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Got Some Computer Glitches?
You Can Rent Your Own Tech
By JANE SPENCER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
It's a typical high-tech nightmare: Your hard-drive crashes,
your Internet service won't connect, your screen flashes "fatal
error."
As
companies from Hewlett-Packard
to Gateway cut their tech-support
staff to hold down costs, a
number of small start-up companies are scrambling to fill
the void. With names like
Juvio and SupportFreaks,
these companies advertise round-the-clock access by phone
or e-mail to a certified tech worker, who can talk you through
a computer meltdown (a virus devouring your hard drive) or
answer basic questions (that's a CD drive, not an ejectable
drink holder).
Some of the companies -- still too new to have an established
track record -- also offer to answer questions on dozens of
common software programs, from TurboTax to Real Players. And
while a computer maker normally won't touch anything that
doesn't have its brand name on it, the new companies offer
help with the full constellation of gadgets that plug into
a typical home PC, from sound cards to hand-helds to MP3 players.
A few of the new services, including Ask Dr. Tech and LiveRepair,
offer annual memberships for 24-hour support. Costs range
between $89 to $240. Others, like Tech24 and Support Freaks,
charge on a per-incident basis, with prices starting at $15
per call.
The emerging industry feeds on the mounting desperation of
consumers seeking help from PC vendors. Not only are some
manufacturers rolling back their tech support, but many are
also establishing new fees for customer-service calls. After
installation, Microsoft
now charges $35 per incident on some software once it has
resolved two problems free of charge. Handspring
and Palm have introduced
$20 to $25 fees for some tech-support calls after the first
90 days, and Yahoo recently
introduced $1.99-per-minute help calls.
Home-computer systems are also growing more complex, as people
do everything from adding digital video-editing software to
using their PCs as stereos. When consumers seek help with
glitches, many find themselves bounced back and forth between
vendors, each blaming the other for bugs or responsibility.
Two-Month Ordeal
When Linda Schultz of Cambridge, Minn., couldn't open
Microsoft Word on her new $1,400 Dell PC, she called Dell's
tech-support line. After being on hold 45 minutes, she says,
a Dell Computer agent
told her it was AOL's fault. After another hold, AOL told
her it was Dell's fault.
So began a two-month ordeal, as Ms. Schultz tried to get her
computer running. Each of her roughly 15 calls to Dell customer
service involved a 30- to 45-minute wait, she says. Along
the way, she threw the phone, threw a mop and stabbed a chair
with a fork: "I aged 10 years," she says. Dell says it is
making changes to improve caller "hold times," which have
shrunk in recent months. AOL says roughly half of incoming
customer-service calls are unrelated to its products and services,
but it nonetheless tries to help.
The new services say they can avoid some of the confusion.
"We'll support your Gateway talking to your Compaq talking
to your scanner talking to your digital camera," says Stan
Sams, who oversees tech support at Juvio,
which launched in April. Both Ask Dr. Tech and Juvio
support peripheral devices, like Palm Pilots and digital cameras.
Diagnostic Tools
Some companies, like Tech24 and LiveRepair.com, use special
diagnostic tools that let technicians enter your computer
remotely to diagnose glitches. At the start of your first
session, the companies prompt you to download and install
a simple piece of software. They then connect with it to scour
your computer for system information. With your permission,
they can even take control of your mouse and keyboard, and
you can watch their movements as they share your screen and
open files and folders to fix problems.
Customer experience isn't entirely seamless from these small,
often shoestring operations. The 800 technicians at Support
Freaks all work remotely, meaning you may have to wait on
the line as the operator tracks down an on-call tech worker
to help you. (When we called, the answerer chatted with us
for four minutes about his honeymoon in Maine.) Juvio
has a small number of incoming phone lines. When we called,
we got an answer from a person on the first ring, but then
he had to call us back from another line to free up those
for incoming calls.
Most of the newer companies neglect one segment of computer
user: Mac fans. Juvio,
for one, does offer services for Macs, but its Mac technician
is available only during certain hours.
Also some of the new companies don't offer a phone option;
both Tech24 and LiveRepair.com use remote diagnostic technology.
The online format can be frustrating for explaining complex
problems -- and of course tough luck if your Internet service
is down.
Cutting Phone Support
But the major
tech companies are also cutting phone support, as they try
to address customer questions online. Many manufacturers now
offer numerous self-help tools, including searchable libraries
and lists of frequently asked questions, sometimes abbreviated
as FAQs. Cost savings drive the online push: A typical customer
call costs about $19, factoring in such things as labor and
overhead, while a problem resolved online costs just 78 cents,
according to Gartner Research.
Some people have gotten quick fixes from the new companies.
In Quebec, 81-year-old Charles Moreau had already used up
his free calls to Microsoft when his joystick wouldn't work
for the company's Flight Simulator II. Following a quick online
chat session with Tech24, he was back flying the virtual skies.
Write to Jane
Spencer at jane.spencer@wsj.com
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