Pro Mac users: Your tech support experiences

[Blue Velvet]

First off: I'm sorry if 'Pro' Mac users sounds condescending. I only mean it to mean those who use a Mac day in, day out to earn a living, that's all.

We're in the process of finding a new London-based firm that will do hardware & software support on a 2-4 hour call-out. Our current lot are a bit clueless when it comes to OS X and furthermore, have us tied into a yearly contract which was negotiated before my time and is a huge waste of money as we rarely need their services since moving to OS X and new hardware.

What kind of software/hardware are you running and what kind of support do you have when something goes wrong? Any recommendations as what to look for when looking for a new support deal? Are hourly deals better than a fixed-term contract? Does your support extend to peripherals or just the Apple stuff?

In short, please share anything that might be useful, interesting or even entertaining to read about your Mac support experiences.

Thanks in advance.
BV

 

[glosterseagul]

We don't tend to have a tech support - as we would rarely use it. funily enough we have just had the problem about -199 error code but the last time we had a problem that we could not resolve internally was .... I can't remember when.

 

[Blue Velvet]

...but the last time we had a problem that we could not resolve internally was .... I can't remember when.

A lot of problems fall informally on my shoulders at the mo but sometimes I don't have the time or the skills to fix stuff, especially when I've got other work to get out the door.

Before I pick up the phone, the first point of call is usually here, prepressforums.com, and macintouch.com

The bloody hours I spent trying to get Quark 6 to print fonts correctly to the RIP were agonising... I'm sure I've still got bald spots from where clumps of hair were violently ripped out...

 

[glosterseagul]

I suppose I was thinking hardware and os problems. Application issues are usually glitches. I must say we are still in the 9.2.2 as the inposition software etc all need up-grading. So we have hung on to the past....not for much longer.

I am a lot more at home with OS9 and all it's little issues. OSx is a bit more complicated. Files everywhere...