Frequently Asked Questions

What is OneVision?

OneVision creates incredible technology experiences. The company partners with home technology professionals with existing client relationships and provides a turnkey service desk focused on providing high-quality support to their clients. The company’s Partner Support services ensure successful post-purchase interactions by providing always available, emotionally intelligent, and knowledgeable support. In addition, the company drives growth in recurring revenue by marketing, selling, and managing service plans on behalf of its partners.

How does OneVision provide support?

Triage by itself is the process of documenting the symptoms of any given service request, asking the right questions to diagnose the problem, and assessing the urgency of the situation. Basic support by itself includes suggesting any number of quick fixes or workarounds to help the client get past the immediate issue. Our Partner Support service merges these two concepts together. By combining the art of triage with the science of troubleshooting, the OneVision team is able to provide an excellent experience post-install while you continue to focus on the in-person, ongoing relationships with your customers. For example, we might receive a phone call about the “tv not working,” but with a few questions we find out that the cable box is malfunctioning (even after a reboot). However, the streaming device, such as an Apple TV or Roku, is working fine. The problem in the moment is that the client wants to watch the game on the big TV and a workaround could include helping the client stream the game from a mobile device. This a) removes the urgency from the situation, b) diagnoses the problem a bit further, and c) solves the client’s immediate concern.

Is OneVision an integrator? Do you install technology?

OneVision is not an integrator. OneVision developed a projects team years ago to design, program, and install integrated systems in an effort to own the experience for our technology members. We also provided these projects for non-members with the goal of introducing them to our high level of service.
When creating this service offering we determined that selling projects could be a conflict of interest, so we stopped executing projects and turned our focus to service. We rely on trusted partners in the industry to implement systems, just as they rely on us to provide service. We are always looking for high quality, forward-thinking integrators to recommend.

What is your response time to phone calls and emails?

Our guarantee is to respond to every inbound communication within 30 minutes.

Do you provide 24/7 support?

Yes, our 30-minute guarantee is available 24/7. We do not rely on any external answering services. All events are handled by our dedicated Partner Support team.

Do you answer every phone support call and email, even during business hours? Can you do after-hours only, while my own team picks up service calls during the day?

Every incident comes through our system first. That way we can guarantee a quality response in a timely manner and ensure consistency.

Do you schedule follow-up visits for events that require on-site support?

We do not schedule for you. When appropriate, we get available dates and times from the client and provide them to you so that you can follow up and confirm.

Do you provide remote monitoring and do you reboot the devices when possible?

Yes! We provide a turnkey monitoring service to ensure a smooth support experience. When the situation calls for it we will reboot devices remotely and follow up to ensure proper recovery.

Will my clients know it is OneVision answering the phone and emails?

No. We have a system that lets us know that the client belongs to you, so we can answer the phone call or email as you. “Acme Audio Video Systems, this is John speaking.”

How do the phone calls and emails get to you?

We provide you with a dedicated phone number and dedicated email address. We then work with you to forward your current service channels directly to us. Some integrators have only one number for their company or they don’t yet have a support address. We work with you to develop those dedicated channels.

Our clients prefer using text to communicate – do you respond to those?

We are considering this as an option and understand this can be a preferred method of communication by homeowners.

Who is answering the phone and emails? What is their background and capabilities?

Dedicated OneVision employees, based in one of the world’s most well-known regions for the best technology expertise, Boston, MA, are answering phone calls and emails. All of our support team members are screened for having excellent communication skills and a high EQ ( Emotional Intelligence Quotient).EQ, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and motivation, is one of the most important skills to have when providing high-quality support. Beyond that, our technology specialists have a combination of technical skills and backgrounds. Many have spent significant years in the custom technology installation industry and have been trained to provide remote technical support. Everyone has significant experience providing, setting up, and supporting a broad range of technologies. Our specialists regularly learn about the latest technologies and concepts through private study, manufacturer-provided training, and our own in-house training programs. When we begin to work with a new dealer, we learn about the systems they deploy, and train our team on any technologies that we aren’t already familiar with.

How are you able to provide support without any information on the systems we install?

