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Why
Avoiding Outsourced Tech Support
Companies
Is Better For Your Local Business
By:
An Anonymous IT Field Tech
Trying
to find tech support for your
local business tech needs can be
tedious at best. And, this is
especially true for the
non-computer savvy person who
knows how to run a business, but
does not understand the technical
side of it – ie setting up
computer networks, storage
servers, printers, email accounts
and etc. Thus this is why its
important to shop around for the
most qualified, prompt, affordable
and highly rated tech services you
can find. Plus, its also important
to know just how often you believe
you will need these services too.
For example, is it just a few
times a week, a month or in a
given year and etc. As such, only
you the business owner and your
co-associates can answer this
question specifically.
So on the Internet, there are
many companies whom advertise
their tech services for
comparable prices, discounts and
etc. However what’s not equally
shared with customers, is that
many of them are national and
internationally based. Whence
they might not be local to your
home town, state, province or
country. And also, you most
likely will never meet their
customer service and sales reps
in person either. Then when they
seek to find field techs to
service a customer’s need, they
in-turn go to tech job company
platforms such as, WorkMarket.com
or FieldNation.com,
to contract hire a local tech in
your area. Then often times for
these national and international
tech support companies, finding
a local qualified tech can be
difficult too. Even more so,
there is no clear indication as
to how qualified these hired
techs are to perform the job
they get assigned to do. Plus,
these field techs have to bid
for a fair wage on these job
orders too – ie a wage that can
give a paycheck as well as cover
all their incurred expenses
(Travel, Used Materials and Tech
Job Website Platform Usage Fees)
too.
Now what’s equally
important is to know that not all
these National and International
Tech Support Companies are a like.
Some in fact, are quite shady and
have ripped their business customers
off financially and then been sued
legally in court for it. Such
companies that have done this, like
Ammacore in Atlanta,
GA, had to declare bankruptcy and
close their businesses as a result.
Then there are others such as, One
Source Building Technologies
(OSBT) out of Houston,
TX that refused to pay valid
overtime wages to their employees
and gotten sued to refund them plus,
with back pay as well. So ultimately
to avoid local fair labor laws,
these companies will then in-turn
lay-off their local employees and
outsource all their staff from
foreign company business call
centers. As such, these foreign
contracted call centers will tell
their employees that they have to
refer to themselves as direct hired
staff of the Tech Support Company
whom brought them on. More so,
another example of a tech provider
doing this in the United States is CPT
Network Solutions out of
Bensenville, IL. When calling them
for tech services, a lot of times
someone with a Philippine or, India
accent will answer the phone. So
all-in-all, this is not secluded to
tech support company types of
business practices. For even your
major credit card service provider
does this as well. Thus, how quickly
one finds that out when they have to
report a lost or stolen credit card!
Historical Tech
Support Company Woes
Historically,
hiring from outsourced Tech
Support Companies have presented
more issues and problems than the
solutions they advertise. To
which, have left many businesses
and their employees financially
hanging and waiting with no
concrete answers other than the
bland reply of, “We are
still working on it”
when the business calls to get an
update on their reported and prior
paid for issue.
And thus,
here is a small list below of
what field techs have reported
from their customer sites.
- Long wait
times for businesses to get a
hold of a Customer Support Rep
to open a repair ticket and
get a repair person for their
on site tech issue. Whence,
the customer ends up sitting a
long time while waiting on
hold to fix their issue. Thus,
this can cause a major loss of
work and money for them too.
-
These National
and International Tech Support
Companies have higher overhead
costs and as such, this makes
their charged to customer
prices higher as well.
-
Also, these
Tech Support Companies will
contract local or far away
field techs to assign to the
local calling business
customer. Whence often paying
the field tech a low wage and
then, charging higher prices
on the customer to make more
profit. Where as, the field
tech themselves (if okay and
allowed) could have charged
the customer less and gotten
fairly paid and treated with
better respect by the site
customer. Yet because the
field tech is contract hired
in this sense, they cannot
charge the customer for they
are being paid via the Tech
Support Company.
-
The site business
customer has no control over who
the Tech Support Company hires
as their onsite repair tech. As
such, there is no real assurance
as to the quality of work,
skills and knowledge this field
tech may or, may not have.
-
Then more often
then not, these Tech Support
Companies will hire unskilled
field techs who have no
knowledge on how to properly
perform their tech tasks. As
such, this can result in
improperly fixed or,
uncompleted repair issues.
Whence, making the customer
have to spend more money and
time to get it resolved. And
so, this has effected both
residential and commercial
customers.
-
Many major
retail store chains, like TJ-Maxx,
HomeGoods, Kohl’s
and Target
follow this same direction
with their store computer
issues too. Whence outsourcing
their tech support to
companies in India, Pakistan
or the Philippines and etc.
And in these foreign
countries, these Tech Support
Companies are separate
businesses that contract with
these big retailers and act as
if they are direct employees
with the stores. When in fact,
they really aren't. Plus, most
of the customer paid costs
goes to them and not the
store's local and national
country of origin's economy.
-
Additionally,
many big retail store managers
and their staff have often
complained about these big
Tech Support Companies lack of
prompt service and rude
attitudes when they attempted
to report an issue to them.
Further stating that they
often feel ignored, blown-off
and like they are not being
listened too at the time of
reporting. And, this even
happens after having to wait a
long time on phone to get a
hold of them too. Meanwhile,
these outsourced Tech Support
Companies are more-than-happy
to do so for they know there
is no legal accountability
that can be held against them
in the process. And this is
because they are not in the
same jurisdiction as the site
business customer. Whence,
making legal prosecution of
(if any) wrongs next to
impossible to do.
A Call To Action!
“Buy
Local, Think Local”
So as one can see
with the above, this basic list of
“Historical Tech Support
Company Woes” could be
a nightmarish financial problem
for a small business whom, relies
on their equipment working
properly. For ultimately, such
continual failures could ruin
their business and their standing
with local customers too. Whence
as an Anonymous IT Field Tech,
I feel this is wrong to do to our
local customers and their
supportive communities.
Furthermore there
needs to be a motto standard that
says, "If you can't see the
face of who you are hiring
then, they should not be hired
in the first place."
For customers have a right to know
and trust that the field tech
working on their equipment is
trained, experienced and qualified
to do so. Plus with the proposed
aspect of direct hiring a local IT
field tech yourself, you can be
assured of having a built
accountability and trust with them
too. To include, knowing who you
can hire to promptly fix your
computer problem as it happens.
Lastly direct
hiring local field techs instead,
of having a large Tech Support
Company do so, keeps costs and
overhead low and most of that
money stays within your community
and also, ensures that its
reinvested back to your business
as well. Especially if you provide
a product and or, service your
hired field tech enjoys.
~
Thank you for reading this
article! ~
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