So, everything is negotiable... a) The un-said item is :- they need the service.. and you can provide it to them ? (correct ? or do they have some other options ?)
What they are asking for is not unusual, for someone who does not have the full understanding of the Technology ... or someone who has some trust issues. You can laugh at it , and tell them to go where the sun don't shine... or You can tell them with a straight face, what you can do and what you cannot do. Having said that... I think you should also offer them a Month to Month deal, no strings attached (no pro-rate, pre-pay the month, and an initial build-out cost) Doing so will actually frame your business negotiations with them, and also put a comparative proposition that they could relate to. ---- Another option to possibly explore would be along the lines of... e.g. This is going to cost us $10,000 all inclusive.. Mr Customer, how would you like to pay that ? $2000 build-out cost, and a 5 month contract for $2000/month ? after which you can have your Month to Month service at the rate of $ X ---------------------- :) Faisal Imtiaz Snappy Internet & Telecom 7266 SW 48 Street Miami, FL 33155 Tel: 305 663 5518 x 232 Help-desk: (305)663-5518 Option 2 or Email: supp...@snappytelecom.net > From: "That One Guy /sarcasm" <thatoneguyst...@gmail.com> > To: af@afmug.com > Sent: Friday, August 28, 2015 4:05:51 PM > Subject: [AFMUG] Ridiculous SLA request > (hypotheticals in case on top of the following in case we had to sign an NDA > before giving them service) > so if we were looking at doing a connection in an area to a customer who > currently is suffering DSL woes. And say we put up an AP for them so we could > confirm the ability to connect them, its on the far end of our network, > traversing some small backhauls because of the few customers, and say we would > have to upgrade a minimum of two backhauls to deliver a WISP reliable service/ > And if we quoted them something like 350 a month for the connection, just > recouping the buildout on this would take some time as it wasnt really an area > of the network we forecast any growth on. > Remember we are a sub 1k subscriber network, with in the scheme of ISP > offerings > cover a small footprint. > So they were to come back with a change to the contract (note this was not an > SLA, its a DIA, which to us is the same as an SLA to some degree, without the > strict requirements or guarantees) > First, maintaining the 350 dollar a month cost > Change the Terms to SLA > Syncronous connectivity (whatever this means in their heads), apparently we > might need to run fiber to every end point on the planet to ensure this) > 99.5% uptime and full capacity bandwidth guarantee > 24/7/365 tech support > one hour maximumum call back time > 4 hour on site guarantee 24/7/365 > 4 hour resolution guarantee or they can terminate the contract on the spot > remove invoice payment terms, no disconnection for non payment > If our access site goes down we are required to seek a replacement site(not > sure > what the expectation here is) > -- > If you only see yourself as part of the team but you don't see your team as > part > of yourself you have already failed as part of the team.