Business Solutions for all sizes

  Regardless of your companies size or growth, we all need technology solutions. The modern business owner uses his PC for many everyday tasks. From a POS, client database, demos, graphic designs, book keeping and many more uses. But what happens when your device breaks or gets infected with a virus? Granted some larger companies or corporations do employ their own IT staff. Which is usually overpaid unless they use a specific software or hardware for their business. If you don't have an onstaff expert available, then you must shop around to repair firms.

  Today we will discuss some issues involving IT outsourcing or service work for your business in general. Obviously most companies cannot afford 40K a year technicians to keep their system running. The big advantage of IT compared to hiring in when your stuff breaks is preventive maintenance. Stopping problems before they start is always a plus and you have more of an idea of the quality of work and cost. Sadly, unless a computer repair firm does regular training and testing, they have little to go by on how qualified their workers really are. Just because they are certified, that means little. An A+ certificate is extremely basic and doesn't require real problem solving skills. So ask questions about the technicians and the company. Preventive maintenance won't matter if they tech isn't motivated or isn't qualified.

  How do we know if they are quality experts? Ask the firm some good questions and also ask yourself some. After a conversation with any firm, you will have an idea how professional they sounded. Did they know their own prices? Are they charging you $90 plus dollars an hour? Is this a company you would consider for a long term relationship? Did they have any real customer serivce? Or send you to talk to several people before getting any anwers? Was the main business line a cell phone?  You need to ask those before really considering anyone for service. Then ask the repair firm about how they know their technicians are qualified. Do they train them often to keep them up to date? And even though no one calls a reference, ask for a name of a business they work with.

  Most computer repair firms don't have customer service reps and that can lead to some issues on it's own. I will cover that in another posting, but try to choose a firm that does value customer service. Flat rate pricing is also a plus, hence more motivation to complete the job in a timely manner. It's also better when more then one representative shows up for your business. Maybe two can problem solve better then one person to reduce your down time and it shows they care about your account. Lastly, if they act more like salesmen, it's because they are salesmen. In fact, a local competitor to Exodus Technology Solutions have 4-5 locations within 20 miles of each other. Not because they have that much service either, only one location has technicians who do repairs. They hire sales agents to get your business and send the work to one location. Customer service agents and sales agents are completely different and care about your needs much differently.