Thinking of setting up a 09 premium rate tech support line

Thinking of setting up a 09 premium rate tech support line

Author
Discussion

JNR77

Original Poster:

279 posts

237 months

Thursday 1st December 2016
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Evening All.

We are thinking of setting up a premium rate 09 number for technical support at work. having looked into it the commissions look quite poor; if the customer is charged £1.50 per min we would only receive £1.00 whilst the phone / service provider collects £0.50.

Does anyone have any experience of providers who charge a lower commission?

drainbrain

5,637 posts

110 months

Thursday 1st December 2016
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JNR77 said:
Evening All.

We are thinking of setting up a premium rate 09 number for technical support at work. having looked into it the commissions look quite poor; if the customer is charged £1.50 per min we would only receive £1.00 whilst the phone / service provider collects £0.50.

Does anyone have any experience of providers who charge a lower commission?
Years ago I was in the 'premium rate number business', best described as being a 'wan-kin-king'.

I'd have bitten your hand off for a quid from every thirty bob the punter was paying. Don't think I even got 30%. Mind you this WAS 30 years ago, so doubtless things have changed. Maybe time to get back into it, because it was really quite lucrative, which probably isn't surprising given how many wan-kers there are in UK.

Seriously mate, I think 66% is first class.

uber

855 posts

169 months

Thursday 1st December 2016
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A friend of mine set up a premium rate number when we were kids from a company he found in exchange and mart. It was a £29 business in a box type thing doing racing tips. He then bought a bunch of those Philips c12 handsets that you used to flash the memory and get unlimited £10 credit.

After sitting in a room for 2 weeks calling day and night he earned about 10k making him the top earner on the network. As he waited for the check to arrive he got a call to say he had to send in more I.D which resulted in them finding out he was not 18 and they kept all the money lol

Simpo Two

85,148 posts

264 months

Thursday 1st December 2016
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09xxx premium porno 1990s. Can't think anyone would be dumb enough to dial one now. Either you want to offer technical support or you don't.

Bullett

10,873 posts

183 months

Friday 2nd December 2016
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I have to ask, what sort of technical support can justify £1.50 a minute?

chippy348

623 posts

146 months

Friday 2nd December 2016
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This is something i have toyed with in my head a few times as we have loads of calls every day with people wanting advice why there motorcycle is not running right!

What has always put me off was a famous tuner from the 80/90s did it and it backfired on them, no one would even entertain calling them and this went for the same buying parts and tuning services from him. Even to this day they are slated for it.




All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Friday 2nd December 2016
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Premium rate numbers? Is it 1987 again and no-one's told me?

KevinCamaroSS

11,553 posts

279 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
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JNR77 said:
Evening All.

We are thinking of setting up a premium rate 09 number for technical support at work. having looked into it the commissions look quite poor; if the customer is charged £1.50 per min we would only receive £1.00 whilst the phone / service provider collects £0.50.

Does anyone have any experience of providers who charge a lower commission?
Please let us know who you are so I can avoid calling you. I will not call a premium rate number for any reason, certainly not for support.

Amazon calls you back so zero cost, Microsoft is 0800 so free. Others are local geographic so free if you have an inclusive call package and cheap if not.

In this day and age it would be a brilliant way to kill your business.

D4D

41 posts

132 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
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Www.nexusuk.com will be able to help

kowalski655

14,599 posts

142 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
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Who would buy something from a company,and then have to pay an extortionate sum for support?

chippy348

623 posts

146 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
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kowalski655 said:
Who would buy something from a company,and then have to pay an extortionate sum for support?
The OP has not said if they are offering support for their products or services. In my line of work people call us asking for advice why there motorcycle is not running right OR why the part they have fitted ( not brought from us) has affected they way there bike now runs and wants advice for free. They have no intention of bringing the bike into us as they are either not local or in most cases are DIY mechanics.

What do you do ? You can not simply say "do one" as they may have brought something off us or may be looking to purchase something to fix their bike. For me it is hard one to deal with. A premium rate phone line would at least give us some ££ for the time we spend on the phone.

But yes i agree if you are selling a product or a service like software or say a phone system then asking your customers to ring a premium number is a bit of a Pee take



MonkeyBusiness

3,912 posts

186 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
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Thank God for saynoto0845

Edited by MonkeyBusiness on Sunday 4th December 16:12

Frimley111R

15,537 posts

233 months

Sunday 4th December 2016
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I'm a bit surprised by the negativity here, what if people prefer to PAYG for tech support rather than pay a monthly fee or min price for every call? Their time has a value so why give it away for free?

Simpo Two

85,148 posts

264 months

Monday 5th December 2016
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I think many don't disagree with paying for support, it's more that the premium rate thing is tainted (and open-ended/liable to abuse stuck on 'hold' etc). It would be clearer to offer support as an extra at time of purchase for £x year, like a warranty.

AshW

3,836 posts

240 months

Tuesday 6th December 2016
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We give out a free phone number for technical support, thats those on a contract, all others get the normal number.

Its about the service, support and offering the best support you can, and make it easy for them, once you start charging, clients may start to question your business tactics.

IMHO

Frimley111R

15,537 posts

233 months

Wednesday 7th December 2016
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AshW said:
We give out a free phone number for technical support, thats those on a contract, all others get the normal number.

Its about the service, support and offering the best support you can, and make it easy for them, once you start charging, clients may start to question your business tactics.

IMHO
It depends, offer them a product for £1000 with free support or £500 with PAYG support. Nothing wrong with that.