{"id":557,"date":"2024-07-01T16:31:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T21:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmitsolutions.com\/plymouth-mn-1102\/?p=557"},"modified":"2024-07-01T16:31:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T21:31:01","slug":"five-reasons-why-you-should-quit-your-it-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmitsolutions.com\/plymouth-mn-1102\/blog\/five-reasons-why-you-should-quit-your-it-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Reasons Why You Should QUIT Your IT Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"(…but not, of course, if they’re already CMIT Solutions! \ud83d\ude0a)<\/em><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s understand the answer to this question: What should your relationship be with your IT company?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Or perhaps the better question is:\u00a0What would you\u00a0like<\/em>\u00a0it to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are things that should go without saying (yet somehow they never do).\u00a0 Yes, your IT company should do what they said they would do.\u00a0 They should not surprise you with extra charges.\u00a0 They should answer the phone or at least get back to you in a reasonable amount of time.\u00a0 (Sadly, I hear that this is all-to-often not the case.)\u00a0 But, in your perfect world of a life free of technological concerns (unless they\u2019re part of your business), what does your relationship with your IT company look like?<\/p>\n

Below are five questions you should be asking and answering (honestly) of yourself and the relationship you have with your IT company.\u00a0 And if the answers make you feel at all uncomfortable, well, then perhaps it\u2019s time for you and your business to look for a better alternative.<\/p>\n

1. Are they offering you personalized service?<\/h2>\n

When talking with new (or soon-to-be new) customers, time and time again I have been hearing this refrain:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just don\u2019t know what our IT company is actually doing!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Usually, it\u2019s followed with something about how, once upon a time, they felt like they cared and were addressing their needs directly.\u00a0 But they haven\u2019t heard from them in some time.\u00a0 One customer even told me that they knew they were still paying for management of their office workstations, but that was arranged many years ago, and \u201cthose original computers aren\u2019t even here anymore!\u201d<\/p>\n

Personalized<\/strong> service means you and me.\u00a0 Yes, my team, too\u2026but you\u2019ll get to know ME. Kevin. Resident of Plymouth, Minnesota, who grew up in New Hope, Minnesota, went to the U of M, has been married for 40 years this September (to Nancy) and has 4 grown children.\u00a0 And I want to know you and your hopes and dreams for your company, because I can\u2019t provide you the service you deserve unless we engage; and engage regularly<\/em>.\u00a0 We can set up and stick to a schedule of regular review meetings.\u00a0 We want you to drive the agenda, but we must address \u201cwhat\u2019s working\u201d, \u201cwhat needs to be improved\u201d, and at least keep and update a running list of priorities.\u00a0 And we can only address what you need most if we keep our relationship consistent and relevant.<\/p>\n

2. Are they addressing your areas of concern?<\/h2>\n

Related to the last area, a personal relationship will allow your IT provider to better focus on your most pressing concerns.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t know you, then how can they know what you need or where your concerns are?\u00a0 And if they do know them (or if you\u2019ve had to remind them via e-mails or phone calls), are they actively responding with actions and results?\u00a0 And are they proactively and regularly reaching out to learn more.<\/p>\n

3. Do they respond to issues quickly?<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re paying for support, you should get support. (Insert big\u00a0\u201cDUH!\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0here.)\u00a0 If you\u2019re paying for a certain response time and a resolution to your problems in a reasonable amount of time, then that\u2019s what you should demand.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019d also claim that they should have methods and means of knowing about certain problems and issues (slow servers, down networks, full storage, security events, etc.) even before you do.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow quickly can you fix this problem?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How about yesterday?<\/p>\n

4. Are they available 24\/7\/365?<\/h2>\n

Look\u2026everyone needs to sleep now and then.\u00a0 Even I really want to only answer my phone during reasonable business hours.\u00a0 But some businesses never sleep.\u00a0 If your business is one of them, then you should ask these additional questions:<\/p>\n