Cutting Off an Over-Demanding End-User?

SpaceNeeded asks: "Numbers of you will probably recognize the start of the situation. Because I work with systems, I perform occasional builds. This occasionally crosses over to support (especially where it's my kit I'm asked to support). This isn't a problem, nor is it a problem when I get the occasional support query from someone I haven't supplied a system to, but who needs assistance. This is all well and good, but I've had pretty poor year personally. I've lost two relatives and a third is in a pretty bad way in hospital. An eleven year relationship ended a couple of months back, and I'm now having to perform _all_ the domestic tasks that used to be shared. Between these few things and my regular job I'm finding I have a whole lot less time to allow to support calls. What methods do you know of for gently cutting off someone, support-wise?" "I have a regular end-user who is the one that we all dread. They have little interest in PC systems for itself, and regularly call up with problems, usually related to Windows spy-ware/Trojans/Viruses. I haven't supplied the systems, which comprises of two Dells and a Tosh laptop. Although I quite like them personally, I really don't need the hassle of their regular calls at the moment.

Before the regular cries of 'Supply Ubuntu' get too loud - that will _not_ work. They aren't up to Windows after a couple of years, and will expect interoperability with Windows systems (through college/employer) and don't have the technical skills to manage a *nix system."

Comments

Re:charge 'em

[QuantumG]

Back when I used to do contract programming I'd charge something like $80 an hour to do change requests. No half hours, minimum three hours. With rates like that you'd expect my clients to wait until they had a bunch of change requests that needed to be done and give me a list right? No. I'd go out to the site, listen to them explain what they wanted, implement it in 5 minutes and say "anything else?" They'd shrug and say no. I'd offer to hang around for the remaining 2 hours and 50 minutes that I'm going to charge them and after 30 minutes they'd say "ok, that looks like it's working, we'll call you if we need anything else". At first I figured it was just that one client. Then I got another one that was just as bad. So I upped my rates and it just kept on happening. This was in my younger years and I felt that I could be better spending my time. I felt that I had something to contribute and life wasn't all about making money. So I eventually started demanding that they save up their change requests and only contact me when they had at least a days work to do. Something strange happened. They stopped calling. It seems that if you make people put up with software not being exactly the way they want it to be, even if it's just for a week, they will put up with it forever. But if you're there for them as soon as they call and sit down with them and try to make the software exactly the way they want it, they'll pay just about any price for that service.

Re:charge 'em

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Yep. I call it the "security blanket syndrome" - because it makes people very comfortable and gives them a strong feeling of safety to know that if they have a problem, no matter how rare such problems are, that the guy to fix it for them is right there. And let me tell you -- it is VERY profitable.

I myself discovered it by accident. I was getting burnt out with a particular client, but I didn't want to just shut down the connection. So, I decided to raise my rates until they 'fired' me for being a geedy bastard. I tripled my rate, well into the triple digits, and they did not bat an eye.

In fact, as my client as gone through a fair amount of managerial turn-over, hardly anyone left knows what my original billing rate was and I am now perceived as more important and more valuable than I was when I walked in the door in large part due to how much more expensive I am than any of their other contractors and all I really do is give advice to people and put out the occasional fire. Lots of time for slashdot during the day.

So, now I am totally burnt out on this boring, tedious gig - the rest of my life is a total mess, but if I can suffer through another year of this, I will be able to retire well before 40.

This phenomenon is also one reason I am a strong believer in the service business-model for Free software. Selling high-quality, highly personalized service to be big corps with deep pockets can be very profitable.