Most of us have experienced poor service from a vendor at some point. Low-quality service is frustrating to say the least. In addition to that, it often carries hidden costs for the company on the receiving end. If your IT team has been dealing with low-quality service from your tech support provider or other vendors, it may be time to look at alternative options. Whether you realize it or not, bad service is probably costing you in these ways:
Slow response times: “Time is money” is a cliche, but it’s a cliche for a reason. If your vendor’s response times are long, then waiting on support or new parts for your network often means that business operations are slowed or halted altogether. When sales and customer service are affected, your revenue takes a hit. Even if the business areas that get hurt are not directly related to sales, there’s often an opportunity cost to waiting for the network to come back online. It might mean employees are sitting around unable to do their jobs, or that accumulated frustration will impact productivity even when the affected department is able to work again.
Ineffective support: Just like slow response times, vendors that make you explain your problem to several different people before you reach someone with the knowledge to help are costing you time and money. Long phone trees and people who don’t have the right skill sets to solve your problems are signs that you deserve better service.
Purchasing the wrong products: Have you ever been advised by a vendor that their product will meet your requirements and been disappointed to find out they were wrong? Hopefully, you were able to exchange the wrong part for your money or the right replacement. If not, you really know this pain. Even if you are able to correct the mistake, purchasing the wrong products wastes your time and ties up cash that could be used for better purposes. On top of that, small, unrecoverable costs like shipping and interest charges can start to add up.
BE SMART WITH YOUR DOLLAR
Hidden costs are everywhere. It’s not enough to cut costs and buy inexpensive equipment. IT managers who are smart with their dollar know how to budget strategically. Learn more, download our ebook.
Overpaying for services you rarely use: Tech support contracts and other subscription-based services can run the risk that you are paying for services you never use. It’s a good idea to periodically weigh the risk of something going wrong against the potential benefits of your service contracts. If the value you’re getting out of your agreements doesn’t seem to add up to what you’re spending, it may be time to shop around or look for other ways to mitigate risk.
Low-quality service can mean unnecessary costs in the forms of downtime, lost productivity, unrecoverable fees, and services you buy but don’t use. For our customers who want a tech support option that provides high quality service at a lower price point, Summit now offers Summit Global Care. You can read more about Summit Global Care here, or contact us to find out if the program is right for your business.
