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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."
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."
give 'em some reasonable number of requests, and after that charge them $55-65 per incident (which should nicely cover the cost of having cleaners deal with at least some of the domestic stuff for you).
I know its too late, but the simple solution to the problem is to not provide support in the first place, unless you're being paid specifically for that support. Either way, refer them to someone who is willing to make a job out of support.
This is a really simple business decision - these are the customers you don't want, you need to get rid of them to have a healthy business. Dump this guy, politely, but firmly. "I'm sorry but I'm not going to be able to provide support any more because priorities have had to change and I won't have the time, it's nothing personal it's just business".
If the guy takes it badly, that's his problem.
Why not tell them the truth, and if you need to, give them the name and number of someone that would gladly help them. Perhaps you can find someone that could use the money, such as a student...
I find that increasing rates also helps, as previously mentioned.
well, of course they'll keep coming to you, because you're free, and you never say no. One or both of these has to change.
The reason girls and Windows users don't understand UNIX is because all the documentation is in Man files.
I wound down the suport aspect of my business a while back but the only way to get rid of the support people was to start raising the rates so they would find someone else.
I don't know what you charge now, but start upping it fast. Increments of 25% is a good way to wean people off stupid calls. You can always charge less, later. Demanding a 3 hour minimum is a good way to go as well (even 4 hour minimums).
How about just telling them what you told us?
"I have too much shit on my plate right now to take care of your technical problems."
You don't even owe them an explanation, it's perfectly ok to set your boundaries as you wish them to be. If after that they still bug you they're not your friends, they're just parasites.
Good luck with everything man, hang in there.
a) If they're paying you for support: Bump up the price.
b) If they're not paying you for support: See (a)
c) If they keep asking for support at the new price: Hire someone decent and take a cut!
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something" - Plato
Offer to help him out if he brings his PC to your house
Definitely works.
They figure its easier for YOU to come over to their place than it is for them to:
I've seen systems sit on the floor for half a year in other people's homes, inoperable, because people are too lazy to bring them over, so they use this as an excuse to buy a new one ...
Wait long enough, and those systems become yours for free. Great for spare parts.
It really is OK to not give out free customer support to people, even if they're friends or family.
True enough, although I would never say no to my parents. Cleaning out their spyware is a very small return on their investment. You'll feel better for it too, unless you are a totally hopeless person.
They don't value you, so they aren't thinking of the costs to you, or the worth that your actions might have for them. Instead, they feel entitled.
It is very scary.
You had a situation where you could do five minutes of work and be paid $240 for it, but you cut people off because they did not space their support calls in such a way so that you would do more work for the same money?
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
We all know that a PC you buy and a PC you build have basically the same parts, and that building it yourself is cheaper. That said, I've told every non-geek person for years who has pestered me to "build them a powerful pc" that when you buy a machine, you're paying for that 800 number in the manual, not the pile of parts. That number is worth every penny of an overpriced off the shelf PC because it removes YOU from the responsibility of fixing it.
Find a competent college or high school kid and tell people that you're no longer doing free support for friends because you're trying to help this deserving kid get paying gigs.
This kind of what I do. I'll help them out the first few times right away, then I'll make myself more busy, waiting longer and longer get back to them--things have been rather hectic here anyway so it's not a lie.
They either eventually a) figure the problem out on their own, b) call someone else who isn't as busy, c) wait for me to come over/call them back and talk them through it days later. I've found that c doesn't happen very often for me, and if it does, then that's fine with me, since then I can help them out when it's most convenient for me.
I don't understand why you're oligated to fix this person's computer.
It's called being considerate. Some people still seem to think that's quite a worthwhile trait believe it or not.
Facetiousness aside, I believe the OP didn't need to be told that 'no' was an option; rather how best to let people down.
You all don't like it when companies charge too much (if the bitching on slashdot is any measure). But have no problem stepping into those same shoes.
As one loqacious contractor likes to say - "bidness is bidness."
