Remote Support w/ staffing

[Mushin]

I am working on a remote support service that includes staffed labor for Comuter Service business owners such as all of you could tap into for a fee.

Before you all get mad, excited etc... let me say that this is in the planning stages so I am trying to collect information.

The Idea:

I have extra labor that I would like to utilize and I would like to launce a remote repair service but instead of reparing computers directly for the end user I would like to use this service to support other service companies and technicians.

Example Scenarion:

You have a shop and provide on site service as well. When you go on site nothing at the shop gets done and this delays tha time it takes for getting the comptuers finished, or delays how soon you can get out to the customer that needs on-site work.

With a staffed remote repair service you simply connect your computers to the remote tech and tell us what needs to be done. We work on the comptuers for you.

What are your ideas of this concept?
I would like to build this around what you need. I want to keep pricing for the service in line with what is charged to purchase a remote support solution such as Team Viewer or Log Me In but have the labor in place for you to tap into.

[ProTech Support]

I don't mean to come off harsh Mushin, I do like you and your ideas, but.......

You have pitched a lot of different idea's that would be "available to us" and are in "the planning stages", but I have not seen any of them really go anywhere yet. Don't you think it is better to take a slower approach and get done with some before moving on to the next :p

It just really sounds like you are bogging yourself down with random projects, then just leaving them in the dust and trying something different.

In regards to the concept, I like it, but I wouldn't do it. Simply because I am very detail oriented when it comes to my clients. If I have a job to do, I want to make sure everything is done right, and sub-contracting it out, well I might as well hire someone and train them myself. That way I know they are doing it to my company standards.

[Mushin]

I don't mean to come off harsh Mushin, I do like you and your ideas, but.......

You have pitched a lot of different idea's that would be "available to us" and are in "the planning stages", but I have not seen any of them really go anywhere yet. Don't you think it is better to take a slower approach and get done with some before moving on to the next :p

It just really sounds like you are bogging yourself down with random projects, then just leaving them in the dust and trying something different.

Ahh but they all are related and stepping stones for the ultimate goal.

You see I come up with a big overall concept... see if it seems viable. If I think it is I break it into smaller and smaller portions. One element of a National Brand is having infrastructure in place.

One aspect that I have found that would be particualarly usefull to any service company or tech is remote repair. It fulfills the idea of lowering overhead or at least getting more for your money and increasing productivity.

Even without a National Brand this is one thing that can benefit someone that is independant.

So here is a road map of some parts of these and where these projects are...

Existing Business - Primary Focus with National Brading in mind on everything we do.
National Brading... Viable and being broken down into phases
Remote Repair - Infrastructure and Added Value (Planning)
Centralized Dispatch - Infrstructure and Added Value (Pending)

In regards to the concept, I like it, but I wouldn't do it. Simply because I am very detail oriented when it comes to my clients. If I have a job to do, I want to make sure everything is done right, and sub-contracting it out, well I might as well hire someone and train them myself. That way I know they are doing it to my company standards

Yes you could hire someone and that would eventually come but the majority of people are not in a position to do this because they may need labor on demand but not all the time.

Yes, quality standards are key. As I look at this I think shop model is most viable... When the computers are at the shop they get worked on and then before the customer is called to pickup it would be verified. I am not as confident with the remote session taking place while while the computer is "still it the home"

So it may seem like I am throwing out ideas and they are not going anywhere but I am working on these ideas behind the scenes so it only seems that way. Like you have said before this is not something what will happen over night.

[JosephLeo]

I like this idea, but it needs some more details. I'm working on building a brand (Nerds for Hire) and I don't want my services being offered with different branding. Would you be willing to offer a branding service? Instead of it saying "Hi this is Moe from Remote Computer Services" can it be "Hi this is Moe from Nerds for Hire".

Another thing- quality of service and corporate policies. How do ensure that your quality meets or exceeds my own standards? Also, my corporate policies might be strongly different from your own. Where do you stand on that?

