@ Dave - the referral based system I have in place is with like minded individuals, the need for establishing any formal policy between us has never been necessary. However I suppose as we open the door to new people, new dynamics are created and we have to make the decision whether we just stick to ourselves or extend our courtesy to other biz owners. Stagnation versus growth essentially, and as with anything that evolves new elements come into play. I love the war quote, very apt
Last edited by KimH; 29-Jul-11 at 07:01 AM.
"If at first you don't succeed, do it like your mother told you."
Andrew, be that all as it may, it is still the client's choice. If the client wants to use a service provider that can't provide the service correctly then that is the client's perogative.
R80 an hour less (this means that IT service hourly rates must be high already) anyway, lets see : R 80 x 175 = R 14,000 saving in one month (Do you realize how many salaries R14K covers per month : 2 - 3 semi skilled workers) If I could save R 80 per hour I would do so in the blink of an eye.
I have a different take on all of this. If Joe Soap messes it up and I am called in to clean it up, great - even better for me because the client has proved for himself that my service is superior.
You also need to see it from the clients perspective - maybe he doesn't know anything about IT and doesn't know who is good and who is bad. All the client then has to go on is price and attitude. I can assure you, many many extremely intelligent people don't know a hell of a lot about computers. We can only guide the client, they still get to make up their own minds based on their own criteria.
I guess you're right.
Perfect example....
A client of mine needs 3 new workstations. These workstations need to be able to get onto a Win2k3 server domain. I quoted them incl. FREE delivery & setup of the PC's on the domain. Just because I build my PC's according to order, they have decided to go with someone else. But will be using me to do the domain setup. Obviously they going with the cheaper option. Ok fine. But I'm betting both my kidney's they'll get those workstations with Win 7 Starter on.
Good luck trying to connect to the domain with those babies.
So they are paying for PC's AND labour for setup, where they could've gotten the setup free of charge.
And...... they going to have to get 3 copies of Win 7 Pro for the domain or pay extra for an OS upgrade. I shouldn't be saying this, but I cannot WAIT to say, "I told you so" when they bootup in Win 7 Starter.
At least they using me for all their IT support, so I shouldn't be complaining.
Andrew - You see, knowledge is power. You know what needs to be done to get them running, leave the opposition to mess it up thoroughly and then go in a fix it. Just remember: never talk the opposition down - rather skirt the topic and talk about the great relationship that you and the client are building. (A bit like woe-ing a new girlfriend - it's not called smoozing for no reason - don't tell her what a D...S her ex is, forget about him, build your own relationship)
A friend once said a wonderful thing in a meeting (I was a Delphi programmer / DBA - a previous life) We were having a project meeting and one of the developers had made a big mess. My friend piped up and said "It's wonderful that companies like this hire people like you, it gives people like me the oppertunity to fix the stuffups you make"
Perform Computers (29-Jul-11)
Indeed. I never bad mouth the opposition. Afterall, how many quotes have I declined from other people with regards to my car, or a gym contract etc. It's the clients right to decline a quote. I just get so mad when I know I'm right & I want to help them with informing them about WHY I might be a few bucks more, but all they look at is "TOTAL" at the bottom of the quote.
Oh well.
P.S. Sorry Kim, we kinda hijacking your thread here. :/
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