Customer Service – you are doing it right!

Wow, another chance to write a non-ranty blog post! I love it!

With Miss 7 at home on school holidays, I’ve been running some errands with her in tow. Today I had two great examples of customer service from the most unlikely of places – the Family Assistance Office and Westpac bank!

1 – Insider tips from the Family Assistance Office

After submitting a Medicare refund claim in person, I popped across the room to talk to someone about a Family Assistance claim I’d submitted a month ago. The actual submit process was great – it was all done online and,  as I’m already a client, they’ve got all of my details on file already. No need to visit a service centre. But while I was in the neighbourhood, I just thought I’d check up on it. Robyn at Strathpine confirmed that it was in the system waiting for someone at their end to action it, and I didn’t need to do anything else. She said if I hadn’t heard within 2 weeks, to phone them. And then she leaned forward and gave me an inside tip “Phone the call centre & leave your mobile number for a callback, don’t sit on hold in the queue. Don’t let your phone leave your side for the next 24-48hrs. When you see a Blocked number calling, answer it. Our number is always blocked & we don’t call back a second time if you miss us. That will save you having to come back in here on the school holidays with your daughter.”

Oh my gosh. I’ve been let in on the secrets of the Family Assistance Office because, wait for it .. it will make my life easier. Are you sure this is a government department? Can someone please promote Robyn, quick?!

2 – Let me help you

Needing a copy of a missing credit card statement that was no longer appearing on internet banking, I phoned Westpac who directed me to the form on their website I’d need to fill out and drop into a branch. Good service right there that met my expectations and enabled me to prefill the thing instead of doing it once I was at the branch. Dropped the form into anyone in a Westpac uniform, not at my home branch, which happened to be Scott at Strathpine. Scott actually said that if I had a minute, he’d check his system to see if he could pull up the statement. No such luck, but bonus points for trying and he assured me he’d get the form faxed to Cards right away.

Now you know what normally happens here, right? You wait three weeks and nothing happens until you phone the branch & they find an envelope that’s been waiting there for you for two weeks that no-one called you about. Ah, not this time. The very next day, Scott phoned me to say that Cards had faxed back my statement directly to the branch, and since he had my email address on the form, was it ok for him to scan and email it to me. Was it ok? Too bloody right it was! He actually put two and two together and thought ‘I can save my customer the inconvenience of having to come back into the branch’. Scott is now my favourite person in the entire banking industry and I’m transferring my massive wealth to be under his management (just as soon as I’ve amassed said massive wealth).

So listen up Telstra, Vodafone and every airline ever. Just because you are a big brand with a shocking reputation doesn’t mean you can’t have fantastic employees who actually act like the customer is worth taking care of. Us customers might actually enjoy that, stay with your brand & recommend you to others! Imagine that!

-SCuffy

Vodafail by another name: 3 Mobile demands payment during overseas trip.

Brace yourselves – this is a rant.

In my opinion, mobile phone companies are right down their with real estate agents and used car salesmen. But let me lay out the facts and you can decided for yourself.

After receiving a wedding invitataion, we decided to pack up the kids and head to Wellington for a 10 day holiday. We’re self-employed with clients who rely on us, so by ‘holiday’ I mean ‘time away from the office’. We accept that our lifestyle means our phones come with us and so does the laptop. Then again, we didn’t have to get annual leave approved.

As bad luck would have it, someone’s server decided to have an inexplicable brain fade on the first business day of our holiday. This meant a number of phone calls and SMS messages over a 48hr period. A big number. Fine, that’s the cost of having your own business and deciding to go overseas, without staff back home to handle it. I was expecting to pay a premium for it.

Our first contact from 3 was an SMS asking us to contact them about our bill, currently $338.  No biggy, I thought, I knew why the charges were high. Great customer service that they are warning me that there might be something dodgy going on, or I may be unexpectedly be racking up mobile data charges by putting my happy snaps on Facebook.

The next day, Tony missed a phone call then I received a call from a blocked number. The Indian call centre wanted to talk to me about the large bill. But because I couldn’t remember the PIN number I had set on the account 9 years ago, though I could tell them a million details about the account, they refused to talk to me about the account. I explained the situation to them but they refused to listen.

Two minutes later, we both receive an SMS stating we needed to call 3 urgently about our $883 mobile bill or our account would be terminated. W T F ?

So, Tony calls them and explains the situation, to be told the following: 3 Mobile are allowed to demand immediate payment of a large overseas roaming spend or terminate our account. Note, we are on a business post-paid account here. And apparently this little clause is in the terms and conditions (not that I can find them on their website). So, we’re out sightseeing with our family, with no access to the internet and facing termination of our mobile service WHICH IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR BUSINESS.

We asked for them to extend the deadline until close of business the next day, still extremely unhappy about the whole thing.

