The ‘job order ticker’ is certainly interesting.

I’m a registered provider for OnForce. My feelings on it are…well…bleh. Most of the work orders that come through are “flat fee” work orders, By the time you take into account the price of fuel, taxes, OnForce’s 10% fee, etc most work orders end up being not worth my time.
The end users of OnForce seem to think the computer techs aren’t worth as much as your local bag boy at the mega mart. If I need work done on my car…I don’t get to schedule the job AND set my own price..I don’t know why people who need computer work seem to think they can tell me what I can charge. I let most OnForce work slide by without a 2nd look. It used to be a good market place…now I’m not so sure. It seems that some people in the tech industry are guilty about what they deserve to get paid. You can’t get rich doing break/fix…but you CAN survive if you know what your services are worth, provide those services to the best of your ability and just treat the clients right. I think more and more of the OnForce “techs” are part swappers…not real technicians. They jump on a $40.00 wireless network install to pay for the next kegger, not to provide service.

Hi Matt & Matt, I am a long time loyal reader and thanks for all the great tips & advice that you and all the other folks at lockergnome have provided me over the years. As a provider for onforce I feel I can speak on the subject with some authority.

First, I agree with the previous comments in that 1) I let most work orders slide as they aren’t worth my time and 2) I have a reputation to consider. Often, the way the call works out is that I am stuck having to deal with a mess that the call description only touches on like the tip of a proverbial ice berg.

Anyway, when a provider sets up their online office at onforce, all qualifications, skills, and certifications can be listed there. When a buyer is shopping for a provider, that is taken into consideration along with ratings. Every call is finished with the buyer and provider doing a rating of one another.

When one is looking for a provider, call volume is given. It’s much like ebay. The more volume and better ratings a provider has, the more likely a buyer will choose them.

I am currently positioned to play the other side of the fence at onforce as a buyer although I have not placed a work order yet. I am involved in a digital signage effort and we will be needing techs to install and maintain the flat panels, digital players, and networking gear. Through this process, I have been assured that when a buyer accepts my work order, after having viewed the buyer’s qualifications, history, call volume, and ratings I can simply bump the provider if I am not comfortable with them and the call goes back out for other providers.

With onforce, it is first come first serve for the providers but with the buyers, well, you can pick and choose. Is this the best solution for service buyers? I don’t know. I can empathize with buyers on this one but I for one have not been able to find local, reliable, help on a contract basis. Another aspect to consider is that skills can be learned but work ethic is elusive and I have not found the solution on this one yet but I am eager to hear other’s advice.

Incidentally, I have taken on a full time job as my days of frustration and roller coaster income have to end. Thus I let the onforce “opportunities” slide right by. I’ve had too many experiences where I have had to run two hours each way with no travel to swap a system mother board including “tattooing” only to find that at the site, there is no cellular coverage, no fast internet, and the mobo is bad or the problem is something else for a flat $45. Believe me, I only did a few of these nightmare calls before I saw the light. Now, if I take a job, it is in town and the dollars have to be right. If is pays less than $100 bucks it’s not worth it to me. Like the other commenter stated, with fuel and phone expenses and the 10% coming off the top, it ends up costing the provider to run the call. It makes no sense to occupy the better part of one’s day for a measly $45 call that will potentially net $35 or less. The provider has to be smart, set boundaries and standards and keep them. When one is starving to death in this over-saturated competitive business it is easy to loose one’s focus. Therefore, I say look to onforce as a suppliment to one’s revenue stream and focus on proper marketing of one’s own business. Build a loyal clientel and set them up on a regular program of maintenance. Build relationships and ask for referrals. It makes all the difference in the world. Onforce is not a substitute for taking initiative and venturing out of the cave and hunting down the work. In summary, onforce is probably the best service platform I’ve experienced thusfar, but if you wait for onforce to be your “meals on wheels” you’ll die in business.

Thanks for the opportunity to rant. Maybe one day I can share my experiences as a Geeks On Time provider/dispatcher. It will be a great opportunity to talk about ethics and decency. J

I am a current service provider and let me give you some positive feedback about Onforce.

I have been a provider since 2005 and a buyer since 2007. I work both sides of the system to increase my onsite coverage. Onforce, if leveraged right, can be an extremely valuable tool. I have generated over 100K in the last 6 months alone.

I can understand your worries about qualified providers and let me give you a little insight on this first. In each provider profile, there is a list of certifications. These certifications are all verified and actually take 2 to 3 business days before they are approved for display. Another process is the background checks. This is a very detailed check by a third party and is very extensive. You are even required to a full drug test in your area and the results are then sent to the third party company.

Each provider is required to submit three references thar are verified. If Onforce cannot reach them then another reference is required. But I can go all day with the normal this is what they do etc…

As a young IT Firm Owner, I have all of my staff register with Onforce and we handle 98% of all work orders in our area. In addition to that, we have built great relationships with Buyers giving us the oppertunity to work on very large scale projects such as Roll Outs for large Companies, helped business meet their SLA as well as received training and certifications that are paid for by the buyers.

As a buyer, we are able to use providers to help our clients in a matter of hours instead of waiting for a Plane. We review the feedback of the Providers that we are routing work orders to and look at the type of work orders that the provider has completed.

Of course there is no perfect platform, but Onforce is close. They strive to be better by getting feedback directly from Providers and Buyers.

Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions 432.617.0199 ext 750

Best Regards,
Shane Bell
President
ITechWest Solutions

I have to agree with the comments, Im a current Provider and I have seen service calls fall to unreasonable prices where I laugh when I see the details and Price and think no one would do it…yet someone takes a job for $30 to replace whatever! It still amazes me!
Buyers are out to get cheap labor and really dont care who they get as long as there 3rd party contract is done! I rarely ever work for someone directly, its usally the subcontractor of the subcontractor!

Most providers are IT personel who moonlight on there off hours-or who THINK they know what they are doing!

Its a cut throat business- It reminds me of when the 18″ dish came out, you got paid $500-$700 to install them, Now its $25-$45 and they are all hacked in by the highschool kid down the street who has never install but one before.

-Just my 2 cents-
Keep it local – Support your local repair/installation companies!