Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Peter, Fully agree. But much easier said than done. Tom DeReggi RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband - Original Message - From: "Peter R." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2006 12:38 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Tom, The key to growth in business is hiring the right people. You can successfully run more than one business at the same time with capable employees - as well as processes, procedures and controls in place. (This is the key to franchising and the E-Myth, btw). Three problems: 1) Finding the right people 2) Having the processes in place 3) Letting go. Regards, Peter Tom DeReggi wrote: Rick, I'm sure you'd do well at anything you put your mind to, and I'm sure you are capable. However, the only advice I can give is... The key to success is finding the time to manage your company. The only real person that can be trusted to do that well are the people that have stake in that compnay. In my company's case its me personally. There is only so much time in the day. A business owner needs to decide what business they want to be in, and then focus on that venture, its all one mortal human can handle in a competitive environment and succeed. A CALL CENTER is a Full time business, just like your WISP. Helping your WISP clients, means staff is not available to help Call Center clients at the same time, and vice versa. These problems go away, when both companies scale large enough to have their own staff. However, getting a company to that stage, of self operating, is where most business owners fail, its not easy. You are no longer able to pick up the slack on your own. Franchises often make it. But getting two businesses to that stage simultaneously is near impossible. So should your perogative to be a Call Center, go for it, thats what the American Dream is all about, you have just a good a chance as any one else. There is also a big need for a call center, where the owner has real world WISP experience to add credability to supporting WISPs. But to do a good job at a call center, be realistic that your WISP surely would sacrify to allow it to happen. Which business do you want to be in? Personally, its a struggle I face regularly. (WISP, Network integrator, Hardware reseller, router manufacturer, Software developer). Opportunity is on every corner, but you can't do it all well, which do you take? A WISP clearly is NOT the least risky of all the options out there. However, I chose to be a WISP. I am banking on reoccuring revenue, one day without requiring reoccuring work to match, and realistic about the fact I hate to be caught behind a desk 24x7. Tom DeReggi RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
point well made. My partner and I run 4 business simultaneously. We've put all the right people in the right places, and yes it took time to figure out who the right people were. That #3 on your list is the hardest part though. :) R Peter R. wrote: Tom, The key to growth in business is hiring the right people. You can successfully run more than one business at the same time with capable employees - as well as processes, procedures and controls in place. (This is the key to franchising and the E-Myth, btw). Three problems: 1) Finding the right people 2) Having the processes in place 3) Letting go. Regards, Peter Tom DeReggi wrote: Rick, I'm sure you'd do well at anything you put your mind to, and I'm sure you are capable. However, the only advice I can give is... The key to success is finding the time to manage your company. The only real person that can be trusted to do that well are the people that have stake in that compnay. In my company's case its me personally. There is only so much time in the day. A business owner needs to decide what business they want to be in, and then focus on that venture, its all one mortal human can handle in a competitive environment and succeed. A CALL CENTER is a Full time business, just like your WISP. Helping your WISP clients, means staff is not available to help Call Center clients at the same time, and vice versa. These problems go away, when both companies scale large enough to have their own staff. However, getting a company to that stage, of self operating, is where most business owners fail, its not easy. You are no longer able to pick up the slack on your own. Franchises often make it. But getting two businesses to that stage simultaneously is near impossible. So should your perogative to be a Call Center, go for it, thats what the American Dream is all about, you have just a good a chance as any one else. There is also a big need for a call center, where the owner has real world WISP experience to add credability to supporting WISPs. But to do a good job at a call center, be realistic that your WISP surely would sacrify to allow it to happen. Which business do you want to be in? Personally, its a struggle I face regularly. (WISP, Network integrator, Hardware reseller, router manufacturer, Software developer). Opportunity is on every corner, but you can't do it all well, which do you take? A WISP clearly is NOT the least risky of all the options out there. However, I chose to be a WISP. I am banking on reoccuring revenue, one day without requiring reoccuring work to match, and realistic about the fact I hate to be caught behind a desk 24x7. Tom DeReggi RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Tom, The key to growth in business is hiring the right people. You can successfully run more than one business at the same time with capable employees - as well as processes, procedures and controls in place. (This is the key to franchising and the E-Myth, btw). Three problems: 1) Finding the right people 2) Having the processes in place 3) Letting go. Regards, Peter Tom DeReggi wrote: Rick, I'm sure you'd do well at anything you put your mind to, and I'm sure you are capable. However, the only advice I can give is... The key to