Outsourcing Support

[Everyday]

Anyone here use a company to outsource their support? We've been contemplating this as an alternative to hiring some people in house.

The main advantage seems to be that you can offer honest and true 24/7/365 support to your customers.

The con could be that they are not any good or don't answer the questions fast enough.

:banana: (I just wanted to use the banana!!!!!)

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[Chicken]

It is odd. I've seen some very good things posted about outsourced support company replies, and there's been some negative things posted. I can't rightly determine what's what in regards to this and I'm not sure I'd outsource support or not. For some things, it is probably great and works wonderfully.

Maybe it could be used as Level 1 support, with a notation at the bottom to escalate the issue to Level II if the question isn't answered.

I suppose it depends on the type of support requests you get, which would be interesting to know. For my clients (of which there are few and they are generally non-web savvy), they seem to get hung up on the basics like:

1) Email set up (I should have an FAQ page for this).
2) Images not showing up (mostly due to incorrect path or file name).

That sort of thing...

One would think that these are the ideal problems to outsource.

[alchiba]

Originally posted by Everyday
The main advantage seems to be that you can offer honest and true 24/7/365 support to your customers.

The operative word here is seems.


The con could be that they are not any good or don't answer the questions fast enough.

In at least one case I think the operative word is con. :D

Based on my experience with more than one of this kind of company I would not use the words "fast", "good" or in some cases even "answer" in connection with their "service".

[allan]

Originally posted by alchiba

Based on my experience with more than one of this kind of company I would not use the words "fast", "good" or in some cases even "answer" in connection with their "service".

What companies have you had bad experiences with?

[Everyday]

I'd be interested in what companies people have had good and bad experiences with. :stupid: (Just had to use that one!!!)

[alchiba]

Originally posted by allan
What companies have you had bad experiences with?

The first was BobCares. No answers. Dumb answers. Asking for information that was already given in the ticket. They did try to make corrections when I complained but it was all for naught. My customers, once happy and relatively quiet, became an angry mob. In nearly 20 years of working in IT, I can honestly tell you I have never been cussed out by a client. . . until I brought this bunch on board. Maybe someday I'll post a couple jewels from my helpdesk. You guys might get it a kick out of it, albeit at my expense. :D

I won't mention the name of the current company here because they're technically still under contract and I haven't changed root passwords yet. (Do you get the feeling I don't trust them as far as I can throw them?) These guys are even worse. They disappear for days on end, don't respond when I try to get in touch with them, yadda-yadda-yadda. I must be scam bait or something. I just want them to go away.

Next week I'm auditioning ACTSupport. We'll see how that goes. The third time's the charm, right? ;)

[Everyday]

I have come across http://www.handsonsupport.com and was wondering if anyone has used them or has an opinion.

[alchiba]

handsonsupport.com is relatively new, I think. I haven't researched them.

I'm haunted by the thought that, while some of these companies may be US-based or have a pied-a-terre in the US, the techs they use are the same squad of CompSci students in southern India. Maybe I'm jaded, but I don't see or hear much that distinguishes one from the other. I welcome the opportunity to be proven wrong, however.

[interactive]

Originally posted by Everyday
Anyone here use a company to outsource their support? We've been contemplating this as an alternative to hiring some people in house.

The main advantage seems to be that you can offer honest and true 24/7/365 support to your customers.

The con could be that they are not any good or don't answer the questions fast enough.

:banana: (I just wanted to use the banana!!!!!)

Go over to WHT. Theres a decent size thread about outsourcing. Nothing wrong with it. Just if your client base is mostly people who english is there only or first language, stay away from asian countries, or places that have accents, that are hard to understand. Not that I'm racist.

[Matt]

We used BobCares for a short period almost a year ago and it was a disaster - most replies (when they replied) were useless and they were very unreliable in working the agreed hours.

We decided as a result of this to employ our own people on a 24 / 7 basis - yes it costs more, but it means customers get quality replies around the clock and you can honestly advertise true 24 / 7 support.

[maxhest]

Using Outsourced Support stinks.. I like hiring my own guys.
That's my 2 cents.

[alchiba]

Originally posted by maxhest
I like hiring my own guys.

By that do you mean they're on the payroll or 1099?

[Mikrodata]

1) Just because one outsourced technical support company is bad doesn't mean they all are. Take a close look at there references, they can't fake them all, and if you talk with them a bit they will let you know there the weak points are in the company.

2) When you outsource your support you need a plan! Just because you are paying someone to take care of it doesn't mean you don't have any involvement. You should setup a system so people get taken care of in a reasonable amount of time and with the right amount of support. If someone wants to setup an email account, the outsourced tech support should be able to handle it. If someone wants to install some advanced custom software on your server don't you think there should be an easy way to get up the chain to speak with someone that can help them rather then a tech that is getting $24K.

3) You get what you pay for. Not that I think everyone should spend a ton of money on support, but you know how much it would cost to run your own help desk, it is not going to be 1/2 price for an outsourcing company to do it, that is doing a good job anyhow.

