Th Real Cost of Doing it Yourself…

Often times, we have clients who want to try to save on costs so they think they can install portions of the cabling themselves. We understand the thought process which of course is,  “I am already paying employee XYZ, we can just have that person run the wire!” For instance, we recently had a client tell us that they were going to source their own fiber for ATT internet and install it themselves, then have us out to terminate it. Well, ATT had already installed their equipment so the customer was getting billed monthly for internet they haven’t even started using yet (which is typical in their contracts). It took their employee 2 months to source the fiber, rent a scissor lift, and install the cable. Therefore, they ended up spending $2000 over two months with ATT to only save about $300 with us. Unfortunately for them, that was a large net loss!

Now that is an extreme case, so then, is there ever a savings generally? Let’s think about some other questions:

-What else should your employee be working on? How far behind will it put them behind in their day to day tasks? Will they be upset if they are asked to do something well outside their job description?

-Will it affect your workman’s comp insurance if they were to get hurt? If they fall off a ladder when they are classified as a “clerical or sales employee” and not and “installation or laborer” employee? The insurance adjuster’s job is to find fault and pass blame.

-What about building codes? Voice, data and even speaker wiring fall within the National Electric code. Even if the job isn’t being ‘inspected’, shouldn’t it be done correctly and more importantly with everyone’s utmost safety in mind? Something like not knowing when to use plenum rated cable vs PVC cable could seriously injure someone if there was ever a fire (PVC creates toxic smoke when it burns). Does your employee know this important piece of information?

All good things to keep in mind when you are thinking about “saving some money”.

Remember it always ends up costing more to pay someone to fix what was started wrong in the first place.

Brad “the phone guy” Carr

Need Help with Your Phone System? Give our Friendly Staff a Call @ 847-398-3393 or click here https://wirelineinc.com to learn more about Wireline