What’s the difference between good IT support and bad IT support?
Effective IT support is an essential service for most businesses. Without proper IT support, your company will face a whole range of problems including system failures, security risks, and other issues that can negatively impact your operations. Unfortunately, not all IT support companies are created equal. Many do not provide the level of service that businesses need, leaving customers frustrated and businesses unable to operate effectively. In this blog post, I’ll talk about some of the most common examples of bad IT support, based on our own experiences in the market and conversations we’ve had with clients about their experiences before they switched to Allware.
Long waiting times
One of the most common complains is long waiting times. Many IT support companies operate on a first-come, first-served basis and often have a large number of customers waiting in queues just to log a ticket. As a result, customers may have to wait for hours or even days before their issues are addressed. Long waiting times can cause frustration, lost productivity, and even revenue loss for businesses and customers often have no sense of how their issue has been prioritised or how long the wait is likely to be. At Allware we do things differently. When you call us, you will speak directly to one of our engineers. It is at this point we start working on the problem, we don’t just log a ticket and give a vague time for a call back. Whilst we don’t promise to pick up the phone within 3 rings, in practice we rarely miss this target. If we can solve your problem straight away then we will.
Rigid SLA agreements
Another common challenge clients face with other IT support companies is the rigidity of SLA (Service Level Agreement) agreements. SLAs define the minimum level of service that an IT support company guarantees to provide to its customers. However, some companies work only towards their SLA agreement and no faster. Any additional time over the SLA is charged, and work is stopped if they hit their limit in terms of how many hours the client has paid for. This can cause delays in resolving issues and create unnecessary tension between the IT support company and the customer. At Allware our flexible SLA agreements have three levels of priority response however in practice we don’t get behind on support tickets so we respond and often fix problems well within the SLA. If a customer goes beyond their allotted hours, it will be picked up in the 6 month support review and discussed with the customer, it won’t affect everyday support issues.
Flawed job system
Some IT support companies use a job system that re-allocates jobs if they are not completed within a certain time frame. The problem with this system is that new job takers start from scratch and often no notes are left behind of previous engineer’s work. As a result, the customer may have to repeat the entire process with a new engineer, causing further delays and frustration. We don’t operate this way at Allware and, as mentioned above, it’s quite common for a problem to be fixed during the user’s first phone call with an engineer.
Lack of personalised support
Finally, some IT support companies fail to provide personalized support to their customers. Instead of helping customers on a call-by-call basis, clients with problems are simply put into a queue until one of the overburdened engineers is available to log a ticket, making the whole resolution process even less efficient. If a customer does not have an SLA or prepayment, they are often put straight to the back of the queue, which can lead to even longer waiting times. Allware’s more personalised system means this never happens. We also offer ‘pay as you go’ support so you’re not forced to sign up for a retainer. We regularly review the support desk submissions with our clients to make sure you are getting the very best value for money and are on the right contract with us. If you use the pay as you go model a lot you may find the retainer model is more cost effective and we will tell you this!
Make sure you’re getting the good quality IT support you need
In conclusion, bad IT support can cause significant problems for businesses. Long waiting times, rigid SLA agreements, flawed job systems, and a lack of personalized support are just some of the issues that can arise. To ensure that your business receives the best possible IT support, it is essential to do your due diligence and choose a reliable and experienced IT support company. A good IT support company should prioritize customer service and work proactively to resolve issues, instead of simply following a rigid SLA agreement.
Perhaps more importantly, a good IT support company will know about the problem you are facing and be able to fix it straight away, and prevent it from happening to other users. Who knows, that could mean you don’t need any IT support and we can start working on growing your business!
Contact us to find out more.