An important element in comparing vendors of automated library systems based on UNIX and other multiuser operating systems is the post-installation support the vendor will provide. There are two ways of evaluating the support: contacting existing customers and determining the customer support ratio, i.e., the ratio of support staff to the number of installations.
When calling an existing customer, it is a good idea to ask if the library has upgraded its hardware platform in the last three years and has loaded the latest release of the software. Unhappy customers often contribute to their own dissatisfaction by not keeping up with new releases.
If at least one customer of the first five called rates the vendor's support as poor or fair, it is a good idea to make additional calls. Two or more unhappy customers out of 10 should be considered a warning signal.
The customer support ratio can be calculated by dividing the number of installations by the number of support staff figures available from the vendors or by consulting the March-April 1999 issue of Library Systems Newsletter.
Most vendors have ratios of 1:6 to 1:10, all very acceptable. Differences in ratios among vendors which fall within this range should not be given much weight because they can reflect the size or sophistication of the customer base. Large sites may demand more time than the average account, but sophisticated sites may take less time than the average account. Customers with aging systems also tend to demand more time. The mix of customers will, therefore, affect a vendor's ratio.
A vendor with a ratio of 1:3 is not necessarily offering superior support. In this year's survey, at least two vendors with a 1:3 ratio are supporting some very large, complex sites.
We have seen a correlation between the ratio and the level of satisfaction among existing customers when the ratio is greater (poorer) than 1:10. However, not all vendors with ratios greater than 1:10 receive low ratings from existing customers. At least one vendor with a ratio greater than 1:10 has made a large number of software-only sales, meaning that the customers do not rely on the vendor for hardware support.
We recommend making at least 10 calls to existing customers when the ratio is greater than 1:10. Do not assume that the responses will be disturbing; they may well be reassuring.
