On inspection we learnt the main supply entering the property was the wrong type of cable and unsuitable. The cost of the remedial works was four figures.

Taking technology and your average business, it would be nice to describe a picture that is different to our home improvement experience. Sadly this is not always the case.

Honest and good value IT providers do exist, but like other industries there are also companies out there that do things poorly. The result is bad customer service, software piracy, bad advice and corner cutting.

A poor quality IT provider to the layman means that you have a big mess. The IT solution you end up with could be unfit for the purpose, possibly illegal, or it leaves you exposed to business risk.

How would you feel if you were sold something all-singing and dancing, but all you needed was a simple computer? Worse still, how would you feel if it was never set up to its full potential?

Imagine your business runs on a homemade server and a major part fails. Then, compounding the issue, your poor quality provider has disappeared. Do you know how much it’s costing the business for every hour you are non-operational?

For some companies, risks like this can be managed and is acceptable. But as your business develops and starts to require specialist technology, you simply cannot afford to get it wrong.

Quality service stands out when it goes wrong. The test is how the problem gets resolved. If your provider is poor, you only find this out when it is too late. In the wrong circumstances a failure of technology can result in a failure of the business.

Look at what accreditations your IT provider holds and the organisations they affiliate themselves with. Just like the trades with NICEIC, Gas Safe (previously Corgi), similar exists within the technology sector.

Look for organisations such as UKITA (www.ukita.co.uk) and BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT (www.bcs.org). Buying services from accredited people will always ensure you that other people, respected in their field, have properly vetted and rubber stamped your supplier.

There is an old and very appropriate saying: Buy cheap and pay twice. Don’t settle for second rate workmanship or poor quality solutions just to save a few quid in the short term.

After all, you wouldn’t use an untrained or inexperienced car mechanic, would you?

Why this business has failed is not yet clear, the real reasons will no doubt come out over time. It may have deserved to fail or it could have just been rotten luck.

There are always moments running your own business when those seeds of doubt set in and heck, I’ve had plenty of those and they aren’t fun. Yet I can only begin to imagine what is going through the mind of people behind this failed business.

Maybe there are thoughts of stress and frustration, picking up the pieces and clearing up the mess. Perhaps there is a massive sense of relief that it’s over and life can move on?

Several authors have said that entrepreneurs often fail before they succeed, and I guess picking yourself up to have another go takes real strength. You are fighting not just the fear of failing again, but the negative feelings of those around and close to you.

It is too easy to run and hide from the shame, but then you have to look back at the rewards of success. The high moments of the good times and the immeasurable buzz, it is a truly priceless sensation.

If you’re doing your market research like every good business owner should then you’re reading this, so lets finish off by saying kudos for having another go.

It’s always easy to blame the computer for what appears on the screen – meaningless information or moments of ‘the computer says no’.

The problem is, your computer only knows about the things you tell it. It behaves according to what buttons are pressed, outcomes are produced solely on the information you provide it.

Your computer is vulnerable to acts of nature and man. It cannot run away, for example, in case of fire or flood. Nor can it protect itself from the incompetence or lack of concentration from its operator.

Data quality is a factor underappreciated by people, it is expected that the technology will take care of things. Poor quality of data will cost your business money, but using poor quality data does not have to be a part of doing business.

Talking to a farmer at a recent party he told me a story about a cow he had sold at market. In an industry becoming more regulated, he is responsible for keeping detailed records on his stock of animals.

After being sold at market for nearly a thousand pounds it turned out his detailed records were wrong, he had wrongly recorded the sex of his animal. This simple clerical error resulted in the beast being destroyed, the money lost.

The initial business process of creating the cow’s record might have been simplified or automated by computer, but it would not have helped. Automating a process based on inaccurate information only makes the process more effective at producing the mistake.

In your own business what might the effect of inaccurate data be? The best case scenario might be an order that needs refunding or a customer lost. What if data inaccuracies caused injury or a loss of life within your team? What about the general public?

Any business dealing with electronic data should make sure the data they have is as accurate as possible. If you put garbage in, the only thing you’ll get back out is garbage. Good business decisions need good data.

Nearly seventy percent of the business at Bespoke Computing Ltd is a repeat sale, so you have to ask: what do PCW and Currys get so fundamentally wrong?

Would better customer service get them a better reputation and more sales?

Absolutely! Without customers you have no business so why shouldn’t you look after them a little? This doesn’t have to mean discounts or giving stuff away either.

If you’re not convinced then read the next link. About 68% of the customers your business loses will be down to ‘perceived indifference’, they feel you simply don’t care about them. Sound made up? When was the last time you asked your customers what they think?

When you do call up your customer to see what they think, what about asking for some feedback on the product or service you provided them? You might think you know what is going through their heads, but do you?

There is another important statistic. It costs between seven and ten times more to recruit a new customer than it does to culture an existing customer. Why send the customer away after spending your marketing budget to get them in the first place?

You no doubt knock spots of the competition and give your customers everything they could ask for, but here are a couple of little things that will really help you get that edge.

Try asking your customers two simple questions to start with; ‘what was it about XYZ that you liked?’ and ‘what one thing could we have done better’? The hardest part is to listen, take onboard the feedback and do something to improve.

Now ask yourself this: if your customer is a happy customer, who else do they know that might benefit from the service you’re giving them? Now when you’re asking for feedback, ask your customer the same question.

Two other questions to consider: ‘did you know we also offer XYZ service?’ and ‘could we use your feedback on our website as a testimonial?’

Looking after your customers is essential to a successful business. It doesn’t have to be expensive and can be as simple as a phone call, are you doing it yet?

At the top end of the scale we had the successful businesses, companies that were growing and going places. Looking at recent financials I’d like to think my own business to be in this category.

At the opposite end, we placed those companies that are struggling. Business owners are making their staff redundant and losing money by the bundle.

None of our own customers are “just doing OK”; it just seems to go from one extreme to the other, for whatever reason there appears to be no middle ground.

On paper the UK economy is in a rough patch, unemployment is at a record high and it is everyday that one company or another ceases to exist.

Looking at the evidence you cannot ignore the fact that some companies are genuinely in trouble, but I would also table the suggestion that some business owners are lazy and just using the recession as an excuse to do nothing.

Doing just enough to get through the next couple of years is not good enough; you should pack up your tools and go home, do yourself a favour!

The next couple of years are about growing and being successful. If you are not moving forward then you are dead in the water; innovate with new ideas, make business efficiencies and bring new products to market.

More important develop a positive mental attitude, my business coach quotes: “your customers are but a reflection of yourself”. This might sound a little cheesy, but try and remember where the money comes from.

If you own your own business and do nothing to grow out of this recession, there is only one person to blame for not trying. Get out there and do something positive!