Hi,

Are there any guidelines as to what should be offered in a maintenance contract, what are typical call-out times and what exactly would be covered i.e. what if the client accidently presses a couple of wrong buttons or changes a setting as opposed to something actually going wrong with the system.

Is a standard contract generally offered or are different levels of maintenance contract more standard practice?

Obviously what is covered will greatly depend on the system - multiroom, home theatre etc, also should the cost of the components affect the cost of maintenance contract as they may require more specialist knowledge to correct.

I would appreciate any help,

Thanks,

Chris.

The maintenence pricing should be higher for higher priced jobs, but sometimes fully automated jobs are easier to troubleshoot than lower budget systems where there may have been compromises.

Systems that were tied together with non-standard control or with products that you may not have used if it were not for the budget constraint are often harder to troubleshoot and dial in.
Plus, the answers to any questions that arise require deeper investigation because the tech support on lower end products is not as knowledgeable.

Tech support:"You want to do what??.. with what???... why would you want to do that??

Anyway, the systems that were designed from the ground up are often easier to fix, if for no other reason than the people you call for help when you need it know what you are trying to do.

If there is a theater with a projo, an easy way to bring up the maintenence issue is to discuss maintenence visits for the r&r of the bulbs.

If the client initially balks at the concept of a contract for maintenence, outline what is and is NOT covered by manufacturer warranty and your company's warranty of the system.
In addition to this, outline your policy for ala carte service calls.

I use a set figure for service calls, similar to electricians and other trades, with the call price including the first half hour.

Since many of the larger clients are like extended family by the completion of the project, I usually do not charge beyond the service call even if the call takes a couple hours.
I just need the clients to know that bizarre, nuisance calls aren't free and that I am still trying to grow a business and profit from what I do.

I think maintenence pricing should be whatever the market will bear, and perhaps partially of fully comped if additional project referrals have come your way from the project.

If a client knows that they are helping a small businessman build a successful company, and ensuring that he will be there to maintain his project, he is likely to advocate your services.

This message was edited by 2nd rick on 02/13/05 16:34 ET.

Thanks 2nd Rick,

Thats given me some ideas.

Chris.