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How long has Zadada been in
business?
We provided IT services from February 1990 until December 2009, a
period of 19 years, as C. Harstad Associates, Inc. Zadada was
created as a separate line of business for IT services in January
2010. The same organization has been in business for 22 years under
one name or the other.
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How much experience do
Zadada consultants have?
Our principal consultants have 20-35 years of IT experience. Our
senior consultants all have a minimum of 20 years of IT experience.
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Do you guarantee your work?
We guarantee non-project services for 30 days and
project-related services indefinitely, meaning for as long as the
results of the project are in use.
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Does Zadada provide IT
services to individuals?
We provide on-site service for individuals if we have an associate
available. A $50 minimum fee applies unless we cannot solve a
client's problem.
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Do you repair hardware?
We sometimes replace major components of PCs for clients to repair
or upgrade their PCs but hardware repair is not our line of
business. We do not have diagnostic equipment and we do not have
repair technicians on staff. We will oversee hardware repair by a
third-party partner if the client wishes us to do that.
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Do you have a PC (or other hardware)
drop-off location?
No, because repairing or upgrading hardware is not our line of
business.
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What industries does Zadada
serve?
All industries, especially healthcare, banking and travel and
leisure.
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Do you charge extra for
on-site service?
No.
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Do you charge for travel time?
We
charge $25 per hour round trip for travel time in excess of half an
hour each way, measured from our St. Louis Park location. So if you
are located in Washington County 45 minutes distant from us, the fee
for travel time would be (45 minutes - 30 minutes) X $20 X 2 =
$12.50.
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Do you charge for mileage?
We charge 50 cents per mile round trip for automobile travel in
excess of 10 miles from our St. Louis Park location. We also charge
reasonable and customary travel expenses when air or ground
transportation, meals and lodging are required to provide services
at more distant locations. So if you are located in Washington
County 30 miles from our location, the mileage fee would be (30 -
10) = 20 X 2 = 40 X 0.50 = $20.
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Is there a minimum fee for
services?
There is a $50 minimum labor charge for
responding to a request from a client to come to the client's
location. This is not an additional fee; it is only relevant when
labor is less than $50.
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Do you provide an estimate?
We will give prospective clients a good-faith estimate of
the cost of non-project-related services at their request. We always
provide an estimate for projects.
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How do your fees compare to
other IT service firms?
Due to low overhead and a desire
to be the most affordable option available, we're less expensive.
That is not a reflection of the quality of services we provide. We
encourage potential clients to compare our fees with those of other
IT firms.
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Do you provide ongoing
maintenance?
We typically have a maintenance contract
with a client following a project but we can initiate a maintenance
contract at any time. We do not provide 24-hour per day, on-call
service. We respond to maintenance requests ASAP, usually the same
day if the situation is urgent. We refer clients requiring 24/7
service to a partner firm that provides it.
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Do you sell hardware and software?
No, but we will shop for hardware and software for a client. We
charge a modest amount for labor to shop for a client but we do not
charge any mark-up on purchases. We charge clients whatever the
hardware or software cost us. Due to connections and experience, we
can usually save clients a considerable amount on purchases.
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What do you charge for technical support?
There is no charge for a reasonable amount of phone or email
support for existing clients, even if the support is unrelated to
any services we've provided to the client. We charge for on-site
technical support at either the amount per hour negotiated via a
maintenance contract or at our usual labor rate. The $50 minimum fee
applies to on-site support. We sometimes elect to provide on-site
technical support free of charge or at a discount, depending on the
reason technical support is required. For example, if support is
needed due to a problem with a software application and we need to
contact the software company, we might elect to discount the labor
fee for the time we spend communicating with the software company,
at our discretion.
