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Experiences w/ Computer Service Contracting Entities?
dlur asks: "In an attempt to bring more revenue into my company's pockets (and then eventually mine), I've been trying to find more contract work. I've found quite a bit of stuff, and we've been an HP ASP for some time now, but I'm wondering what all you readers do for contracted service work? There's quite a few companies to contract with including Panda TPM, BancTec, PC SOS, Barrister, and many more. Which companies have you had the highest call volume come into you from? Which had the easiest time filling out their vast amounts of paper trails, or lack thereof? Which companies have you generally had the best experience working with? Are there any other outlets similar to these service contracts and warranty claim work for the big companies (Dell, HP/Compaq, IBM) that you're aware of that might be useful to the readers?"
Don't.
Look, at first glance such schemes offer ways to simply cashflow issues, in the management context, and defer technical decisions to a known quantity, from a technical point of view. But looking at the wider picture, you're pretty much putting your testicles into a vice with someone who really has little reason to concern themselves with your needs holding the vice handle.
It reminds me of the old joke about the Fortran programmer and the saloon. A Fortran programmer walks into a bar. He sits down at the counter, slaps a dollar onto the bar, and says "I'll have a whisky". The bartender ignores him. The programmer gets a little confused as to why he's being ignored, and he says again "Gimme a whisky". The barman still ignores him. Finally, the programmer feels insulted. He slaps the bar and yells at the tender "Hey, you, a whisky!". Whereupon the bartender pulls out a gun from underneath the counter and shoots the programmer in the leg. The programmer runs out yelping and screaming.
A few years later, the same Fortran programmer enters the same bar. He has a magazine of rounds hanging from one shoulder, cowboy boots, chaps, a stetson, and a neckscalf. He swaggers up to the bar, sits down, and signals to the bar tender.
"Do I know you?" asks the bartender. "WRITE (100,*) "I'M A LOOKIN FOR THE", GENERICPERSON(1:3), "WHO SHOT MY", FATHERFOOTPUN(1:2)" responds the Fortran programmer.
The moral of the story? If you go about outsourcing your computer service contracting, you're likely to shoot yourself in the ENDOFLEG(1:4)
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.