Customer doesn't care about anti-virus, running Windows XP

[goombawaho]

I've got a customer that has about 12 PCs at one office and 8 at the other. A server at each office. He's running either Microsoft Security Essentials as anti-virus OR the free version of AVG/Avira/whatever. I've already told him about three times that A) you're not supposed to run the free A-V for a business and B) it would be best to have a unified A-V system. I like Symantec Endpoint Protection.

He also keeps buying old XP computers to use out in the shop. I'm trying to figure out the best way to tell him that he's a dumba$$. Or is he really not in that much danger and I should stop fretting. I've already given him the "XP is no longer updated......" and "ransomware is very dangerous....." speeches.

Just give up?? He seems to resent the fact that I keep bringing it up. He's the kind of person that you almost WANT to get ransomware so you can say "See, I told you so, moron".

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[Andrzejek]

Just give up??

Yes. You did all what you could. What else can you do? You can't fix stupid.

Have fun.

---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

 

[SkipVought]

Hope you have a written confirmation of your advise and his refusal.

Skip,
[sub]
Just traded in my OLD subtlety...
for a NUance![/sub]

 

[goombawaho]

No. I'm sure he would never sign that.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[edfair]

Give him a reminder once a year on the invoice for your service and let him take the risk. Don't gloat when it happens and don't bleed him for the repairs.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[kwbMitel]

Not judging but you seem to have more than a few of these clients that do things on the cheap without consideration for the consequences and blame you if anything goes wrong or takes too long. If memory serves, you feel you are not in a position to refuse work from these clients either.

I think you need to reconsider your roll in developing these relationships and whether they are healthy for your business and/or well being.

If they won't listen to reason then you have to decide whether you want to live with the consequences of maintaining the relationship. Basically, if they wont change, will you?

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[goombawaho]

This is the same dude that gave me all the trouble before, so not huge numbers of customers but still irritating. His employees don't like him either so I know it's not just me.

This is the guy that I divorced myself from. He tried to find somebody to replace me. He found that everyone wanted to replace all the XP computers as part of their service agreement He refused because he wanted to save that money. Then he contacted me. I decided to start working for him again, thinking that maybe he learned a lesson. I think he may have learned something, but didn't actually apply it!!!!

I've got at least two emails to him with a quote on an A/V product urging that he purchase it. It's funny - it seems the people that do everything right end up with a virus or identify theft and those that ignore everything just sort evade IT death by happy coincidence.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[gbaughma]

By the same token, as AV programs evolve, less and less are going to properly support and work on a deprecated OS like XP.


Just my $.02

"What the captain doesn't realize is that we've secretly replaced his Dilithium Crystals with new Folger's Crystals."

--Greg

 

[goombawaho]

Well, the XP should go away period. I didn't mean to say get antivirus, keep the XP.
Maybe everything will be just fine, forever.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Okay, he's a moron, and deserves what happens after he's been warned once.
Just don't let him get too far behind on paying your bills.

Too far behind in his case means a balance of a day or two;
he should be on a cash on arrival basis with you.

 

[goombawaho]

This guy is now paying me without a problem. I have made "friends" with the accounting person and she seems to like me. So she will keep bringing up the invoices if she submits them to the owner and doesn't get approval to pay. Of course I am not going to let him get behind a bunch of invoices as was the case when we were doing a huge overhaul of his entire infrastructure at two locations. Then he had leverage over me, but now I am more aggressive in my collection activities!!!

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.