Quote

[Perform Computers]

Hi all,

I recently got a referral from a friend to call this 5-man company who are having issues with e-mail's from SARS going directly into their junk e-mail folder as opposed to the Inbox folder.

Pretty straight forward solution right?

So I call up the company, informing them that I've been told by their ISP that they need IT help with this problem. ( Their ISP & I have an agreement. I do the IT work he refers to me ).

I speak to some end user employee & get confirmation that this is the problem all 5 end users are having. So I ask to be put through to the decision maker.

Small company so I spoke to the boss. I inform him that we can come out to fix the problem, and give him a verbal quote of our hourly rate. ( Extremely reasonable ).

After a long pause, he says, "No, I'm not giving the go ahead for you guys to come out & fix this problem".

Now my question is......WTF !

The guy has a problem. I quote him a REASONABLE price per hour, and he says no? Am I missing something here?

They obviously don't have their own IT support, otherwise they wouldn't ask their ISP if they knew someone who could help them.

What, did this CEO think we'd come out & do it for free?

What am I missing here? He STILL has the problem, but refuses to PAY for support??

Yes he could possibly get someone else that are cheaper. But the rate p/h I quoted him I highly doubt it.

[KimH]

Andrew there are 2 ways of looking at this.

1. How long will it take you do correct their issue - if it's a quick fix perhaps offer it as an introductory freebie and it could lead to more regular billable time or,
2. The guys a chop and doesn't deserve the time of day

Sometimes we have to give a little to get something in return

[Perform Computers]

From his tone of voice, his responses, and how he answered the phone, I'd say he falls into category #2.

From my experience, people like this always call you like 2 months later, asking for help on the SAME problem. That's when I charge full rates.

[KimH]

One of those? Then you are better off not getting involved at all.

[Dave A]

The "chop" should learn about Google and tech forums.

[wynn]

When he does call back make sure he pays cash up front, a chop will always dispute the price on the invoice.
You can always pass a credit if you overcharge

[BusFact]

The guy may have thought it was something his ISP could fix and so yes he was expecting it for free, or rather as part of his monthly hosting fee.

The fact that the emails are going into his junk folder is probably quite a minor issue for him and now that he has found out that the ISP can't help he is going to try and sort it out himself with the help of Google, or perhaps just leave it as is. Or perhaps he has a nephew who he's going to ask.

He might not feel this problem is worth spending any cash on. So don't get upset over it. Your rate most likely had nothing to do with his decision.

If his whole system had crasdhed ..... then that would have been different.

[adrianh]

I agree with BusFact, the fact that somebody has a problem doesn't mean they want it fixed immediately.

When I took my car in to have a tyre replaced they said that the front brakes need to be done. Yes, the pads were wearing down and they should be replaced, but it was not something that I was willing to spend money on at the time. I was happy to drive till the the brakes stared squeking. Now, before I am told that prevention is better than cure and all that, I would like to point out that the disks already had a 1.5mm reach and would have to be replaced soon anyway.

So, am I a chop for not wanting to spend the cash at the time?

I will spend the cash when I am good and ready.