This would be an excellent idea if it were open- however the mono-brand thing probably not. Mushin, might I suggest instead of starting a national brand you start a Technician's outsourcing center? You have some fantastic ideas that will go far but your ultimate goal is what will distract people like the rest of the forum (including me) away from your ideas.

[Mushin]

I like this idea, but it needs some more details. I'm working on building a brand (Nerds for Hire) and I don't want my services being offered with different branding. Would you be willing to offer a branding service? Instead of it saying "Hi this is Moe from Remote Computer Services" can it be "Hi this is Moe from Nerds for Hire".

Another thing- quality of service and corporate policies. How do ensure that your quality meets or exceeds my own standards? Also, my corporate policies might be strongly different from your own. Where do you stand on that?

The best way for handleing this is by dealing directly with the company and not the end users. This way you would be our client and to keep a client we have to provide quality service. If you don't like it you fire us, word gets out and the whole thing fails. Now obviously there would have to be scopes of work and quality assurance. This also helps to eleminate any worry about stealing customers. We really don't want to support 1000 customers directly on a given day. We would rather support 100 companies on any given day. It just makes more sense resource wise. The one exception to working with an end user directly is if dispatching services are offered. That takes some work and planning so it is NOT an are I want to start off with.

This would be an excellent idea if it were open- however the mono-brand thing probably not. Mushin, might I suggest instead of starting a national brand you start a Technician's outsourcing center? You have some fantastic ideas that will go far but your ultimate goal is what will distract people like the rest of the forum (including me) away from your ideas
The branding is an ultimate goal for my company but... we all know that this will take a lot AND as many have said they are not willing to part with their company names or brands that they have established.... especially with a non-establish brand...

So you hit the nail on the head when it comes to where I am headed.

Create the infrastructure in a brand agnostic manner the "end client's" company to be the brand. Exactly like what you are saying.

Now the initial way to get this up and running to to deal with the cleint companies directly rather than with the end user. This is very key since the end computer owner really should only be doing business with you.

With the remote repair... you hook up computers to get repaired from the pool of labor that we have avaiable for a flat monthly fee based on the number of units needed per month with tiered pricing. (Pricing has to be worked out still)

Now with what you have said.... about the brand agnostic model. This is one of the stepping stones to reach the end goal. But that does not mean the brand agnostic model will go away. This give three tiers of "participation" in the overall model... "No Branding or White Lable," Co-Branding with and up and coming brand ;) OR Full Branding.

I am choosing the remote repair as the first roll out (More than likely) since it provides great value to everyone.


Thanks
Phil

[JosephLeo]

You hit the nail on the head when it comes to where I am headed.

It really wasn't all that hard to figure out. ;)

Anyway, thanks for the quick reply. I see you took into consideration the co-branding suggestion, but I am shocked about the white label idea. I thought you might not of ever went there. Good thing too, why would you want to turn away someones money anyway just for a branding opportunity.

Your on a great start but it's time to start taking some of your ideas and getting at least one up. I have a book full of ideas ranging from business models for a myriad of business types, to movies, games, books, comic and I even have a few songs written out too- but they are all worthless if I don't do anything with them...which they probably are, but that's not the point.

Stop writing and start acting. Focus on one easy target then work on the big stuff as you go. I would really love to offer remote support to my clients so you bet that I will probably be one of your first customers.

[Mushin]

It really wasn't all that hard to figure out. ;)

Anyway, thanks for the quick reply. I see you took into consideration the co-branding suggestion, but I am shocked about the white label idea. I thought you might not of ever went there. Good thing too, why would you want to turn away someones money anyway just for a branding opportunity.

Your on a great start but it's time to start taking some of your ideas and getting at least one up. I have a book full of ideas ranging from business models for a myriad of business types, to movies, games, books, comic and I even have a few songs written out too- but they are all worthless if I don't do anything with them...which they probably are, but that's not the point.

