Home Operating Systems Customer Support Webopedia Staff September 1, 1996 Updated on: May 24, 2021 Share Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Service that computer and software manufacturers, and third-party service companies, offer to customers. For personal computer products, the following are common customer-support options: mail-in service: The manufacturer will repair your equipment if you mail it in. Typical turnaround time is about four days. In some service plans, the manufacturer charges you for shipping expenses. carry-in service: The manufacturer will repair your equipment, but you must deliver it to a local service site. This is sometimes called depot service. on-site contract: For a monthly or annual fee, a repair person will come to your site to fix problems. (The fee is included in the purchase price of some machines.) Most on-site contracts guarantee that the service will be rendered within a fixed number of hours from when you report a problem. hot lines: Many software manufacturers provide a phone number that you can call for advice and trouble-shooting. Often the number is toll-free. The quality of this type of support varies considerably from one company to another. Some hot lines are so good that they enable you to solve most problems yourself. Others are so bad that you are unable even to get through. bulletin board system : Some companies maintain electronic bulletin boards (or forums within online services) staffed by service engineers. If you have a modem, you can report a problem to the bulletin board and a technician will respond. This can be convenient because bulletin boards are usually open 24 hours a day. Also, bulletin boards enable you to download software updates that correct known bugs. Customer support is also called technical support. Webopedia StaffSince 1995, more than 100 tech experts and researchers have kept Webopedia’s definitions, articles, and study guides up to date. For more information on current editorial staff, please visit our About page. Top Articles The Complete List of 1500+ Common Text Abbreviations & Acronyms Social Media Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 1 Text Abbreviations reviewed by Web Webster From A3 to ZZZ we list 1,559 SMS, online chat, and text abbreviations to help you translate and understand... Read more Windows Operating System History & Versions Operating Systems Vangie Beal - January 16, 2012 0 The Windows operating system (Windows OS) refers to a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft Corporation. We look at the history of Windows... Read more How to Create a Website Shortcut on Your Desktop Browsers Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 0 Website Shortcut on Your Desktop reviewed by Web Webster This Webopedia guide will show you how to create a website shortcut on your desktop using... Read more Generations of Computers (1st to 5th) Computers Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 0 Reviewed by Web Webster Learn about each of the 5 generations of computers and major technology developments that have led to the computing devices that... Read more Related Articles Definitions How to Indent in... Microsoft Word is a graphical word... Abby Braden - June 10, 2021 0 Read more Definitions Webcam A webcam, short for web camera, is a piece of video hardware that... Jenna Phipps - June 4, 2021 0 Read more Computers Binary System The binary system in computing uses the base 2 number system to power... Jenna Phipps - June 4, 2021 0 Read more
