[REQUEST] Evening Hours Only MSP

[roborobs computer repair]

Question for the group. What kind of a demand do you think there is for a MSP that is from 5-9 weekdays at least starting out? My thinking is: Many businesses are open later than 5PM and when they have an issue after 5 they either have to wait or pay 1.5 to 2 times the normal rate.

My idea is to target these organizations and residential customers specifically with remote support as well as remote management and automation of updates and system monitoring.

As I currently have another fulltime job I can't take the time during the day to do this work but I am available in the evenings and some weekends. Especially for remote support tasks.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks.

 

[Diggs]

A bit of a forum search will show you this subject has come up frequently.

To be succinct - When something goes wrong businesses want it now and 10 minutes ago wasn't nearly fast enough........ If you can't be available during business hours for consult, troubleshooting, etc. then don't go there. (Wait? Pay x2? Heh - Not when the next guy answers his phone on the second ring and is there in 20 minutes.)

 

[roborobs computer repair]

A bit of a forum search will show you this subject has come up frequently.

To be succinct - When something goes wrong businesses want it now and 10 minutes ago wasn't nearly fast enough........ If you can't be available during business hours for consult, troubleshooting, etc. then don't go there. (Wait? Pay x2? Heh - Not when the next guy answers his phone on the second ring and is there in 20 minutes.)

As far as I found in doing a search of the forums no one is doing exactly this.

I'm looking at doing it starting out solely in the after hours markets for those businesses that are open more hours than 8-5 as many MSPs are only open 8-5 and charge an overtime or after hours rate when having to go out outside those hours. This is why I thought there may be a market for it. I was just curious what others thought.

 

[GTP]

Since my partner passed away a couple of years ago now, I have been pretty much doing this.
My business hours are 9am to 9pm but I get people in after or before those times.
Many people drop stuff off on their way to work at 6.30~7.30am or if they work shifts, much later.
Many (residential) clients appreciate the extended hours because by the time they knock off work and head home most places are already closed (at 5.30pm).
Supermarkets stay open till 7pm but clients that are working there don't finish and get home till around 7.30 etc.
Many people here are "shift workers" who work from 3.00pm to Midnight, 8.00pm to 4.00am and all hours in between.

Businesses on the other hand appreciate the fact that there is no disruption during the day as work can be carried out after hours.
I don't mind doing that either (after hours) because I don't have to work around staff, answer stupid questions, or diagnose their brothers/sisters/mothers computer issues for them while I work.
I work all day Saturday and Sunday as well from 9am to 9pm.

As for charging? I do charge businesses a slightly higher rate than for anything outside normal hours, but not for residential.

 

[Mick]

I think you may find problems pursuing this. You say that "Many businesses are open later than 5PM", which is true, but what are those businesses supposed to do if they have problems before 5 PM - i.e. when you can't get to them? Logically, they would need to contract with two different providers: You, for out-of-hours help and A.N. Other for normal, nine-to-five type stuff. I can't see them doing that and even if they did, it's a recipe for disaster and blame-dodging. Still, no harm in asking. Worst case: It doesn't fly, then you're no worse off.

 

[Your PCMD]

It depends on your market Robert (good name by the way). I can tell you that here where I am, I'm open from 9-6 and up until 8pm for remote sessions if needed. However, I can count on one hand in the past 4 years how many times I worked after 6. There are businesses here (like many places) that are open 24/7 - though very few - while the rest of the city shuts down at 9pm.

I don't charge 1.5 to 2 times the amount for remote servicing unless its prior to or after my posted hours. But I do for onsite thats for sure. The thing is, it varies by demographics and most businesses in the US don't operate past 6pm and begin shutting down and finishing up around 5 I would say so there is little to no chance that your gonna get that call to service a client.

Regardless of what you do, best of luck to you.

 

[nerd2u]

Residential customers typically like the late hours they can come home from work then deal with their tech issues.

Businesses not so much I have had some businesses that call after hours but not many.

The problem I find with residential customers is they are typically cheap.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

 

[Krynn72]

For businesses, you would essentially be trying to be their second MSP. They'd need one for the day time too.

If I were a business that needed it I would rather just have one MSP and pay the overtime charge in emergencies. Otherwise I would have contracts with two competing companies, both with their own MSP software packages needing to be installed (bad idea already), their own ideas on how my network should be set up, their own best practices and policies, etc. I'd need to train my staff to call this company during these hours and this other company during these hours for the same problem.

It's a whole lot of complications and potential for conflicting advice or opinions and I'd be sure to piss off my main MSP.

I also don't see how it would be cheaper for them if they're paying a whole new monthly charge instead of paying one-off extra charges for overtime from their main MSP.

Unless you're not talking about being a real MSP but rather just a break/fix after hours tech without any actual MSP functions...

 

[cypress]

This works great for residential but not so much for businesses. I know I have tried it a couple times and it just hasn't worked out the way I have liked it too. Unless you can come to a full complete understanding in writing that you will only be available certain hours and they are completely okay with that, then it might work.

