Saudi Arabian solutions providers are determined to make customers understand that services are important, but that they also have a value.
According to the president of Gulf Stars Technology, Abdulaziz Al Tamami, resellers need to make it clear in the minds of their customers the level of protection to which they are entitled with a warranty, and that which comes as a result of a maintenance contract.
“Customers do require services, but they are not really willing to pay for them, or see them as a differentiator,” he told itp.net.
Al Tamami says that there is a misunderstanding among customers over whether they are entitled to on-site service—something which he believes must carry a significant premium—when they have a new warranty-protected product.
“A warranty repair is taking a broken modem to the modem place and making sure that it comes back in a week. But [with a warranty agreement], downtime is not our problem, it is your problem. A maintenance agreement gives the one hour stuff,” he said.
“That costs money. You have to decide if you need that sort of protection, but if you do, you have to pay for it,” said Al Tamami.
According to Nahil deputy general manager, Suleiman Al Khedhair, he is more inclined to walk away from a customer than continue to do business with them if they are not willing to pay for necessary services.
“We do end up with customers who are not willing, as well as those who are willing, but the problem is that the customers who are willing end up paying for those who are not. But is it for us to take the risk, is it worth it for us to continue to do business with customers who are not willing? At Nahil, we don’t do it any more.”
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