There is nothing wrong with a client as needy as her as long as you are charging her for all the support. If she expects it for free then kick her to the curb. Otherwise charge her to make her system as easy to use as a Bose 1-2-3 all in one. Charge them every time you have to go reset settings that he messes up. Clients like this can be a goldmine if they are willing to pay.

yup, we had to lock settings eventually with clients that had people play with settings. password protection was a nice feature on the 4d.

once you send out official letters or a email link to her with your new phone support terms her boy toy will not be touching setting anymore.

it's all about how it's worded, and how much you want for time. if you can record convos it's good to keep on hand, and even explain a short terms of service thing before you start per call, mind you a dvd player probably can't kill it's self but it's always good to have some kind of protection.

I signed up as a dealer with ihiji and I'm testing their remote monitoring system on my own network now. Pretty cool stuff but not for every customer. I still think that they need to get the monthly fees per device a lot lower. The low end customers just won't pay for that level of service.

But, more importantly, they have helped me define and solidify my warranty plan for labor, equipment, service calls etc. We now give all customers the option to opt into a service plan. At the same time, we clearly state our labor rates for service calls, truck rolls, etc. when the initial warranty period ends.

I would not do that.
I rather clients drop me and I've never had to fire a client. But as most that know me will tell you, I have no problem being direct and firm.
I charge $85/hr. If I wanted to charge for after hours support, it would probably be $150/hr.
If she was my client, I would email, fax or SNAIL mail her my new support terms.
The first time I received a call from her, I would ask if she received and agreed with my new terms. If she doesn't agree then that would be that.
If she has not received the agreement, the support part of the call would not start until I either emailed or faxed the agreement on the spot and waited for her to read it, or I would read it over the phone and wait for her to agree to it.

Credit card would be taken at the beginning of a phone call if I didn't trust the client to pay. Otherwise, a bill could be sent during next business day.

Any unpaid/outstanding invoices (and related late fees) have to be paid before current support issues is addressed.

Mario,

I like that approach better. She lives in a community in which I have many clients. People talk to each other. By charging her for my time, I can make peace with her as a client and make $$ for the business.

Best way to handle this is to take all her remotes with you. Sell her a programmable remote that has a start up macro titled "DVD" that jumps to a DVD menu page with just these commands:

Play
Pause
Stop
FFWD
REW
Skip Fwd
Skip Back

She already has an MX-780. Programmed RF. Simple DVD button to turn on system (avr, blu ray, TV), Red system button for all off.

She called yesterday because she couldn't figure out how to load the DVD in a Sony blu ray player. Called 15 minutes later and asked for me to remove all the equipment. "It's too complicated."

Previously, I left notes for her describing: press DVD, press eject button on remote screen ... well, she couldn't understand my notes after using this remote to watch cable for (3) years ...

Like I said, I have no other clients like this

we had a client like that once, after so many calls, and him asking us to pull everything, we finally did, old man, touch screen remote everything setup easy. while i was there he could do everything, once i leave he can't do it...

we pulled everything, he was not mad, he paid us. we left. never heard from him again, he just went back to his ota antenna, turn tv on and flip channels lol.

I would do it in a heartbeat, but, she has all of her equipment behind cabinet doors. At the minimum we will need an ir sensor to replace rf system. I'm certain that will increase phone calls by 50% and is heading in the wrong direction.

Your description of your client matches perfectly. She needs someone to demonstrate the system. I think it's a memory issue as well.

This will be the direction I'm heading with my biz. Panamax has products as well. Do you have a cost per call fee established?

Be careful with flat fee based service.
If it's high enough, you'll be fine on your end, but may get resentment from clients that just need that button pressed.
Quickbooks, for example, charges between $59.95 and $200 depending on complexity of system SUPPORT PLANS

I personally like the per minute or fraction of hour method, as described here: [Link: remotecentral.com]

Ya, ya, ya, big companies charge monthly so their service support is not "free".

Let see, $100 per month and get free support. $50k up front and pay for EVERYTHING. Thats their argument. A weak one.

Doesnt matter. if i like them, i dont charge. if i dont like them or they are a PITA, then they can get billed.

Tucker, you sound angry or upset. Does it have something to do with NFL?

Not easy to deal with technically challenged clients.

Regardless of how "easy" we think we have made a system work, it can still be confusing to some.

The DVD example above is a good one.
We try to make things neat and tidy buy putting things into racks or cupboards, and setting up remotes to do just about everything, and there still can be issues.

Equipment is all black, so seeing buttons to open / close can be hard, and forgetting that there is a button on the remote isn't unheard of if the client doesn't use the player often.
In fact that is one of the biggest issues we face as CI's, we install all this gear for people and in the end have no idea what actually gets used and how often.
Even devices that may get used daily, may not have all it's features used.
I was recently at an older clients home and he asked about recording on his cable box. (this system was installed about 4 years ago).
He had no idea how to do it, was not even aware that the standard symbols for play, stop, record etc on his remote had anything to do with using the cable box.
Now, I know we showed him when the system was installed, and he admitted we probably did. But, it was a feature he never used right away, so he forgot about it.
Because we do such a great job of making things easy to use, clients don't take ownership of their equipment. They don't read a manual, they don't try things.
How many clients have an Apple TV in their system and use it for anything more than renting movies / TV shows, their music and Netflix? Do they not wonder what is behind all those other icons on the screen?
Sorry, getting a bit off topic there.
Service contracts are all we have to protect us from working for free after the sale.
You need to figure out what works for your business model and clients.
After the system is installed you could offer up to "X" free site visits. You should also make sure you spell out how you deal with warranty work, as I have yet to hear of anyone getting paid from a manufacture to deal with their products when defective. (yes there are some that at least jump and help you get things back up and running quickly). Then offer your service contract, again spelled out so they know what to expect from you when they call.
One idea is to offer a contract that includes 1 or 2 site visits per year (great for vacation homes, you come in before they arrive and again when they shut it down for the season). These visits enable you to do a full system check up. This way you will have seen and confirmed everything in their systems are working as they should, and spot any issues as the system ages. You can update firmware / software and it also gives you the opportunity to discuss upgrades / new tech.
Along with this, would be to give clients that opt in for the service contract priority service or a slightly discounted rate for any other issues that could arise during the normal course of use.