Once we’ve returned to our friend’s house, I jump on the internet and can find no way to pay our account. Being post-paid, it’s normally taken out by 3 via direct debit, so I have no BPAY history to them. I could do a new BPAY payment if I had the reference number off my bill .. which hasn’t been sent to us and I don’t have last months because it’s back in BRISBANE. It’s not even viewable on the ‘My 3′ website.

Rock, meet hard place.

I’m not a young backpacker who doesn’t know how global roaming works. I still think it’s a complete rort that telcos get away with such huge roaming charges. I understand there’s extra admin between the visited country and the home country, to get your costs back to your home bill. But the extra amount they charge for that is ridiculous. This is Australia & New Zealand we are talking about, 3 & Vodafone (or should I say Vodafone & Vodafone).

But to demand that the phone user pay that amount immediately or be disconnected is complete bullying tactics. And to point out ‘it’s in the contract conditions’ is a complete waste of time and a cop-out. I’m still yet to find this clause, by the way.

So, that’s the first part of the saga. I’ll update you when I have more to add. Right now I’m starting down the barrel of another phone call back to 3 to hand over my credit card details presumably to pay the bill that I’ve just incurred. So much for monthly post-paid.

Let this be a warning, all you business owners. If you ever go overseas and, heaven forbid’ actually need to use your mobile phone for business purposes, you better keep your credit card handy and stand by for the call from the accounts department. Because, like me, I’m guessing you won’t have read all of the fine print of the mobile service you signed up for 9 years ago.

-SCuffy.

Customer service according to your bank

I’ve had two reasons on two seperate days to actually step foot inside a bank branch. This is most unusual, being an electronic payment kind of girl. The customer service I received has been rattling around in my brain as a blog post and refuses to let me get any sleep until I unleash it. I don’t think it’s going to sway your opinion about banks in general, but from a customer service point of view it is kind of interesting to put it under a microscope and analyse it.

Branch 1: The cheque and the change of PIN number

One of our dearest clients is a elderly couple with a passion for videography, who called us in the very early days of our business. Apart from staff members of our business clients, this is the only residential customer we’ve decided to keep. But as is there way, they pay by cheque, hence the reason for the first visit to Branch 1. Fortunately I also remembered that I had a new PIN number floating around in my handbag (just the little shiny window bit cut out) that matched a replacement card the bank had sent me. Don’t get me started on why my previous PIN number hadn’t been transferred to my new card, but anyway.

After filling out the paperwork for an express deposit of said cheque, I found I had to line up for a teller anyway to do the PIN change .. which meant they came out of the teller’s area and over to the reception counter. Now, this post will be peppered with some inside knowlege, having once lived the life of a bank teller and IT staffer. The ’excuse’ for this inefficiency is that magnetic stripe writers, the ones that can encode a new PIN number, are expensive. One per branch will do. Now, either some banks are getting a better deal than others, or some banks see more mag stripe writers as an investment in good customer service, because some banks do have this at ALL teller stations (or even in their ATMS, but we’ll get to that next). Here endeth lesson number one.

I happened to mention to the teller that another bank has mag stripe writers in the ATMs, so you can change your number there, which is a good idea. Convenience rocks, people, especially with branches having such short hours and always having a queue a mile long. ”Ooh, we wouldn’t want to do that, that’s a big security risk. Anyone could steal your mail, get your new card and PIN then and change it.” was the reply.

Now, I was in one of those ‘smile and nod moves and just get out of the branch as fast as I could because I have other things to do with my day’ so I smiled and nodded and left.  But I just couldn’t let it go. Apart from some glaring big holes in her argument .. she told me I was wrong!  But I’m the customer!!

I know it’s the teller’s job to pitch that their bank is the best and everybody else sucks. But that one small comment was like a pin prick bursting my balloon. When a customer tells you something is a good idea, especially when they mention your competitor is doing it, sure it’s natural to get defensive. I’m telling you though, an approach like “that’s an interesting idea” or ” do you think that’s beneficial to you?” would have left the smile on my face, even though I know the chances of this conversation turning into a bank-wide initiative are pretty much nil. And this is lesson two .. don’t tell the customer you are wrong and lesson three … look for opportunities to improve your business all the time.

So let me point out two of the big glaring holes:

1. The bank posts out my new card. The bank posts out my new PIN number. If someone steals my mail (both envelopes) then they have my new card and it’s PIN number. Regardless of where they are allowed to change it. They don’t need to change it to use it an access my funds. And how did they get this (apart from the obvious lack of security on my mail box (which by the way is a key locked Post Office Box))? Because the bank posted them. Ergo, the reason this thief now has access to my funds is because of how the bank manages this card issuing process, by postal mail. Lesson four … look along the chain of your process for any part which may contribute to the problem, not just the end result.  

