Patent ID: 8804941

Claim:
A method for providing remote online support service in conjunction with local onsite support service, the method comprising: (a) assigning, by a centralized service to a local technician, a predetermined amount of time to perform onsite support service for a device at a premise, the local technician having a first type of skill from a plurality of skills, the predetermined amount of time comprising a fixed amount of time for the local technician to perform a predetermined subset of one or more tasks of the plurality of tasks that resolve an issue with the device and established by the centralized service prior to performance of the onsite support service; (b) receiving, by the centralized service, identification by the local technician of the issue with the device, resolution of the issue comprising a plurality of tasks, each of the plurality of tasks to be performed by one or more remote technicians having a corresponding skill type from the plurality of skills; (c) performing, by a first remote technician having a second type of skill from the plurality of skills, a first task of the plurality of tasks on the device via a first network connection to the device, the central service assigning the first task to the first remote technician; and (d) assigning, by the centralized service to the local technician, a second predetermined amount of time of onsite support for a second device at a second premise, the local technician leaving the device at the first premise connected to the centralized service upon expiration of the predetermined amount of time.