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ForumsThe following is a paid review. However, it completely of my own opinion and is not influenced by being paid.
In this article I will be reviewing some remote support software called “Instant Housecall”. Instant Housecall aims to be a complete support package for computer techs who provide remote support.
In this review, I used the Professional Edition trial which allows you to try all of the options for 15 days.
To test the product, I installed Instant Housecall’s “Specialist” software that sits in the technicians system tray awaiting a client to “call in”. From there, I can access the admin area that allows me to set my account preferences such as a branded splash screen that my clients see, my support pages logo, a webpage that loads after the help session (for feedback, surveys, promotions etc..), my Paypal email address so I can be paid, manage my specialists, change default system behaviors such as auto-reconnect if I get disconnected and display reports of the work that has been done and how much I earned.
Once this has all been setup, you can either used a support page created by Instant Housecall that you can send your customer with a URL like “ABCTech.instanthousecall.com” or you can set up a direct download link from your current website so they never see the Instant Housecall domain. This is what my test page looks like:
I would direct my client to this page, they press “Download Now” and the client-side support software would install. Something worth pointing out is that Instant Housecall has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that it is as easy as possible for the clients to set up the client-side software. There are no pin codes that they have to enter or read out to you (unlike Crossloop or LogMeIn Rescue), the client doesn’t have the usual three “Open, Save and Cancel” options when downloading the software, it only has Run and Cancel. Basically, the less opportunities for a client to click the wrong thing the better and Instant Housecall has gone to extremes to prevent this which is great.
Instant Housecall also works in Safe Mode (with networking enabled) and with Vistas UAC so you dont have to tell the client to switch UAC off or “Run as Administrator” since you can press “Allow” button yourself.
There are two versions of the client-side support software, one is what they call the “Hotline” which is an executable installer and the other is a temporary applet. The advantage of having both is that the applet can be run on locked down or administrator restricted machine and the “Hotline” application has more custom branding options with the ability to let the client allow unattended remote access to their computer.
To make sure there are no connectivity issues, the system tries to make peer-to-peer connections where possible. If it cant, the system will use Instant Housecalls secured server.
For this review, I loaded up a virtual machine, visited my support page and downloaded my support program. Once it was installed it asked me for a little bit of information such as my name, phone number and a reason for the support call (this is for the technicians records but this can be switched off if you dont like it). I also had the option to choose different specialists if I had a preference and there was more than one working for me.
Once I filled out the details on the client-side, the Specialist software on my main computer popped up with this message:
I accepted the call and the remote control software started. Once I had looked around in the remote control window, I noticed some interesting features such as File Transfer, IM Chat, Record Session Video, Take Screenshot, Send Ctrl-Alt-Del to remote computer, Reconnect after Reboot, Accept Payment and Blank Remote Monitor. There is also a little box informing the client that the computer is being controlled by me which moves around the screen if you put the mouse which is handy if its covering something you need access to.
Here is a picture of the remote control software from the technicians end:
If the client allowed me remote access or I was watching over many machines inside my corporation, I would see something like this that allows me to choose which unattended computer I would like to log into.
Now, lets talk about getting paid for our hard work. Once I was finished testing I pressed “Accept Payment” menu option which took me a little while to find until I read the manual. The “Accept Payment” drop down not being in an obvious location is one of my very few gripes about this software, otherwise I really like it. The other gripe is that the client presses F10 to chat to you and F11 to disconnect you. I can foresee my clients accidentally disconnecting me since F10 and F11 are right next to each other. Buttons like F9 and F12 or something similar with a few buffer keys in between would probably have been a little better.
Anyway, once the Accept Payment option was pressed the client is presented with this:
Once they press OK they are taken to a page where they can pay for your services. In this example, I used Paypal but apparently it can work with just about any shopping cart. Of course, you can also do this at the start of the session before any work is done if you are less trusting of the end user.
Once everything has been paid for and you are finished with the client, your reports area is updated displaying how much you earned per session/client including any notes made during the repair.
If a client activates the Instant Housecall on software on their end and you are not at the computer to answer it or you have the Specialist application closed, Instant Housecall can SMS you notifications such as missed calls, calls in queue and messages left for you by your customers (Professional version only). I can see this being really useful for one man businesses who cant sit at a computer all day in case a Instant Housecall comes through.
