or five year rotation plan. The purpose of the plan is to get the oldest equipment that is no longer supported by the manufacturer out of production.
The equipment that provides the network services frequently do not come with a three year warranty. Most of the firewalls come with a 30 or 90 days warranty / support. Most of them do allow for you to renew for 1-2 years at a time. If there is a problem with the device we can contact support and they will assist us in modifing the configuration or troubleshooting to determine the device needs replaced. If it needs replaced, the vendor will than overnight a replacement to us. If you didn't have the warranty we would be troubleshooting for hours to determine what the problem is and possible solutions. We just use the resources that are available to us, so it reduces the amount of downtime you have. There are some network service appliances that do not require additional warranties. For example many of the higher end switches provide life time warranty replacement (ie. Cisco, some HP Procurves).
As a function of our computer outsourcing service, we properly dispose of and recycle all old equipment.
Have you ever wonder why we change time to daylight saving? Well I do. I do not know why we change, but we do. Since we provide network support for several companies we see the impact of the change each time it changes to daylight saving time. There were patches released a few years ago to modify the server and workstation configuration to know when the time should change. So, if everything has been patched why are there problems with calendar items or time doesn't adjust correctly.
1. The time zone is wrong on the server, workstation or smart phone.
2. If an older smart phone has been hard reset it does not have the patch installed.
3. The bios has the wrong time zone it in.
4. There can sync issue between windows and bios
Any one of these issues is a pain to deal with because once it has been corrected all the times entered on the system are incorrect. Some appointments update correctly after the time has changed, but some stay at the same appointment time. So, you do not know what appointments are correct and which ones are wrong.
Many think that it is a waste of money to pay for more than one circuit. There are many configurations that you can have to maximize the use of both circuits. For example you can have all your email traffic going on one circuit and websurfing on another circuit. One of the companies that uses our computer outsourcing services has 2 T-1's in their office. One's primary function is to be email and web traffic. The second circuit's function is to handle all the FTP traffic. These T-1's are also used as backup circuits for each other. In order to perform this type of configuration you would need to make sure that whoever does your network support has an understanding of firewalls. The firewall will determine how you have your circuits configured. If this is something you are considering, talk it over with your computer consultant.
I have spoken with several co-workers for their thoughts. We came to several conclusions. One, technical people would prefer to work with computers than talk to people. Two, we figured that it would take less time to fix the problem than call them. But in reality they would prefer to know that we are working on the issue than call them to have them test.
So, this past week, we have tried to over communicate what is happening at our computer consulting clients' offices. And it didn't take a full week for us to start reaping the benefits. One client emailed to say thanks for stepping up our service. We didn't do anything more than let them know what we were working on. A second client stopped me to say "thanks for keeping me in the loop." The only change was we rescheduled an appointment that didn't get completed at our previously scheduled appointment. A third client said thanks for thinking about us. We had been having conversations about this client for the last month and recommending a piece of software for them to try to resolve a problem they were experiencing.
In the end it doesn't matter how good you are if you do not communicate.
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