I know I had an office that I had to cut ties with it because they kept trying to contact me during the day when I was at my full time job. Eventually that relationship went sour and I learned from that.

Residential and SOHO are diffierent since they mostly work from home and they are very understanding of the evening hours support.

 

[Archon Prime]

This works great for residential but not so much for businesses. I know I have tried it a couple times and it just hasn't worked out the way I have liked it too. Unless you can come to a full complete understanding in writing that you will only be available certain hours and they are completely okay with that, then it might work.

I know I had an office that I had to cut ties with it because they kept trying to contact me during the day when I was at my full time job. Eventually that relationship went sour and I learned from that.

Residential and SOHO are diffierent since they mostly work from home and they are very understanding of the evening hours support.

as you know, i'm in the same boat as you. Full time job in the day, and the computer stuff in the evening and weekends. I have small businesses on my list, but they know I'm available remote during the day and on site after 5.

 

[trevm999]

as you know, i'm in the same boat as you. Full time job in the day, and the computer stuff in the evening and weekends. I have small businesses on my list, but they know I'm available remote during the day and on site after 5.

How do you offer remote during the day when you have a full time job?

 

[Markverhyden]

I think the reality of things today means that almost no one is going to pay any premium prices for after hours calls. If having 24/7 business continuity is critical they will already have a 24/7 MSP or an on staff IT specialist. I've offered after hours premium price rates and have never had anyone take me up on the offer. The few times I've been asked they're like - Ok, I can wait until tomorrow/Monday.

But doing evening, weekend is possible. When I was working full time my first few business customers were fine with that for the most part. A few times I had to come in late or leave early.

 

[phaZed]

For the MSP customers that I have, I often perform tasks in the evening, either because it fits my schedule better or because the business has now closed and everyone is away... I would say 75-80% of the time, this is acceptable (or wanted) for my customers, so the OP could have success at such a venture. The other 20% of the time, however, it is EMERGENCY time - email won't work, Disk Quota's reached, that kind of stuff. So long as you make it clear to a customer that your MSP functions don't kick in until later in the day, I don't see how it could hurt to try... but be willing to see it as a failure if it comes to that... not a word of caution, just in the sense of being business-wise.

 

[Archon Prime]

How do you offer remote during the day when you have a full time job?

I'm a helpdesk technician. I'm in front of a computer all day

 

[Porthos]

I'm a helpdesk technician. I'm in front of a computer all day

How would you react if you owned the company you work for now and your employee was using your resources and time to support his "other" job.

 

[Sky-Knight]

How would you react if you owned the company you work for now and your employee was using your resources and time to support his "other" job.

If I was that employer, I'd consider that theft and you'd be fired before you could realize the mistake. I'd then follow up with a law suit demanding payment for use of my equipment for purposes beyond my own.

 

[Archon Prime]

How would you react if you owned the company you work for now and your employee was using your resources and time to support his "other" job.

If I was that employer, I'd consider that theft and you'd be fired before you could realize the mistake. I'd then follow up with a law suit demanding payment for use of my equipment for purposes beyond my own.

You guys are hilarious. Assuming makes an ass of just you. You realise I work on my own hardware on a separate computer at home. It's called multitasking. I also do more work than most people do in a day plus additional hours a week. My employer has no issues with my work. If it was a problem it wouldn't be done. Plus, I think I do about 2 remote sessions a month that are about 15-30 minutes tops.

 

[Your PCMD]

How do you offer remote during the day when you have a full time job?

My job is my business. With that said, its real easy if you have the right tools. If you have an iPad you can use something like Pulseway RMM for monitoring, pushing through updates, etc. and Anydesk for remote sessions.

 

[Sky-Knight]

You guys are hilarious. Assuming makes an ass of just you. You realise I work on my own hardware on a separate computer at home. It's called multitasking. I also do more work than most people do in a day plus additional hours a week. My employer has no issues with my work. If it was a problem it wouldn't be done. Plus, I think I do about 2 remote sessions a month that are about 15-30 minutes tops.

Depends on your employment contract. If I'm contracting you for work, I'm being billed by the hour. There is no multitasking, you sold me that hour. It's mine, not yours. BUT, if your contract allows otherwise, go for it. It's called ethics, and yeah I assume people don't have them because they mostly don't.

 

[Markverhyden]

If you're a W2, that's a term for an employee in the US, and you're on the clock and doing work for someone else for compensation it's not theft in a statutory sense as far as I know. Obviously it's not in good form, especially if your employment contract forbids it. Now for people working remotly things are murky for a number of obvious reasons.

It's been my experience that for professional types of employment, in some industries, it's not that big of a deal to an employer if the following hold true.

1. The employee's productivity exceeds the norm.
2. The employee's activities do not represent a loss of revenue or customers to the employer by being a direct competitor
3. The employee does not gratuitously publicize the activities. Not that big of a deal years ago but with social media it's a different story these days.