Stop writing and start acting. Focus on one easy target then work on the big stuff as you go. I would really love to offer remote support to my clients so you bet that I will probably be one of your first customers.

Roger That.. I am already in the process of finding a good remote support options that can be injectesd in UBCD for Win or something like that. Any suggestions?

[JosephLeo]

Roger That.. I am already in the process of finding a good remote support options that can be injectesd in UBCD for Win or something like that. Any suggestions?

Tell the truth I don't have much experience with UBCD, UBCD for Windows or even Hir...that other one. The only repair-live cd I often use is Dr.Web's and it's for virus removal only. It's a very rare event that I boot into those other three since F8 > Safe Mode (Without Networking) usually works for me 95% of the time.

[Mushin]

Tell the truth I don't have much experience with UBCD, UBCD for Windows or even Hir...that other one. The only repair-live cd I often use is Dr.Web's and it's for virus removal only. It's a very rare event that I boot into those other three since F8 > Safe Mode (Without Networking) usually works for me 95% of the time.

Obviously without network support you can do remote access. I know Safe mode with Network support could work to a degree but..... I bottable CD with toolset ready to go would save some time.

[cmonova]

I'm with Pro Support on this one....Alot of ideas but what's the bottom line.

Using your scenerio I have a computer in my shop, I contact you....Now what? You are going to charge exactly how much for this type of service?

[Mushin]

I'm with Pro Support on this one....Alot of ideas but what's the bottom line.

Using your scenerio I have a computer in my shop, I contact you....Now what? You are going to charge exactly how much for this type of service?

In the Original post I stated:

I would like to build this around what you need. I want to keep pricing for the service in line with what is charged to purchase a remote support solution such as Team Viewer or Log Me In but have the labor in place for you to tap into.

So if the pricing works out like I think it will the price would be a monthly rate of $50 to maybe $150 depeding on the volume. Keep in mind that this has to be staffed and what you are also getting is access to a labor pool for the same price as what you might pay for the remote solution alone.

[cmonova]

In the Original post I stated:

So if the pricing works out like I think it will the price would be a monthly rate of $50 to maybe $150 depeding on the volume. Keep in mind that this has to be staffed and what you are also getting is access to a labor pool for the same price as what you might pay for the remote solution alone.

So for $50 a month you will work on all the computers that are in my shop whenever I call? If not give me a number that would be considered in the "volume"

[Mushin]

So for $50 a month you will work on all the computers that are in my shop whenever I call? If not give me a number that would be considered in the "volume"

No offense but if you want hard numbers for something that does not exist yet you are crazy. :o

And I would not be crazy enought to say sure let me do all your work for you each month for $50.00 :rolleyes:

When I say volume I mean number of sessions or repairs.. Again I don't have hard numbers becasue this is not in place yet.

I guess there is no reason we could not use something like LogMeIn Free.... but.... Lets say volume tiers something like this

Tier 1: up to 4 repairs
Tier 2: up to 8 repairs
Tier 3: up to 16 repairs
Tier 4: Up to 32 repairs

[cmonova]

No offense but if you want hard numbers for something that does not exist yet you are crazy. :o

And I would not be crazy enought to say sure let me do all your work for you each month for $50.00 :rolleyes:

When I say volume I mean number of sessions or repairs.. Again I don't have hard numbers becasue this is not in place yet.

I guess there is no reason we could not use something like LogMeIn Free.... but.... Lets say volume tiers something like this

Tier 1: up to 4 repairs
Tier 2: up to 8 repairs
Tier 3: up to 16 repairs
Tier 4: Up to 32 repairs

Not crazy just like to know things when i see someone suggest something. Bottom line is the price is going to make or break it. I would think you would of at least put some thought into the pricing structure when you thought of this whole concept.

[Mushin]

Not crazy just like to know things when i see someone suggest something. Bottom line is the price is going to make or break it. I would think you would of at least put some thought into the pricing structure when you thought of this whole concept.

