Archive for March, 2011
Monday, March 28th, 2011
Hey Everybody in Business Computer Repair Land,
Had a fun experience this morning that really showcases the power of our business services software. At 8:30 AM, I got pinged by our software that a user at one of our businesses had a computer that was really chugging along, and going very slowly. The following is a timeline of events -
8:31 AM
I called him, “Hey, this is Zac with IT Assurance, I hear that your computer is running very slowly.”
He said, “How did you know? Did somebody call you?”
No, our software detected it and alerted us, are you having some problems?”
“Well, yes, actually, it is a lot slower than usual.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, can I log in and take a look?”
“sure!”
8:35 AM
I remotely logged into the users system, and began to troubleshoot. It became rapidly clear that the user had a corrupt copy of Microsoft Office.
8:40 AM
I began to repair Microsoft Office, and do a few other things to “tidy up” and speed the users computer.
9:05 AM
I called the user, computer all set, and told him to call back if he had any other problems.
A few hours later, I called the user again, and confirmed the system was running great!
So with our unique active management approach, a user with a slow system had his problem addressed not 35 minutes from when he *called*, but 35 minutes from when the problem *started.* We find that most users will put up with issues like slow computers for far too long before they contact us, so our active approach means people are down for minutes or hours instead of days and weeks before issues get addressed.
Thanks everybody,
-Zac
IT Assurance Business Support Service
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
Hey Everybody in Happy Hamster Computers World!
I have exciting news today. As anybody who has called or come into our store since we opened knows, I, Zac Cramer, the writer of this blog and owner of Happy Hamster, greet each and almost every one of you. In the past, when the company saw 5 or 50 people in a month, I could handle all of the up front customer service and every other ownership responsibility (ordering parts, returning parts, customer service, filling out various forms, hiring, employee issues, etc). Unfortunately, now that we see up to 300 people a month, and service over 100 local Portland businesses, I need to take a step back from the front to take care of the business.
Luckily, I have one of the most capable of impressive young men I’ve ever employed ready to step up and take over the day to day challenge of running our store. Kyle has worked for Happy Hamster since we opened the retail store over 2 years ago and his beaming blond blue eyed gaze has greeted many of you in that time. Rest assured that I will still be watching from behind the scenes, and probably coming up to say hi to you when I have a chance, but truthfully I think Kyle will do be a better job than I have recently. As we’ve gotten so much busier, my ability to focus on customers has waned in the face of other responsibilities, and I know Kyle will revitalize our 100% focus on customers over computers.
So come on in and say hi! Haze him a little bit, and wave to me when you get a chance, I will miss serving all of you on a day to day basis.
Thanks,
-Zac
Owner
Happy Hamster Portland Computer Repair
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
Awhile ago, I posted about how we like to be open on Sunday’s to take care of those emergencies that can’t wait. However, over the past two years we have seen our average daily traffic increase 50%, and our average Sunday traffic decrease 200% . We would like to remain open on Sundays, but at a rate of roughly 1 customer every two weeks, we can’t sustain it. We will still be available by phone on Sunday for those things that really can’t wait, but the store will now officially be closed. Our hours are now 9 – 6 Monday – Saturday.
Thanks everybody!
-Zac
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
Hey Everybody Who Reads This Blog!
So a month ago, I posted a blog about how to get what you want as a customer. In the post, I discussed the secrets to always getting what you want in a customer service situation. Some of the keys included being reasonable, being timely, and gathering facts. Today, I had a true success story regarding that very topic.
A customer dropped off her computer a few days ago, and I quoted her the price on a used laptop part. She asked me specifically at the time if I felt like she could get a cheaper price for the part elsewhere, and I told her no, that I felt like we had a good price on the item.
The customer sent me a polite email the next day saying that she had called around and found the part cheaper at another store, and would I price match the other computer repair shop? I called the other shop, found that indeed they did have the price at a lower amount than I would charge, and offered her the match. The customer saved $20 on her bill, and everybody felt good about it.
It really can be that simple, being reasonable, timely, and accurate gets you many things in life, and in this case it got our customer $20!
Thanks everybody,
-Zac