success is finding the time to manage your company. The only real person that can be trusted to do that well are the people that have stake in that compnay. In my company's case its me personally. There is only so much time in the day. A business owner needs to decide what business they want to be in, and then focus on that venture, its all one mortal human can handle in a competitive environment and succeed. A CALL CENTER is a Full time business, just like your WISP. Helping your WISP clients, means staff is not available to help Call Center clients at the same time, and vice versa. These problems go away, when both companies scale large enough to have their own staff. However, getting a company to that stage, of self operating, is where most business owners fail, its not easy. You are no longer able to pick up the slack on your own. Franchises often make it. But getting two businesses to that stage simultaneously is near impossible. So should your perogative to be a Call Center, go for it, thats what the American Dream is all about, you have just a good a chance as any one else. There is also a big need for a call center, where the owner has real world WISP experience to add credability to supporting WISPs. But to do a good job at a call center, be realistic that your WISP surely would sacrify to allow it to happen. Which business do you want to be in? Personally, its a struggle I face regularly. (WISP, Network integrator, Hardware reseller, router manufacturer, Software developer). Opportunity is on every corner, but you can't do it all well, which do you take? A WISP clearly is NOT the least risky of all the options out there. However, I chose to be a WISP. I am banking on reoccuring revenue, one day without requiring reoccuring work to match, and realistic about the fact I hate to be caught behind a desk 24x7. Tom DeReggi RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Rick, I'm sure you'd do well at anything you put your mind to, and I'm sure you are capable. However, the only advice I can give is... The key to success is finding the time to manage your company. The only real person that can be trusted to do that well are the people that have stake in that compnay. In my company's case its me personally. There is only so much time in the day. A business owner needs to decide what business they want to be in, and then focus on that venture, its all one mortal human can handle in a competitive environment and succeed. A CALL CENTER is a Full time business, just like your WISP. Helping your WISP clients, means staff is not available to help Call Center clients at the same time, and vice versa. These problems go away, when both companies scale large enough to have their own staff. However, getting a company to that stage, of self operating, is where most business owners fail, its not easy. You are no longer able to pick up the slack on your own. Franchises often make it. But getting two businesses to that stage simultaneously is near impossible. So should your perogative to be a Call Center, go for it, thats what the American Dream is all about, you have just a good a chance as any one else. There is also a big need for a call center, where the owner has real world WISP experience to add credability to supporting WISPs. But to do a good job at a call center, be realistic that your WISP surely would sacrify to allow it to happen. Which business do you want to be in? Personally, its a struggle I face regularly. (WISP, Network integrator, Hardware reseller, router manufacturer, Software developer). Opportunity is on every corner, but you can't do it all well, which do you take? A WISP clearly is NOT the least risky of all the options out there. However, I chose to be a WISP. I am banking on reoccuring revenue, one day without requiring reoccuring work to match, and realistic about the fact I hate to be caught behind a desk 24x7. Tom DeReggi RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband - Original Message - From: "Rick Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "WISPA General List" Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 8:51 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Ya know Ron, that was uncalled for. Wow, ripped apart on-list. Great atmosphere for getting some feedback on a business idea. Never again. Hey Harnish, how about that ? Argh. Ron Johnson wrote: Guys We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our business to know how to get the job done. Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer service calls O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are talking about. Ron Johnson President National Support Center Inc. 800-203-7961 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Nash Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of yours, I would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of doing things so you can be useful for my customers when they call. My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing this a little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their L1 & L2 techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and made the base monthly fee ($1 x # of subs). That gives you (1 minute x # of subs) of 'tech time' per month. Any overage would be about $.60 per minute for that month. Not a bad deal. I didn't feel that the diversity of my system lent itself well to a 3rd party tech support at the time, and since then everything I have chosen to deploy has had a consideration given to 'Call Center Tech Support'. Whether we do the tech support or not, it is worth it to spend time and money to streamline tech support methods so we can hire support personnel that are further down on the food chain. Mark -Original Message- From: Rick Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:04:12 To:WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I have a customer that just installed a $100k phone system and is lookin for other uses. Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support department creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
