4. Conclusions

So, what have I learned about tech support from just the two experiences presented here? To summarize, your time is valuable. Always go for the best balance between cost and the demands that are or might be made on your time.

By not buying from a Sony authorized dealer, I ran the risk of having to, at best, spend my time and, at worst, spend my money if that laptop didn't work on delivery or after. I was lucky that someone at I Buy Digital heard about my initially negative experience and took the time to explain to Sony that it indeed did have a contractual responsibility to repair or replace broken products purchased from a so called unauthorized dealer. I'm a lot more careful about where I buy now. But, I still look for the best buy among authorized dealers and I'll consider an unauthorized dealer if I feel comfortable that the manufacturer will fix any problems and that the dealer doesn't just repackage and resell broken stuff.

In my books on Exchange Server I strongly recommend that busy IT staff not waste their time searching for a solution to a problem. If you can't find the answer in 10 minutes, whatever method you use, call up Microsoft's IT support group and cough up that $245. I've had situations where the Windows and Exchange support groups stayed with me for hours to get a problem resolved for me or for one of my consulting clients. But, after seeing what they did and factoring in the time it might have taken me to find the solution, if I ever did, paying Microsoft half my normal hourly consulting fee and spending billed time watching them do most of the fix sure makes sense to me. IT staff should look at things the same way. The goal is to get the system back up and running, not to play costly games trying to prove what superior problem solvers they are.

And, please take Web-based help sites with a grain of salt, even the one's you pay for, such as Experts Exchange. Most problems with complex software have issues that the average computer specialist hasn't dealt with. I know enough about computing and networking to see through most of the "help" offered on these sites.

Now, I await your input. Tell me about your good and bad tech support experiences.

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