Support Fees for Out-of-Warranty Systems

Dear TechnoFrolics Clients,

Due to the number of TechnoFrolics installations in the field dating back 25 years, we can no longer - free of charge - assess issues and help with recovery/repairs for far-out-of-warranty exhibits, or for issues separate from our contribution to the project, or for issues with components other than those under TF warranty. (For example and in particular, general exhibit computer IT support/maintenance/install/backup, sometimes for systems whose manufacturer support for the operating system stopped years ago...).

Of necessity, we must charge for our time in terms of communication, assessing the problem, performing repairs, assisting with configuration changes, etc.

Our billing rate for such work is $60-$120/hour (depending on the complexity of the problem and skill level of TF staff required to address it, details of the situation including total time required, and related factors), with a minimum bill time of 1 hour.
Notes:

In the greater Boston area where we are located, hourly rates for plumbers and electricians appear to be typically in the $75-$150/hr range. Our general operating costs, in conjunction with this reference point, makes us feel our rate range is reasonable.
You may assume, for the purposes of budgeting, that most issues will land near the middle of our range — $90/hr.
If we can resolve a problem in just a couple of minutes via a quick email, we will continue to do so free of charge.

Payment may be made by (usd) check, ACH transfer, Zelle, PayPal, wire transfer, or credit card. (Please contact us to discuss best method - that being one that simultaneously meets your timeline while minimizing transaction fees.)

We hope you understand and appreciate our position.

(See additional notes regarding repair issues below.)

Sincerely,
David Durlach, founder/director

Additional Notes

Because of the difficulty of diagnosis without accessing the system and investigating things first-hand, it is not possible to, a priori, give an accurate quote for a repair. The only way we would be able to give a firm price is to quote a new system. (In fact, if the system is out-of-date, it may be that updating some or all of the hardware and/or software is the prudent choice.)

A partial list of variables that may affect the repair cost includes: the expertise and availability of individuals from your organization providing assistance on-site, the presence, quality and speed of internet access, the frequency and repeatability of the problem, the number of issues that are occurring at once, and whether there is a software problem, hardware problem, or both.

If up front pricing is necessary, we can make an assessment of the problem for a diagnostic fee, spending a set amount of time attempting to: either find and fix the problem or provide a diagnosis. This is likely to require on-site staff assistance and a high-speed internet connection. If the problem is quickly resolved or diagnosed, a portion of the fee may be waived.

In the case that it is impossible to determine the cause remotely, for example if there is lack of high-speed internet access, no staff person available on site to test each component of the system, or there is too little information that can be gained remotely, it may become necessary for you to ship the entire system to us for diagnosis and repair.