2. During our conversation, the bank teller allowed me to change my PIN number but did not ask me to provide any identification. In fact, the process didn’t even ask me to enter the original PIN. This second part is due to the fact that the PIN could have been innocently forgotten. Perhaps if I’d confessed I’d forgotten it, she would have asked me for ID? I did see the irony that this exchange didn’t help her argument. Here I was, in a branch to change my PIN number and I could have been anybody. Like a mail thief. Lesson five .. if security is your thing (like a bank), make sure your processes reflect that (like using ID checks).

The last lesson from this visit came as I walked out the door, when another customer collared the teller before she’d had a chance to escape back behind the secure locked area. He wanted to roll over a term deposit, and she had to explain that she couldn’t do that for him and the person he needed to see was busy. As a teller, once you step out of your safely locked zone, you are just another staff member to the waiting public. Standing at a reception desk telling someone you can’t help them is also poor form and doesn’t really give the best impression.  Which is why tellers should have mag stripe writers.  

After that enlightening visit, I turned the ignition in my car & realised I hadn’t made a cash withdrawal. I got out and walked around to the side of the building to use the ATM, which was out of action. It was 09:40am, the branch had been open since 09:30 and I’m guessing the staff had been onboard since 08:30 at the latest. Plenty of time for them to sort out the ATM, unless it ran out of cash within the last 10 minutes. I gave up on this one, giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was a computer glitch or ATM hardware failure, not just a simple ‘run out of cash’.

Branch 2: The ATM, teller boxes and staffing levels

And so I thought that was the end of my adventures in branchland for months to come .. until the next day I tried to make that cash withdrawal I’d forgotten about. This time, I had my 2.5yr old. Right, quick in and out of the car at the ATM on my way past (if any in and out of the car with a toddler is quick). Only this ATM wasn’t working either, at a different branch. Into the branch we venture, to the delight of my daughter who heads straight for the pile of toys. This is actually a good move by the bank, as it’s in plain view when you’re waiting in line or being served by a teller and happy children make for happy caregivers.

It’s 10:35AM. There are 5 or 6 teller boxes and only ONE teller serving. Their ATM is down and there are 4 people in front of me. Did I mention I had my toddler with me?  And the one customer currently being attended to does not know the different between a direct debit and a recurring payment, which is being exlained to her, for the third time. Right now I’m wondering how much eye rolling and sighing and watch looking will be required to get some more staff out here, or if I have to find the branch manager myself. Hello, it’s morning tea time, your ATM is down and you have one staff member serving?

But soon – a miracle! A lady I could only assume was the head teller (sitting in the back of the teller’s area doing more important stuff than serving customers), notices our growing discontent, disappears and reappears with another teller, who opens. Happy days!

When my turn comes, I casually mention .. did you know your ATM is down? “Yes, it’s just being filled up with cash now.”  Lightbulb moment. So bear with my now why this revelation made it all crystal clear and took the steam out for me. Unfortunately it’s all to do with insider knowledge.

Like most other companies, banks have to justify the existance of staff members and don’t always get the amount of people they actually need during peak times. If you think of the ebb and flow of customers through a bank, most of the time 6 tellers would be overkill.  The reality is that most branches don’t have the budget to fill the number of teller boxes they actually have. This actuallly gives them room to bring on more casuals and temps over periods like Christmas, but doesn’t help the public the rest of the year. But hey, this is generally the case in any retail store.

The next issue is wrapped around what tellers actually do. It seems that more and more functions are being handled by this team, especially when you walk into a branch that has nobody at the reception des any more. This means that customers are staying longer at a teller box, when we used to move them over to a ‘retail banker’ to clear the way for actual deposit & withdrawal transactions. Oh and that head teller – yeah, you would not believe the volume of work she actually has to manage on a daily basis before even adding any issues or stuffups by other people that she needs to sort out. She’s needed as the boss and she can’t do that if she’s on the frontline serving customers.

So, here’s how the situation actually read: I’m guessing the branch actually had 3 or 4 tellers, plus the head teller. One (or two) filling the ATM. One serving. One at a tea break. And perhaps one off locating paperwork or getting foreign currency or performing some other task. And I’m wondering if Teller 2 was in fact yanked off her tea break to come and help, bless her.

Now I realise that none of the above excuses helped my wait time or my mood initially. But here’s the thing. While the banks announce mega-profits and don’t cut interest rates with the RBA, there are tireless, dedicated workers in branches doing the best job with what they have to work with. I’ve been one of them and so had my mother, my mother-in-law and many family friends. Just remember that those workers are not the ones pocketing $24 billion a quarter. Should the banks invest more in better customer service? Hell yes. And no, that does not mean staff training videos and roadshows, it means resources and more staff. But that costs money. And if we spend money we don’t have as much profit and our shareholders aren’t happy. 