Last but not least, to test the transfer speeds I used Instant Housecall to remote into friends computer who believed they were infected with a trojan. The speeds were on par with other big names in remote support which was good considering my friend was using a wireless connection on their end. Also, during the 40 minutes or so I was connected to their computer, it didnt disconnect once which was great.
So how much does it cost? Instant Housecall has different pricing for 3 different versions depending on your needs:
- The Free Edition which allows you unlimited sessions but only 3 customers.
- The Express Edition costs $49 USD per month or a lifetime license of $899 which allows you unlimited sessions and unlimited customers.
- The Professional Edition (the version I reviewed) is similar to the Express Edition but for $89 USD per month or $1699 lifetime it allows you to help up to 10 people at once (Express only allows 1 at a time), allows you to brand the software with your own logos, alerts you via pager or SMS if you miss a clients support call, the ability to record screen sessions, remotely access unattended workstations and more.
Instant Housecall is much cheaper than other remote support software like LogMeIn Rescue per month/year and LogMeIn Rescue doesn’t even have a lifetime option. If you used the professional edition of Instant Housecall over LogMeIn Rescue for two years you are already ahead by $677 and will remain ahead since you don’t have to pay an extra $1188 USD per year if you went with LogMeIn Rescue.
Instant Housecall is a complete package for support technicians managing branding, payments and reporting. They also make things as easy as possible for the customers to get help with little opportunity for them to click the wrong button which is obviously a good thing.
It is definitely worth giving the 15 day trial a shot yourself which you can do using the following download link: http://www.instanthousecall.com/tn/SetupSpecialistSign-in.exe
I managed to secure us a discount as well which gives Technibble readers 2 months free on any subscription or a 10% discount on any lifetime licence purchased before August 30, 2009 if you mention “technibble” .
You should also check this out, this product is what we use here. Save the reporting features available with housecall it has basically all the same features with no limitations. It has been incredibly stable for us over the last three years as well. We literally use it several times a day. Here’s the clincher, they charge based on company size but seeing as how there are no limitations, it really doesn’t matter. we have three techs, lifetime license, $349 including future updates and email support.
If a lifetime subscription is purchased is their a lifetime of maintenance included as well? Meaning if newer versions come out we can automatically be upgraded to the newer versions?
My biggest gripe with remote access software has been that, for me, it’s just too damn slow to use to get any type of a repair done in a reasonable amount of time. When you have to reboot and call the customer back to restart the software, over and over again, well, it just doesn’t work very well. Especially if they have kids.
What I’ve found is, if the customer’s computer is truly hosed (and usually is by the time I see it), the OS is so bloated and slow with spyware/viruses/problems that you really CAN’T do anything well with it remotely.
It’s the main reason why I’ve never gotten into remote software use, and (for now) have shelved the idea. On a problem computer, it doesn’t work fast enough for me to perform a repair in a quick fashion. Very frustrating.
I’ve tried all types of remote software, but the one I love to use is DuelDesk. It’s Fast and I have removed a virus with a client on Dial-up.
You buy it and its yours. And they have different price levels, and a free trial.
You can add your own tools to it and more, check it out.
Hi SK
what software are you talking about exactly?
thanks
Whats wrong with crossloop? I have used it for family but not have not used it in my computer business as of yet. Seems to work fine and why in the world should I pay 1000+ dollars for something like that? Way over priced when you think of how many others are out there that can do about the same thing. Like you said it was a paid review.
Take the review and use discretion.
I’m not a big fan of leaving VNC serves on my users machines (DualDesk is VNC), not to mention that it’s slower.
Looking at the pricing of Instant Housecall it competes well with Connectwise, but connectwise offers MSP and exchange intergration as well, and they’re coming out with an iPhone client too. That’s a biggie for me. I want to be able to do all my ticketing and billing on site.
I might check this out though. The lifetime option is interesting.
