Linked by Fred McCann on Wed 25th Aug 2004 21:00 UTC
I recently had a bad experience with an application service provider that illustrated a growing problem with technology companies- lack of service and support. We have grown complacent as technology consumers and we allow vendors to offer very poor levels of service that wouldn't be allowed in other markets.
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If you look at how much money a typical beige box reseller makes per system sold, you see that they can only survive by selling lots of beige boxes. If you have ever had to sit down at a friend's/relative's computer to "fix" it, you know how much of a hassle this can be. If you take a decent hourly rate for this, you can see how just one such "fix" means you'd have to sell tens (if not hundreds) of beige boxes. Now, consider how many people you know who have a beige box, and what percentage of them ever asked you to "fix" it. I am sure the ratio is nowhere near 1:10, let alone 1:100.
Bottom line: the absolute cheapest beige box resellers _can't_ offer a decent level of support. And they could increase their prices, but you'd walk away to someone else.