Best of the ISP-Lists

Evaluating a Free Bundled Call Center

Members of the ISP-Tech list discuss using the outsourced tech support bundled for free by virtual ISP providers. Many argue, not surprisingly, that you get what you pay for.

[May 25, 2001]

On the ISP-Outsourcing list in May, AG inquired,

"Is it better to use the tech support options offered with a turnkey VISP solution, or is it better to outsource the tech support piece to a dedicated tech support call center?"

A number of respondents came out in support of keeping the worlds separate:

[RB warned] "You get what you pay for! VISPs look to offer you a great service bundle at the lowest price; by juicing the vendor as low as they can go, they sacrifice quality. It is my recommendation that you outsource on your own. There are several good outsourcers out there that have low monthly minimums. Expect anywhere from $3-5K per month: nothing good is free. If this can't fit your business model, then reconsider your business."

[RO agreed] "Consider splitting the tech support from the package. Most VISP organizations make their money on the backbone; the tech support is a loss center for them, but one that they think that they must provide."

[RL noted] "Separating the tech support from VISP services makes sense for the simple reason of economies of scale. The skills and assets to do tech support are not directly related to the skills and assets of VISP service. Tech support is really telecom capability, while VISP is Internet capability."

Others noted that there can be advantages to keeping everything integrated:

[DB offered] "Buying bundled services is not necessarily a bad thing. VISPs that buy outsourced help desk services can in most cases negotiate lower rates than an individual ISP can. This model will continue to work as long as the VISP offers SLAs across all services, including the outsourced help desk. Only the best VISPs actually extend the SLA to include all services offered in a bundle."

[RS added] "We are a VISP providing a turnkey solution that includes our own state of the art call center with performance as good as anyone in the industry. However, the majority of other VISPs do outsource the call center services. In the case of a company like ours, since the VISP is handling your billing, email, personal user pages, network services, etc., there is a lot of synergy with the call center. The tech support people can handle new signups, answer questions, and add notes about customers very easily into your accounting system. If you do outsource tech support, find out how they integrate with your billing system."

JY observed that the most important thing to remember is to shop around:

"If you're getting your support from your bandwidth provider, you may be getting a cookie-cutter solution that is not a good fit for you. However, this is not to say that some wholesale companies won't negotiate support terms separately. Try before you buy.

You should always to do some blind call testing to see if the metrics (in-queue time, talk time, abandonment rates, etc.) are what they say they are, and quiz the representatives to see if they know their stuff.

The bottom line? Make sure you're able to negotiate an SLA for support. Insist on making some blind test calls. Compare prices, but make sure you're comparing apples to apples. You want to find the right balance between quality services and affordable rates.

Lastly, always have a backup plan: make sure that you can get out of the contract if the service is poor, and keep the names of 2-3 companies handy so you can switch quickly if you need to."

— End

 

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