vendor issue

[BO Terry]

So, I am dealing with something that is a brand new situation for me. I have a client who recently asked for a recommendation for a phone system. I do not have any contract with this client but have been working with them for a few years providing support as needed. Phone systems are not something that I do so I referred someone that I learned about from another IT shop in town. I had spoken to the rep several months ago about the potential for sending her referrals and vice versa, her sending me referrals from their IT side when clients were too small for them. We discussed what I did briefly by phone and planned to meet for coffee to review it in more detail but, alas, that never happened. Fast forward to December and I reached out to her about my client needed a phone system quote.

She went to quote and eventually sold them a phone system. The setup is being finalized this week. Come to find out, they also had their IT rep onsite (this vendor has a phone system company and IT company that are related) and sold them some services that I would have been able to provide them. I had no official agreement with the phone rep and did NOT remind them of my services (My fault for not reminding her) but am very upset about what has transpired.

She contacted me this week to update me on the progress of the phone job and to discuss revenue sharing. At the end, I asked what else was done while onsite and she updated me on the IT tasks she knew about but did not have the full details with her. I reminded her of what I provide for my clients and she sounded embarrassed and apologized multiple times. She stated "I definitely need to send something your way" and "I/we need to make this right". I told her, among other things, that I wanted my client back. I certainly don't want the client pulled into this negative situation and, they are quite happy with the phone install.

Any suggestions on how to professionally get some sort of restitution? Any suggestions on how to move forward, IF I am satisfied with this outcome situation, any sort of formal agreement to prevent this in the future (with them or any other vendor)? Suggestions on how I should talk to the client to let them know my services are still available to them, without bringing in any of the drama?

 

[mraikes]

Well, you have no contracts with anyone, so "restitution" would not be something you can expect. The phone vendor owes you no obligation, neither does your client.

Phone system vendors always have an IT component. Especially in this day and age where IP phone systems are the norm and requisite networking and general technical skills are a necessity for anyone selling/installing phone systems.

It seems to me that so far the vendor's response to you was reasonable and apologetic. And perhaps it will someday even result in a referral or additional business for you at some point. But don't hold your breath - things don't usually work out that way.

As far as keeping your customer, just stay in touch like you normally would. Follow up on the phone install, perhaps mention that you know the phone techs may have changed some things and offer to check up their work and make sure they didn't inadvertently change/break something. After all, wink-wink-nudge-nudge, it's the phone guy's goal to make sure the phone system works, not to make sure everything else does.

You are the expert on your customer's setup and there's nothing wrong with reminding them of that. If it were me, I'd probably volunteer to do the checkup for free just to get my foot back in the door and keep my position as the top IT person.

 

[Porthos]

(this vendor has a phone system company and IT company that are related) and sold them some services that I would have been able to provide them.

No answer for you but I hate sending things to companies that overlap in services I provide. For example, I do not do phones ,tablets and Apple. I send those to another shop and that shop also does everything else I do so I am taking the chance that I could lose my Windows laptop and desktop clients to them.

 

[Briggsy]

I'm afraid you shot yourself in the foot with this one. The vendor hasn't done anything wrong - neither legally or morally.

You invited the vendor to assist your client - which would have indicated to them that you could not help your client. By your own admission, you also did not remind them of your services.

You also indicated that although you'd agreed to discuss referrals at some point, that discussion never actually happened - therefore, the vendor would have seen this as an informal referral where you wasn't expecting anything from it yourself.

Unfortunately, these issues have resulted in you missing out.

You should have indicated to the vendor that you had a client they could help - and if they were interested, now was the time to have that referral discussion over coffee to make it formal. If that wasn't possible due to lack of time, you should have made it clear to the vendor that you was only referring them for the phone work - and not any work or services that you provide. A written agreement stating this should have been signed.

This is just an unfortunate issue that you'll have to take on the chin and learn from the experience.

Nobody has acted unreasonably, and the vendor sounds embarrassed and apologetic for the situation. Whilst they may offer you something as a commission or a thank you, they are not obliged to - therefore, if you do get anything from them, whatever the amount, just be appreciative of it.

In future, if you're expecting anything from a referral, it's vital you have a formal agreement in place.

You can't just have loose conversations because there will be misunderstandings that result in issues like this.

 

[Your PCMD]

As others have said. I will add that if your doing a collaboration with another company get something in writing. You need a CYA for both sides. Although doing that between 2 businesses is not going to stop your client going where s/he wants to go.

I have a collaboration in place where I am with the only other IT shop in town, even though we both do IT work, we do not overlap much if at all as he is 95% residential and I am 95% business. I do networking, MSP and VoIP, he doesn't.

But in your case, its a he said she said thing. Since in your situation you both do the what appears to be the same thing - other than phone, I would not collaborate if you can help it. VoIP (if thats what your referring to) is not that hard and quite easy to learn. I use phone.com and am a re-seller for Yealink and Grandstream. Took me all of about a week to learn the PBX system and any issues I have is just a call away 24/7.

 

[Markverhyden]

Getting compensated for work you lost isn't going to happen.

I see this situation encompassing two distinctly different, but related, entities. The end user and the VoIP provider. And each require their own separate arrangements or, as I often say, training.

The end user needed to understand that anything that was not related to the VoIP system was your domain. So as soon as the VoIP vendor mentioned something IT related you should have been called. Of course VoIP is part of networking so you should have been involved with everything as the roll out progressed. At least that's how I try to do things.

The VoIP company should have had something in writing shortly after the initial discussions. But even if they "strayed" the above would have kicked in to bring them in line.

Unfortunately training people, especially customers, is like training children. You can't tell them once or twice, you have to be in their face regularly for the message to stick. I've got an art gallery customer and, no surprise, they are very untechnical. Network setup is a ERL3 and a UniFi AC LR with Comcast ISP. They'll loose "Internet" and automatically call Comcast. Comcast will dutifully come out if needed, swap the modem and, of course, turn on their wireless. Then the customer can't understand why they have wireless printing problems. This has been going on for 3 years! I finally got through to the owner that this was costing them money because Comcast was messing things up when there was nothing wrong.

 

[nerd2u]

Cut your losses with the client and the vendor they knew exactly what they were doing when they took your client. The client knew it as well.

Unfortunately this happens. Perhaps you could ask the client why they went with the new provider when you were previously providing services to them.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

 

[marley1]

start sellign hosted voip services. let me know if you want a referance

 

[BO Terry]

Thanks for all the responses. As I mentioned, this is my first experience like this and it came with lots of lessons! Do any of you have a basic "agreement" you use for situations like this? Also, when companies like this mention "revenue sharing" or referral compensation, what do those normally look like?

 

[Yosebas84]

Thanks for all the responses. As I mentioned, this is my first experience like this and it came with lots of lessons! Do any of you have a basic "agreement" you use for situations like this? Also, when companies like this mention "revenue sharing" or referral compensation, what do those normally look like?

I'm in the process of create an "alliance" with a printer/renting shop and would also appreciate if anyone would be willing to share his/her agreement.

Back to the post, i have been talking with a few companies too to create partnerships on the services i don't provide, to cover all the market i can, and already discarded 2 (without sending any job to them) because their practices seemed fishy, to choose a business partner is like having married again, you need to be sure =P

 

[cr85tx]

Take it as a loss but get into phone systems.Which now a days are pretty much computers there isn't much to learn to be able to do phone systems.

 

[Yosebas84]

No one willing to share?