Vacation coverage

[BO Terry]

I have a conversation planned for later today regarding backing up someone while they go away on vacation. I am a one-person Break-fix shop with a small but loyal customer base. The person I'm talking to is also a one-person shop but they do MSP as well. I don't know anything about their client base but their website but they are several hundred miles away. Clearly, we can't back each other up for hands-on but how do you approach this type of arrangement? For the purpose of this conversation, I'd like to start with what you would expect from someone covering for you but it's hard to look at one side without addressing the other. FYI: I have a few local techs I can reach out to when the need arises so I haven't had to deal with this formally.

Some sort of documentation to protect each of us from courting the other's clients.
How sort of rates?
How do you change/pay for billable time? Per incident, then hourly?
If you expect someone to be available to you, say 8 - noon, do you pay an "on-call" rate, then something more if contacted?
What questions am I not asking that I should be (from the perspective of the person being asked to cover)?

 

[britechguy]

If you are, as you say, a one-person break-fix shop (as am I) then even the idea of pursuing any sort of formal agreement is a waste of time.

Your customers, if they love you, will stick with you even if you refer them to another local tech for emergency vacation coverage. And you don't do that by broadcast message, but only if you get a request for service, and one that requires a very prompt resolution, while you are on vacation (and that, of course is presuming that you are able to check email/voicemail). If they end up liking them better, you can bet your bottom dollar you're never going to get another service call from that customer anyway. And, to be perfectly honest, that should be the customer's prerogative.

There are several other long-established shops in my area that I do refer to "in case of emergency" when I'm away on vacation. But most often, when I call my client to talk to them, most things don't turn out to be "an emergency." They'd rather wait until I get back to have them fixed in any non-emergency (to them) situation than deal with someone new that they don't know. The same will be true for you if you have long-term and solid customer relationships.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Vacations? You people can take vacations?

I have a plenty full workload, unless the tech were a personal friend I'd probably just decline it. Stuff like that can get messy in a hurry. It's just the reality of being a one man MSP or break/fix ... go on vacation, bring a laptop and pray your client doesn't need onsite service, or go on vacation during Christmas.

Is he planning on giving you temporary full access to his RMM? Or are you on your own with remote support using your tools you've paid for? Are your rates similar? Does he want a cut?

It's a bit ambitious of him to dump his client load onto you and wish you luck.

If it were me and the other tech wanted a cut it would have to be on top of my normal rate, which hopefully for him means I'm cheaper than he is, which in most cases isn't the case. His clients would have to be prepared to pay an elevated rate or he'd have to cover the difference as a cost of being on vacation.

I'm busy enough that I would never consider devaluing my own time to cover someone else's butt.

 

[britechguy]

Vacations? You people can take vacations?
.

.
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I'm busy enough that I would never consider devaluing my own time to cover someone else's butt.

I have always, always taken vacations, period. If I'm slammed, then I make it clear that I will not be available between dates X and Y and make sure that I have any pending work completed by date X. You wait, or you find someone else.

And, right now, I'm not slammed, and have not been slammed for ages. But even if I were, it's not a matter of "devaluing my time." I'm a one-man break-fix shop. I don't give a flying rat's patootie what the source of the work is, it's work. If it's something I'm willing and able to do, then I do it, and if it's not, I don't. I love work that comes from someone else being out of town and one of their regulars actually needing someone else in a pinch. I've actually gotten several long term customers that way, and not because I actively poached them, they just liked me better and decided to permanently switch.

As a break-fixer any break-fix work that comes my way is welcome, regardless of the originating source. I ultimately decide whether or not I take it.

 

[BO Terry]

Vacations? You people can take vacations?

I have a plenty full workload, unless the tech were a personal friend I'd probably just decline it. Stuff like that can get messy in a hurry. It's just the reality of being a one man MSP or break/fix ... go on vacation, bring a laptop and pray your client doesn't need onsite service, or go on vacation during Christmas.

Is he planning on giving you temporary full access to his RMM? Or are you on your own with remote support using your tools you've paid for? Are your rates similar? Does he want a cut?

It's a bit ambitious of him to dump his client load onto you and wish you luck.

I have had a little more communication with him since initially posting. Short term, his idea is to grant access so that I (or whoever he ends up with) can remote his on-demand support portal where clients can go request support. I would receive notification directly from him when a client needs help, then log in and assist. There is no plan for my accessing RMM at this point. For this short-term scenario, I'm less likely to jump in but haven't ruled out.
The bigger potential is if we develop a longer-term relationship, I would work with him ongoing with overflow support, projects etc. In either scenario, he would bill his clients normally, then pay me for any work that I do. That's part of the question. His rate to clients is $125/hour with a 30-minute minimum for billable remote support (I'm not available to him for onsite so remote only). What would be a reasonable expectation pay to me? FWIW, I would most likely be bill an individual and not my company but I would be open to either (after a conversation with my CPA).

 

[Archon Prime]

1 person MSP here. I'm taking vacation for a week in 2 weeks. I've never had issues. I send them an email, set expectations. If it's something that blows up, I recommend they try to wait, or I can try to do something when I'm available. But not really a problem with me.

 

[britechguy]

But not really a problem with me.

