[aclug-L] Re: Freelance Technical Support

["Jonathan Hall" <flimzy@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> > I did phone support for 2+ years with CCH and 3 years with National
> > Computer.  The problem with doing techsupport is getting paid.  CCH and
> > National computer didn't charge for their techsupport.  M$ has a way of
> > dealing with getting paid by asking for payment with a credit cards.
>
> I've been thinking about this freelance support thing for awhile, and I'm
> thinking that if I went that route, I'd refuse to fix anything over the
> phone unless it's really trivial.  I hate not being able to sit down at
> the keyboard and do my thing.  I'm sure I'd develop a good relationship
> with certain customers and deal with them on a case-by-case basis, but my
> experience with just friends and family is that allowing anyone to get in
> the habit of thinking they can just call you up anytime and get some help
> leads to total frustration.
>
> I did phone support for SouthWind, and I just hate trying to work through
> a problem on the phone.  Even here at Boeing, I'll hang up and walk down
> the hall or even drive to another building for anything that isn't
> trivial.

I've done enough telephone support (at SouthWind and elsewhere) that I've
become very proficient at doing telephone technical support.  To the point
that sometimes that's my preference... or I try to do that automatically
when someone calls me.

But I've also learned that 98% of the time when someone calls me, it's not
because they want help over the phone, but because they want me to come to
their house to fix something.

That leaves me in a nice possition... If I think the job is better handled
over the phone... or something I couldn't charge for, then I have the option
of trying to convince them to do it over the phone.  If I want to get paid,
or it can only be handled in person, then I can set an appointment.

Often I'll do just enough over the phone to diagnose the problem.  For
instance, earlier this week someone called me and said they were getting an
error when connecting to the Internet.  They'd already called the telephone
company and their ISP, neither of which were able to help.  I was at a loss,
assuming a bad configuration.  I spent about 45 seconds diagnosing the
problem, and was then able to correctly diagnose a bad modem (something the
ISP should have immediately recognized, too).  As a result, I was able to
take a replacement with me on the first visit, rather than taking two trips
to his house.

Good skills with "telephone support" are very nice, and learning when to use
them, and when to refuse, is also essential in this sort of business. :)

Another good rule of thumb when someone asks for phone support for something
you don't want to do for free... Refer them to someone else.  Their ISP, or
hardware/software vendor.  If they can't get QuickBooks to do what they
want, or they get an "incorrect password" problem when connecting to their
ISP, and you're sure it can be handled over the phone, then direct them to
the person _obligated_ to handle it over the phone.  And always add "If they
can't fix it for you over the phone, I'll be happy to come out to your place
to look at it."  There's no point in doing someone else's work for free.
And if someone else can't do their work (either because it's too difficult,
or because they're stupid), then you deserve to get paid to fill in the gap.

And always remember... from the customer's standpoint, the problem is
impossible, not trivial, medium, or difficult.  So whether you're unchecking
"Auto-hang up when done checking e-mail" to applying sophisticated registry
patches and installing new service packs, etc... the problem is equally
difficult to the customer, and the customer is willing to pay to get it
fixed.  Whether you're doing something that you think is "easy" or
"difficult," you're providing a valuable service to the customer--and
they'll be willing to pay for it.

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