JohnnyO wrote: WTF! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Smith Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 9:27 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I'll give you that, but when someone responds to my query for input with a "forget them, we do it better / cheaper and there's no reason for any other call centers", I take offense.. Ah well, that's business, but I sure would've liked this thread to be a little more conversational... R Rick Harnish wrote: Rick, Please take no offense to this reply. I haven't really been following this thread until your last one and I read it because I enjoy reading your posts. I reviewed your first post and the thread that followed. You did ask for input in your first post. "Any input ?" We do live in a free market economy and if someone is already doing this cheaper than what your business plan is set for, is it totally wrong for them to point it out? Does that mean that you can't "do it better" at a higher price? As pointed out in other threads recently, cheaper is not normally better. If you are looking at a new business venture, your research should generate an awareness of what other businesses are charging and what kind of service that price includes. If you think you can go head to head and garner a market niche of WISPs as a WISPA member, then I think you should give it a whirl. As far as I know, Ron Johnson is not a paid WISPA member. If I were to choose a company as a wireless support center, I would definitely weigh WISPA membership and experience heavily when making my decision. Maybe I am reading Ron's post in a different light than you are but I didn't really see any strong attack on your post. He merely pointed out that he is in the business to do this and he is cheaper. That in no way means the other members of this list are going to flock to him for a solution. I'm sure I will draw criticism from some whichever side of the fence I take here. I think it is a good topic to discuss and for that reason, I will allow the thread to continue. I personally will find it interesting to know what it takes to run a call center. Respectfully, Rick Harnish President OnlyInternet Broadband & Wireless, Inc. 260-827-2482 Office 260-307-4000 Cell 260-918-4340 VoIP www.oibw.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Smith Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 8:52 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Ya know Ron, that was uncalled for. Wow, ripped apart on-list. Great atmosphere for getting some feedback on a business idea. Never again. Hey Harnish, how about that ? Argh. Ron Johnson wrote: Guys We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our business to know how to get the job done. Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer service calls O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are talking about. Ron Johnson President National Support Center Inc. 800-203-7961 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Nash Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of yours, I would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of doing things so you can be useful for my customers when they call. My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing this a little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their L1 & L2 techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and made the base monthly fee ($1 x # of subs). That gives you (1 minute x # of subs) of 'tech time' per month. Any overage would be about $.60 per minute for that month. Not a bad deal. I didn't feel that the diversity of my system lent itself well to a 3rd party tech support at the time, and since then everything I have chosen to deploy has had a consideration given to 'Call Center Tech Support'. Whether we do the tech support or not, it is worth it to spend time and money to streamline tech support methods so we can hire support perso
RE: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Hey everyone I am not trying to hurt anyone. I just wanted to point out that this is being done. I myself have had these great Business ideal/cool website that will clear a billion dollars and after looking into it I see that there is already someone doing it and at a cost that I can not meet. You have got to think big. Ron Johnson President National Support Center Inc. 800-203-7961 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of JohnnyO Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 11:03 AM To: 'WISPA General List' Subject: RE: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? WTF! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Smith Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 9:27 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I'll give you that, but when someone responds to my query for input with a "forget them, we do it better / cheaper and there's no reason for any other call centers", I take offense.. Ah well, that's business, but I sure would've liked this thread to be a little more conversational... R Rick Harnish wrote: > Rick, > > Please take no offense to this reply. I haven't really been following > this thread until your last one and I read it because I enjoy reading > your posts. > > I reviewed your first post and the thread that followed. You did ask > for input in your first post. > > "Any input ?" > > We do live in a free market economy and if someone is already doing > this cheaper than what your business plan is set for, is it totally > wrong for them to point it out? Does that mean that you can't "do it > better" at a higher price? As pointed out in other threads recently, > cheaper is not normally better. If you are looking at a new business > venture, your research should generate an awareness of what other > businesses are charging and what kind of service that price includes. > If you think you can go head to head and garner