The service business ain't no monopoly, any buyer is free to walk away and hire someone else if they don't like the price. If they can't find anyone at the price they want, then they are welcome to either handle it in house (it is open-source after all) or move to another product.
It is hard to get less coercive than that.
Wake me up when you can get a custom kernel patch for Windows - from somebody other than microsoft - for under $100K.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
The majority of his customers are more than likely not bastards. They have found an excellent means of support and he, being a kind person and happy to help them thus far, hasn't given them any indication the situation needs to change. I don't see why anyone should assume they won't be understanding.
Communicating the truth to the best of your ability is what I'd suggest. Not everyone needs to know every detail of your life, but being honest that you're going through a rough time and need to cut back on some aspects of your job will work. If they ask what's going on, tell them if you're comfortable; they may be able to offer _you_ some advice or kind words of support, too. If they don't understand at that point then sure, bastards. They're easy to cut off.
Something else you should do as has already been suggested is offer information to another means of support. If there isn't one you're aware of tell them that too, but make sure they know their continued support is a concern for you.
I'm really surprised at the number of people suggesting to raise prices as an only solution to get out of a situation you don't want in at all. If more money would make the situation better for you then sure, it's an honest option but, sheesh. Is directly communicating your needs to another person really scary enough to resort to random manipulation instead?
Sure, this seems heartless or selfish, but the truth is those higher end systems were every bit as good as whatever I could build for them, and not all that much more expensive. In the end they were more happy and thanked me because they had more time to use their computers.
In trying to keep this a non-biased post I will interject just one last observation. The people that I recommended to buy macs and did are still using the same computers from three years ago and are still happy. The ones that went with dell most all got tons of viruses and had a lot of support calls, not quite as happy, but it was their choice.
Agreed. Somehow clients don't appreciate the work done when they don't have to do it.
... what I said, in the first part of this post.
Tech support clients would be the equivalent of medical patients in my practice, and in any practice we see all sorts of people, including the needy/clingy/demanding type of person who wants everything done for him (== her). "I want an Xray!" "I want better medications!" "I want to see a specialist!" And all this after the patient declines to improve his eating habits and "forgets" to take medicine. (You can envision the equivalent scenario for tech support.)
I will often tell the patient quite frankly: "I will work very hard for you --I will bend over backwards, if necessary-- but I will NOT work harder than you." And I give them homework. Measure your blood sugar twice daily, or do your back exercises every night, or mark on your calendar when you feel the pain coming on, or whatever. Don't come back until you've done that.
Not only would this (hopefully) improve his problem, but it also gives him an appreciation for what you're doing for him. It makes him less whiney because now he doesn't feel as helpless --there's something that he can actually do about it! And, of course, if he's a real loser, he won't see you again because he's not going to do what you asked.
I realize that the OP was referring to cutting off support completely, not helping his client improve the problem. On this, I would agree with other posters who have suggested telling him the truth, and then setting him up with alternative means of support, telling the client up front that he probably won't get as good support from Geek Squad or whatever, but you can't support him any more.
Then set a deadline to cut off support: "I can support you for two more weeks, and then that's it." This is important. Tie the deadline to some milestone so that he won't push you to change it: "I start my night classes in two weeks, so that's why I can't do this any more after two weeks." (It is irrelevant whether this is the true reason; you just don't want the client to say, "Aww, how 'bout 3 weeks? How 'bout 4?")
And then if that doesn't work then
404555974007725459910684486621289147856453481154 in hex is "You sank my Battleship?"
[GPG key in journal]
If you have a relative who's a car mechanic, do you expect them to fix your car for free?