Basic support does not require intimate knowledge of the system. We focus on understanding the problem, providing basic support (such as changing the batteries, re-starting an Apple TV, etc.), and facilitating workarounds so the client can go on with what they were trying to do rather than focus on the technology itself. In a majority of cases, we don’t need the details of your design to facilitate. Our team has years of experience with smart home systems and knows the right questions to ask to properly diagnose and support. Almost more importantly, our team has the experience to know how to alleviate the anxiety of a heightened situation and, as a result, can address the immediate needs of any given call in a short time frame. Over time the team will document information on each person and home so that we build a shared knowledge base to make support even more efficient. However, any helpful basic client information is always welcome and contributes to providing a better experience. For example, you may wish to provide us with a one-line description of each system in the home. We have found that engineering documents and schematics are not necessary to provide basic support.

What kind of information do you want/need about our clients’ systems?

We’ve distilled even the most complex systems into a proprietary list of basic questions with predefined answers that we ask you to fill out for new homes going forward. Providing us with this information will take any project manager less than a minute going forward and will allow us to provide world-class support. If you can fill it out for pre-existing systems then that’s great. But whatever the case, we will get to know your clients, their homes, their preferences, and how they like to be supported. Some are more DIY (do-it-yourself) while others are DIFM (do-it-for-me). We’ll document it all as we go, be accommodating, and make you look like a service rock star. Going forward, whenever you complete a project, you’ll simply enter the information through an online form that ensures we get the data necessary to make support even more efficient from your clients’ perspectives.

What systems and brands do you handle/support?

We maintain a broad and deep knowledge base of all major smart home brands and many of the consumer and DIY technologies as well. If a specific brand is critical to your consumer base then we’ll get to know that technology so that we can support your clients.

How do you stay trained with all this technology?

We have a technology training center where we test the latest technologies and train our staff. This is done through the use of our one-of-a-kind T.E.C.H Wall, new products or software updates are issued, we install them on the wall and train the entire team so that we maintain up-to-date knowledge as new scenarios come up in the real world. By doing so, we know we can deliver the best possible support experience your clients will ever receive.

How do we communicate to ensure nothing slips through the cracks?

We will be providing and managing a ticketing system account for you. We will share every ticket with you, and you will receive a notification/status for every ticket that requires further action from you. To assist your team, we will check in regularly on tickets that don’t appear to be getting the proper attention or follow-up. We will also facilitate instant message communication, which will allow our team to communicate quickly and effectively with your service coordinator on any topics that require discussion. We will also communicate by phone for high-urgency or life-safety incidents.

What is a support ticketing system?

A support ticketing system is software-as-a-service that makes it easy to manage incoming support requests and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. It’s a must-have for any company that’s serious about support. Don’t worry about setup or management – we’ll handle all of that for you as part of our partnership and we’ll train your team on best practices.

What is a “service coordinator?”

A service coordinator is the person at your company who has acted as the primary contact between your team and your clients, and who will act as the liaison between our team and yours. They are typically also in charge of coordinating advanced support once we’ve passed a ticket to you. During normal business hours, they are the person we contact if there is an urgent/life-safety incident. Depending on how you choose to organize your team, they are also facilitating follow-up with the end client and scheduling your advanced support team. They make sure nothing falls through the cracks once we’ve shared a ticket. Our team will still have oversight of shared tickets to doubly-ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

How do you handle urgent issues and life-safety issues?

The short answer is that we will do our normal job of providing basic support and will follow that up with whatever process you provide us with and that works for you when an urgent or life-safety issue arises. In the event of a high-urgency or life-safety issue with a client, we will start by assuring the client that we’re treating the situation with a high level of urgency. Then we’ll gather appropriate information, provide advice to the client, and share the service ticket with your team. Lastly, we will call your on-call service coordinator to alert them of the issue.

What if you get a sales-related request?

When a request comes through that is not related to service (whether it’s billing, sales, or vendor-related), we intelligently gather the right information from the client and pass it through to you so that your team can quickly follow up. Your success is our success, so we’ll make sure any calls not directly related to support are handled appropriately.

Can I continue to use my support phone number and email address?

Absolutely. We help you forward your phone calls and emails to our system.

What does your service do for my business?