I have ideas on pricing but I can't put hard numbers out becasue there are many factors. I'll be honest though.. I really think I can do a base tier fo $65.00 per month for up to 4 repairs.

Let me thorw this out there for a moment...

If I can work the numbers how many people would be interested in one of these tiers.

Tier 1: up to 4 Uses $65.00/month
Tier 2: up to 8 Uses $120.00/month
Tier 3: up to 16 Uses $224.00/month
Tier 4: up to 24 Uses $312.00/month
Tier 5: up to 36 Uses $432.00/month
Tier 6: up to 48 Uses $528.00/month

I decided that the wording of "uses" fits better than repairs because some services that will be performed could be computer optimizations or backups.

I woud define a "use" as a "remote session or series of remote sessions to a single computer system for the purpose of providng a technical services as defined in the scopes of work. A use can include multiple services performed at different times but will expire 20 days after the last successful remote connection to the comptuer."

I will get some scopes of work up later if anyone would like.

[ProTech Support]

I have ideas on pricing but I can't put hard numbers out becasue there are many factors. I'll be honest though.. I really think I can do a base tier fo $65.00 per month for up to 4 repairs.

Let me thorw this out there for a moment...

If I can work the numbers how many people would be interested in one of these tiers.

Tier 1: up to 4 Uses $65.00/month
Tier 2: up to 8 Uses $120.00/month
Tier 3: up to 16 Uses $224.00/month
Tier 4: up to 24 Uses $312.00/month
Tier 5: up to 36 Uses $432.00/month
Tier 6: up to 48 Uses $528.00/month

I decided that the wording of "uses" fits better than repairs because some services that will be performed could be computer optimizations or backups.

I woud define a "use" as a "remote session or series of remote sessions to a single computer system for the purpose of providng a technical services as defined in the scopes of work. A use can include multiple services performed at different times but will expire 20 days after the last successful remote connection to the comptuer."

I will get some scopes of work up later if anyone would like.

So under this structure you would do (4) full virus removals for $65.00?

[JosephLeo]

So under this structure you would do (4) full virus removals for $65.00?

I think he means access to the service plus the service fee. $65 / 4 = $16.25 which I think is a nice introductory rate to the service.

[Mushin]

So under this structure you would do (4) full virus removals for $65.00?

Sounds crazy... The way my numbers are working it looks like it is going to fall in the $65 to $75 range.

[Mushin]

Ok for anyone that is monitoring this.. here is where I am at on the process.

I have choosen to go with LogMeIn. Initially I was planning on using LogMeIn Free with the LogMeIn Central for management on our end but this is just too limited SO... If the Interest exists I will be using LogMeIn Rescue.

We are in the process of customizing the service and have officially started beta tesing locally. By beta testing what I mean is that all of our repairs are being done via "remote." By remote what I mean is that we are connecting all of our machines that are in for repair to the service and repairing that way.

One person acts as the "client" and fields requests for anything that we can not do by remote... For example the machine locks or gets a blue screen we have them reboot or if we need to have a CD put into the drive we have them do it.

Feature wise with we are going to be able to expand the service offering to include fielding end user requests from a clients (Your) web site. This will allow for us to "sell" your services, provide "triage diagnostics", address post repair questions such as "where did my icon for xyz program go", and possibly even field dispatch questions.

For non-end user support we can.....
1.) Have you input the services that are to be performed
2.) Reboot and reconnect in safemode with networking
3.) Capture individual computer system information
4.) Fully record sessions
5.) Track Individula computer sessions
6.) Provide connection reporting
7.) Full remote support such as file trasfers
8.) Provide full service notes.