The glaringly obvious hole in that last argument though is “but right now your customers aren’t happy.”  It’s a pity that the shareholders take priorty, isn’t it?

To the cloud .. or not? (A personal account)

This isn’t intended as a comprehensive argument on how to evaluate if Cloud Computing is right for you or not.  I’ve written it to show where we use Cloud Computing in our own business, and where we don’t.  As most of my readers aren’t IT Providers, you may find something relevant in this, or you may not.  But I’m a firm believer in recommending the best solution to a client for their individual needs, so our own decision on Cloud Computing has been based on our current business needs.

To the Cloud … Website, System Monitoring, Ticketing & Job Management

Website – We have our own server, and it currently hosts our http://www.ctaspley.com.au website (as at Feb 2012).  We did this because we could, when we started our business nearly 8 years ago. It gave us full control of the website and a chance to practice with website publishing, in an environment that wasn’t too critical (and was backed up).  Since then, our franchise has developed WordPress sites with common themes on a hosted server at another location.  I’m slowly customising (re-writing) the content of those pages and when I’m happy with it, we’ll change our website address to point to this new site.  Our website will then be ‘in the Cloud’ .. so to speak.  The downside? I won’t have full control over all of the design elements. But you know what – I don’t really care. I’m happy with the structure and as long as I can update the content to suit, I don’t need to change the design.  In this case, we are the exception to the rule, as most businesses don’t host their own website anyway.  And if you did want full design control, there are plenty of hosting companies that will let you have that.

System Monitoring –  Now we use some pretty amazing software that monitor’s the health of our client’s computer systems, especially those errors that are screaming silently into the event log. Our access to this is through the Internet to a server managed by a fellow Computer Troubleshooter in New Zealand, who also provides access to North America and the UK.  Whilst the company we buy this software from doesn’t have this internet hosting capability, our NZ group have paved the way for our global franchisees to use this in the Cloud. Once again, I have no control over the server. Once again, I don’t care. As the information on this system is only really useful when it’s real-time, it will re-generate on the current status of the systems when it comes back up.  There are also other monitoring providers that have cloud-based systems as an option (or the only option).

Ticketing & Job Management – Details of our work, including billing hours, are stored in a cloud-based system. This is far more advanced that the previous in-house effort, for a fraction of the cost, plus it has the advantage of the input from thousands of other IT providers in terms of functionality requests, bug reports etc.  At worst, we stand to lose our historical data to some extent – the data centre has hourly backups and offsite backup storage. This information is transferred to our accounting software too, so we have two sources (one in-house, one in-cloud) of our billing information.  And once again, as long as the system works, I’m happy to do the data entry and let the provider take care of the systems administration.

Not in the Cloud … Financial software, Applications, Email and File storage

Financial software –  Our financial software is something that I would have considered using a Cloud-based version of. The problem is that Cloud versions are not compatible with the integration we get from our Job Management software. In English, if I do a job and bill some time, I can transfer that invoice directly to the financial software installed on my PC. I can’t transfer it to a Cloud-based financial system.  So, to save double data entry, the financial software is staying on my PC.

Applications & Email – As an IT Provider, we’re fortunate to get a great deal from Microsoft on their computer software. This includes the latest versions of pretty much anything, so we can use them, learn them and recommend them.  And while some may argue that many Cloud apps are free, I like my Microsoft benefits and most of my clients run Microsoft software too.  It’s a bit hard for me to troubleshoot or duplicate an Outlook\Exchange problem if I use gmail, or a Word problem if I use OpenOffice. Ever heard the term ‘eat your own dog food’?

File storage – Our files are on our server, because we could. Once again, we had the means to have our own server, support it ourselves and experiment with it. Primarily, it provided our email, website, file storage and printing.  We could also experiment with it. So it made little sense to place our file storage in the Cloud, with our local server handling the job quite nicely and also giving us remote access to these files from the Internet anyway.  Yes, it’s backed up.

We did contemplate switching our server to ‘play only’ mode – making it a box that we ran up when we needed it, instead of it being on 24×7. After moving our website, we could have setup a print server box, a Network Attached Storage device (NAS) for our files (or gone Cloud), and moved our email back to our franchise headquarters (as a POP only service, which would have limited some of our functionality).  But we like having a server because it keeps our skills current.

So, as you can see, it is possible to run a mix of in-house and Cloud IT solutions in your business.  You have to weigh up the pros and cons of each, and also look at the big picture. What’s the point in moving to Cloud for email if you still have a server doing file and print?  Where do you think you will save money? If you think that IT support is expensive, have you looked into a Managed Service (with a fixed price and a results focus) instead of support at an hourly rate?

I’m not saying ‘don’t investigate the Cloud’. It’s enabled us with some capabilities that would have been significantly more expensive to do in-house.  And that’s where I think it absolutely rocks for small businesses.

