COVID-19 IMPORTANT SERVICE UPDATE
The business community is facing unprecedented changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digitread Media is no exception. In light of the changing nature of business operations and client needs, measures had to be put in place to ensure continued fair and timely service delivery to all clients. These new measures will be affective as of 3 May 2020 and will affect the following services, but ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO RETAINER CLIENTS. Clients on retainer will continue to be charged as per the retainer agreements in place.
As a majority of businesses migrate to the digital landscape and conducting meetings and consultations via e-mail, video calls, phone and WhatsApp, it is necessary to define the scope and limitations of services on these platforms. A consultation remains a consultation, regardless if it is conducted via e-mail or electronic channels instead of in-person meetings and therefore chargeable. For the sake of clarity, guidelines as to what classifies as a consultation will also be defined.
E-Mail, WhatsApp & Skype Requests
Please do not send numerous messages per day if you can combine them in a single message. If you need to split e-mail into multiple messages due to file size, you are welcome to load the files to Google Docs and send us the shared link instead.
The following e-mail, WhatsApp, Skype, AnyDesk & Zoom requests remain free of charge and will always be free of charge. However, availability is subject to workload - please allow for up to 48-hour delays in non-emergency & non-critical communication.
- Support for existing products, services & projects
- Pre-sales enquiries and pre-sale discussions to provide a quotation
- Content & files for use in projects*
- Feedback to provide updates/changes/comments on project proofs provided*
- Instructions to request changes, updates, new services etc.*
- E-mail requesting verification of suspicious e-mail received (like spam, phishing scams etc.)
- Any communication solicited by Digitread Media
- General e-mails
* These communications are free of charge as part of a project(s) that is charged for as per a quotation.
Due to an unprecedented number of daily e-mail, WhatsApp messages, phone calls and online meeting requests received over the past few weeks, which took several hours to work through and answer, a precedent emerged which interferes with existing project deadlines. Therefore, certain types of services will incur a minimum R180 consultation fee. Consultation fees are chargeable at R380 per hour. Should your message/request fall in a chargeable category, you will be notified and requested to accept/decline any applicable charges. Failure to do so or declined notifications will result in your message/request not being attended to.
The following e-mail, WhatsApp, Skype, AnyDesk & Zoom requests will incur a consultation fee. Please note that availability is subject to workload.
- All consultations, requests for advice, opinion or review etc. not directly linked to the functionality of an ongoing project
- All additional project consultations, unless otherwise agreed per project or requested by Digitread Media
- All support for external products and services not offered by Digitread Media, as well as IT services (such as Gmail/Outlook errors (non-email related)/ Printer/Mobile Phone/software troubleshooting etc). Most of these external services have their own support teams. For unrelated technical/IT issues not part of our service offerings, should be referred to your preferred IT support company.
Online Meetings
- An initial online consultation up to 1 hour for new projects will be free of charge.
- 2 free online consultations per month (1 every 2 weeks) for project status updates, unless otherwise agreed per project or requested by Digitread Media.
- All additional project consultations, unless otherwise agreed per project or requested by Digitread Media, will incur a consultation fee.
- Online meetings will be limited to 1 hour and availability is subject to workload.
Operating Hours
Mon - Fri: 09h00 - 17h00
After hours, weekends and public holidays: Emergency** WhatsApp & E-Mail support only.
** Emergency means something is not working that is affecting functionality. (eg. email not sending or receiving, website is offline or hacked etc).
Any requested non-emergency tasks will be charged at an after hours fee of R760 per hour.