What, you think handymen don't have these "support" problems? How many times hasn't my dad fixed peoples' cars, changed the tires, changed the brakes, changed their oil, do some engine work etc... How many times haven't I witnessed friends of mine help other friends install a car stereo system, "tint" the windows etc? How many times hasn't my uncle had to help someone in the family install or fix a sattellite dish + receiver, how many times hasn't another one of my uncles helped people fix broken electronics? You know shit other people don't, and if they're friends or relatives, they often expect you to come help them for free. The good guys offer something in return; I have this kind of relationship with my sattellite dish uncle: I regularly help him with his computer, and he helps me with car stuff (most of my family knows a fair bit about cars since they all work at the Ford Motor Company plant in Genk, Belgium).
If you have a relative who is an airline pilot, do you expect them to give you free rides?
That's different; the airplane ain't his, the tickets aren't his to give away. But I suppose most airlines have this policy of letting their pilots' relatives fly cheaper, so yeah, even there you get something out of it. This question should be rephrased as "If you have a relative who's a pilot, would you expect him to give you free lessons when you learn to fly that little sports plane? I'm assuming the rental fee is yours to pay, of course; the lesson is free, but you don't expect them to spend their money to do you favors. Rephrased like this, it becomes quite similar to "if you have a relative who has a driver's license, do you expect them to teach you for free?" Gosh, well... isn't that how most of us learned to drive?
If you have a relative who is a prostitute, do you expect, umm, well anyway...
No, but I have a relative who's a hairdresser. She even offered me to cut my hair for free on several occasions. I said no, because I don't like to owe people favors. But to answer your question: if it were a good looking relative, and not too closely related (a sister would be kinda yuck, a cousin would be awkward, but your brother's wife's sister would be OK) I see no reason why I wouldn't take advantage of her services. I wouldn't expect a discount, but I'm sure I'd be getting better service than most of her other customers...
Oh God, what am I saying??? I can't betray my poor Fluffy like this! Ignore that last paragraph!
Anyway, last installment in the saga of my dad's life: a cousin of my mother came by the other day, funny how you hardly ever see them unless they need something done, but they're OK, so it's allright... Anyway, he wanted my dad's help laying new floor throughout his house. It was something like "I got a favor to ask; if you have time, could you help me lay new floor throughout the house? The old floor is busted, my tax return will come in pretty soon, and I thought of investing it in a new floor. I know you can do it since I saw you put in new floor in your own home, so if you would have some time somewhere next month, you think you could help me out? Or just show me how it's done so I can do it myself, 'coz I got no clue on how to do it myself...
Note that last part: he doesn't mind doing the work himself, but he just doesn't have the experience, and understandably doesn't want to mess up a project with this kind of expense involved. He doesn't expect my father to do all the work. My father has the choice of either coming to help, while the guy does part of the work as well, but with lesser risk of screwing up because someone knowledgeable is around to keep an eye on his work, or just teaching the guy how it's done, telling him what he needs to keep in mind while doing it. Those are the best kind of "support calls": these people know you have your own life and respect the fact that you want to manage your own time. Also
Install windows on my workstation? You crazy? Got any idea how much I paid for the damn thing?
If I was the customer, and you explained that to me the way you have explained it to the slashdot community, I certainly would not be angry or resentful and I would stop calling you so much.
;)
Sometimes honesty is a good policy. If it's too personal maybe leave out some of the intimate details, but it sounds like you're going through a hard time and the individual might even offer some personal support or words of advice (or a nubile relative, as I saw suggested earlier) in return for all the free technical support over the years.
Also, it might be a bit personal, but I almost feel like this question was asked to get a few details of the painful personal circumstances out in the open, without directly asking for support. A long term relationship just ended for me and I found I did this sometimes when I needed support - it was very important and invaluable for me to find someone I could talk to directly about the emotional issues I was experiencing at that time. Then again I'm a gimp sometimes, and I wouldn't want to tar you with the same brush.
I hope you find the solution to your problem, and all my best for the future - shit happens, and it sounds like you're going through the worst of it, but I firmly believe if you survive with a positive attitude things can get better.
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
I had to read that about 3 times before I figured out what he was saying. I feel very sorry for the poor end users who have to decipher his techno-geek jargon. "Kit"? "Builds"? Speak english, man!
