- Lack of contractor knowledge and training
- Slow response times
- Patronising manner
- Poor value for money
- Lack of flexibility
- Size issues
- The Hard Sell
- Never seeing the same person twice
- A 'PC-covered' rather than 'company-covered' approach
- A lack of personal hygiene and understanding of on-site dress codes and protocols
In particular, frustrations with contractors insisting on ineffective reboots and reformatting while they were charging by the hour.
Leaving companies stranded for days and in some case even weeks.
Tendency of helpdesk staff to deal with problems in a patronising and over-simplified manner.
IT support contract was felt to be a necessary requirement, but many felt that when it was called upon, it never quite lived up to expectations.
Not understanding of the needs of SMEs with perhaps only a handful of PCs.
An obvious preference for servicing bigger clients first so leaving smaller ones at the bottom of the pile.
Several companies felt that they had been sold products that suited their supplier rather than being products that perfectly suited their particular IT requirements. Also, it was found that forthcoming IT issues such as upgrades were often not highlighted until a situation became critical, or were used to justify the purchase of sometimes unnecessary equipment.
The lack of an ongoing relationship meant that companies felt frustrated through having to explain their particular network set-up and problems repeatedly to different people.
Companies would prefer to think that a support contract covers the company network as a whole rather than just individual PCs.
Many companies highlighted body odour, halitosis, and inappropriate dress such as "scruffy trainers" and "heavy metal T-shirts" as reasons for dissatisfaction with the technicians that their IT support firms had sent.
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