If you want to look at Cloud Computing, make an informed decision that looks at the bigger picture of your business needs, your current IT infrastructure and your support costs.  Whatever route you decide to go, as long as it supports and enhances those three principles, you’ll be on the right track.

-SCuffy.

Technology considerations for your new startup business

If you’re thinking about starting a business (congratulations!!), then technology might be the very last consideration on your mind.  With a long list of tasks in front of you (like getting a logo and stationery designed, finding an office, and working out your marketing plan), you may just requisition your home computer to start running your new business.  Let’s look at some of your very first technology decisions.

New computer or your home PC? – For a while, your home computer may be adequate to handle the necessities of your business.  However, if your computer time is conflicting with the children’s need to surf the internet for their homework, it may be time to consider a dedicated business computer.  Study any system specifications carefully and check the manufacturer’s websites.  Many ‘cheap’ retail deals are superseded models, cannot be upgraded easily or may not connect to a bigger computer network, which will all be important as you grow.  Also, talk to your accountant about any tax benefits that may be gained from leasing instead of purchasing your IT assets.

Voice over IP – When considering a phone number for your business, take a look at your Voice over IP options.  The quality of this technology has improved significantly and it can provide great local, national and international phone rates.  Today’s systems can plug into a standard cordless phone and your internet connection, so your computer doesn’t have to be turned on for you to make and receive calls.  It makes a fantastic ‘second line’ for businesses that run from your home.  You can have your office phone answered outside of business hours and still receive personal calls on your standard home phone line. 

Internet domain name – Once you have decided on your business name, look at registering your internet domain name.  This will prevent someone else from registering it.  Having your own domain name (like marysmith.com) will give your emails a more professional look and enable you to have a simple webpage established.  Don’t think you have to spend a fortune on a comprehensive website before your first day of actually doing business.  As long as your contact details (phone number, email address, fax number, and location) are easy to find and you have some great information about why your business is different from your competitors, you will be giving the search engines something to find.  This is much better than an ‘under construction’ picture or no internet presence at all.  Use your domain name in your email address to look much more credible than someone operating from a free email account (like myname@gmail.com).  You can still use your internet provider for your email service.  Make certain to check what protection they have in place against email viruses and spam.  Remember to include your website and email address on all of your stationery and marketing materials.    

Email marketing – Investing in an email marketing program provides you with a great communication channel to keep your business in front of your future customers on a regular basis.  Supplement your email marketing with monthly newsletters and occasional special offers.  Get permission to store your customer’s email address from the day they start doing business with you and you’ll build up an impressive database.  

Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooters about how to make the right technology decisions that match the needs of your new business.

Planning the survival of your business

If your technology stopped working, would your business stop functioning too? Is your business totally reliant on the information stored on your computer systems or could you continue to deliver 95% of your products and services and catch up on the computer work later? No matter which end of this scale your business is at, you will fare much better during a major technology outage if you plan in advance, before it happens. This month we take some of the mystery out of Business Continuity Planning.

Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is the process of working out how your business will continue to function during a disaster. These threats to your business could include:
Fire      Burst water pipes      Burglary       Flooding (severe rainfall)      Earthquake      Influenza outbreak      Hardware failure      Software Failure      Internet outage       Tornado/Hurricane/Cyclone      Severed phone cabling      Security breach       Damage by disgruntled employee      Employee error      … And many more!

BCP begins with identifying the possible risks and the impact they would have on your business. What functions would be affected if your main administration PC crashed? How long could you be without internet access? It’s important to evaluate the probability of these incidents occurring and the severity of their impact. This will help you to determine which incidents are the highest priorities to be addressed.

Next, you look at how these risks can be prevented, or the impact of them lessened. This could include copying data to a different site or having a laptop that has the same business-critical software applications as your administration PC.

Finally, you plan the actions that would be needed to help you respond when this incident occurs. Do you need to go to another site to get a copy of your data or bring the laptop in from home? Do you need to temporarily relocate to another site that does have internet access? Can you run a paper-based system until you can access your computers again? Think about who will be responsible for doing what and what resources they will need. This also needs to include any third-party suppliers of your business, like your local Computer Troubleshooter.

Your Business Continuity Plan should be examined, tested and maintained on a regular basis. This is to ensure it still reflects the changing needs of your business and also to make sure that the key parties within your business understand their roles in the process.

Whilst it may seem a little daunting, some forethought and planning will save you a lot of time, stress and money when things do go wrong.

Office 2010 – great new features!

Written for the Computer Troubleshooters franchise for distribution to our global client base:

Microsoft’s release of Office 2010 has been somewhat overshadowed by the recent Apple iPad release, however the new version of Office has some fantastic improvements that are worth shouting about. This month, we highlight a few of the features that will make your life easier.

