When choosing something as important as hardware support, you need to make sure the package you’re offered includes, or offers the option to buy as an extra, the following:
1. Insurance:
Even though technology has greatly improved over the years and as a result, computer hardware tends to be a lot more reliable, it’s still important to make sure you are covered in the event of something going wrong. So many businesses and individuals now rely on their computer systems that they can be left in a very uncompromising position should something fail.
This is why it is important to ensure, when choosing your hardware support package, that you are covered in the event of something failing. The better support packages will include repair or replacement items and components asap, so that the amount of downtime you have to experience is greatly reduced. When choosing your package, do not be afraid to push for additional support, i.e. quicker response/ replacement time. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
2. Pre-emptive Monitoring:
As with most things in life, prevention is better than cure. When choosing your support package you need to make sure that you ask about the preventative measures taken to ensure hardware problems are fixed as soon as possible or even better, that any potential problems are prevented before they affect you.
The support that you receive alongside your hardware, should give you the heads up as soon as anything slightly wrong is detected, which should hopefully give you time to fix the initial route of the problem before it becomes an even bigger issue.
3. Telephone Servicing:
Whether you are running a business, or need your computer and hardware for personal reasons, it’s important that downtime is kept to a minimum. One of the easiest and quickest ways to report a fault to your hardware is via the telephone, so you need to make sure this is a service offered in your support package.
Many hardware support services will offer you a phone service, where you will speak to an engineer who will attempt to solve the problem remotely. In the event they are not able to solve the problem, you need to make sure they are committed to sending out an engineer to you asap.
4. Same Day Support Service:
So many people will have experienced frustrating downtime whilst they are forced to wait a week or two for an engineer to be sent out to them, upon reporting a fault to their hardware. This is just not good enough. Before you pick your hardware support, you need to make sure that you have a written agreement stating that, in the event of a fault developing with your hardware, a support engineer will be available to you on the same day via the telephone or onsite should you require it.
5. Return to Supplier Service:
When choosing your support package, you also need to be thinking about the less serious hardware repairs you might need. For instance if you have bought something, such as a printer or keyboard and something breaks or a fault develops, then you can, more often than not, cope without it whilst it’s being repaired.
It’s therefore a good idea to make sure that a return to supplier option is included in your computer hardware support package. This means you can return your item of hardware to wherever you bought it from, or the manufacturer, and it will either be repaired for you, or a replacement will be sent out to you. Some packages will offer to pay your postage costs, whilst others will expect you to pay postage whilst they cover any repair/ replacement costs. Be sure to clarify this before settling any agreement.
