New
Services!!
We
have now added online assistance to our range of
services. Accessible through our website by clicking on
the link in the top right hand corner you can now chat
directly with a technician about your problem. This
should be your first action when you have a problem, or
when you have a question about how to perform certain
tasks. Depending on the issue we can then recommend the
appropriate escalation if the problem cannot be answered
without intervention.
Please remember that online help is not a free training
resource but simply a place you can go to ask questions
about something you are trying to do or a problem you
are experiencing.
If
you are unable to resolve your problems by using the
information you are given we can then escalate the issue
to our Remote Assist Service. Our Remote Assist Service
enables us to connect to your PC to either fix problems
remotely, observe a particular problem as it occurs to
better understand our issue or to even show you how to
perform certain tasks. RCS Remote Assist is a low cost
solution to many of the problems users face from actual
PC issues to lack of training. None of us could use a
knife and fork until someone showed us how so why should
we expect to know the ins and outs of computers and their
software?
New Pricing
At
RCS we always strive to provide you with great service
at a great price. Unfortunately the Hydro, Telephone and
Gas companies don't work on the same principles, as a
result the cost of bringing you these services has
steadily increased over the last three years. In order
to cover these additional expenses we are raising our
prices. They still represent great value but reflect the
cost of doing business in 2008 and will ensure that RCS
continues to meet the needs of both business and
residential clients in the years to come.
|
2007 |
2007 |
2008 |
|
Fixed Price
Services |
$40 + HST |
$ 50.00
inc HST |
|
Whether its
a component installation, virus and spyware
removal or a complete rebuild you an drop your
PC off safe in the knowledge that you already
know what its going to cost. No matter how long
it takes, as long as no parts are required your
repair price is fixed. |
|
Ad-Hoc
On-Site Service |
$50 an hour
billed in 30 minute segments, minimum charge 30
minutes. |
$ 60.00 an
hour, billed per minute*. |
|
On-site
support for those times when its not practical
to bring your PC in to the shop or for network
related issues that cannot be duplicated outside
of your existing network. On site support
available 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday** with a
guaranteed 8 hour*** response time. |
A 40 minute
on-site service call in Richibucto cost $50.00 +
HST |
A 40 minute
call in Richibucto now costs $40 + HST
|
|
Remote
Assist |
Our previous
pricing schedule was unnecessarily complicated
and tried to differentiate between home and
business users. We have now simplified the
pricing to give you two choices, business and
home users pay the same rates. The time you
purchase does not expire and support is
available from 8:30am to 6:30pm Monday to
Friday.** |
Package 1 -
20for20
20 minutes remote assistance for $20 + HST. As
an example setting up an email account uses on
average 5 minutes of Remote Assist time.
|
| |
Package 2 -
$50 an hour
Aimed at multi-machine environments you get 60
minutes of Remote Assist support for $50 + HST |
*return travel
time for service calls outside Richibucto Town Limits to
be charged at same rate. Time to be logged by GPS
vehicle tracker for accuracy and to be made available to
clients upon request in the event of any questions.
** Out of hours
support at the same rates is available by appointment
only. Other than by appointment, out of hours service is
charged at time and a half and may not be available. We
have lives and families too.
*** Response time
calculated in working hours from receipt of call.
Failure to meet guaranteed response time will result in
hourly rate being discounted by 10% for each hour
overrun. Faster guaranteed response times are available
by special agreement and are subject to an annual
enhanced service fee.
New Products
Continuing our commitment to the environment through
energy efficient PC's we have increased our range of
small-form-factor offerings to include the Artigo
Pico-ITX Builder Kit.
A
pico-ITX based PC for the DIY computer tech or
enthusiast. Starting at $320 for the basic kit
(motherboard, processor, case, power supply included)
the Artigo is a tiny unit perfect for the majority of
business and home users. Just add the amount of RAM you
want, the size of hard disk you need and your choice of
operating system and you have yourself a very small,
very quiet system capable of running Windows XP and
performing all of your everyday tasks.
Its
by no means a superfast gaming rig but the majority of
users neither want nor need a super fast gaming rig.
Most of our home clients want to check their email, surf
the internet and play online games via Yahoo, Pogo or
something similar. Do you need a $1000 system to do
this? Contrary to what the big box stores might tell you
the answer is no. Heck, you don't even have to run
Windows. In fact there's nothing to stop you running
your Artigo with no hard disk at all. I personally don't
use the hard disk in my Artigo and just run Puppy Linux
from a USB key, I can surf the web, get my email, write
letters and play games with no problems at all. The hard
disk sits there with Windows XP Home Edition installed
just in case somebody wants to see it in action.
We are continuing our involvement in the use and
promotion of Linux
as its low resource requirements and stability
continues to amaze us. We are constantly
developing and improving our PC-on-a-stick which is a USB
thumb drive
containing an operating system, applications,
data files and emails, basically everything you need in a
PC except the hardware. Why? Because we think it would
be nice to be able to take our files anywhere without
having to buy a laptop, to not have to worry about
viruses and spyware, and not be dependant on systems
that need upgrading every time a new version of the OS
is released. For families the PC-on-a-stick is an ideal
alternative to giving everyone their own user account on
a Windows PC and having regular virus problems, not to
mention your PC won be subject to the Microsoft monopoly
tax that is a $100+ plus insecure and unreliable
operating system a la Windows.
Andy Hawkins