Work better together – Do you e-mail files for people to review, managing revision numbers and tracking editing changes? Or do you use technology like Google Apps for internet-based sharing and collaboration? With Office 2010, your document can now be shared easily on the internet and edited by multiple people at the same time (for real-time co-authoring). This feature alone may change how teams work together internally and how businesses work with their customers.

Office wherever you need it (and it’s free!) – Office Web Apps will offer lightweight versions of Word Excel and PowerPoint from your web browser, for free. Whilst these products are missing many features, they’re designed to complement the full products and provide great basic editing from any location.

Look before you paste – Even the humble paste feature is overhauled, with the new Paste Preview. You can now choose to keep the source formatting, merge the formatting or keep the text only of your pasted content. As you hover the mouse over these options, you’ll see a preview of what your content will look like before it’s inserted. There’s now also a built-in screen capture tool and screen clipper giving you more control over the screen images you wish to copy.

PowerPoint embraces multimedia – Microsoft has stepped up the video capability of PowerPoint with advanced video editing functions now built into the application. You can also embed YouTube videos into your slides, though you’ll need an internet connection to display them when you run your presentation. You can also distribute your slides as a video, or easily broadcast your presentation over the internet.

E-mail’s new look – Outlook inherits the wide ‘ribbon’ toolbar that other applications had in Office 2007. The new Conversation View lets you follow the threads of a discussion more easily and inside an e-mail you’ll see meetings, attachments and other emails that are related to the sender. You’ll even be able to include them as a social networking contact with the Add button. For repetitive tasks, Outlook introduces macro-like QuickSteps, enabling you to action several tasks with one click (e.g. reply to a message and delete the original).

Never lose a document again? – If you’re not happy with the latest changes to your file, the Autosave feature now keeps the last 5 versions that it saved and you can preview and compare their contents. If your computer crashes or your laptop battery dies and you suddenly remember that you haven’t saved the masterpiece you’ve been working on for the last hour, Office now keeps unsaved documents for 4 whole days before automatically deleting them.

Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter about how you can take advantage of these features and other software and technology benefits.

The 5 things YOU must know about your business’s computers

If someone else is responsible for the technology in your business, it can feel fantastic that you don’t have to worry about that part of your business operation.  But whether that person is an employee, a freelance computer guy or a larger I.T. support company, the responsibility for this part of your business still ultimately lies with you.  Here’s a list of what all business owners should know about their own computers: 1. Administrator passwords – ‘Local administrator accounts’ have full access to make changes to your computers.  If you have a server, there may also be a ‘domain administrator’ account.  Make sure you have a record of these account passwords in a safe place.  If your business provides laptops and mobile phones to your staff, also keep a record of any passwords or PIN numbers that are used to secure these mobile devices (e.g. are prompted for when the device is turned on).  This may seem a bit over the top, but it only takes a disgruntled employee or an issue with your support provider and you can find yourself locked out of your own systems, at the mercy of someone else who knows the passwords when you don’t.  I’ve actually seen I.T. companies refuse to release administrator passwords.  Remember, your information is your property, not theirs. 2. Domain name details – If you have your company name registered as a domain on the internet (e.g. for your website or email addresses), make sure you know when your domain is due to expire.  Domain name registration only lasts for a certain period (commonly 1, 2 or 5 years) and must be renewed.  We’ve seen websites and emails stop in their tracks because the domain name registration company couldn’t (or didn’t) contact the business owner to process the domain name renewal.  Also associated with your domain name is a password or PIN number (sometimes known as a registry key).  This proves you are the rightful owner of the domain and is required for making any changes.  It’s a long process if you need to get this password reset because it’s been forgotten, so make sure it’s stored in a safe place. 3. Internet connection details – The modem that connects your computers to the internet is configured with some details that are specific to your account with your internet provider.  This may be as simple as a username and password, but may also include security settings or even ‘port numbers’ for allowing or denying internet access to some software programs.  If you have internet connection problems and the modem needs to be reset back to the factory defaults, this information will be lost.  It can also happen due to a power failure or if the modem is faulty.  Once again, this only takes a few minutes to document, but can save you a huge amount of time when you need it. 4. Last successful backup test – Your backups are only as good as your last successful ‘test restoration’.  If someone else manages your backups, ask them to test that they can restore the data and provide you with a monthly report so you know it’s been done.  If you look after your own backups, make sure this testing is performed by someone in your company and that you receive a report from them to show when it happened.  5. Software licensing proof – Like the financial and taxation side of your business, the responsibility for legal software ownership rests with the business owner.  Don’t think that you’re only a small business so no-one would audit you.  Keep a safe record of your software license keys and proof of ownership (e.g. purchase receipts).  This also makes license numbers easy to find if your computer software needs to be re-installed or moved to a different computer. Please make it your ‘New Financial Year’s Resolution’ to obtain this important information and store it safely.