A better translation:
Because I work with computers, I occassionally build them for people. Sometimes, I end up having to support the people using those computers. Sometimes I support people using computers that I didn't build myself. And I don't mind one bit!
Hell, it's your investment on your inheritance, keeping those keyloggers at bay. ;-)
The problem is that this person doesn't place any value on your time. The way to educate them is make them spend as much time as you do fixing each problem, so that they begin to understand and value the relationship between lost time and certain undesirable behaviour (e.g. opening e-mail attachments, failing to update virus software, etc.)
The best ways that I've found to do this are:
1) Make the person bring the PC over to your home or other location for service.
Most of these types of people can't even be bothered to unplug a PC, let alone bring it somewhere; if they can't spend 5 minutes, why should you spend hours?
2) Force them to sit next to you and watch while you perform the fix.
Better yet, sit beside them and force them to do, while you walk them them through it. They may even learn something, and if not, at least they have an appreciation of the effort required.
3) Be blunt with them.
With these sorts of people, its usually not fixing a range of problems so much as the same problem multiple times (usually virus or malware problems). Explain that once you fix a certain type of problem once or twice, its no longer your responsibility to get the user out that type of jam.
I decided the only way was to stop all of it, period. I support the machines in my household, my dad's PC, and it ends there with no exceptions. My girlfriend sometimes gets frustrated becasue I won't work on her parents stuff, but I don't care, I won't put up with it all again. If they want support they can pay for it from a PC shop or their vendor.
If they wanted to save a few bucks on the cheapie support contract with their vendor or don't want to invest the time to learn that isn't my problem.
I support exactly 4 PC's (2 are mine, 1 is GF, 1 is my dad), outside of that I don't care if Jusus rises again for the sole reason of asking me how to change his screen resultion, he can get bent.
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
Find customers that understand the time value of money. Clients like Law firms or Accounting Firms will not have a problem cutting you a check for over $100/hour because they understand their time is even more valuable than that. Customer that don't understand the time value of money like Retail or Wholesale companies will be much more hesitant to pay for you time because their customers expect them to service their good for free for the life of the product.
for all your customers, send them a bill for all the work you have done. On that same bill, add an adjustment that brings that bill to $0.00. Give it a lable of "No charge for previous work" or "Service done at no cost".
Make sure your rates are posted on it.
It will list all the work you have done for them in hours and when you charge them for the next call, they have nothing to complain about. Also by charging them they will call less.
Never ever do anything for free. charge them $0.00 for it so it shows up on the invoice. always send an invoice for work done, even if its at $0.00. That shows them how much you are worth to them and they are more willing to pay for the stuff you do charge for.
Im a gamer, not a grammer major. This post is full of spelling and grammer mistakes.
Look, I get it about being overcommitted.
I don't get how you got into this in the first place. You sell handbuilt systems, but you provide free support for people who don't have your systems. As a friend, apparently, but these people aren't friends. I've got friends too - I fix their computers - and when I had deaths in the family, they put me up and took care of me, and didn't ask me to fix their computers.
The way to get yourself out of this situation is always to give them someone else to call. There's a million nice ways to do it. In this case maybe you say, I'll give you a hand when I have time, but this week's bad and next week doesn't look good either. If you want it done quick, a buddy of mine had a good experience with the help guys at X store, if you need it done quickly, give them a call - but let me know how it goes, eh?
Recently I had to duck out of a contract job after an introductory meeting because I didn't like the smell of the job. Sounded like too much work and not enough money, and not interesting. So I asked around and got two names of friends who were hungry (so I was doing them a favor) and contacted the contractee - they didn't like those guys, some of the best people I know (better, for this job, than me). So I said I'd keep asking around, but I'm not going to bother. They can't tell quality when they see it, which means they'll be a problem customer. I've kept a good odor, though, and if I do get hungry, I can come back to them.