For end user support we can do all of the above plus

1.) Provide "Your Brand" support such as My name is Phil with Site Tech what can I do to for you today?"
2.) Provide a brand agnostic connection to our service so the customer does not know that they are dealing with a 3rd party.
3.) Control the hours of operation and provide a "Remote support is not avaiable redirect. (Should be brand agnostic as well but have not done this yet.)
4.) Provide session logs
5.) Track where the session originated such as which page.

Beta Testing thus far has been very successful we expect to start a Pilot Phase or External Beta with a limted number of paid clients. These pilot members will receive a higer number of sessions per month than the normal pricing will be.

Sessions will be calculated on a point system to allow you some flexability in how you use the service. As an example it takes more time to perform a virus removal than it does to perform a system tune up or optimization.

A full virus removal service will be 1.0 points or 1 session
An optimization will be .5 points or 1/2 a session (Not finalized yet)
and so on....

Here are the tiers as we see them thus far.

Tier 1: $55.00 per month

End user support (No Repairs) from your web site. We will field questions and provide triage diagnostics and basic dispatch services by quoting the necessary service based off of your scopes of work to your client. All contact will be performed through the online chat only.


All Tiers above above #1 include features of tier 1
Tier 2: up to 4 Uses $75.00/month
Tier 3: up to 8 Uses $130.00/month
Tier 4: up to 16 Uses $234.00/month
Tier 5: up to 24 Uses $322.00/month
Tier 6: up to 36 Uses $442.00/month
Tier 7: up to 48 Uses $538.00/month

So this should give you a good feel for the service.

Now since you have read everyting.....

Please let me know if you feel that this service would have value?
What you would like to see incorporated?

Thanks
Phil

[JosephLeo]

Great setup Phil. I'm really a fan of the End user Support. But please clarify on it a little more. Does that mean my customers and potential customers can go to my website and ask a live support question? Also, what are the limitations to it, like for example I offer a computer consultation service and a goGreen consultation service s well. I don't want my potential customers getting this support for free, but I would love to have them get support with their common questions like "How do I print my pictures" or "What does copy and paste mean?" type stuff.

Also, what about my services, is it possible to have your staff be informed about my available services and recommend them when the time comes up. For example, if someone asks "How do I update my drivers?" would it be possible to say something like [i]"Open the start menu by hitting the windows key on your keyboard then go to All Programs > Windows Update and click install updates. But for best results it is recommended that you have one of our Nerds do it for you. We can do that online right now, or we can have a Nerd come to your house for $x.xx"[/url]

Another thing, is it possible I can brief my "online support team" about things like how to properly refer to my branding. For example, instead of representatives and technicians, I have "Advisors and Nerds"

Last but not least, explain this "points" idea a little more. You only mentioned it for a single line and I like the idea of credits instead of uses. 1 credit for a virus removal and 1/2 credit for a tune-up or whatever it is you mentioned is a pretty good idea (although I'm not a fan of the decimals and fractions...maybe up your credit system to make the cheapest item 1 credit but still have the same value)

Please keep me posted on this Phil as I am very excited about it!

[Mushin]

Great setup Phil. I'm really a fan of the End user Support. But please clarify on it a little more. Does that mean my customers and potential customers can go to my website and ask a live support question?

Yes... During the hours of operation (To be determined) the clients can get live support a chat window. My staff are very well versed on how to answer basic questions while recognizing when a question needs to be esculated to a paid service.



Also, what are the limitations to it, like for example I offer a computer consultation service and a goGreen consultation service s well. I don't want my potential customers getting this support for free, but I would love to have them get support with their common questions like "How do I print my pictures" or "What does copy and paste mean?" type stuff.



I want this service to offer exactly the type of features you mentioned here but there is one unknown right now and that is the amount of time basic questions would take up. Like you said you don't want customers getting a full training session or answers to more complex questions. The goal would be to build a relationship with the client and then sell some type of service to them.

This paid service would then cover the issue or question. In the case of a question being converted to a paid service your account would then be charged a "credit" or "use." This is a win win for both parties. We sell a service for you and the better we do at selling services the more money you make. The more services we sell the more credits you buy and the more money we make.