The trials & tribulations of a digital certificate file (aka why you should listen to your husband)

I should have listened to my husband.

Armed with my shiny new copy of Windows 7, I was keen to install it onto my laptop to see if the claims were true that this new operating system would give my laptop a new lease of life.  “Remember to take an image* of it first”, called hubby.  I logically thought this through and reasoned that all of my important files were in My Documents which is synchronised to our server, therefore there was nothing else on the laptop that I needed to keep.  I even thought about my digital certificate file from the ATO, and remembered that I’d previously made a backup copy of this file on another location on our server.  So, with all of my bases covered, I began to format my hard disk.

I should have listened to my husband. 

Windows 7 worked like a dream.  I installed all of the latest Windows Updates including Internet Explorer 8.  The ATO’s Certificate Signing Interface (CSI) software installed perfectly and then the fun began.  I realised, with a lump in my throat, that the backup copy of my digital certificate files was old (as in expired).  It had been renewed, but I hadn’t backed up the renewed version of the file.  The ATO Business Portal wasn’t going to let me do a thing with an expired certificate and it was 3 days before my BAS was due. 

Call #1 made to the ATO helpline which told me that all of their agents were busy due to unprecedented demand and I’d have to call back later (beep, beep, beep).  Somehow I didn’t think they would let me use that as an excuse for lodging my BAS late though (but you wouldn’t answer my call!).

Call #2 made when I found a more direct number to the Technical Helpdesk.  After a 25 minute wait I told them a shorted version of my story (“Ah yes, computer problems .. mumble mumble .. can I have a new certificate please?”).  I received the standard response of “You’ll receive a letter in the mail within 10 business days with your new certificate’s password, you’ll still have to pay your BAS now and I’ll transfer you to the customer service team to register an extension on your lodgement date”.  More time on hold.  Lodgment granted.  Stern warnings about sending money anyway. 

The password letter promptly arrived in the mail but mentioned that I’d also receive an email with my certificate’s PIN number and download location.  Email? What email? I haven’t seen any email?  Off I went to check my junk mail, my spam filter and my other email accounts.  Nope, definitely no email.  Being somewhat of a technology expert (who doesn’t listen to her husband), I was sure that emails are supposed to arrive quicker than postal mail.

Call #3 was made to the ATO, advising them that I didn’t receive the email and could they please resend it.  I was told I had to wait 48hrs before I called them back again, because that was their service level agreement for response times and they wouldn’t even give me the time of day before that timeframe was up.  48hrs later – still no email.

48hrs later, call #5 was made to the ATO, telling them that I still hadn’t received the email and could they please check which email address they were sending it to.  48hrs later – still no email.

Call #6 to the ATO (another 48hrs later) stating that I had not received the email and could they try sending it to a different email address.

Within 24hrs I had received a test email from the ATO and also the required email with my digital certificate’s PIN number.  You see, along with my husband I obtained the last name of ‘Cuff’ which is apparently impossible to hear correctly over the phone.  I therefore get everything from Cliff to Cluff to Cuss, to which I have now resorted to the ‘Cuff, like the end of your sleeve’ explanation.

So, with the time ticking away on my lodgement extension, I proceeded to download my certificate file, change its password, save a backup copy on the server, and import a copy into the CSI certificate store on my laptop to take home for the weekend.

The next problem is that when my laptop is not connected to our office network, the CSI software cannot see the certificate in my ‘domain profile’ (as opposed to the local, cached copy it accesses when disconnected).  This meant a Sunday afternoon visit back to the office to reconnect to the network and prove I could once again see my new certificate file.  Note the word ‘once’ in that sentence?  That means that after successfully loading once, the CSI software then refused to start up correctly, no matter how many times I re-powered or threatened my laptop. 

You can imagine how happy I was, especially after hubby announced he had upgraded Java on my laptop that weekend.  CSI needs Java like fish need water.  Off to the System Restore feature it was then, to roll back the Java update.  After many, many more minutes, I attempted to log onto the domain again and re-try it … but I was greeted by an error that the computer’s account in the domain was invalid, and my log on was going nowhere.

Fine.  Plan C – install the CSI software on another computer, browse to the backup copy of the certificate on the server and away we go.  Until we get an ‘incorrect password’ error.  Huh?  Yes, the password that I thought I’d set on the backup copy of my new certificate file was not working.  So, I looked for the original email from the ATO, hoping I could download the certificate file again from their website.  Not a chance – the certificate file has already been downloaded.

I really, really should have listened to my husband. 

My last hope was to check out the copy of my user profile which had re-synchronised with the server when I successfully logged in that one time.  Joy of joys, it held a copy of the CSI software’s database store.  I copied those files to my second PC which now had CSI on it, and I was in, with a working password!!

