Home Operating Systems Customer Support Webopedia Staff 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. Related Links Customer service software Related Terms support customer service center MSP Meaning & Definition Managed Security Service Metadata Catalog Service CRM Meaning & Definition Tiny URL Definition & Meaning Booter Services Definition & Meaning after sales support Utility Computing Definition & Meaning 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 UPDATED: This article was updated April 6, 2021 by Web Webster From A3 to ZZZ we list 1,559 text message and online chat abbreviations to... Read more How to Create a Website Shortcut on Your Desktop Browsers Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 0 UPDATED: This article was updated April 6, 2021 by Web Webster This Webopedia guide will show you how to create a desktop shortcut to a... 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 What are the 5 Generations of Computers? Computers Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 0 UPDATED: This article was updated on April 6, 2021 by Web Webster Learn about each of the 5 generations of computers and major technology developments... Read more Related Articles Computers Random Access Memory (RAM)... UPDATED: This article Updated April 6, 2021 by Web Webster Random Access Memory (RAM)... Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 1 Read more Computers OEM – original equipment... UPDATED: This article was updated April 6, 2021 by Web Webster OEM (pronounced as... Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 11 Read more Applications Best ERP Software for... UPDATED: This page was updated April 6, 2021 by Web Webster Enterprise resource planning... Vangie Beal - April 6, 2021 3 Read more