Also, what about my services, is it possible to have your staff be informed about my available services and recommend them when the time comes up. For example, if someone asks "How do I update my drivers?" would it be possible to say something like [i]"Open the start menu by hitting the windows key on your keyboard then go to All Programs > Windows Update and click install updates. But for best results it is recommended that you have one of our Nerds do it for you. We can do that online right now, or we can have a Nerd come to your house for $x.xx"[/url]



When a session is created we can see which of our clients the session belongs to, that is the first key.. Since we know it is your client and the goal is to sell services we always have the goal of converting an interation into a sale. Initially our goal will be to sell remote services but with a little planning, work, and good communication with you about your schedule would could easily offer real time dispatching.

If your are setup with a payment gateway we could even navigate to that page on your site and enter any collected payment information to process the order and then schedule the appointment. This would be part of a dispatcing service (Optional add on) that we are also planning but would not be part of the initial service.

So the first phase will include end user services as well as repair of computers on your bench. Dispatching services will follow.



Another thing, is it possible I can brief my "online support team" about things like how to properly refer to my branding. For example, instead of representatives and technicians, I have "Advisors and Nerds"



Absolutely! I think that branding is one of the most important aspects of a company. So if you have a specific requirement such as referinng to your employees as Advisors and Nerds we will do that. We can also refer to your services and scopes of work if you have them publised on your site somewhere for easy access. I would recommend creating a Branding Guide for us to follow. Example: "Refer to all employees of XYZ company as Nerds."



Last but not least, explain this "points" idea a little more. You only mentioned it for a single line and I like the idea of credits instead of uses. 1 credit for a virus removal and 1/2 credit for a tune-up or whatever it is you mentioned is a pretty good idea (although I'm not a fan of the decimals and fractions...maybe up your credit system to make the cheapest item 1 credit but still have the same value)

Please keep me posted on this Phil as I am very excited about it!

Credits are like a difficulty rating that takes into account the scope of work to be performed. A virus removal takes much longer to do than helping someone figure out how to send an e-mail attachment. So... different tasks will be grouped into a point category. When a service is performed a point is subtracted from your account. This is how we will track usage of the service.

So lets say we change it to a 1 credit or point for the most basic service and 10 for the most difficult. We could have something like this:

Service Cost
--------------------------------
Virus Removal 10 points
Computer Optimization 5 points
Update a device driver 3 points
Answer Basic Use Question 1 point

This is an example because the point system will take some tweaks. Idealy points will only be charged for services that result in us selling a service for you or work that you have us perform. Your basic membership will cover the general use stuff.

The main reason for this is to give flexabilty in usage. If all you want done is a quick optimization on a computer it is not really fair to charge you the same amount as a virus removal. I did not get too detailed on the tiers but it look like each tier will actually be broken down into a an amount per point. The more volume the lower the cost per credit.

This project is evolving quickly and there are things that need to be nailed down still but It looks like we are going to make it a go.

[JosephLeo]

Fantastic! I just thought of another thing.

Assume you have a bad client, e.g. someone who doesn't want to properly co-operate, or for some reason or another you can't remove the virus and it has to be escalated to a field repair (meaning I either have to come out, or they have to drop off the computer to a physical location). Would there be some sort of guarantee as in, if you can't do the job then you will refund my customers money and then escalate it to a field repair and just take your "escalation fee" instead of the full repair points?

[Mushin]

Fantastic! I just thought of another thing.

Assume you have a bad client, e.g. someone who doesn't want to properly co-operate, or for some reason or another you can't remove the virus and it has to be escalated to a field repair (meaning I either have to come out, or they have to drop off the computer to a physical location). Would there be some sort of guarantee as in, if you can't do the job then you will refund my customers money and then escalate it to a field repair and just take your "escalation fee" instead of the full repair points?

