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Posts Tagged ‘service’

Don’t do it. Why not? You’ll spend a lot of money and a lot of time getting certified and learning all the latest platforms and technologies. But the reality is that hardware repair is a commodity – a low margin business. And it’s becoming more and more of a commodity service every year as the components become more disposable and more replaceable than repairable. In this article, you’ll learn why consulting contracts with national service organizations are not the best choice.

Computers Are Now Replaceable

Let’s take a $600 consumer-grade PC for example. Who’s going to spend money on an out-of-warranty repair on a $600 PC? Who’s going to spend money on an out of warranty repair on a $400 laser printer? How much money are small businesses willing to spend on this kind of repair?

Low Labor Allowances for Consulting Contracts

Since national service organizations are going to primarily be dealing with warranty repairs on relatively inexpensive hardware, how much labor allowance do you think they’re really going to give up on a $1,200 notebook? Many big hardware vendors are so cash strapped that they’re always on the verge of going out of business constantly. Dell, HP, and IBM are pretty much the only major hardware players that are still in reasonably good financial shape (even if you consider IBM in the hardware business anymore).

The Profit Margin on Repairs in Consulting Contracts

So, what are you going to make on a repair? Fifty dollars? A hundred dollars? $150 or $200 at the absolute most? You’re going to do a lot better by finding small businesses in your area that need high-level professional services on a regular basis.

Consulting Contracts with National Service Providers Aren’t Profitable

Acting as a subcontractor for a national service provider is a really hard way to run a consulting business. Do you want to be in eight different offices every single day, or do you want to be in one or two? Do you want to be billing out at $100 or $150 an hour for high-end network support services and network integration services? Or do you want to be told that you’re going to be allowed a $65 labor allowance to replace a system board, no matter how long it takes you?

The Bottom Line about Consulting Contracts

Repairing and troubleshooting hardware is low-end commodity work. It’s work that can be done by people that are billing out at $20 or $30 an hour. It’s not the high-end consulting you could be doing with consulting contracts. Don’t ever confuse the two.

Everybody hates car salesman. They talk too fast, use too many clichés, and are generally exasperating. There’s nothing worse than being verbally romanced only to find out you were ripped-off—or is there?

How about getting ripped-off repeatedly? How about getting ripped-off repeatedly for years? How about never even knowing you were ripped-off, repeatedly, and for years?

Welcome to service! When it comes to swindling, automotive service representatives are the real experts. They have more experience, and way more opportunity to rip you off.

A car salesman has only a few chances to rip you off provided you even engage in negotiations. There’s the price of the car, financing, leasing, accessories/options, extended warranties, your trade-in, and the general bull that wafts from the salesmen’s mouth.

You should also watch out for the finance manager. Today’s finance folks aren’t just number crunchers, they’re salesmen in disguise. This is where you’ll be encouraged to buy the extended warranty and a host of other accessories that can all be packaged up nicely into your financing.

Car sales rip-off attempts are easily thwarted. Number one, you can just walk away! Also, there are numerous resources on how to buy a car without losing your shirt. If you’re interested, visit the RepairTrust resource link @ www.repairtrust.com and you’ll find several sites that will tell you everything you want to know about buying, trading, leasing, financing, new, used…etc.

It’s quite different in the world of car repair. Your car needs service. You HAVE to deal with a service representative, like it or not.

The folks in the dim underworld of automotive service are well-trained in the art of ripping people off. They’re not the feeding-frenzied, thrashing sharks of sales that are easy to spot.

No, service representatives are the Great Whites. They primarily hunt alone, hiding in the murky waters of service, striking without warning.

What’s really scary is that the service industry is infested with Great Whites. Traditional tips and suggestions to avoid their attacks don’t work. This is evidenced by the fact that service customers are scammed “tens of billions of dollars every year.”

Information is the key to STOP a Great White. If one knows who, what, when, where, why, and how it hunts, one can take control.

Importantly, “Sharks are not mindless eating machines.” The Great Whites of the service industry are experienced and smart. There are so many attacks from so many different directions, and new technologies provide fresh chum daily.

With auto repair, technology creates confusion. Technology creates ripples and waves, making it difficult to see below the surface of even simple auto repairs.

The Great White can sense the anxiety of a service customer, like it can a struggling swimmer. In the midst of this confusion, the waters of service get even murkier, and SPLASH—it’s cost you an arm and a leg.

In today’s service environment, the service customer needs protection, and needs to be empowered with accurate information and powerful tools before even entering the waters. There’s no need to lose any limbs, ever!