a market niche of > WISPs as a WISPA member, then I think you should give it a whirl. As > far as I know, Ron Johnson is not a paid WISPA member. If I were to > choose a company as a wireless support center, I would definitely > weigh WISPA membership and experience heavily when making my decision. > > Maybe I am reading Ron's post in a different light than you are but I > didn't really see any strong attack on your post. He merely pointed > out that he is in the business to do this and he is cheaper. That in > no way means the other members of this list are going to flock to him for a solution. > > I'm sure I will draw criticism from some whichever side of the fence I > take here. I think it is a good topic to discuss and for that reason, > I will allow the thread to continue. I personally will find it > interesting to know what it takes to run a call center. > > Respectfully, > > Rick Harnish > President > OnlyInternet Broadband & Wireless, Inc. > 260-827-2482 Office > 260-307-4000 Cell > 260-918-4340 VoIP > www.oibw.net > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of Rick Smith > Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 8:52 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; WISPA General List > Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? > > Ya know Ron, that was uncalled for. > > Wow, ripped apart on-list. Great atmosphere for getting some feedback > on a business idea. > > Never again. > > Hey Harnish, how about that ? Argh. > > Ron Johnson wrote: > >> Guys >> >> We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or >> wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our >> business to know how to get the job done. >> >> Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer >> service calls >> >> O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are >> talking about. >> >> Ron Johnson >> President >> National Support Center Inc. >> 800-203-7961 >> >> -Original Message- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> On Behalf Of Mark Nash >> Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM >> To: WISPA General List >> Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? >> >> Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 >> techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something >> specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. >> >> But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As
RE: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
WTF! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Smith Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 9:27 AM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I'll give you that, but when someone responds to my query for input with a "forget them, we do it better / cheaper and there's no reason for any other call centers", I take offense.. Ah well, that's business, but I sure would've liked this thread to be a little more conversational... R Rick Harnish wrote: > Rick, > > Please take no offense to this reply. I haven't really been following > this thread until your last one and I read it because I enjoy reading > your posts. > > I reviewed your first post and the thread that followed. You did ask > for input in your first post. > > "Any input ?" > > We do live in a free market economy and if someone is already doing > this cheaper than what your business plan is set for, is it totally > wrong for them to point it out? Does that mean that you can't "do it > better" at a higher price? As pointed out in other threads recently, > cheaper is not normally better. If you are looking at a new business > venture, your research should generate an awareness of what other > businesses are charging and what kind of service that price includes. > If you think you can go head to head and garner a market niche of > WISPs as a WISPA member, then I think you should give it a whirl. As > far as I know, Ron Johnson is not a paid WISPA member. If I were to > choose a company as a wireless support center, I would definitely > weigh WISPA membership and experience heavily when making my decision. > > Maybe I am reading Ron's post in a different light than you are but I > didn't really see any strong attack on your post. He merely pointed > out that he is in the business to do this and he is cheaper. That in > no way means the other members of this list are going to flock to him for a solution. > > I'm sure I will draw criticism from some whichever side of the fence I > take here. I think it is a good topic to discuss and for that reason, > I will allow the thread to continue. I personally will find it > interesting to know what it takes to run a call center. > > Respectfully, > > Rick Harnish > President > OnlyInternet Broadband & Wireless, Inc. > 260-827-2482 Office > 260-307-4000 Cell > 260-918-4340 VoIP > www.oibw.net > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of Rick Smith > Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 8:52 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; WISPA General List > Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? > > Ya know Ron, that was uncalled for. > > Wow, ripped apart on-list. Great atmosphere for getting some feedback > on a business idea. > > Never again. > > Hey Harnish, how about that ? Argh. > > Ron Johnson wrote: > >> Guys >> >> We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or >> wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our >> business to know how to get the job done. >> >> Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer >> service calls >> >> O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are >> talking about. >> >> Ron Johnson >> President >> National Support Center Inc. >> 800-203-7961 >> >> -Original Message- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> On Behalf Of Mark Nash >> Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM >> To: WISPA General List >> Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? >> >> Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 >> techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something >> specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. >> >> But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of >> yours, I would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of >> doing things so you can be useful for my customers when they call. >> >> My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing >> this a little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. >> >> GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their >> managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their >> L1 & L2 techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and >> made the base monthly fee ($1