I have lots of other ideas / comments but I don't want to keep this going on forever. I am sure most of us have done tech support before some point in our lives and know it is not easy. It gets even harder when you are working on X amount of systems. Although the outsourced company should be handling it, you should attempt to help them, not just say they suck. Keeping in mind number 3 : )

[alchiba]

I don't see outsourced support as functionally any different than having direct employees. You still have to ride herd, review their work and intervene when necessary. I review every ticket, and sometimes jump ahead of the hired guns to handle certain kinds of requests the way I like to. Outsourcing doesn't completely lighten the load because much of the time formerly spent doing support is now spent managing support.

[beley]

The first was BobCares. No answers. Dumb answers.That pretty much sums up Bob Cares... they may be knowledgeable but they can't understand the English language and thus can't understand your customers' requests. Lot of good they can do if they can't understand the questions...

[kunal]

hey...

i would agree outsourcing can be a great help and be a huge cost cutting factor.. but the question is when to use it.. and who should use it.. if every small, 100-500 client host used them, its virtually use less.. i mean, whats the point of getting into a business if you cant do your own dirty work? thats just my opinion... things you should consider before giving an external source access to your clients is... do you TRUST them enough? are you comfortable with them? no legal document is gonna replace that one gutt feeling you have about a company... do they meet your service requirements and quality? get samples of there work from them... i know they will only show you the great stuff.. but ask them if you can drop in and see a couple of live situations do consider their operation better...

thats just a bunch of my jumbled thoughts.. but its a start i think :)

kunal

[Mikrodata]

I agree that you must find a trustworthy company that you know will take care of your clients. You can always find out some of the companies they do support for and sign up for an account. What is $20.00 and a month to see what the support you will be paying for is worth it. And that is on the high end with hosting prices now days.

As far as when to use outsourced support... I don't think it is the amount of users you have, nor the type of hosting you do. Outsourcing is not something every host doesn't do already. Where do you get your bandwidth? Do you have your own global fiberoptic network? (No, even though many hosts say they do) What about the power to run those machines, yup I guessed it was outsourced. Even the hosting company is really an outsourced resource, why build a DC when you can rent space.

Just like every day when you outsource other stuff you should outsource your support when it is convenant and profitable to do so. Some people are better at running things behind the curtain, others are better at the entire works, and yet some shouldn't even be running anything :p:. Support isn't the dirty work, it is just another part of the business like power, computers, bandwidth, and advertising. It is how you manage everything :banghead: that makes the differance.

Outsourcing the things that you can't do as good or as profitable just makes sence. :pimp:

[MrManager]

A company to try out:

ONEWWW

http://www.onewww.com

I hear good things about them, never used them myself, but perhaps another source is better than a wheelbarrow of complaints about the existing choices out there. =)

[alchiba]

Originally posted by kunal:
whats the point of getting into a business if you cant do your own dirty work?

The real point is this: How can I grow my business if I'm chained to the keyboard restarting Apache, re-running stats, chasing down script problems, DNS problems, billing problems and myriad other mundane tasks? Yes, I know how to do my own dirty work and I've done it for years, but there's a lot more to running an Internet business than fiddling around in an SSH session. As the boss, I should be able to decide what jobs I want to do and which ones I want to delegate.

I settled on a company to outsource with a few months ago and I must say I am thoroughly pleased with them. They've proven to be very steady, capable and highly communicative. I couldn't be more satisfied with the decision I made.

[interactive]

Originally posted by MrManager:

A company to try out:

ONEWWW

http://www.onewww.com

I hear good things about them, never used them myself, but perhaps another source is better than a wheelbarrow of complaints about the existing choices out there. =)

They have some pretty good prices. You thinking about going with them? Let me know how it works out.

[Operator]

I've heard ACTsupport.com handles tickets like no other -- professional and quick!

[JeremyV]

There have been a lot of good points made both for and against outsourced support. I guess it depends a lot on your mission and personal goals with your business. But to be honest, for me, I would rather keep everything in-house and if I need to, wake up at 3am to answer a tough question or have a few "employees" (at least someone who is getting a 1099 as a contracted job) I trust respond to requests within 15 minutes.

I don't care who you get for your outsourcing, but nobody knows your network, your system, and has access to the information they may need than yourself or the ones you employ. I would honestly rather work 18 hour days answering every last question personally knowing that my customers are getting the exact information they are requesting than delegate this job out to faceless people whom I have no idea how well they can answer questions, how quickly, and if they even will be available.

As far as I'm concerned, if you cannot answer a question you have in the first response (maybe second if they don't provide enough information) you aren't providing the best support you could. I mean honestly, if you are in charge, and someone submits a ticket asking about something with their account... if you can't answer it the first time correctly and promptly, then you shouldn't be in the business, let alone providing support.

