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BANYON DATA COMMENTS ON CLIENT SOFTWARE SUPPORT TRENDS

Over my 36 years of designing, developing and managing an extensive line of local government software products from Banyon Data Systems I have seen a lot of changes. Most of these changes were subtle and easily adopted and welcomed. However, occasionally I saw significant changes or trends that were taking place regarding how clients were supported and treated. Sadly, many of these changes have been adopted by fellow software vendors in the local government software industry.  Banyon Data will not be one of the followers when it comes to several of these so called “leading-edge” support measures.

Here are just a few trends that, in my opinion, have NOT lived up to their expectations with clients and will not be totally relied on by Banyon Data Systems.

  1. Automated phone systems that eliminate person-to-person contact.  It seems that a real person standing by to answer the phone and talk directly to you is a thing of the past. Well, not at Banyon Data.
  2. Knowledge based automated support techniques in software and websites that give you “canned” answers to your questions or concerns. These support systems rarely give you an answer you can use. It’s a lame attempt to give you quality support.
  3. The heavy reliance on Website video instruction and the elimination of hard-copy manuals. Heck, nobody reads manuals anymore. It simply does not result in instant gratification. If you still do rely on written instructions then I salute you.
  4. The predominate use of search engine ads on search engine sites (Google). Basically, the concept is the more ads or hits you pay for the higher your ad will be placed on a search results page.  This doesn’t mean you have the best product. Rather, it means you have decided to devote more marketing dollars to be spent on your search ranking.

Now, just so you know in an “old school” sort of way, Banyon Data was on the front line of creating municipal software systems for the PC in the early 1980’s and as of today, has successfully evolved to be one of the leading software companies serving public entities in the USA.  So, essentially, we have seen it all, both the good and not so good when it comes to customer support.

Below is what you will not find at Banyon Data -

  • Banyon Data does have a telephone answering service and many lines to handle your toll-free calls, but does not rely on it to satisfy customer support. We strive to quickly answer every call or email that comes into the support center and provide useful answers to your questions. Yep, a real person will talk with you and assist you with your inquiries.
  • Banyon Data does have built in helps for our software products (Fund Accounting, Payroll and Utility Billing, etc) but will not rely on predefined helps to give you a definitive answer.  Again, call us or email us and we will respond quickly.
  • Banyon Data has a library of instructional videos available on our website but does not rely on them for your training or support. The videos are intended to supplement your knowledge and/or refresh your understanding.
  • Banyon Data had a search ad campaign a few years ago and decided to drop it and work with an experienced consultant to guide the Company toward a viable Search Engine Optimizing approach that did not rely on spending big bucks for worthless clicks. Today, Banyon Data may not always be on your first page results from your search engine but we’re getting there. Just test it yourself by entering a few keywords into your search engine:

utility billing software for cities

fund accounting software for local governments

municipal software