[asterisk-biz] I need your skiils, but I can't hire you

Sat Jan 21 07:33:23 MST 2006

Mark,

Thanks for the "excellent idea" statement.

I agree, the only way that this part of the site will work well is when
the site grows and people actually develop feedback and ratings so
customers can know who is really established and qualified.  

The phone support idea is still a ways off.  For that, the techs will be
tested for ability prior to added to a queue.  They will also be rated
by the customer and dropped from the system if not qualified as well as
a refund of time/$ to the customer.

I would love it if you had some suggestions on how to promote the site
without spamming the lists, which will also give the site a bad name.  

Going even further, Asterisk Helpdesk is a one man show at this point.
I just took a job as a Senior Telecom Engineer and need to design and
implement a 300 seat call center with a full T3 circuit.  My time is
basically consumed by this for the foreseeable near future.  I could use
some help with Asterisk Helpdesk.  I too see it as an excellent idea and
see a big future for it, whether it be a paid service or even free
(selling advertising).  

I think the phone support piece could be huge with the right "gurus"
available to answer phone calls.  Digium is great but they will provide
limited support and often their answer is "Digium does not support that
configuration".  I think users and even small startup asterisk
consultantcies would use the service, especially if we do a branded
helpdesk.  That is, answer the phone based on CID and ANI to the company
that the customer belongs to.  We could give small startups the ability
to focus on sales and installations and not worry about support, while
making them seem larger and more capable to the end customemr.  This way
they can even markup the telephone support calls and make a couple
bucks.

Feel like helping?  I like to make money but my real concern is to build
an Asterisk resource that is very helpful to the community.  

Thanks
Steve

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Phillips [mailto:g7ltt at g7ltt.com]
> Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2006 9:14 AM
> To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion
> Subject: Re: [asterisk-biz] I need your skiils, but I can't hire you
> 
> Steve,
> 
> I suggest you look harder for qualified techs. Of the five or so jobs
> I've seen come into my mailbox from your system generally only one of
> the replies comes from someone one might consider qualified. The rest
> are from young opportunists tring to make a fast buck.
> 
> This will get your excellent idea a bad name. It has already disuaded
me
> from posting my services in response to advertisments.
> 
> Someone once told me that if the words "reliable", "cheap" and
"quality"
> were aranged in a triangle you would only be able to pick two of the
> three. He's right!
> 
> 
> 
> Mark, G7LTT/KC2ENI
> Randolph, NJ
> http://www.g7ltt.com
> 
> 
> Steve Totaro wrote:
> > www.asteriskhelpdesk.com <http://www.asteriskhelpdesk.com/>  is
planning
> > on offering such a service.  We are in the process of obtaining
> > qualified techs that speak different languages and are available
around
> > the clock.  We are developing testing for the techs and a backend
system
> > for escalation, billing, and history.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
> >
> >   _____
> >
> > From: Rusty Dekema [mailto:rdekema at gmail.com]
> > Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 9:32 PM
> > To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion
> > Subject: Re: [asterisk-biz] I need your skiils, but I can't hire you
> >
> >
> >
> > Ahh, I gotcha. I thought you meant basically the opposite :). It
does
> > sound like a good idea.
> >
> > Somebody could start a firm that would have a contractual
relationship
> > (employer/employee, independent-contractor, whatever) with some
asterisk
> > gurus and hire its services out to companies like yours. Companies
like
> > yours could elect to keep configuration data regarding your system
on
> > file with the support firm to aid in troubleshooting. The main
stumbling
> > block that I see is reluctance on behalf of client companies to
trust a
> > newly-formed firm with the passwords to their phone systems.
> >
> > -Rusty
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 1/20/06, Michael Welter < mike at telecommatters.net
> > <mailto:mike at telecommatters.net> > wrote:
> >
> > No, I'm asking the list.  How can we collaborate in order to provide
> > good service to our customers?  How do we organize (like Geek Squad)
to
> > provide 24x7 coverage for Asterisk systems?
> >
> >
> > Rusty Dekema wrote:
> >
> >>This sounds good to me. Do you have any more information on what you
> >>envision? What information would you like me to provide about my
> >>Asterisk, networking, and computing skills and knowledge?
> >>
> >>Sincerely,
> >>Russell Dekema
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>On 1/20/06, *Michael Welter* < mike at telecommatters.net
> >
> > <mailto:mike at telecommatters.net>
> >
> >><mailto: mike at telecommatters.net <mailto:mike at telecommatters.net> >>
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> >>    Anyone that isn't looking for a 401K and health insurance,
please
> >
> > raise
> >
> >>    your hand.  Anyone that's willing to accept a check (and a 1099)
> >
> > for
> >
> >>    services rendered, please raise your hand.
> >>
> >>    I envision a large community of collaborators, each with his/her
> >
> > own
> >
> >>    skills. When I decide to spend a week in Can Cun with the Mrs.,
I
> >
> > need
> >
> >>    to know that any problems my customers have are handled by
> >
> > competent
> >
> >>    professionals.
> >>
> >>    This is an opportunity for someone.  Please bring us together
with
> >
> > the
> >
> >>    goal of  servicing the customer.
> >>
> >>    --
> >>    Michael Welter
> >>    Telecom Matters Corp.
> >>    Denver, Colorado US
> >>    +1.303.414.4980
> >>    mike at TelecomMatters.net <mailto:mike at TelecomMatters.net>
<mailto:
> >
> > mike at TelecomMatters.net <mailto:mike at TelecomMatters.net>  >
> >
> >>    www.TelecomMatters.net <http://www.TelecomMatters.net>  <
> >
> > http://www.TelecomMatters.net>
> >
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> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
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> >
> > --
> > Michael Welter
> > Telecom Matters Corp.
> > Denver, Colorado US
> > +1.303.414.4980
> > mike at TelecomMatters.net <mailto:mike at TelecomMatters.net>
> > www.TelecomMatters.net <http://www.TelecomMatters.net>
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