When a client's amazing system doesn't work when there's a group of people over waiting to catch the fight or football game on the big screen, it can be a real crisis point. Custom dealers need to be prepared to be the holiday hero and save the day.

And with the impending holiday season and events like the Grey Cup comes parties that clients throw for friends and family. If Murphy's Law proves correct, that's precisely the time that a client's A/V system will decide to act up.

There's any number of reasons why a service may be required over the holidays; maybe a houseful of small, excited children found and pushed the wrong buttons, or maybe that three-year-old HD PVR's hard drive has decided to die. Regardless of the reasons, whether small and minor or more serious, it's important to be prepared.

Be Proactive, Not Reactive

Many clients won't bother to call over minor concerns, even if it bugs them. If there's odd, infrequent glitches in the video distribution, they might not call unless there's a major malfunction. That's why great integrators are always proactive with follow-up calls. In a friendly, out-of-the-blue chat, a client is more likely to say "Oh by the way, sometimes the channel that I want doesn't select when I press it."

Now might be a good time to call up clients to wish them a Christmas, Chanukah or general Holiday greeting, and politely ask how things are going. Beyond the incentive of drumming up a spontaneous sale or two, if they admit to a minor problem that can be addressed before it becomes major. Then, mission accomplished.

On Call, All the Time

For dealers without a retail showroom, maintaining office hours, even abbreviated ones over the holiday break, is a good idea in order to be available immediately on the phone for client concerns. Quite often, many calls can be resolved with a quick refresher on system operation over the phone, and advising them to reset a couple of buttons.

Better yet, a good idea is to have an emergency number, and leave that number on your office voice mail message. Maintaining an emergency pager is a suggestion that's been made in this column before. Sadly, like the weather, it's something that's often talked about, but seldom dealt with.

One firm that's the exception is Vancouver BC's La Scala, which maintains not one but two emergency pager numbers: a main and a backup. The numbers are the first option callers hear on the company's voice message during off hours. They're not just a holiday backup either; La Scala maintains them year round, 24/7. As far as President Marilyn Sanford is concerned, they're necessary for two reasons. The first is that La Scala's clientele expects to be well taken care of. The second, and equally important, is she sees the hotline as a management tool. "The hotline is a barometer of our abilities," she explains. "If we're getting after hours calls, that indicates issues that need to be addressed, whether it's our work, or the equipment we're using. Thankfully those calls are few and far between, but I take them very seriously, and look at the ones we get as opportunities to improve our company."

Remote Support via IP

The best thing about IP-enabled automation hardware is that in the event of a service issue, often all that's needed is a laptop and an Internet connection. The tech who's on call can log on to the client's system remotely and check his software and its settings, or hard-boot a glitching HD-PVR without ever leaving the home. Even better, it allows dealers go to even greater lengths to service clients, such as fixing the system while away at their winter home in Hawaii or somewhere less exotic, but still out of the country.

As the axiom goes, proper preparation prevents poor performance. Prepare to be able to effectively address client's system issues over the holidays, and that will help keep them merry and bright.

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