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
I'll give you that, but when someone responds to my query for input with a "forget them, we do it better / cheaper and there's no reason for any other call centers", I take offense.. Ah well, that's business, but I sure would've liked this thread to be a little more conversational... R Rick Harnish wrote: Rick, Please take no offense to this reply. I haven't really been following this thread until your last one and I read it because I enjoy reading your posts. I reviewed your first post and the thread that followed. You did ask for input in your first post. "Any input ?" We do live in a free market economy and if someone is already doing this cheaper than what your business plan is set for, is it totally wrong for them to point it out? Does that mean that you can't "do it better" at a higher price? As pointed out in other threads recently, cheaper is not normally better. If you are looking at a new business venture, your research should generate an awareness of what other businesses are charging and what kind of service that price includes. If you think you can go head to head and garner a market niche of WISPs as a WISPA member, then I think you should give it a whirl. As far as I know, Ron Johnson is not a paid WISPA member. If I were to choose a company as a wireless support center, I would definitely weigh WISPA membership and experience heavily when making my decision. Maybe I am reading Ron's post in a different light than you are but I didn't really see any strong attack on your post. He merely pointed out that he is in the business to do this and he is cheaper. That in no way means the other members of this list are going to flock to him for a solution. I'm sure I will draw criticism from some whichever side of the fence I take here. I think it is a good topic to discuss and for that reason, I will allow the thread to continue. I personally will find it interesting to know what it takes to run a call center. Respectfully, Rick Harnish President OnlyInternet Broadband & Wireless, Inc. 260-827-2482 Office 260-307-4000 Cell 260-918-4340 VoIP www.oibw.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Smith Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 8:52 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Ya know Ron, that was uncalled for. Wow, ripped apart on-list. Great atmosphere for getting some feedback on a business idea. Never again. Hey Harnish, how about that ? Argh. Ron Johnson wrote: Guys We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our business to know how to get the job done. Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer service calls O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are talking about. Ron Johnson President National Support Center Inc. 800-203-7961 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Nash Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of yours, I would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of doing things so you can be useful for my customers when they call. My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing this a little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their L1 & L2 techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and made the base monthly fee ($1 x # of subs). That gives you (1 minute x # of subs) of 'tech time' per month. Any overage would be about $.60 per minute for that month. Not a bad deal. I didn't feel that the diversity of my system lent itself well to a 3rd party tech support at the time, and since then everything I have chosen to deploy has had a consideration given to 'Call Center Tech Support'. Whether we do the tech support or not, it is worth it to spend time and money to streamline tech support methods so we can hire support personnel that are further down on the food chain. Mark -Original Message- From: Rick Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:04:12 To:WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I have a customer that just installed a $100k phone system and is lookin for other uses. Having experience in both call center mangement and
RE: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Rick, Please take no offense to this reply. I haven't really been following this thread until your last one and I read it because I enjoy reading your posts. I reviewed your first post and the thread that followed. You did ask for input in your first post. "Any input ?" We do live in a free market economy and if someone is already doing this cheaper than what your business plan is set for, is it totally wrong for them to point it out? Does that mean that you can't "do it better" at a higher price? As pointed out in other threads recently, cheaper is not normally better. If you are looking at a new business venture, your research should generate an awareness of what other businesses are charging and what kind of service that price includes. If you think you can go head to head and garner a market niche of WISPs as a WISPA member, then I think you should give it a whirl. As far as I know, Ron Johnson is not a paid WISPA member. If I were to choose a company as a wireless support center, I would definitely weigh WISPA membership and experience heavily when making my decision. Maybe I am reading Ron's post in a different light than you are but I didn't really see any strong attack on your post. He merely pointed out that he is in the business to do this and he is cheaper. That in no way means the other members of this list are going to flock to him for a solution. I'm sure I will draw criticism from some whichever side of the fence I take here. I think it is a good topic to discuss and for that reason, I will allow the thread to continue. I personally will find it interesting to know what it takes to run a call center. Respectfully, Rick Harnish President OnlyInternet Broadband & Wireless, Inc. 260-827-2482 Office 260-307-4000 Cell 260-918-4340 VoIP www.oibw.