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In many relationships, there comes a time when something feels amiss — you can’t identify exactly what, but you get that gnawing feeling in your gut that tells you something is off. Often times, it gets to the point where you just know it’s not right, but then it becomes this internal tug of war where you may find yourself warring between wanting to not rock the boat and running away from the situation. This same situation can be said about a business owner’s relationship with their IT service provider and the concerns they have about the service they receive
In fact, nearly 50% of 132 surveyed IT service provider enterprise customers said they are not satisfied with the service they receive, 25% of whom said they are “highly unsatisfied,” according to a global survey by Everest Group. As a client, your law firm should be able to expect quality service from your IT Service Provider.
Before allowing yourself to reach a point that you’ll accept IT services from just anyone, or from someone who is “not as bad” as the last service provider, here are seven signs you can use to determine whether your firm needs a new IT Service Provider (and what you should expect from a good provider):
- “Timeliness” means your IT guy responds to your issues within a day or two — While this may be an improvement over the month or so it previously took for them to respond, it’s still not the timely response an effective, successful and growing law firm needs. At FPA, we respond to helpdesk requests within 15 minutes.
- Being on time means your “computer guy” shows up sometime during the week — This is too common than our industry would like to admit. Response and punctuality is an outgrowth of our Core Value "Take Care of the Client". As a representative of FPA, we show up on time for our appointments. If, for some reason, a team member is running late, we communicate this with our clients ahead of time. It’s about showing respect for you and your time and being professional.
- Being responsive means they finally get back to you after your fifth call — FPA proactively runs and monitors your network to ensure that there aren’t any issues brewing. As such, we will contact you before you even know there is an issue. This is at the center of our concept of “worry-free IT.”
- Documentation is a foreign language (and only after you’ve asked for them) — While receiving handwritten notes from a friend or loved one has meaning, it's NOT how you effectively run a network. And frankly, it’s unprofessional. Everything we do at FPA is documented. In fact, it’s one of our core values - "Document and Standardize"! And because of our dedication to service, everything we document for our clients is available to them through our proprietary Client WebPortal.
- They think teamwork means having more than one guy (although too often you hear “Sorry, Frank’s the one who knows your system - and he's not here right now”) — At FPA, we truly embody the word “team.” Because of our adherence to running our systems and processes, everyone at FPA knows your network because everything is well documented. This means anyone at FPA can jump in at any time and not miss a beat. Unlike with other service providers, you don’t have to worry about sitting and explaining a situation over and over again as you get passed from person to person.
- Security means everyone has the admin password, so “what’s the problem?” — Our Network Operations Center (NOC) team ensures all security access points are locked down and monitored proactively. With FPA, there’s no such thing as saying that your sensitive information is “secure, but….”
- And last, but not least: The only time you hear from your computer guys proactively is when they want to sell you something — This comes back to having clients vs. customers. At FPA, we believe in investing in our long-term relationships with our clients. We’re not out to “sell” anything; instead, we view our role in the relationship is as the trusted advisor providing solutions and options to our clients, partnering with them in their decision-making processes.
Are you looking for a new IT Service Provider that understands your business and enables you to focus your attention where it matters most? We're here to help you do just that. Simply put, FPA delivers “IT The Way It’s Supposed to Be.” Contact us today to discover IT services the way your law firm needs.
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