The Real Value of Quality Service
Why “cheaper” often costs you more in the long run
Why do service rates vary so much in the computer industry? Is there really that much of a difference in the level of service you receive?
Here’s an analogy that might help to illustrate it better than we could explain it:
Your car breaks down. Your buddy says he knows a lot about cars and that he will fix it for free. Sounds like a great deal, so you take him up on his offer. Unfortunately, the problem turns out to be a little more complicated than he expected. He doesn’t have the experience or the tools he needs to repair it. After three days, he still hasn’t gotten it working properly. He recommends that you get a new car.
Instead, you decide to take your car to an experienced mechanic to see if he can figure it out. Now, not only does the mechanic have to fix the original problem, but he has to repair the additional problems that your buddy created while he was “fixing” your car. You end up paying more for the repairs than if you’d used a reliable mechanic in the first place – plus, you spent all of that extra time dealing with the inconvenience of having no wheels!
Sometimes, what appears to be a good deal on the surface can end up getting you into more trouble than you started with! This can definitely be the case with technology.
Understandably, many businesses, in an attempt to keep costs under control, will hire someone with cheap service rates to help out with their computer issues. Unfortunately, in terms of experience, a lot of those computer repair people are only a step or two above the “buddy” who tried to fix your car!
Many are not adequately qualified to be maintaining your systems. In many cases, the end result ends up costing you a lot more:
- Many technicians do not provide proactive planning and preventative maintenance, which would prevent most of the problems from ever occurring in the first place;
- Inexperienced technicians will generally take a lot longer to try to diagnose a problem, which, despite a lower hourly rate, often makes your final costs higher;
- They may or may not be able to fix the problem properly, which could result in you having to either replace the equipment or hire a more experienced professional on an emergency basis to take care of the problem;
- You and your staff endure a lot of additional downtime, which costs you significantly more.
As the old saying goes, “you often get what you pay for”. If you buy a discount service, it may work for awhile, but when things go wrong with your company’s computer systems, you can end up paying a heavy price.
At LDI, we’d prefer to be the “reliable mechanic” who not only takes care of your computer issues efficiently, but prevents most of them from happening in the first place through a program of regular maintenance.