WOOPS, forgot to post the link:
<a href=”http://www.remotesupportsystem.com/”
I tried to utilize the 15 day trial. It failed so I got their tech support involved. The software did run after serveral attempts. A client will not want to have to try several attempts ever! They want a one time install and no problems. The technician says that they never have any issues and mine was the first. I said ok, we got it to run in the demo after a few attempts. Then I tried the trial and it kept failing saying it needed my phone number even though it was typed in form, then it said it needed my webpage and still failed after inputting my web domain. I was not able to experience the software because I could not create an account due to the failure of proper information being submitted to the server. I have sent them screen shots of the errors and still await their response. They say this is very unusual but when it comes to serving my clients, I don’t need the unusual to happen to them…. I am willing to go through the experience of the unexpected so that I can have that before my clients do but being unable to connect is Lost business and therefore not an acceptable option. They (InstantHouseCall.com) are still trying to figure out why the problem is there. O/S Vista Ult SP2, RAM-4GB, CPU-Intel core2 Quad 6600 2.4Ghz, DSL 6GB connectivity, UAC turned off, firewall-Online Armour permissions fully granted. Etc etc.
Just an FYI from my experience. It may be a fluke but easy and satisfied customer service is my goal. But this is my take so far.
I have used with success… Team Viewer, CrossLoop, RDP (Windows Terminal Services) & LogmeInRescue all without issue.
PS: Purchase of the lifetime offer is good only for the present version that is offered at the present time of purchase and that is all that is covered as far as lifetime is considered. If there are any security issues etc. after you purchase your Lifetime license and the next release is issued, you have to buy the next version at $1699.00 plus to obtain the newest version to address those issues. Tech support is for the first 12 months only.
Hi folks,
I’m the founder and CEO of Instant Housecall and I want to thank you very much for the feedback! Keep it coming!
You’re welcome to contact me directly at cfruitman@instanthousecall.com and I will personally respond to each and every e-mail I receive.
Let me address each of your questions for you:
SK, Mike, & JC: I’m glad that tool works for you, but it has some limitations that won’t work for many people, especially as you ramp-up a professional remote support business. Unlike other products, Instant Housecall doesn’t require any port forwarding, it works with Windows 7 and Vista UAC, it’s fast and reliable, and your customer don’t need administrator level permissions to use it. Instant Housecall offers unparalleled features like branding to give you a more professional look, unattended remote access, and polished interface to keep your customers happy. It’s easier to use, and you don’t need a static IP address or worry about your dynamic IP address changing. There are no keys to type or codes to remember and it’s significantly easier for your customers. You can also use Instant Housecall from anywhere — at home, the office, or a customer site. I encourage you take out a free trial of the software to see the difference for yourself.
Tim: The lifetime license includes all bug fixes and patches. It includes any security patches, too. You get all of the new features up to the next major version release. If you want the features from the next major version, you’ll get a special discounted upgrade price if you choose to upgrade. If you prefer to get free lifetime upgrades, the subscription model is perfect for you. And if you don’t want to upgrade, you can keep using your lifetime license for as long as you wish with no monthly recurring fees.
Tony: We’re still working on your ticket from a couple of hours ago. With that said, yours a perfect example of where Instant Housecall shines! In spite of the issues with your computer, we were able to connect to you using the safe applet — that’s a feature that no other remote support program offers. It let us connect to your computer even though it was experiencing issues. From the notes on your account, you have a very unusual configuration, including a quad-boot with different OSes, multiple overlapping security suites, encrypted hard drives and tracking down the specific issue is going to take a little longer than it might with a more conventionally configured PC. Rest assured, we are working hard to get an answer for you, but this is an unusually complex system. Regarding your PS, there must have been a miscommunication: Bugs, patches, and security fixes are included in the lifetime license.
Again, folks, a great big thank you for the feedback and for the questions. You’re welcome to contact me directly any time at cfruitman@instanthousecall.com or at 1-888-838-4050 (USA & Canada) or +1 416-871-4725 (international)
With that last post it just went from paid review to a free advertisement. Pretty sneaky and certainly not why I like Technibble.
Dear Mr. Fruitman,
Comment #12 does not represent the viewpoint of all readers of this blog. I found your responses to be on point, helpful to the individuals to which they were addressed, and helpful to me on first reading all posts 1-12. I also appreciate a developer/executive who cares enough about his product to try to clear up misunderstandings and give an accurate features comparison with competing products.
No one has responded to JC in comment #6 regarding the use of CrossLoop. Although it lacks some of the more advanced features of Instant Housecall, it contains all the core functionality to “connect and conquer” in most situations. If I’m missing something, I’d be interested in what anyone sees in these other products being discussed which justifies the additional cost.
