How do you measure the quality of your IT provider? Is it based on how quickly they get to your office or in how timely a manner they fix your problems? Would it not make more sense to measure the quality based on how many problems you have popping up in the first place? I have met recently with several law firms that said they were extremely happy with their IT support because of the response time of the team, saying “they’re over here all the time.” The first question that came to my mind was “why do they need to be there all the time?” Don’t be lured into thinking that having an IT guy present all the time means you’re getting the best value for your dollar. Make sure you check out what all those extra service appearances are costing you. In my opinion a lot of firms are getting “churned” by their IT support provider in the guise of providing great service. This is similar logic to thinking a financial advisor is doing a great job because she is constantly buying and selling stocks. What you may not be thinking about is that each time that IT support makes a visit, or the financial advisor sells a stock, there is a fee associated with it. IT support that is done well should be proactive and avoid the need for frequent trips to fix minor problems. Often times, the IT support that you don’t see is doing a much better job than those that you do.