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Smith Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 8:52 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Ya know Ron, that was uncalled for. Wow, ripped apart on-list. Great atmosphere for getting some feedback on a business idea. Never again. Hey Harnish, how about that ? Argh. Ron Johnson wrote: >Guys > >We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or >wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our business to >know how to get the job done. > >Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer >service calls > >O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are talking >about. > >Ron Johnson >President >National Support Center Inc. >800-203-7961 > >-Original Message- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On >Behalf Of Mark Nash >Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM >To: WISPA General List >Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? > >Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 techs >allow them to get their costs down. If you have something specifically for >wisps that would be more valuable. > >But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of yours, I >would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of doing things so >you can be useful for my customers when they call. > >My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing this a >little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. > >GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their >managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their L1 & L2 >techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and made the base >monthly fee ($1 x # of subs). That gives you (1 minute x # of subs) of >'tech time' per month. Any overage would be about $.60 per minute for that >month. > >Not a bad deal. I didn't feel that the diversity of my system lent itself >well to a 3rd party tech support at the time, and since then everything I >have chosen to deploy has had a consideration given to 'Call Center Tech >Support'. Whether we do the tech support or not, it is worth it to spend >time and money to streamline tech support methods so we can hire support >personnel that are further down on the food chain. > >Mark >-Original Message- >From: Rick Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:04:12 >To:WISPA General List >Subject: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? > > >I have a customer that just installed a $100k phone system and is lookin >for other uses. > >Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support department >creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a &g
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Ya know Ron, that was uncalled for. Wow, ripped apart on-list. Great atmosphere for getting some feedback on a business idea. Never again. Hey Harnish, how about that ? Argh. Ron Johnson wrote: Guys We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our business to know how to get the job done. Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer service calls O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are talking about. Ron Johnson President National Support Center Inc. 800-203-7961 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Nash Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of yours, I would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of doing things so you can be useful for my customers when they call. My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing this a little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their L1 & L2 techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and made the base monthly fee ($1 x # of subs). That gives you (1 minute x # of subs) of 'tech time' per month. Any overage would be about $.60 per minute for that month. Not a bad deal. I didn't feel that the diversity of my system lent itself well to a 3rd party tech support at the time, and since then everything I have chosen to deploy has had a consideration given to 'Call Center Tech Support'. Whether we do the tech support or not, it is worth it to spend time and money to streamline tech support methods so we can hire support personnel that are further down on the food chain. Mark -Original Message- From: Rick Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:04:12 To:WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I have a customer that just installed a $100k phone system and is lookin for other uses. Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support department creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a couple of technical people down and start up a technical support call center and answering service, with WISPs and ISPs in mind... I've seen outrageous prices for this service, when lookin for my own business, and could probably beat a lot of pricing out there just by leveraging my sister company's purchase... Any input ? How much is too much when it comes to per call / per minute charges, etc Feedback would be great, and WISPA members would get discounts for using the service... R -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
