Importance Of Having An Onsite Engineer Visit Each Month

By Carl White

Whilst The Internet Group’s award-winning remote support is second to none, there are times when you can’t beat a physical presence on site.

With the modern support tools the vast majority of support issues can be tackled more quickly and with less customer disruption via remote support. However there are times when an onsite engineer can prove invaluable.

• Simple things like a ‘Tidy-up’ which can’t be performed remotely (server room, tidy cables, desk moves etc)
• Being able to see the engineer can install confidence and make the users feel more secure in the knowledge i.e. there is someone to approach quickly if there is a problem. This is similar to the principle the police try to endorse ‘Bobby on the beat’.
• By scheduling periodic site visits there is a chance to address those low-level, on-going annoyances that might not typically warrant a support call but which may be costing your business time and money.
• With an engineer on site out dated or ill-suited equipment and software can be easily identified and rectified. It also promotes sales opportunities.
• Physical Server inspection – are there any conditions which could impact the servers performance? Is the area unobstructed and safe? Can any improvements be made? Is physical security maintained?
• Floor Walking, discussing the IT with users and finding out if there are any issues affecting all staff, obtaining feedback from users experience to draw out any areas where improvements can be made and feed back to relevant parties
• A better understanding of the organisation’s culture to allow better integration and better customer service to the client go forward
• Identification of any training needs
• Being able to identify and to empathise with troublesome users and put a positive spin on the situation

Another way to use scheduled engineer time is to set up onsite drop-in workshop sessions. Where users can walk in to get their issues looked at. These can provide your staff with a wide range of benefits: 

• Helping users with training issues and identifying how they could work more effectively using the technology at hand
• A regular access point to address simple break/ fix issues
• A good impression can be conveyed to the customer leading to a better customer service experience and working relationship with the client

While the expenditure and organisation can prohibit companies from constantly wanting to and actually sending out engineers onsite when it is not needed as you can see it can actual be a worthwhile exercise. It is something to definitely consider for any IT company who deems themselves able to operate in a remote world as this is not always the best way to behave and they can be missing out on the benefits an onsite presence would give.

If you would like to discuss opportunities to have an engineer at your site then speak with one of the consultants by simply calling us on 0845 458 0497 or email info@theinternetgroup.com for more information.