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I recently had a bad experience with an application service provider that illustrated a growing problem with technology companies- lack of service and support. We have grown complacent as technology consumers and we allow vendors to offer very poor levels of service that wouldn't be allowed in other markets.

In my case, my ASP was Apple. I have been a subscriber to their .Mac service, primarily for email hosting. Apple sells this as a value added service to enhance the Macintosh experience. Considering that you usually get email service through your ISP and that there are many services that offer email for free, why would anyone pay $100 for email? The answer is value. For me there was enough value in having an email address with a particular quality of service not offered by free services and independence from my ISP.

Recently the email service Apple had sold me began to fail. Every other connection to their mail servers timed out. I contacted Apple and was astonished by the poor support they offered. They refused to admit that there was a problem and even had they admitted there was a problem, they insisted that it was outside of their mandate to provide support or to fix the problem.

This article isn't about my problems with Apple. If you want to read the details of this particular incident, you can go to DotMacSucks.com. I was so moved by this experience that I not only dropped Apple's service, but I created a website to share my experience with others. What is disturbing is that this poor level of service is not uncommon among technology companies.

The Importance of the Price/Value Proposition

Anyone who has run a business or taken a course in management knows all too well about the price/value proposition. While there are many ways to differentiate your product or service, this is the primary determinate by which consumers select products.

Anyone who sells any product must strike a balance between the price of the product and the value (perceived and actual) that the product delivers. If you examine most any industry you will find a collection of companies, but there are two types of companies that tend to dominate.

The first type of company is the low cost leader. This company subscribes to the strategy that the lowest price at a reasonable value attracts customers. Walmart is an example of a low cost leader. In the PC world, Dell is often cited as the low cost leader. In this model, all production and operation expenses are stripped and streamlined until you can deliver products and services at the lowest price point in the market.

On the other end of the scale is the value leader. The value leader business plan sells a brand and higher quality. An example of a value leader is Bose. How many people do you know purchase $500 alarm-lock radios? How about the iPod? Or even the Macintosh? What these products have in common is that customers are willing to pay a premium for products that they perceive to have more value.

The price value proposition is an immutable principle of business that all companies must recognize to remain viable.

When it comes to technology products, there are several ways to assess value. It can be in design, ease of use, functionality, customizability, and other factors. While these factors are highly subjective, there are some that are fairly constant; service and support.

When it comes to service, we generally know what we want. When we need assistance for whatever reason, we want access to help. Specifically we want some person to help us and assure us that our needs as consumers will be met. The mark of great support is a company that can make a customer feel serviced even if the underlying problem cannot or has not yet been addressed.

Support is the actual assistance received in relation to a product. It is the resolution to problems with products and services. This adds value to a product because it affords a sense of security.

Finally there is an unspoken rule when any customer purchases a product or service from a company: accountability. Companies have an obligation to deliver the products and services that they have sold. If an item is defective or does not meet the description used to sell that product, the company has an obligation to replace the product or refund a customer's money. This is an essential principle of any business deal and any company that does not abide by this rule cannot survive.

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