As a software vendor here is my comment,

None of our customers are on a contract for their support.  When they
first purchase our product, I tell them to try support for 2 or three
months.  If we don't offer any value to the customer than they can
drop it;  If we are of value, they can keep paying for the service.

Our support includes:
1) All upgrades, including complete rewrites.
2) Unlimited calls (some customers call 5 to 10 times a day).
3) Phone in support to their HP3000.
4) Problem Identification (Is it us or HP?)
5) Consulting about HP3000 and networking.

If a customer calls we answer their questions.

What do I charge?  More than $400 dollars per month!  But, I have
customers who call us for help on virtually every piece of equipment
that has an on-off switch (copiers, phone systems), none of it has
anything to do with the HP3000.

I believe that if you offer a service people want, they will pay for
it.  Contracts for service just give lawyers something to argue about
later.

Rgds
Mel Rees
[log in to unmask]

On Tue, 18 Jan 2000 12:00:47 -0500, Jim Phillips
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>At the risk of starting another "rant"-type thread, I would like your input
>on the following:
>
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