Things were looking rosy again, until I remembered that MYOB was on my laptop and my laptop wasn’t allowing anyone to log onto it.  I now had ATO Business Portal access, but no BAS statement to get the figures from to enter into it.  What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Sitting at home was a printed copy of said BAS report, all ready to be entered.  So off home we went, armed with a working copy of my digital certificate file safely copied to my USB key.

My home PC was then loaded with the CSI software and had the certificate imported and I logged in to the Business Portal with my BAS report in hand.  *baited breath*

You have to be kidding me.

‘G1’ is a required field, but G1 on my computer didn’t actually give me a little rectangular box to enter anything into, and the business portal would not budge until I’d entered a number into the required field!

Quick mental checklist – home PC is Windows XP, Internet Explorer 8 with latest Java update. According to the ATO website, IE8 is not a supported browser.  Perhaps the Firefox browser would play?  Nope.  Could this be the curse of the latest Java update once more?

“Dad, have you installed any Java updates on your computers lately?”  Dad also happens to be a small business owner.  “Yes dear, on the PC .. but not on the laptop”.  Brilliant, let’s see if his laptop would work.  Um, nope, same G1 field problem. 

By now I’m seriously thinking it’s personal.  To prove it wasn’t, I asked Dad to log onto the business portal with his own certificate and company details and he was denied the G1 field too.  Having well and truly had enough, I went to bed that evening with visions of the ATO beating down my door for not lodging my return in time. 

Monday morning dawned with the sun shining.  Optimistic after a night of sleep, I logged on to give this thing one more try before I faced the dreaded on-hold time to the ATO.  I did think I could enact some sort of revenge by forcing the poor ATO staffer to listen through my entire story.  The mere thought of that must have scared somebody, because the fabulous G1 field appeared in all it’s editable glory!!

BAS now lodged.  Certificate backed up (again) with a correct password.  Husband confessed to.

Now I know this tale is a series of unfortunate events – events which I was not prepared to let get the better of me because I’m a technical expert and I just would not be beaten.  But if you have learnt anything from it, dear reader, please test that you have a current backup copy of your ATO digital certificate file and you can successfully enter it’s password.  And listen to your husband!

*image = like a backup, but this ‘snapshot’ preserves all of your settings too, so everything can be placed back on your PC identical to the way it was before.

Windows Updates? Why bother?

So many people I know are cynical about Microsoft’s ‘Windows Updates’ .. that is, if they even know it exists.  Valiant attempts by Microsoft to make these updates deploy automatically (to your internet-connected PC) have hit some snags – the installations don’t always work and sometimes they can even break the functionality of corporate applications.  To ease the headache for system administrators, Microsoft instituted ‘Patch Tuesday’ .. being the 2nd Tuesday of every month when all the newest, tested updates would be sent out.  This lets systems administrators know when they will be hit and gives them a chance to test the latest updates in a lab against their corporate software programs, before releasing them into the bigger corporate network.

Fine.  But what does that mean for MY computer?  I’ve only got 1  .. or 2 .. or 5 .. or 20.

In reality, it means that you are bugged with messages about automatic updates if they fail to install, or want to install when you want your computer to shut down, and you don’t know what to do about them, how to fix them or whether they are even important .. I mean, your computer is working, isn’t it?

Sorry guys but here comes the scary part … EXPLOIT WEDNESDAY.  Yup, that lovely term is what hackers use to describe the day AFTER Patch Tuesday.  It’s like Christmas for them, as they scour the internet for PCs that have not successfully applied the latest updates from Microsoft.  And the truth about the latest updates is that they are mainly security updates and are more often being released as they are developed and not saved for Patch Tuesday.  Why?  Cause they are important.  Too important to wait a whole month to roll out.

Now, I’m not going to get into a debate that Microsoft should develop secure software in the first place.  Suffice to say that if you knew what it took to build an operating system from the ground up, including all of the third-party stuff that it had to play nicely with that was beyond your control … you’d understand if a few issues went undetected during your testing.  Remember, no-one is capable of testing software like the audience that actually uses it .. the people that install 20+ different applications onto it and drivers for a dozen different printers and gadgets … all of which are out of your control  but apparently you should have tested.  Oooh, ok, guess I did get into that debate (hides and waits for the opponents).

Meanwhile, back on the subject, I know that updates are not the most glamorous of things are are definately not the most alarming or urgent.  Not when you have so much more other important stuff that needs to be done.  They fall right into the slot with ‘testing your backups’

I just dont want to see you hit with a computer problem that takes you out of action and could have been avoided if your updates were, well, up to date.

If you pay someone to look after your computers, make sure they’re doing your ‘patch management’.  More cost, I know … but if they are providing any sort of decent, pro-active management of your systems, this should be included in their fee anyway .. it’s just that important.

-SCuffy