Changes to SBS Phone Support

July 4, 2008

We’ve all been there. It’s 4:50 PM on a Friday afternoon (or a holiday weekend) and you get the call from a client, “Our server just went down.”  In times like that it’s nice to know that you’re not working without a net – you can always call Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS).

Well, before you pick up your keys and phone and start dialing, be aware that starting August 1, 2008, PSS is moving to a call-back support model for SBS. So, when you dial for help, be prepared to leave your critical information and then wait for someone to call you back.

This wrinkle will definitely introduce some logistical and billing issues – especially if the client is paying for your technician to be on-site waiting for a call, or if you’ve got a server room where you can’t get a cell signal. This isn’t a huge issue in the Managed Service / Remote Support scenario because the tech isn’t on-site burning double-time. But for cases where you absolutely have to be on-site, customers need to know that when the IT fire department rolls up, there may be no PSS water in the hoses just yet.  Check your SLAs folks!

At any rate, there are two ways to submit a ticket to request a PSS call-back:

• Online ticket submission: https://support.microsoft.com/oas
  (only available during business hours – details below)
• Phone ticket submission: (800) 936-4900
  (available 24×7)

Support hours & fees:

• Business hours (9AM – 9PM Eastern Monday - Friday) $259 USD
  Tickets can be submitted via phone or business hours URL:
  https://support.microsoft.com/oas
• After hours (outside hours listed above, including weekends) $515 USD
  Tickets can be submitted via phone ONLY

The Business-Critical After-Hours Support Site also states that “hours of operation are not impacted by holidays” - good to know on days like today.

There’s also email support available for $99 USD (with a 24-hour response time). But the email support doesn’t cover ‘advanced support’ so you’re better off hitting the newsgroups or just searching Susan’s blog.

Note: The above information is accurate as of July 4, 2008. Be sure to check the SBS Team Blog for any updates to these phone numbers or policies: http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2008/07/02/announcement-call-back-support-for-small-business-server-products.aspx

Posted in Support, SBS