Actually it is quite easy. Utilizing Pal Pal we can chrage the client with your pay pal account so all transactions with the client take place as your and the money goes directly to you. This is good because we never have your money in our posession. Should a refund be needed all you would need to do is issue the refund as normal.

A good way to think about this is like this.... We are your employee and we process the credit card for the services we sold. As an employee I never have access to the money from the sale. Then when a refund is needed on the service I call the Manager "you" to get the refund processed.

Now if there is an issue... say a virus that can not be removed without an actual visit. The service would just converted to a dispatch or general sales service and your account would only be charged the appropriate number of points for that service.


So in short yes it gets converted to a lesser service and you process the refunds as you see fit. What is nice is that you probably would not even need to process a refund... you just give them credit for what they have paid already.

[JosephLeo]

Actually it is quite easy. Utilizing Pal Pal we can chrage the client with your pay pal account so all transactions with the client take place as your and the money goes directly to you. This is good because we never have your money in our posession. Should a refund be needed all you would need to do is issue the refund as normal.

A good way to think about this is like this.... We are your employee and we process the credit card for the services we sold. As an employee I never have access to the money from the sale. Then when a refund is needed on the service I call the Manager "you" to get the refund processed.

Now if there is an issue... say a virus that can not be removed without an actual visit. The service would just converted to a dispatch or general sales service and your account would only be charged the appropriate number of points for that service.


So in short yes it gets converted to a lesser service and you process the refunds as you see fit. What is nice is that you probably would not even need to process a refund... you just give them credit for what they have paid already.

Thanks a lot. Looking at you as an employee gives me a much better perspective of the service. My online services will probably be just as expensive as my future "In-Store" prices so I think that I might not ever have to have a refund in the first place unless they want me to come to them in which case I will just apply the In-Home fee instead which is really only $60 added to every one of my services (for the services that are offered in home anyway)

[ProTech Support]

Sorry to jump back in late, but I wanted to read everything and get a full understanding of the overall process.

JosephLeo asked some really important questions that were on my mind, especially the ones concerning the refunds and what the live chat would consist of.

After going through all this I can say I do like the service, and can see it being beneficial. But again this may not be something I would personally jump right on. To really "win me over" I would have to see this thing being executed as advertised. I am in no way doubting your abilities or promises, just over the years I have heard many "amazing pitches" that turned out to be not so amazing.

If this is done right, you could have something great here.

[Mushin]

Sorry to jump back in late, but I wanted to read everything and get a full understanding of the overall process.

JosephLeo asked some really important questions that were on my mind, especially the ones concerning the refunds and what the live chat would consist of.

After going through all this I can say I do like the service, and can see it being beneficial. But again this may not be something I would personally jump right on. To really "win me over" I would have to see this thing being executed as advertised. I am in no way doubting your abilities or promises, just over the years I have heard many "amazing pitches" that turned out to be not so amazing.

If this is done right, you could have something great here.

So here is where we are headed on this. I am launching a white label division on Site Tech that will focus on services that can be provided to technicians. Remote Support w/Staffing is officially in the pilot phase with testing taking place. In the near future we will open this up to a select number of individuals for review.

[basic]

A little late to be chiming in on this thread but, the business model for this seems very similar to that online program that auto-magically fixes all windows issues. It's been advertised on this site before and some of the members have used it...I just can't remember the name. Even the pricing structure is very similar. Most of the people that tried it or thought about it shared a couple recurring issues. I don't remember and I can't remember the thread but a lot of it was "Why should I cut into my profit margin to use a service that I could probably do myself? Why should I put my name and reputation on a service that I have no oversight over?" I have a feeling you will eventually encounter the same questions.

[Mushin]

A little late to be chiming in on this thread but, the business model for this seems very similar to that online program that auto-magically fixes all windows issues. It's been advertised on this site before and some of the members have used it...I just can't remember the name. Even the pricing structure is very similar. Most of the people that tried it or thought about it shared a couple recurring issues. I don't remember and I can't remember the thread but a lot of it was "Why should I cut into my profit margin to use a service that I could probably do myself? Why should I put my name and reputation on a service that I have no oversight over?" I have a feeling you will eventually encounter the same questions.

