using non local support

[azzavps]

Hi

any hosting provider here made use of contracted helpdesk like those at syslint before?

cheaper and less stress one would think?

 

[SwiftHosting]

Don't have any experience of those, however I can only imagine that the support won't be brilliant.

What happens when they need access to the server? What about billing queries, what level of authority do they normally have to execute something?

 

[shockym]

When you limit access like that tons of things can go wrong which in the end usually means an upset client. Saving some money is one thing but if you end up losing clients over it then what is the point?

 

[SwiftHosting]

In house, if possible, is always the best option!
Contracted companies may not always care about the customer service aspect.

 

[easyhostmedia]

I tried outsourcing once (had to spend 2 weeks in hospital), thought it best all round, informed my clients beforehand, when i got back from Hospital, never lost clients, but had many complaints, so passed these onto outsource company and refused to pay them.
No have have a client that does IT training etc, so if i need any outsourced work he will do it for some free hosting months, but i so all support inhouse ( myself)

 

[azzavps]

using non local suport

yep, tried a few others for technical support etc and found them pretty bad.. and yes they dont seem to care.

 

[easyhostmedia]

and yes they dont seem to care.

they just treat your clients as $$ at the end of the month and not like human beings who need help.

The one i used got a shock when i told them i was not paying them. this was over 12 months ago and so far never heard from them again asking for their money, maybe this is because i have enough evidence they did not do what they were asked to do

 

[Rado_Ch]

Outsourcing is getting widely recognised and its increase in popularity correlates with the improvement of the service. Of course there are still heaps of companies which are not interested in participating in this evolution but their time will inevitably come.

I do believe that with the proper training and given some good working conditions, it does not make a major difference the nationality and location of the support. I have some friends working in a pretty big outsourcing company and have had some chances to check out how they operate. The employees are divided in different projects, encompassing their specific skills and interests and each team builds loyalty to the company they represent. Given the proper incentive you would be surprised how many talented people can be found in countries many people consider as "third-world". If the company-contractor actively monitors those employees and take interest in them, they would provide a payback for sure :news:

 

[dedideals]

Outsourcing is really the worst, all I have ever seen it do is ruin potentially good Companies!

 

[nigelb]

When choosing a support outsource. Do you homework, take references and check them out. Remember they are representing your company. Price should not be the main concern. Even after this, keep a check on their responses and support before leaving them to it. Contact your customers that use that use the support make sure they are happy. Be careful and it can work well

 

[HN-Alejo]

There is a difference between remote workers and outsourcing, in my opinion.

Outsourcing your support is when you pay someone else (generally an outsourcing firm) to do the tasks, but having people work remotely isn't necessarily the same thing. I understand outsourcing as attempting to get the most tickets done in the shortest amount of time in order to increase profitability, even if the quality is lacking. However, when you hire someone to work remotely, you can tell them to slow down and really look at the details involved. I think it is OK to have administrators work remotely, as long as they can be trusted.

 

[easyhostmedia]

There is a difference between remote workers and outsourcing, in my opinion.

Outsourcing your support is when you pay someone else (generally an outsourcing firm) to do the tasks, but having people work remotely isn't necessarily the same thing. I understand outsourcing as attempting to get the most tickets done in the shortest amount of time in order to increase profitability, even if the quality is lacking. However, when you hire someone to work remotely, you can tell them to slow down and really look at the details involved. I think it is OK to have administrators work remotely, as long as they can be trusted.

These are both the same if you have someone working remotely they you are paying them to do this just like hiring someone to do support remotely.

The are both having work outsourced to them.

 

[HN-Alejo]

That's true but I think it's important to draw a line between them. Although they're both technically outsourced, the standard in quality is quite different.

If you're hiring some firm to handle your support tickets, you don't have that same one to one interaction or training that you can provide when it's just one remote worker. Usually (at least in my experience) the firms aren't very good at what they set out to do anyway.

 

[Rado_Ch]

That's true but I think it's important to draw a line between them. Although they're both technically outsourced, the standard in quality is quite different.

If you're hiring some firm to handle your support tickets, you don't have that same one to one interaction or training that you can provide when it's just one remote worker. Usually (at least in my experience) the firms aren't very good at what they set out to do anyway.

I do agree with you on that one. Having your own workers doing their job from another location might simply be because of better infrastructure/work possibilities on the other location. In its core those people are still workers for your company and you can apply all your company training procedures and better build their loyalty. You can still have a close connection with your staff, doing regular trips and participating in different meetings/training sessions.

In the case of outsourcing, you can still demand a set of rules and procedures to be applied by the outsourcing firm, but you can never build that close connection and educate your employees to fight for building and improving your company reputation. :rolleyes2

 

[HN-Alejo]

I do agree with you on that one. Having your own workers doing their job from another location might simply be because of better infrastructure/work possibilities on the other location. In its core those people are still workers for your company and you can apply all your company training procedures and better build their loyalty. You can still have a close connection with your staff, doing regular trips and participating in different meetings/training sessions.

In the case of outsourcing, you can still demand a set of rules and procedures to be applied by the outsourcing firm, but you can never build that close connection and educate your employees to fight for building and improving your company reputation. :rolleyes2

Well said. That's exactly the point that I was trying to get across.

If they work remotely, although they are technically outsourced, they're still working for your company, and they'll do things your way. That means that you can tell them to deeply investigate each ticket or just try to get them to the "answered" status.

And when they're your employee, you have the option of asking them to do billing and sales. One of the things I really hate doing is cleaning out old WHMCS clients and terminating accounts, so it's nice to have someone else who can take care of that for me.