Every now and then we drop the ball on a network support project. We don't do it because we're incompetent. We don't do it because we're mean. There is absolutely no malice intended. We sometimes drop the ball because we're human, and people make mistakes. I've discovered over the years that our response to those mistakes determines the kind of relationship we have with our Indianapolis small business computer outsourcing customers. I've also found that it isn't in the normal nature of most Information Technology support companies to handle these mistakes correctly.

Many of my competitors in the Indianapolis and Carmel area will, as soon as they discover a problem, start looking for someone other than themselves to blame.
"It's stupid Microsoft!" 

"I can't believe they didn't put that in the instructions."

"Who would make a part that doesn't fit a standard jack?"

And on and on until they get to the worst one: "That's what you told me you wanted!"

If my dear IT outsourcing peers would stop for a minute and consider what these excuses really say to their computer services customers, they might not ever make excuses again. Didn't you hire them because they are the experts? Aren't they supposed to investigate the IT solution they recommended to be sure it meets your needs? Shouldn't they have known going in how stupid Microsoft is? What my friends in Indianapolis IT consulting are saying is, "We don't have the necessary knowledge to provide you with a working solution." They're screaming it with each excuse until they finally turn on you. 

Not at Port-to-Port Consulting. When we drop the ball we take responsibility for it. We'll tell you what went wrong, and why, and what we're going to do to get it fixed.

"We should have expected that Microsoft was exagerating their claim and tested this in advance. We'll put things back while we go do that testing."

"It's surprising that this part doesn't fit a standard jack but we should have checked that back in our office."

"When you told me that this was what you wanted, I should have questioned more to be sure we had the same understanding."

We'll continue to make mistakes. If we don't, we'll have difficulty learning. We understand that it's a part of doing business as a computer consultant. We won't go on witch hunts when mistakes happen. We'll own them, just like we own the computer network that powers your business.