RE: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Guys We have been support ISPs for over 10 years. Dialup, Cable, DSL, or wireless. Yes it can get complicated. But then again it is our business to know how to get the job done. Give me a call if we can help you with your Tech support and Customer service calls O BTW we price ours at a much better rate that these guys you are talking about. Ron Johnson President National Support Center Inc. 800-203-7961 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Nash Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2006 6:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of yours, I would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of doing things so you can be useful for my customers when they call. My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing this a little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their L1 & L2 techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and made the base monthly fee ($1 x # of subs). That gives you (1 minute x # of subs) of 'tech time' per month. Any overage would be about $.60 per minute for that month. Not a bad deal. I didn't feel that the diversity of my system lent itself well to a 3rd party tech support at the time, and since then everything I have chosen to deploy has had a consideration given to 'Call Center Tech Support'. Whether we do the tech support or not, it is worth it to spend time and money to streamline tech support methods so we can hire support personnel that are further down on the food chain. Mark -Original Message- From: Rick Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:04:12 To:WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I have a customer that just installed a $100k phone system and is lookin for other uses. Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support department creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a couple of technical people down and start up a technical support call center and answering service, with WISPs and ISPs in mind... I've seen outrageous prices for this service, when lookin for my own business, and could probably beat a lot of pricing out there just by leveraging my sister company's purchase... Any input ? How much is too much when it comes to per call / per minute charges, etc Feedback would be great, and WISPA members would get discounts for using the service... R -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
This sounds like it could have potential. I'm sure that most WISPs would like to take a vacation sometime :-) The main problem I see is how does an ISP give them enough info to be useful, while not letting people deep into his network? If this is just level 1 stuff, then network maps, ip addresses, routes and types of equipment would probably do. John >-Original Message- >From: Rick Smith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Saturday, April 8, 2006 10:13 PM >To: 'WISPA General List' >Subject: Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? > >tanks for the input...granted, diversity makes it tough. > >But, there's something common to them all, on a level 1 basis... > >when in doubt, reboot...check cables...check power...etc... > >I wouldn't do this blind, I'd ask for customer names, IP's, first ping, >second ping test, etc.. > >It would have to be a "generic" test at least on the first level. 2nd >level tech could >get a little more detailed, but you're right - 3 to 5 minutes and you >determine a >truck roll or not. > >I'm thinking of doing this to relieve the WISP from the B.S. daily grind >stuff - idiot users >and common troubleshooting - giving them something on a 2nd or 3rd level >reference >to work with instead of wasting their precious time. > >Something to contemplate I'm sure. > >Thanks > >R > > >David E. Smith wrote: > >>Rick Smith wrote: >> >> >> >>>Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support >>>department >>>creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a >>>couple of >>>technical people down and start up a technical support call center and >>>answering service, with WISPs and ISPs in mind... >>> >>> >> >>I'd feel sorry for the folks answering the phones, because they'd have to >>know about a squillion different wireless systems. >> >>"Hm. Okay, Mr. Sixpack. Before I can help you, just a few quick questions. >>First, is your ISP using Alvarion, Karlnet, Trango, Mikrotik, StarOS, or >>Waverider towers?" >> >>(And that's just the stuff in MY network. Now take that kind of diversity >>and multiply it by a couple hundred WISPs and your phone guys are gonna >>have headaches and a ten-foot stack of manuals on their desks.) >> >>Not to mention the fact that every WISP I've seen has different, and >>mostly-incompatible ways of doing things. I've seen networks that use DHCP >>for everything, RFC1918 overlay networks, static IPs, static IPs assigned >>through DHCP, places where the whole network is NATted behind someone's >>DSL line, and so on and so on. >> >>For some of those network setups, it would be darn near impossible to give >>someone not in the office/NOC the necessary access to even try to >>troubleshoot a problem. >> >>And honestly, at least in my office, most wireless issues are either >>solved in five minutes, or they require a service call. >> >>Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's a market for this, and I wish you all >>the best. I just suspect, in my usual pessimistic way, that it'd be a lot >>harder to do than you might think. >> >>David Smith >>MVN.net >> >> >-- >WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > >Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
