When Managed IT Clients Demand Same-Day Service

“It’s just a password reset, I can’t wait for another 24 hours!”

You may have thought this would no longer be an issue when you ventured to become a managed service provider. When you have a small number of managed IT clients under a contract, a quick response time and fast service may still be ideal. But as your business scales up to support more clients, this can no longer be the case. You could be dealing with irate clients most of the time. And this could affect your productivity and enthusiasm in the long run. On a positive note, being busy is good for your business. But things could easily take the wrong turn, when there’s a rising demand for same-day service from your managed IT clients.

You can still gain control of this situation, and here’s what you can do.

Set Client Expectations

Your contract should be explicit about this early on. Response and service time for IT issues should be well laid out and should be specific. For example, a quick response can be reasonable if the problem could be fixed through remote support. But then it would take more time for you to deal with on-site issues. Leaving out these details in your contract can inadvertently teach your clients to demand same-day service later on. Of course, each client has a unique set of IT issues. But using a reasonable system on how long you are able to address the problem will put everything in order.

But what if expectations for response and service time were not included in your early contracts? It’s better to present a solution than to keep ignoring your problem. You can send out an update to your clients that you now have a system to define response and service time. You could have this system take effect immediately.

Your message becomes – A number of managed IT clients asked about our response times, so we have created a system to clearly define what turnaround times you can expect. And it’s normal if your clients have negative reaction at first. Some may reason that you are changing the terms of your contract. But technically, you are not changing anything. You are just defining gray areas on what you had not agreed on earlier. Service can go both ways without this. It can be very fast, or very slow. With the new arrangement, your service becomes more defined and systematic.

So it’s a matter of setting expectations for new business clients, and making the necessary adjustments for existing clients. As your business grows, you’ll also have to step up in your policies and procedures. And it’s a matter of educating your existing clients that this is for their best interest. Have them sign a supplementary document to seal the agreement. When service is defined to a pinpoint precision, they are the ones who gain the real benefit.

But how well-defined is your response and service time?

Your Service Time System

This could take a lot of work at first, and would need your documentation. Setting up the right response and service time involves different factors. There’s how urgent the IT issue is, and how much impact it has on the daily operations of your client. There’s how complex the problem is, and how much time and effort it would take to successfully resolve it. There’s also the distance factor – how much time would you need to get to your client’s location? There’s no uniform formula for these, as each client and market is unique. So it’s up to you to use your best judgment in setting up service times.

You can, however adapt a general system that sets service time for every issue. In this, you would need to list all possible IT issues that could happen. You break it down into two categories – either software or hardware. This could be tedious and you would need to dig into your own experience to come up with an effective turnaround time. Don’t leave out anything. If possible, work on this together with your client. This important step will spell out the service standard of your business.

Offer a Premium Charge to Managed IT Clients

Have an option for a plan upgrade. For example, consider what you get when you sign up for car insurance. You have your basic plan, with its core benefits. Then you can add allowable riders that bring more value to you as a client. This kind of strategy can also be used in your business. You may have the silver-gold-platinum plans, with its set of service coverage. In addition, you can offer a premium charge to expedite response and resolution time. This way, you are giving your clients a chance to opt in or out for this added value.

In foresight, it’s best to include this option in your original contract.

In addition to the regular services covered in this contract, <Business name> can upgrade for Premium Response at any time while the contract is in force. Premium Response option allows for express service, which resolves IT issues at a quicker time.

Who benefits from your premium charge? Your clients are the ones who benefit the most. Your premium charge allows you to hire additional technicians to take the call of duty. So primarily it can be said that your clients are the first to win in this situation. You can point out that your advantage is only incidental – hiring additional techs allows you to handle more clients.

So your premium charge is good for your clients and has long-term benefits. It’s only a matter of making them understand that this is option is for them, not for you. Aside from streamlining your service time, offering an expedited service could be the best solution for everyone. It can give you that breathing room when your managed IT clients start to demand same-day service.