And I absolutely believe this. It all goes back to the fact that there are, in reality, precious few true emergencies. There is right next to nothing that won't wait until tomorrow or next week and most customers know that. And if they really like you, they wait. The relationship I have with many of my customers is not unlike the relationship I have with my doctor and my hairstylist, neither of whom I'd drop at a moment's notice because they weren't available the moment I wanted them to be.

If it's a medical emergency, then I'd be off to the ER. If I can't stand my hair, I'd rather spend another interval of time in that state than risk trying an "unknown quantity" who could make me look like who knows what?

Patience is a virtue. And most people have more of it than one might imagine when it comes to things they really care about.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Do your guys SLA's just guarantee a response time of ... whenever you can get to it?? Do you compensate your client for missing your SLA guidelines?

I have several clients on $1000 a month MSP programs with SLA's including mission critical 4hr, high priority 6hr, and low priority next business day.

Maybe it's just me ... if you ask if I take time off... I don't. I'm married with two kids in full-time daycare in California with a mortgage. We don't go anywhere.

 

[GTP]

Vacations? You people can take vacations?

What in the world is a "vacation?"

 

[britechguy]

Maybe it's just me ... if you ask if I take time off... I don't. I'm married with two kids in full-time daycare in California with a mortgage. We don't go anywhere.

While it's not just you, it's you and others like you. Were I in your shoes (which I'd never allow myself to be - but that's because I'm me and you're you - not because I'm right and you're wrong or vice versa) I'd be doing just as you do.

One of the reasons I stopped being an employee is to avoid being on a leash to others. When you are a one-person MSP, with the kind of contracts you've chosen to write, you've created that situation for yourself.

But having a wife and 2-kids in daycare, and living in California, your entire milieu is different from mine.

 

[GTP]

I would love nothing more than to bask on some tropical isle while I sip pina colada's and go red from sunburn because I fell asleep in my banana chair.
But I also have 4 pussy cats and a small yapper that I would never trust the care of to anyone else.
So unless the tropical paradise has room for my "family" for now I'll just have to close my eyes and play some reggae/archipelago on Spotify...

 

[GTP]

No, not at all.
But you enjoy your little sojourn..
Oh and pet your pussy cat for me.

 

[frase]

A nope from me - I would advise the clients you are away during x&y. I have not had a holiday in years, mainly cause we cant travel anywhere anyway.


When I can I am going to head down to Tassie and chill out for a week. Nice and quiet there, dont like the heat and annoying hustle of annoying people.

 

[GTP]

When I can I am going to head down to Tassie and chill out for a week. Nice and quiet there, dont like the heat and annoying hustle of annoying people.

 

[glennd]

head down to Tassie and chill

Well if you need to chill, that's the place to go.

 

[NviGate Systems]

I don't think I would ever want to be responsible or deal with the stress of handling other clients on a basis like this.

There is too much to go wrong.

When I used to work retail, our company had an after hours call company that was put in place to provide support for corporate clients after hours and weekends. They were supposedly trained and had proper contact info as to who to contact, but they often would simply transfer that call to our location, and we would be stuck trying to interpret what they wanted, or worse still, the average customer who does know or care about call forward or agents, says you have to help them because you are part of X company. It was a nightmare.

I guess my point is, you both have two seperate ways of supporting and dealing with your clients. What happens when something critical happens? What if the customer blames you for something? Will your insurance or his cover it?

My experience in retail has taught me that idiots rule the world and there is a short line between chaos and the world we know and hate/love. So, I always expect the worst, plan for the worst because I've been in situations that I swore I'd never get pigeon holed into again because someone thought it would be easy or hey, this is a great idea.

It's not that I don't think folks should do vacation, but I think we have enough stuff to worry about never mind suddenly dealing with someone else's clients. Unless you are intimately familiar with that business and how it's run, you could be in for a surprise.

 

[britechguy]

It's not that I don't think folks should do vacation, but I think we have enough stuff to worry about never mind suddenly dealing with someone else's clients. Unless you are intimately familiar with that business and how it's run, you could be in for a surprise.

Not that I don't agree with you, 100%, but what you're expressing tends to apply to MSPs who handle businesses of some "significant" size and complexity. And it doesn't take all that many seats, as I mentioned earlier, to get into significant complexity.

But the OP said they're a single-person break/fix shop. I run a break/fix shop as sole proprietor as well. The considerations are entirely different because you, and only you do everything. You screen the calls, you listen to the potential client, and you decide whether or not you will take on the job. You also get to decide you want to close up shop for two weeks (or two months, for that matter) if you can afford it and just walk away.

But in the break-fix world, I don't know of anyone who feels that they absolutely must take any job that presents itself because it has been presented. So if that job happens to be the result of someone else's client being in a pinch, it's irrelevant. You follow your standard screening and decision-making protocols and proceed (or don't) accordingly.

 

[Markverhyden]

Being the trio of Me, Myself, and I "vacations" are never true vacations. Generally I'll tell my customers I'll be out of town for a few days. I'll have someone who can be boots on the ground if need be. Other wise I can handle things remotely. But I don't have a store front which makes a big difference.

 

[BO Terry]

Thanks, everyone!

 

[BO Terry]

Being the trio of Me, Myself, and I "vacations" are never true vacations. Generally I'll tell my customers I'll be out of town for a few days. I'll have someone who can be boots on the ground if need be. Other wise I can handle things remotely. But I don't have a store front which makes a big difference.

This is what I do @Markverhyden.