Since using remote control eliminates the travel time required for a call, I feel like I can offer service at about 1/2 my rate for on-site service. I offer it as a first option for all consumer clients. I explain that if I can’t solve the problems remotely, I’ll need to schedule an on-site visit. Potential customers like the idea of choice, and most of there problems can be resolved remotely. Remote control sessions are particularly useful in situations when a follow-up is required to sort out “new” problems which have arisen after an apparently successful repair. I’d be interested in hearing how/when others use remote control, and how they price it.
I have to agree with Jeff, comment 12 does not reflect the opinion of all the readers of Technibble. It is refreshing to see a CEO taking the time to answer specific question about their product and not just spit the company PR hype. I am going to test this out in my company very soon.
Jeff: Crossloop is a great program for simple screen sharing. It is limited for professional remote support. Here are a few reasons:
- Many anti-virus programs balk when it starts opening ports on the customer’s computer. Some internet security suites don’t like the VNC server it installs on your customer’s PC. That can be problematic for obvious reasons and requires more clicks on your customer’s end. Crossloop isn’t Vista compatible (or Windows 7) and you can’t click UAC prompts remotely. In fact, I believe it actually disconnects you from your customer if a UAC prompt pops up.
In contrast, Instant Housecall offers you Vista and Windows 7 support, it lets you click UAC prompts remotely which means you can install and uninstall software and change system settings — something that every remote tech needs to do.
Also in contrast, Instant Housecall will install on computers where the user doesn’t have admin level permissions, an especially important feature if you’re dealing with businesses.
With regard to your question on how people price their remote support services: the vast majority charge their regular hourly rate. Some charge a standard flat fee for specific activities (eg, virus removal costs $xxx).
I have seen companies that knock down their minimum charge to 15 minutes for remote instead of their usual minimum (1/2 hour to 2 hours depending on locale).
Fast service is a big benefit to your customers, so charging the regular rate seems to be the industry standard because it benefits both parties.
In the end, few customers expect a discount for remote support so why give that revenue away?
I’ve used Crossloop for many remote servicing calls, and for the most part it has been very useful. The biggest shortcomings are: no file transfer; no remote reboot (Teamviewer does this AND lets you log back in without having to phone the customer to say “oops, I got disconnected”). Biggest hassle is having to instruct an absolute beginner over the phone on how to surf to the Crossloop website, download, install, click yes, click accept, click next, click allow, click next, click finish, click skip, and tell me the connect numbers. 20 minutes later, and I could’ve driven to their house and charged more.
Instant housecall sounds great in comparison. It seems very well thought out and supported – but there is not enough demand in my small city to buy into it at this time.
If I license this, can I remove any “powered by Instant HouseCall” messages I find. I don’t like showing my competitors what I use to make life easier on them.
My comment was related to the fact that I have far more faith and trust in the posts of fellow techs and site users than from a company representative, responsive as he or she may be. It certainly was not intended as a slight. Just a healthy dose of skepticism. Too the best of my knowledge, Mr. Fruitman’s first post here was to sell his product.
I think Bryce strikes a fair balance with his “paid reviews” although I tend to give them lesser weight than unpaid reviews or comments by fellow techs. Paid reviews are often for pricier products and solutions and I feel that many users here are not large organizations but smaller business people who are more interested in creative solutions than spending money they don’t have.
I appreciate that Bryce is open and transparent about it. I understand that all Bryce does here needs to be supported somehow, and I consider it a valuable resource and would hate to see it disappear. I really appreciate everyones comments and many of them have opened new doors for me and sent me in a direction I might otherwise have missed. I use the search function in the forums regularly with some amazing results.
That’s what I’m sayin.
To JRoss”….. Too the best of my knowledge, Mr. Fruitman’s first post here was to sell his product.”
No it was to defend his product. You devote several years of your life to a project, you invest your life savings in a project, you put your family’s future financial security on the line; only to see another person (no matter how well intentioned) with a jacked up, system similar to about .0001% of the population, bad mouth your product.
Please correct me if I am off base but I wouldn’t think of bashing even some corporate giant like Microsoft based on a utility of this sort not working on my own personnel tech machine, much less a smaller corp trying to market a new product.
