Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!mephisto!mcnc!duke!cello!jfw
From: jfw@cello.mc.duke.edu (John Whitehead)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Technical Support, 1-900-555-HELP!
Message-ID: <20515@duke.cs.duke.edu>
Date: 27 Jun 90 14:53:00 GMT
References: <9664.268769e4@amherst.bitnet>
Sender: news@duke.cs.duke.edu
Reply-To: jfw@cello.UUCP (John Whitehead)
Organization: Duke University Medical Center -- Durham, NC
Lines: 66

In article <9664.268769e4@amherst.bitnet> amherasimchu@amherst.bitnet writes:
>We are looking into making the technical support we offer a package about to be
>released as a 1-900 number.  Instead of charging a flat fee for a year's worth
>of support for the product, the user can call up the 1-900 number anytime they
>need help.
>
>The pros I see of this are:
>	1) Not being charged an exuberant amount of money for something which
>you might only use three or four times.
>	2) Flexibility in the company to manage cost of technical support based
>on Time used on the phone, versus the amount of calls we recieve.  This would
>determine charge for every minute.
>	3) Cuts long distance charges as an extra added fee to the technical
>support for users.
>
>Any ideas on this?  Want do you think about a 1-900 number for technical
>support?  
>
>Andrei Herasimchuk

I don't like it, because I had an annoying experience with it a couple
of weeks ago.

I was having a printer compatibility problem with my Zenith-supplied 
MS-DOS 3.3+ that I wasn't having with my IBM-DOS 4.0.  After three or four
calls to Zenith, I realized they couldn't help and I needed to talk to
Microsoft.  I called their 800 number, which referred me to a Washington
State number.  After several minutes of a long-distance call to their
computer, pressing 1 for IBM support, 3 for system help, 2 for DOS help,
etc., it finally told me I had to call a 900 number at $2.00 a minute.

So I called the 900 DOS support number.  The guy who answered said,
"I'm not that familiar with that version of DOS," even though it is the
most recent version available for Zeniths.  Meanwhile I was trying to 
explain the problem to him as quickly as possible, since at two dollars
a minute I didn't want to waste any time.  After a couple of more minutes
of him making suggestions that I knew were inappropriate since I had
already tried them, I hung up.  It annoys me any time a support person
knows less than I do about their product, but when I'm paying $2 a 
minute it is more upsetting.

1)  I think an 800 number is wonderful if you have the staff and money
    to support it.  If you get too many calls from people asking stupid
    questions for things already documented, maybe you shouldn't have it.
    "The customer comes first" and this is the nicest way to do it, though
    it can be expensive.

2)  A normal long-distance call is not a bad second.  The company doesn't
    pay for it, so the only expense is staff.  The customer does pay 
    something, so they won't call *too* much, but it is not unreasonable.

3)  I think a 900 number should be the last choice.  Although it brings in
    revenue, it is irritating to be put on the spot to pay so much for a
    call for help.  If you can charge a very small amount (25 cents/min.)
    it wouldn't be bad, but charging a lot, like Microsoft, is awful.

I think Lotus has a good system.  When you buy one of their products, you
are given a code number.  From the first time you call their 800 number,
you have six months of free technical support.  After that (until you buy
another product or get an upgrade) you can call their standard (long-
distance) number.  That seems to me to be a good compromise.

     John Whitehead			Internet:  jfw@neuro.neuro.duke.edu
     Department of Neurobiology                    jfw@cello.cellbio.duke.edu
     Duke University Medical Center                jfw@well.sf.ca.us
     Durham, North Carolina             Bitnet:    white002@dukemc