Again, just my opinion, but fast and accurate support responses are just something I'm really adamant about :)

[Chicken]

Originally posted by alchiba:

I settled on a company to outsource with a few months ago and I must say I am thoroughly pleased with them. They've proven to be very steady, capable and highly communicative. I couldn't be more satisfied with the decision I made.
alchiba, which one did you go with?

[GnomeyNewt]

Originally posted by Everyday:


:banana: (I just wanted to use the banana!!!!!)

OFF TOPIC!!!

But atleast somebody just wanted to use the banana around here! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[alchiba]

Originally posted by Chicken:

alchiba, which one did you go with?

ACTSupport

[Operator]

Can't go wrong with ACTsupport :crazy:

[Phoenix]

Originally posted by MrManager:

A company to try out:

ONEWWW
From their website:

Outsourced Support
Onewww provides outsourced customer support exclusively to small and mid-sized Ensim based hosting companies.

So I guess if you don't use Ensim you don't use these guys. :banana:

[alchiba]

onewww seems rather expensive when you consider their per-domain pricing model. (I wonder how that works if you have resellers? Ouch! There go your margins.) I prefer the per-ticket, block-of-tickets or per-server fee structure most outsourcing companies use.

[blue27]

Originally posted by CDHost:

That pretty much sums up Bob Cares... they may be knowledgeable but they can't understand the English language and thus can't understand your customers' requests. Lot of good they can do if they can't understand the questions...

That is the problem with using a company based in India. They may be able to offer low prices and they may have a very knowledgeable staff, but if most of your clientele is English speaking sometimes things get lost in the translation. Even people who are fairly fluent in English (foreign speakers) will have problems with some of the technical aspects of the business when it comes to translation.

[alchiba]

Language hasn't been much of a barrier that I can tell with this current company. I do have several customers -- native English speakers -- with whom even I have a lot of difficulty communicating with. It sometimes takes two or three passes on the help desk before they can get their point across even to me. It has happened, albeit rarely, that the outsource crew can't figure out what the customer is saying so they ping me to help them out. I have no problem with that at all.

[101sales]

I'm not much of a fan of outsourced support - it's a great service to use if you feel your swamped with support requests but I miss the interaction I have with clients.

It's nice to know what my clients are up to, and I can give more personalized answers depending on the client - this is the kind of service your clients are looking for, not canned answers (I hate those).

Eventually we may need to outsource, as the company gets bigger but I'm going to insist we hold off as long as possible. We'll fill the tiny office with employees first before we go that route.

I'm just not for the "boiler plate" model. :D

[alchiba]

I was once resistant to the idea of outsourced support and considered hiring local staff but I just didn't want those headaches for the amount of work I needed done. So then I considered a remote staff, but after looking at the numbers and considering the hazards of employing people I've never met in person plus the fact I'm not able to "get my hands on" them if I needed to, it dawned on me that outsourcing was the way to go. Yes, I've had problems going this route but the current crew is doing a bang-up job and they've earned my trust. I hate boilerplate responses too, but I don't really see any from this crew.

[James]

I dont think i would ever use out sorce support. unless somthing happend IE had to fire the techs i will have.
but i dont think that is going to happon.
I am building this business so i can help the local ecom and my self with a stedy job for people. (yes i have HUGE plans, but i knwo it will take time to build up to where i want ot be, or an investor or two along the way)

[Maxplayer14]

Guys I really think you should check this place out, they are USA based. http://touchsupport.com

Their prices are a little more, but they are here in the us, and speak english, LOL.

I haven't used them yet, but have been talking to them for the past few weeks, and they are awesome to deal with.

Go check it out.

[Karen]

I am curious....

I have a questions to those who have hired their own in-house support instead of outsourcing.

Where did you find your current employees? And how did you qualify them, especially the remote employees?

Karen

[Taylor]

Originally posted by Karen:

I am curious....

I have a questions to those who have hired their own in-house support instead of outsourcing.

Where did you find your current employees? And how did you qualify them, especially the remote employees?

Karen

Karen,

Good question.

Do you have a local university or community college in your area? Many of them will be extremely excited to work with you on delivering many interested applicants.

If you are going for remote, look here, WHT and other hosting forums. You should find a few applicants.

If you do hire remotely, get a copy of their identification, make them sign an NDA/contract, and keep close watch on them. Possibly start them out with lower access and work their way up once they have earned more and more trust.

Good luck with your search.

Taylor

[LiftNw8]

Anyone here have any experience with esupportpro.com before, would like to know.

[eVs]

Originally posted by Liftin.com:

Anyone here have any experience with esupportpro.com before, would like to know. I've only had pre-sales experience with them, but they were very good. They were highly professional, and made a whole customised 12-month plan based on my requirements. I say give them a try, they're good people there :)

[FastNetServers]

I strongly suggest having your own in house support team...it might be hard at the beginning but it will be worth it in the end...I have an in house support team of 6 people who work in pairs on 8 hour shifts. This is more than enough for me and I even offer anonymous technical support to my resellers for a LOW nominal fee.

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