For testing I always use a machine with a main stream plain Jane OS install.
I like Remote Support System. It works great for the times you need to connect to a waiting customer, but it doesn’t allow me to support and maintain the servers and workstations remotely at will that I routinely service. I would like an inexpensive package that would include this feature.
Brian,
It sure does include that. Check the box to “include listener in build” The listener can be setup to poll as often as you like. We set ours up to poll every 15 seconds so that is the most you would have to wait for a connection. We actually don’t use that very often though. RDP is what we use for on-demand to servers. And don’t forget, it also has a repeater for remote access from any computer in the world.
As far as port forwards, yes, you do have to forward ports, but on your own firewall not the clients. If a support person cannot do that in 10 seconds they should find another line of work!
I’m really not trying to talk down the system but I am just so happy with RSS and you CANNOT beat the pricing…
That was a very comprehensive review, not just some idle banter fobbed off with a “recommended” label. The question that has to be asked is if you will use it for yourself, that usually tells us how good things truly are.
Indeed Instant Housecall is a fast, easy remote desktop program that lets you offer remote support through firewalls. It help
was pleasantly surprised with Instant Housecall Free Edition in many aspects: it’s dead easy to use and it works seamlessly through firewalls and Vista UAC. The application is perfect for occasionally lending a hand to your not-so tech-savvy friends or parents, but I’m afraid it’s too simplistic if you’re looking for a professional customer support service. In this case you may want to turn to the paid version of Instant Housecall.
I completely agree with Cartuse: I had similar problems with LogMeIn Free (obviously LMI Rescue is the most advanced solution out there, but is just too ridiculous in terms of pricing). I’ve recently switched from Teamviewer to Techinline (http://www.techinline.com) which is a fraction of the price of LMI Rescue and is very easy to use for the remote users (doesn’t even require installation because entirely browser-based). It’s a relatively new solution, so they should be improving their functionality from here
I’ve been evaluating Instant Housecall over the past two days and I’m a bit reluctant to switch from our existing provider (NTRGlobal). I started looking at IHC on cost alone but I’ve hit a couple of things that worry me in a corporate non-admin environment:
1. The installation goes into the “c:\Document and Settings\Adminstrator” folder which just feels wrong. Why isn’t there a standalone installer that installed in the normal locations and lives as a service
2. We’re looking at automatic deployment of software, gold images etc. Not sure if there is an MSI installation package
3. Normal users without admin rights seem able to simply right-click on the IHC icon and exit IHC. Worse, it appears to uninstall the service!
4. As a test, I disconnected the wireless and re-established and it didn’t reconnect. Worse, it sat with a message saying “Trying to reconnect” and I had to end the task after about 15 minutes. It then lost the option to unattended operation underneath the “Start Session” box so now unattended access appears to have been lost
These are instant problems I found which have tarnished my intial “wow” feelings
Cheers, Rob.
Hi Rob,
Thanks very much for the feedback and for the post. Please know that you’re welcome to contact me directly at 1-888-838-4050 (+1 416-871-4725 international)or e-mail support@instanthousecall.com if you need assistance with the software or any of these features.
Instant Housecall is a remote support tool works on a variety of platforms, so it has a “smart” installer that will determine the best place to install the software. This ensures that Instant Housecall can be installed on all of your customers’ machines, even when a directory is unavailable or set up with permissions restrictions. The “AppData” directory is used by many applications, and it’s one of the recommended directories by Microsoft.
You’re absolutely right that normal users can stop the Instant Housecall service any time they wish. That is by design — we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Instant Housecall is a remote support tool, not spyware, and its transparency is important to us and your customers. It’s only intended to be used with the end-user’s permission, and if they choose to shut down the service, they’ve revoked their permission.
In short, for your customer’s security, they are always given the final say on any transaction, and they can disconnect the Specialist or turn off the service any time they choose.
That gives your customers peace of mind and confidence knowing you can’t access their computer without their permission.
I’d be happy to help troubleshoot or answer any other questions you may have. I’m sorry for the delay in getting a response to this post — I don’t check Technibble as often as I’d like to. But you can always reach me at cfruitman@instanthousecall.com or at the phone number on the website if you have any other questions or concerns.