Amazingly bad advice.. But hey, it's cheap!

"The assistant's brother takes care of the computers, and when he's not available we call another computer guy." Meanwhile, I'm looking at a rather successful dental practice. Are they feeling the sting of the current economy? I'm sure. As is everyone. But that's no excuse for past decisions, made long ago, because they were easy, and yes, cheap.

This particular experience likely wouldn't result in a drawn-out lesson if it weren't for the awful state of their systems. Perhaps the Doctor realized how poorly the environment was put together, because what brought me through the door was a dire request to setup offsite backups through our online service. No trust in the stability of your systems? I can certainly see why. When I walked in, one of the three front office systems wouldn't even start. And "support" would be getting back to them at some point. Not quite sure when.

My question: Why would anyone entrust their business, one that relies heavily on technology to function, to someone that happens to know a thing or two about computers and is cheap? I understand some people have a problem spending money on infrastructure and supporting said systems. But when you lean on the infrastructure in order to provide your services, why accept the cheapest possible option? There's a reason a common phrase even exists, "you get what you pay for."

I honestly just feel bad for the Doctor. The environment is teetering on collapse. And when it does, the practice will need to take a vacation in order to recover. Perhaps then I will receive a phone call. Hopefully. Not for me, but to help the practice move forward appropriately. But then, it seems I'm always fighting fires.