1. You save money by having us provide basic support more efficiently and prevent simple issues from taking up your team’s valuable time.
2. Your team uses that saved time to bill more hours.
3. You build loyalty with your client base by addressing their service needs promptly 100% of the time.
4. You build recurring revenue by charging for priority response and monitoring at higher tiers.
5. You’re able to bill for more hours because every service issue that we can’t solve becomes a billable follow-up from you.
6. You create a more scalable environment since your team is not taxed on nights and weekends beyond needing to be available for urgent, life-safety issues.
7. Most importantly, you can focus on what you do best: Build relationships with your clients and install quality systems.

How do I build RMR?

The ability to provide exemplary, 24/7/365 technical support and service to your clients is the first step toward being able to establish service plans that ultimately generate RMR. In our years of developing a business model that works, this is what we’ve learned:

1. Give first, ask later. First, give your clients want they want – high-quality basic support! They all expect it, so give it to them and prove that you can respond better than any of your competitors. Then offer to prioritize their on-site service and provide monitoring services for proactive attention – they’ll pay for that!
2. Leverage data and timing. We gather information on the quantity, frequency, and urgency of calls from each client. Then we help you market to the right clients at the right time. We have years of success creating and selling service contracts and will provide you with our best practices and consultation. Our goal is to help you get as many of your clients onto monthly service contracts as possible and move them up to higher levels over time, but this can only be done with proper follow-up at the right time.

Will you help me develop service agreements?

We provide you with our templates and work with you to create service agreements appropriate for your company and clients.

How do I recoup the cost of your service?

At first, you won’t – at least not directly in cash. And that’s OK. Right now you are more than likely spending more money on time, resources, and lost billable opportunities to provide the type of service your clients are looking for. By hiring us you will be saving time, securing your relationships, and will likely be able to increase billable efficiency. With that taken care of, now you can start to charge for priority on-site service and remote monitoring.

I already install monitoring systems. Why do I need this service?

Monitoring systems are only part of the solution. Your clients need to know that you will respond quickly and reliably 24/7 to help them with issues big and small. Technology is so embedded in our lives that it’s a real issue when it doesn’t work properly. Providing basic support in the moment of need builds loyalty with your client base.

I already use an answering service. Why do I need this service? How is it different?

An answering service can only take messages and pass them on. We actually perform triage, provide basic support, offer workarounds when appropriate, and assist in diagnosis. Imagine if an emergency room triage station were staffed by an answering service. That’s what your clients are experiencing when an answering service picks up.

How large or small of companies do you support? What’s the typical company size and type?

At OneVision we believe that quality technology support should transcend all types of integrators, homes, and income brackets. Whether you are a custom integrator focused on ultra-high-net worth families or a retail shop with a high volume of customers each year, your clients all depend on technology for productivity and entertainment at home. Some of our integrators have 25,000 homes under management from the last 30 years of business, while others have no more than 50 homes from the last five years. We provide the same high-quality technology support with the same level of service and emotional intelligence to every client who calls in.

Do you handle commercial clients?

Yes. Please reach out and we’ll discuss.

How do you determine the fee?

For Partner Support, we charge a fixed monthly fee based on your incident volume and number of people on your service team. During your first year, we re-evaluate every three months. After that, we lock in your fixed fee for 12 months at a time. Grow as much as you can that year – the price won’t change!

Do you have a minimum charge?

Some integrators have a really low volume of calls, but we have minimum staffing and setup costs that we need to cover. We have a minimum fee that we promise won’t break the bank.

Is the contract between us and OneVision? Or between the client and OneVision?

To begin our relationship, we will engage in a Master Services Agreement directly with you, the integrator. We are acting on your behalf to provide support. If you have not done so already, we will work with you to market and facilitate service agreements on your behalf.

How am I going to get my legacy clients on to new service plans? What about my clients that spent significant money on a system and want free support?

Timing is everything, so patience is required. Wait for their next request, impress them with excellent support, and then follow up with them asking for a service plan. Legacy clients will naturally come back to you asking for support and along the way we will help you exceed their expectations by responding instantly and providing excellent, basic support. Data on their support frequency and urgency will help determine the service plan that is right for them.

How do I get started?

We start by building a profile of your business. We want to know how many calls you typically get each month, what kind of systems you install, what kind of service team you have, and what kind of expectations you set for your clients. If we’re a good fit we’ll put together an agreement, go through a brief onboarding process, forward your calls and emails to our service team, and we’ll be off to the races! You will immediately see the benefit of our services through improved efficiency, more billable time for your team, and most importantly, happier clients.