What does that mean? My neighbor down the hall
likes to say a "Computer Consultant is an unemployed kid with a business card",
and that statement actually has some merit. There isn't a licensing board for CompuCons
like there is for Medicos, Psychos, Shysters and Protection Racketeers, so unemployed
kids can print up a bunch of business cards and at that exact moment in time they
ARE one. Does that bother me? Nope, there is so much work that needs to be done
in this field, I and my peers haven't got a prayer of handling the entire job anyway,
and those unemployed kids may well be all that you need to get the job done. More
power to them and to you, but keep in mind that you really DO get what you pay for
and it could well be that you should be paying more. |
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We've been doing this for over a decade now. Those
ten years have taught us a lot, not the least of which is to steer clear of new
untried technology when your livelyhood or reputation is dependent upon it. Another
lesson learned hard was to not be afraid to call a peer for help when we get in
over our heads. An occurance which happens much too frequently in these times of
changing rules every three or four months, not to mention a field that has expanded
so exponentially it's no longer possible to be an expert in much more than a small
portion. There you have it. If I have to make a statement like that from a position
of living in this field forty to sixty hours a week for many years, what chance
do you have of staying apprised of these changes as a hobbyist? |
Our job is to know more about Computers and their
technology than you do. From that position, it is our job to advise you on solutions
to your desires/problems that fit your budget and get the job done with a minimum
of pain and suffering. No small challenge that, but we accomplish that challenge
every week for a myriad of different clients and will continue to do so for another
couple of decades to come. One of the many tools we use to offer these solutions
are a few laboratories scattered around the city where we launch solutions we're
planning to implement in your office down the road. That coupled with the experience
gleaned from similar implementations in other client's offices give us a high level
of confidence in making things work for you. Finally, we have to say something about relationships here. Like it or no, you are either contemplating, or have already entered into a relationship with PMA Consulting that we're both hoping will provide mutual benefit. If we've accepted you as a client, it's because we believe we can help you along your chosen path. We won't accept clients we aren't confident that we can help. As with any relationship, this one is going to be an excercise in negotiation and sufferance. Over the years, we've become pretty adept at both, but this is a relationship, so you're going to experience each of these situations right along with us. Historically, our cost/benefit ratio has been excellent, and we're developing quite a body of policy to head off the sufferance part at the pass. It's still important that you understand this from the outset, neither of us are naive enough to expect smooth sailing and clear skies forever along our journey. Neither should either of us think the other is going to do ALL the negotiation OR the sufferance. Here's the rules. |
#1. You have to pay us. #2. Field work is $50 per hour (with 1 hour minimum) including travel one way. #3. If you follow our counsel you'll save money and grief in the long run. #4. Telephone tech support is free of charge to existing clients, but only available when we're in the office and can take your call. #5. You must have an "In-house" assigned Network Administrator that we can train to take care of your system that is your first line of debug. |
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