Computer Wizards, Inc.®
TECHNICAL SUPPORT

That's good support.
THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Editorial: What is Good Support?

By Jim Perkins/Computer Wizards, Inc
President/CEO

This editorial is my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Computer Wizards, it's employees or owners. Please feel free to send any comments or E-mail.

Why Do We Need Support?

Several years ago, only the most knowledgeable or technically inclined people would

purchase components to build or upgrade their own computers. These people considered

this activity somewhat of a challenge, expected to run into some problems to troubleshoot,

and expected to spend several days or weeks putting together their own system. Many

had understanding of basic electronic principles, and could perform basic troubleshooting

before contacting the vendors who they purchased from, be they local or mail-order.

Sometimes they would even take it upon themselves to perform repairs on the equipment

to make it functional, as that might be the quickest way to get the item working.

As the building of PCs became more an assembly of parts, rather than soldering ICs to

boards, the idea of putting together a desktop computer became more mainstream. Books

were written containing hundreds of pages of descriptions about computer hardware and

the various considerations and techniques to assemble a working system. Classes were

offered at local colleges which would give hands-on experience to those willing to give up a

weekend day to build, and perhaps even purchase, a system from 'scratch'. Finally, the

popularity of the Internet has allowed people to gain access to vast amounts of information

on choosing components and putting them together into a complete system.

Today, many people who have very little knowledge of electronics or computers are

building or upgrading desktop PCs. When these people run into problems, they do not

know how to perform even basic troubleshooting, so they require much more support than

the computer builders of the past. While this situation has created a nice market for many

resellers in providing computer components, it has also created a support headache that

promises to only become worse for the foreseeable future

What Constitutes Support?

When you purchase a product, you expect support for that product from the reseller,

however everyone has a slightly different idea of what constitutes good support. The

expectations may vary based upon the type of product, the type of reseller and the price of

the product. For computer hardware, the expectations are usually quite high, especially for

those who are unfamiliar with the various technologies and capabilities of the products.

Depending upon whether the reseller is a local store or a mail order reseller, the

expectations may also vary, but usually customers expect free pre-sales advice, free

post-sales technical support and a liberal return policy even for mail order products.

Finally, these days it seems that while profit margins are exceptionally low in the computer

business, many people expect a reseller to match the lowest prices found elsewhere, yet

still provide top-notch support.

Many customers want free advice for choosing their components. They will call an 800

number and spend 30 minutes or more asking about why a particular motherboard is better

than another, how each manufacturer's CPU compares to the others, or what would be the

best video card for them. Many of these people don't really know what they want, but just

want to have someone tell them what the 'best' component is, not realizing that the 'best' is

a subjective evaluation that depends upon what their applications will be. To provide

quality pre-sales support, many questions must be asked and usually concepts must be

taught. This can be very expensive for a reseller, especially since a large percentage of

these people will not buy immediately, but will continue to shop with other vendors.

Once a sale is made, many customers need to get support with installing the products.

Sometimes it is simply a question of setting the correct jumpers, or connecting the proper

wires. Other times it may be issues regarding compatibility with other components or

software. This type of support is usually handled by the technical support staff and comes

as part of the sale for a limited time, or even for an indeterminate time. If the product

turns out to be defective, warranty replacement is expected - usually at the cost of the

reseller for shipping. These days, many people feel that they cannot do without their

system for even a day, so they demand cross-shipping of replacement parts. This can be

dangerous for the reseller, unless a hold is placed upon the funds via a credit card. There

is a very big problem these days with credit card fraud, and claims for lost, broken or

defective merchandise when there is no valid claim. In many cases it is the reseller who

must bear the costs for these losses.

Who Pays for Support?

When a reseller goes into business, a 'guess' is made about what the costs for support will

be, and whether specific kinds of support will be provided. Some resellers will discourage

questions on 800 sales lines to minimize the phone costs (which can run into several

thousands of dollars per month). Others may provide free support for only a limited time

after the purchase (such as 30 days). Since tech support staff are generally highly paid, it

is difficult or even impossible to provide unlimited support without having the costs totally

eliminate any profit from the original sale. Some vendors may ship replacement products

only when the defective one has been received, or charge up front for the item and give a

credit after the customer ships the original back. Shipping methods also may be via the

cheapest method, such as UPS ground, which can take up to 5 days to be delivered.

Every aspect of support costs the vendor, and reduces the profit made on the sale. Today,

it is typical for a reseller to only get a markup of 10% or 15%, so support costs can be a

very large concern. One of the costliest problems for vendors is that many customers

demand replacements for products that are not truly defective. This is usually the case

when the product does not perform to some unrealistic expectation (such as when being

over clocked), or the customer is simply unable to get the product to function because of

lack of knowledge or poor troubleshooting skills. Even with an experienced technician on

the phone, it can be extremely difficult to troubleshoot when you cannot see exactly what

the customer sees, and he/she is unable to describe the situation clearly (or may even miss

or leave out critical information). It is actually surprising how many so called 'defective'

products actually have no problems at all.

