Does Technical Support Still Matter?

A while back I read an interesting blog post by the Product Manager for Microsoft TFS about their TFS Azure support. The thing that really caught my attention was this:

“I was having a conversation with my team about our need to have a better support path from our web site. We need a “contact us” capability that enables you to send an electronic message that will get attention…”

Sounds like he’s talking about, you know, a helpdesk.

Something that every Everleap customer enjoys, of course. Along with call-back phone support, in-depth forum discussions, shared-desktop video support…

Just to be clear, for the right price Microsoft can do all of that too. But the more involved or comprehensive the support you need, the higher that price will be. And that doesn’t apply only to TFS users, it applies to nearly all of their Azure services.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with not supporting users who don’t pay for support. And Microsoft certainly aren’t the first to offer a service that essentially says to its users, “Here you go, you’re on your own. Thanks! Bye!” In fact, that’s a pretty common approach among the big cloud hosts.

Maybe that’s what everyone wants now, the bare bones. “Just give me the pipes, I know how to do the plumbing!” Maybe technical support is a thing of the past, like go-go boots, dressing up for an airplane flight or last year’s American Idol  kids.

I don’t know. But I do know that’s not our style. We happen to believe that you should never have to pay a premium for premium support. It should be woven in to the very fabric of any service you’re paying for. An inseparable part of the whole.

I suspect that when it comes right down to it, many of us are probably more of the I’m pretty sure I can figure this out myself  types than the I’ll just contact support  types. But it should be reassuring to know that if you do  have to contact us, you’ll get a quick response from someone who knows our system inside out.

That service and expertise in included in the price of every Everleap account (and yes, you even get expert support during your 30 day free trial). We wouldn’t have it any other way.