tanks for the input...granted, diversity makes it tough. But, there's something common to them all, on a level 1 basis... when in doubt, reboot...check cables...check power...etc... I wouldn't do this blind, I'd ask for customer names, IP's, first ping, second ping test, etc.. It would have to be a "generic" test at least on the first level. 2nd level tech could get a little more detailed, but you're right - 3 to 5 minutes and you determine a truck roll or not. I'm thinking of doing this to relieve the WISP from the B.S. daily grind stuff - idiot users and common troubleshooting - giving them something on a 2nd or 3rd level reference to work with instead of wasting their precious time. Something to contemplate I'm sure. Thanks R David E. Smith wrote: Rick Smith wrote: Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support department creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a couple of technical people down and start up a technical support call center and answering service, with WISPs and ISPs in mind... I'd feel sorry for the folks answering the phones, because they'd have to know about a squillion different wireless systems. "Hm. Okay, Mr. Sixpack. Before I can help you, just a few quick questions. First, is your ISP using Alvarion, Karlnet, Trango, Mikrotik, StarOS, or Waverider towers?" (And that's just the stuff in MY network. Now take that kind of diversity and multiply it by a couple hundred WISPs and your phone guys are gonna have headaches and a ten-foot stack of manuals on their desks.) Not to mention the fact that every WISP I've seen has different, and mostly-incompatible ways of doing things. I've seen networks that use DHCP for everything, RFC1918 overlay networks, static IPs, static IPs assigned through DHCP, places where the whole network is NATted behind someone's DSL line, and so on and so on. For some of those network setups, it would be darn near impossible to give someone not in the office/NOC the necessary access to even try to troubleshoot a problem. And honestly, at least in my office, most wireless issues are either solved in five minutes, or they require a service call. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's a market for this, and I wish you all the best. I just suspect, in my usual pessimistic way, that it'd be a lot harder to do than you might think. David Smith MVN.net -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Google GTC tech support. They are reasonable. Level 1 and level 2 techs allow them to get their costs down. If you have something specifically for wisps that would be more valuable. But there is a lot involved in doing this on. As a new customer of yours, I would expect you to familiarize your techs with my way of doing things so you can be useful for my customers when they call. My business partner owns a call center and we have looked at doing this a little without much interest in taking the plunge to do it. GTC had a hefty startup fee (I think it was $5k) to have one of their managers get familiar with my system and develop training for their L1 & L2 techs. Then they took the number of subscribers we had and made the base monthly fee ($1 x # of subs). That gives you (1 minute x # of subs) of 'tech time' per month. Any overage would be about $.60 per minute for that month. Not a bad deal. I didn't feel that the diversity of my system lent itself well to a 3rd party tech support at the time, and since then everything I have chosen to deploy has had a consideration given to 'Call Center Tech Support'. Whether we do the tech support or not, it is worth it to spend time and money to streamline tech support methods so we can hire support personnel that are further down on the food chain. Mark -Original Message- From: Rick Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:04:12 To:WISPA General List Subject: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ? I have a customer that just installed a $100k phone system and is lookin for other uses. Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support department creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a couple of technical people down and start up a technical support call center and answering service, with WISPs and ISPs in mind... I've seen outrageous prices for this service, when lookin for my own business, and could probably beat a lot of pricing out there just by leveraging my sister company's purchase... Any input ? How much is too much when it comes to per call / per minute charges, etc Feedback would be great, and WISPA members would get discounts for using the service... R -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
Re: [WISPA] Tech Support Call Center Interest ?
Rick Smith wrote: > Having experience in both call center mangement and tech support > department > creation / operations and management, I've got half a mind to sit a > couple of > technical people down and start up a technical support call center and > answering service, with WISPs and ISPs in mind... I'd feel sorry for the folks answering the phones, because they'd have to know about a squillion different wireless systems. "Hm. Okay, Mr. Sixpack. Before I can help you, just a few quick questions. First, is your ISP using Alvarion, Karlnet, Trango, Mikrotik, StarOS, or Waverider towers?" (And that's just the stuff in MY network. Now take that kind of diversity and multiply it by a couple hundred WISPs and your phone guys are gonna have headaches and a ten-foot stack of manuals on their desks.) Not to mention the fact that every WISP I've seen has different, and mostly-incompatible ways of doing things. I've seen networks that use DHCP for everything, RFC1918 overlay networks, static IPs, static IPs assigned through DHCP, places where the whole network is NATted behind someone's DSL line, and so on and so on. For some of those network setups, it would be darn near impossible to give someone not in the office/NOC the necessary access to even try to troubleshoot a problem. And honestly, at least in my office, most wireless issues are either solved in five minutes, or they require a service call. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's a market for this, and I wish you all the best. I just suspect, in my usual pessimistic way, that it'd be a lot harder to do than you might think. David Smith MVN.net -- WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
