Ivory Tower Computer Solutions

Is there a particular aspect of your trade or industry that you specialise in?

I currently specialise in networking and email setup/counselling. I have advised on and installed networks for businesses and residential customers alike. In addition to that I am starting to get more involved with Cloud services and what offers are available for business customers.

How do you normally charge for your service?

Services are usually paid at the time of the service via cheque, cash or card. (EFTPOS, cheque or credit cards.) An invoice is produced and given to the customer at the end of the service, whatever the outcome.

What makes your pricing competitive?

We are aligned to the other IT services providers in the area but what makes our pricing competitive is the way we treat our customers. We don't just fix the problem, we will ensure that the underlying cause is fixed so that you do not have to pay more than needed.

How did you decide to get into your line of work?

Having worked in corporations in the past as a technician, it was an easy way to get in to the IT market by focusing more on the IT repair industry. My previous knowledge and experience although not completely focused on IT repairs led me to get additional training to "fill in the blanks" so to speak and provide these types of services. In addition to that I previously owned a small business and wanted to upscale by starting a true of my own.

Do you have a favourite customer story you would like to share?

One of my biggest customers always comes to me with urgent challenges. At one point it was an email issue. The customer could no longer send or receive emails and they had tried to solve the problem themselves. It took a bit of research but the problem was finally resolved to the great satisfaction of my customer.

What do you like most about your job?

Most of the satisfaction I get from my work is resolving challenging issues. My first goal is to ensure that my customers are not being overcharged for services they have requested. Also the satisfaction of seeing my customer happy with the work well done is also gratifying to me.

What questions should a customer ask to hire the right service professional?

That's a difficult question to answer! To know if a service professional does a good job for me is to see if the professional is listening to the customer's needs but also not impose on the customer additional accessories or upsells on top of an existing service unless it is truly necessary. The best sort of professionals are the ones that come recommended by other customers. That indicates that the provider is honest and trustworthy.

What questions do customers commonly ask and how would you answer them?

Questions commonly asked vary from internet connection issues or broken laptop screens or even performance issues. For connection issues restart the modem first. For broken screens I use a professional screen provider. For performance issues I recommend calling me to schedule a visit. The problem could be disk or software/virus related so only an on-site visit will tell what the root cause is.

What makes you the most reliable and trustworthy person for the job?

I show up to my customers on time and if I get held up I will let the customer know beforehand. My referrals are a good testimony of my reliability. Also my customers should know that I do not charge unnecessarily and there are cases when if the problem is solved within 5 minutes I will not charge my customers at all!

What are the typical things that you need to know before you can provide a quote to a customer?

Before starting work at a customer I need to know how extensive is the job, if it is just a new modem router to install and setup or if it is a virus removal which, depending on the type of the virus and the extent of the infection could take 30 minutes or 3 hours!

How can a customer save money before you start the work? Please give 3 tips

Tip 1: If it is an internet connection issue, try shutting down (turning off) the modem and waiting 30 seconds before turning it on again. Watch the lights. If all the lights turn solid green then you are OK. If not it may be that your modem router needs replacing. Tip 2: If the fan in your PC is making strange noises, it may be full of dust. I recommend a can of compressed air and blowing into the fans that are attached to the case and into the power supply which has its own fan and can become clogged with dust too. Tip 3: if you are getting SMART errors on your PC from your hard drive, it is an indication that your drive needs replacing. The best thing to do is a full backup or at least back up your data and call your IT expert to replace your drive.

Are you an insured business and do you guarantee your work?

Yes our business carries public liability but there is no absolute guarantee that we will be able to fix your problem every time. We do guarantee that we will do the best we can. The rest (such as backups) is up to the customer.

Are there any special offers you would like to offer to Oneflare customers?

We do not have special offers for our OneFlare customers but we are working on it and should be able to provide you one in the next few weeks. It will probably be in the form of a discount on our services.