Visiting a new client this week, I was reminded of the pain clients
can feel when their computers fall too far behind the state of the
art. While no one wants to buy hardware and software they don't need,
neither do they want to make huge leaps when they are finally forced
to upgrade. A slow progression of software and hardware updates is
far more preferable to the "forced march" of an emergency
upgrade.
But it works fine!
If you ask your clients why they haven't upgraded their computers or
software, they often reply that, "it works fine for what I do." Even
in the best cases where the client can be productive there lies a bit
of a trap. While the computer might fulfill their basic needs at the
moment, I can assure you they are experiencing more problems than they
might let on. Typically, smaller issues such as web pages that won't
load, videos and animation that can't be played and more are already
hampering their work. Perhaps they can't read the files that friends
and co-workers send them. Finally, you will be left with no recourse
but to recommend they get a new computer. This is where the pain truly
begins.
In my case, the client was using an older Mac and never upgraded
to Mac OS X, even though the computer was capable of running the
earlier
versions. Further, they made only limited updates to their software
over the years. Finally, though, time caught up with them. Their
older web browser could not cope with the fancy web services provided
by
their bank. Even parts of Apple's web sites would no longer load.
They were finding it hard to do the small bits of client work they
do as
a sideline, as their software was too far behind. As it happened,
I upgraded my own computer, which was very similar to theirs, to
the
latest version of Mac OS X and found that the computer could not
run it acceptably. So, I now knew they needed a new computer. Suddenly
our discussions of relatively simple upgrades turned to outright
replacement
and hundreds of dollars turned into thousands.
Pay me now, pay me later
Now, not only would they need to purchase a new computer, they would
have to replace all their software, as well. Had they upgraded their
software over time, they might have had versions that ran on the
new operating system or been able to purchase them at a discount.
Even
worse, some programs were so old that no current version of the program
existed or the current version would not longer read the file formats
of the older version. In these cases, the client's data had truly
come to a dead end. Of course, I will use the older system to export
their
data and bring it forward in any way I can, but there will always
be a few cases where this is impossible or nearly so.
A client, facing the costs of new hardware, new software and hours
of my services can quickly become disheartened. While they hadn't
really done anything wrong, they found themselves caught in the
nasty position
of starting all over again with their new computer. As you might
imagine this can be intimidating and frustrating and could cause
some rough
moments for you and your client.
Keep up
The solution for my clients doesn't involve buying every new upgrade
or every new computer system that appears on the scene. Instead I
try to gently push my clients forward at a pace that is slightly
slower
than the speed of innovation. While I don't expect my clients to
have the latest version of an operating system, I will start to
worry if
they fall more than 2 versions behind. The same goes for all their
software. Once you go more than 2 versions, you start to get into
the danger zone where file compatibility begins to be an issue
and you
can miss out on upgrade discounts that can help to ease the cost
of moving up. A gentle push here. A gentle nudge there. By offering
good
advice in small doses, you can insure that your clients won't suffer
when it comes time to upgrade.
While a stable, working computer that you paid off a while ago can
be a good thing, it can also lull clients into a false sense of security.
If they allow themselves to fall too far behind today, they could
be facing a very nasty surprise in the future. Don't let your clients
place themselves in this position. Do everything you can to keep
them
moving forward, even slowly and you will be doing them a great service...and
yourself as well.
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