If I had let it out, I think they would have heard my scream of frustration all the way in Brisbane.
Something was wrong with the computers in my Carrum Downs business…again.
I’m a pretty even-tempered person, but that day just got the best of me.
Here’s what happened.
I run an accounting firm, and we were nearing the end of tax season.
What does that mean?
That’s right; we were up to our necks in tax filings for Carrum Downs residents and businesses.
Then it happened.
My desk monitor started blinking to black.
At first, I didn’t think much of it. “After all,” I figured. “It has to be a loose cable or something simple.”
We weren’t that fortunate.
Halfway through the day, the computer system slowed to a slow crawl.
With a quick check around the office, I realised that this wasn’t a simple computer problem. – Something had to be wrong with our network.
I wish it had been simply a problem with my computer. If it had been, I’d have tossed the laptop into the trash, picked up another one and worked from my backups in the cloud.
But my computer wasn’t the problem.
So, no problem, right?
We’re a top accounting firm. We care for the books of law, construction, real estate, and finance companies across the Carrum Downs area, so of course, we have an IT support break/fix contractor on retainer.
I picked up my mobile and gave him a call.
Well, I tried anyway.
What did I get? – An answering machine.
So, I left a message and for good measure, clicked away on my mobile’s keypad until I had sent the break/fix IT contractor an email as well.
Then I waited…
I can’t remember how long it was, but I remember that we waited for far too long.
My staff was somewhere between ecstatic that they had an extended break and frustrated that they couldn’t get their work done. They, of course, knew that as long as the network was as slow as someone walking through a meter-deep mud pit, their workload was just piling up into the coming days. The work had to be done, regardless of how long this snail-paced network was down.
I began to hear it in their voices – the irritation directed at our computer system and our current IT repair team.
I knew that if I didn’t find a solution to our situation quickly, their frustration would be soon focused in my direction.
The longer I waited for a return call or email, the more the question rolled around in my head…
“Where can I find reliable IT services in Carrum Downs?”
Finally, after hours of waiting for our current IT guy to show up – or even to call back – I gave up, pulled up the browser on my smartphone, and searched for “reliable IT support in Carrum Downs.”
The first few results were the expected AdWords advertisements and computer repair places that only did work on residential computers and tablets.
I was starting to get desperate.
But a little down the page I found an IT support company’s article on leveraging Office 365 for businesses in Carrum Downs.
“These people,” I thought, “are worth giving a call.”
I picked up the phone and dialed 1300 739 335 – the number for Steadfast Solutions.
A young lady politely answered the phone, and I hastily explained our situation. She promptly transferred me to one of their technicians who asked a series of questions and explained how they worked. Before the end of the conversation, the technician had remotely assessed our issue as best he could by remote-controlling my work computer and had determined that an on-site visit was needed.
Two IT support technicians showed up an hour later and went to work.
From that moment, I determined that I’d convince the partners to get out of our contract with the break/fix, retainer-based computer repair person and hire the Steadfast Solutions team.
It took a while for the Steadfast Solutions team to get us up and running at full speed again. I didn’t expect miracles. I just wanted someone that was reliable. Someone that would answer my calls and show up when I needed them.
I found what I was looking for in Steadfast Solutions.
In the end, we needed a new server. It was beyond it’s expected lifespan, but our previous IT “expert” hadn’t told us that. His lack of professionalism cost us thousands of dollars in lost productivity that afternoon. The good news is, we’ve been with Steadfast Solutions now for a few years, and we would never go back to a break/fix computer repair contractor.
Why?
Because Steadfast Solutions provides all the IT support our Carrum Downs business needs. They have been professional, responsive, and reliable all along the way. Their managed services option gives us complete IT care for a monthly fee that we can easily budget, and their help desk provides our employees with fast answers to their tech questions. We’re very pleased.
What else does the Steadfast Solutions Staff do for us?
- Business Continuity – ensuring the company will survive a natural or manmade disaster
- IT Security – keeping the company and our client’s data safe from online criminals
- VCIO Solutions – providing high-level IT consultation for our business operations and growth
- Cloud Services – enabling us to leverage the power, flexibility, and mobility of the cloud to compete in a global marketplace
I’m sure there are a dozen other things the Steadfast Solution team does behind the scenes to help us out. What I know for sure is that since we brought them on, we haven’t had another computer problem that has lost us productivity or cost us money.
Check it out for yourself. Read HERE how pro-growth IT strategies from Steadfast Solutions can help your Carrum Downs business move forward.