You are actually very off base on this.

This is a service that is driven by actual techs. And no... the pricing structure is not similar becasue there is not real pricing structure yet. This is a pilot program.

But... to answer your question about why.... Quite simply having labor on demand is very useful as a business grows. Another good use would be to have things addressed overnight during the times that would be non-productive. For example a compute comes in right a close.... you could hook it up to the remote support and have the repair completed overnight.

Also you concern regarding the oversight is actually addressed in this thread. If the service is not good you simply "fire" the remote support with staffing service. Quite simple...

[basic]

You are actually very off base on this.

This is a service that is driven by actual techs. And no... the pricing structure is not similar becasue there is not real pricing structure yet. This is a pilot program.

But... to answer your question about why.... Quite simply having labor on demand is very useful as a business grows. Another good use would be to have things addressed overnight during the times that would be non-productive. For example a compute comes in right a close.... you could hook it up to the remote support and have the repair completed overnight.

Also you concern regarding the oversight is actually addressed in this thread. If the service is not good you simply "fire" the remote support with staffing service. Quite simple...

I am not that off base. I understand that there are differences, however there are similarities as well. The preliminary pricing structure you were thinking about was similar because that service also charged a flat rate for a set amount of repairs. The other major similarity, that I think lots of people may have a problem with is taking a hit on their bottomline. I won't argue with you that having on-demand labor for days when the work load gets hectic is helpful. But there will be people who will be hesitant in putting their seal of approval on work they did not oversee by people whom they don't know.

This is just my opinion, so don't take it personally. I'm not saying your idea won't work I'm just giving you feedback on potential points of resistance. You did want feedback didn't you?

[Mushin]

The other major similarity, that I think lots of people may have a problem with is taking a hit on their bottomline. But there will be people who will be hesitant in putting their seal of approval on work they did not oversee by people whom they don't know.



How is this different than hiring an employee? Really when you hire someone you really have no idea how they will perform no matter how much experience they have. Also employees put an even bigger hit on the bottom line.

Sure you can babysit an employee 100% of the time but then what is the use of having the employee if you are just going to watch over them.

so... as with any 3rd party (employees included) you would want to have some oversight inplace. QC checks should be done for employee work as well but this is very rarely the case.

So the biggest concerns....
1.) Value (Do the benefits justify the cost?)
2.) Is it a quality service?

These are the basics with anything we buy....
How do we actually know if any product or service is worth it?

[basic]

Good luck to you on this. Again, I wasn't trying to pointlessly criticize you on this idea. I thought I'd just give you some feedback on questions your potential customers may ask so you could prepare an answer ahead of time.

[Jimmy Harris]

I like the idea... starting as a one man shop right now, here are the problems I see...

1) Can't be in two places at the same time... or at least not in three definitely.
2) Single biggest reason that customers change IT companies is not being able to contact and get support when they need it.
3) Second biggest reason is that their IT person isn't good and screws things up.

For me the following is a partial list of have to's:
1) Has to be White Labeled. You have to be my company, not some third party, day 1 not year 1. Anything else is a non-starter.
2) Service has to be good and knows when to say when with the customer.
3) HAS to be excellent communicators. I'm not knocking off-shoring, but they have developed a reputation now for not communicating well with some of my customers.
4) There has to be an excellent documentation system in place of what happened with the computer, what was the result, what was the billed time.
5) Somehow, you and I would have to be using the same customer support database to know passwords, previous history, customer configuration, etc.
6) Shared Billing System... whatever I use for billing has to be what you use for billing.

That's a short list... your question / idea is a good one and one that I've thought about alot. I also think the idea of a bootable CD is a good idea, but agree that typically it's not required.