With so many inexperienced people building or upgrading their own systems, and with the

many new, untested technologies being offered, the volume of calls and returns can be

overwhelming. Even with several technicians and phone lines, it is not unusual for

customers to endure long waits or busy signals when requesting support. This can be

frustrating, and causes many customers to complain about poor support, however probably

50% of the support phone calls would be unnecessary if the customer had performed some

simple troubleshooting, and are simply incorrect settings, connections or installation

techniques. Unless the vendor charges for these calls, the costs for providing adequate

staff could put the vendor out of business in a very short time.

When a product is returned as defective, the vendor must test it to determine the exact

reason for the failure so the manufacturer can be notified. This can take quite a bit of time,

and when it turns out that there really isn't any problem with the product at all, restocking

fees may be assessed to cover the time spent testing. While many vendors will sell such

items as new to the next customer, others will sell them as used and must then take a loss

on the item.

As a matter of perspective, here is a list of the costs that resellers may have to absorb

Credit card charges from 2% to 4% of the sale, depending upon the card used.

800 number charges which may range from 12 cents to 20 cents per minute.

Technical support salaries as high as $15.00 or $20.00 per hour - perhaps more in

some cities.

Shipping charges to the customer for replacement product.

Shipping charges to the manufacturer for RMA service.

It is fairly obvious that the 10% - 15% markup may not be sufficient for a vendor to

be able to offer all of these services, especially since other costs such as rent,

advertising, office salaries, utilities, etc. must be paid from this markup as well. To

top it off, there are some customers who expect the reseller to refund the difference

between what they paid and what the product now costs (only when the price is

lower, however). For example, if the customer paid $100.00 for the original product,

and several months later it has dropped to $75.00, he/she may expect that he/she

should then get a refund of $25.00. The reality is that the vendor will not get a

refund from the manufacturer, so doing this would actually wipe out the profit made

from the original sale - while all other costs are still incurred. On the other hand, if

the product went up in price (such as memory sometimes does), the customer would

literally *scream* if he/she was charged an extra $25.00 for the product.

So, What Should We Expect?

If you are a shopper who always looks for the lowest price, do not expect to get a

great deal of support, including cross-shipping, a ready and experienced tech

support staff or fast shipping for replacement product. If you believe that you may

need some of these services, expect to pay a little more for the product since this is

what will cover the reseller's costs for providing these services. Be realistic in your

expectations of support, and compare the services offered with others that have

similar prices. Most importantly, you the customer should expect to take

responsibility for some of the costs and effort in troubleshooting. You should not

simply call and say "I need a replacement" without expecting to have to perform

some diagnostics, or be able to explain exactly what the problem is.

I think that there is nothing more frustrating to a technician than to have a customer

call and have the first thing said be "the product is defective and I need an RMA".

What is interesting is that the most experienced customers (those who build or

upgrade as their primary jobs) are the ones who will actually describe what they

have experienced, and then ask if there is anything they might have missed. This is

the 'proper' way to open the conversation with tech support. Minimal time is lost in

having to ask the customer to perform a test, only to be told it has already been

done. You should record everything you have tried so you can recount it quickly and

accurately to the support technician. Sometimes a problem can be solved rather

quickly by having this information.

You should also expect that the troubleshooting may take a little time. While you

feel that you've already spent many hours trying to figure the problem out, the

technician has no knowledge of this. It is his job to minimize returns, so he will

probably insist that you try several things that you might have already done. If you

have the information recorded, such as specific beep codes, messages, etc. you can

avoid repeating these tests. The technician may wish to consult with the

manufacturer's support staff to find out if there are known issues that can be

resolved with a BIOS update, or with some special settings.

All in all, it is better for both the customer and the vendor if the problem can be

resolved without sending the product back for replacement. You will get your system

up and running faster, and the vendor can keep prices lower. Your goal when calling

for support should be to resolve the problem in this manner. Sending the product

back should be the last resort, not the first request. Understand that you are not the

only one who is impacted by this, and that most times the vendor actually *wants*

you to have a working system so you will be happy and refer your friends.

In our personal opinion, good support is when a vendor will provide pre-sales

assistance without pressuring you to buy, will offer manufacturer's warranties, has a

competent technical support staff that will attempt to resolve your problem and

avoid having to replace the product, will provide the opportunity to cross-ship and

has a shipping policy that ensures a fast delivery at the vendor's cost for defective

product replacement. Now, for a shameless plug, check out the support policy for

Computer Wizards and compare with this list. Then compare with other

vendors, including the product pricing. I think that you will find that there are very

few resellers who can offer the value that Computer Wizards does....

Page created by: Computer Wizards.®
SEND US E-MAIL

Changes last made on: March, 2006  

Back to home page...