No computer consulting business can afford to be sitting at a client site, running up a big bill, staring at a blue-screen-of-death, facing an angry mob of irate users and sitting on hold for two hours with tech support.

This scenario is your absolute worst nightmare in running a computer consulting business and can be the kiss of death to your client relationship.

The Need for Good Vendor Technical Support

Good vendor technical support will preserve your credibility as a computer consulting business during times of crisis. No matter how experienced you are at PC hardware troubleshooting, calling on a specialist is a necessity.

Understand What Is Offered

Rather than get an unpleasant surprise when you need help the most, get the lowdown on vendor technical support before you make the purchase recommendation. Although many top PC vendors have similar capabilities and services, ask about included technical support services, and preferably get a description of them in writing.

Ask Questions

As a computer consulting business, you will want to ask questions to determine the reliability of PC vendor technical support. Find out if they are available by phone, if the technical support phone number is toll-free and if the support is free or not.

Also, find out if there are different technical support phone numbers for different products.

In operating your computer consulting business, you will also want to know if vendor technical support has 24/7 support in case you have a need for emergency support. Ask if online tech support resources are available as well.

Deal With a Specialist

As a computer consulting business, you want direct, rapid access to a specialist who deals with nothing but that particular product all day. So test the technical support group's responsiveness at a time when your heart isn't racing in the heat of a client server-down emergency.

Also, PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/) regularly evaluates PC vendors' technical support quality, so this is a good resource to look into.

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