Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 08:10:59 -0700 From: "Jack Velte" <jackv@earthling.net> To: "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@time.cdrom.com> Cc: "phil grainger" <freebsd@pronet.net.au>, <advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: tech support structure Message-ID: <01bd9094$25c3f240$c001aace@eliot.pacbell.net>
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>No, I think it would basically require some sane, reasonable manager >who could handle the personnel issues and day-to-day minutiae of most of the WC secretaries that we paid $6 to $14 hour did this. well. >running an office of tech support people while also having enough ? >technical savvy to know how to balance the loads. That means nobody >currently employed, and most definitely no one who's ever been we almost hired soren. stupid of us not to. this is really two different functions you describe: secretary and tech manager. >> does the medical insurance cover workers outside the immediate >> geographical region? > >You would specifically not employ people under that model (unless they actually, i Would like to employ people under that model. working for freebsd should be like a regular company when it comes to benefits, but per-job for salary. the benefits graduate in and out. a insurance policy that pays cash should exist. it might even be attractive if we have lots of people where medical care is cheap. i want to outsource as much as possible. Walnut Creek is fine for some outsourcing, but should they build a tech support department? who is going to fund that? who is going to pay the loss or gain the profit? freebsd doesn't have any money right now, not this kind of money. i see leasing an office with nice furniture, doing a wide hiring scan for secretaries and an accountant. stop. invest the rest of the money in mutual funds. have empty suites for programmers that want to move in. free food in the refrigerator. >were only the most occasional and provable contractors) for exactly >this reason, another being that "remote support" is really not >something which actually works in practice as nicely and conveniently i know. >as it may appear on paper. Perhaps it's something which could prove >workable in small doses once the organization is big enough to need a >few "big guns" who are simply remote consultants on tap, but at least i see the cheaper people being more cost effective to out-source. the techs might get paid high per minute wages (based on the phone records and self-reports and some boundary conditions), provided with benefits and pager or cell phone. they have to check in to a software dispatcher periodically to be on call for work. they are graded on their reliability when on call and their response time when called. 10% of pay scale. longevity 10%. ability 10%. ? then they call the customer, so we need a comprehensive phone contract. there's a call-back, but some goal should be monitored and established. centralized customer feedback polling. then, the techs lobby for traveling, when we can't find someone close to visit, with negotiated expenses paid. so that would be fun. i'd like to keep the labor G&A at around 2%, not 15 or 30%. what do you think about free education as a benefit? >the beginning days of the organization, while everyone is still >finding their way, the bulk of the organization's tech support would >have to be done by one team under one roof. This is the only way to that's the way it's always been done, mostly. but the phone system *could* ring numbers outside of the building, with a little programming. [is there a Nortel Meridan Option 11 programmer out there? >ensure that they communicate with one another and that the developers >also working on the premises can see first-hand which issues are the >most pressing ones for technical support. I'd also expect the tech hasn't this data been gathered for years? ok, i have freebsd on my other hard disk and i can't get it to work right. so people need a second computer from gateway with freebsd proloaded and perfectly set up. this deal should be doable. 1000 units / m 200000 revenue 25k profit. freebsd, inc should get a good cheap gateway and send it around then send it back. >support team to put some time into hacking on the tech support >computing infrastructure itself, essentially building their own tools >for supporting the whole mess as they go along, and that takes a team >which can periodically meet face-to-face to plan strategy. yes. i like the virtual organization. it would be cool if we could roll out a global support network. -jack To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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