Will customers agree to pay for such service? Yes, according to IDC's recent consumer support study. "Tech support was the second highest application that consumers are willing to pay for," says Healey. A typical subscriber might have to schedule around a "high-pressure, high-paying job," he says. "They come home and have the 13-year-old screaming at them that they're not doing their homework because the computer is broken. Their BlackBerry is getting pinged by their boss, who needs an assignment done by tomorrow. And they just don't have time to fix the computer."

Dell's Gone Social, Too

Like its archrival HP, Dell is investing heavily in online, user-to-user support. In 2008, its community forums adopted a feature called Accepted Solutions, which encourages members to rate the technical fixes suggested by fellow users. If a fix works, it earns an Accepted Solution icon. (Dell staffers also test these Accepted Solutions to verify them.)

The program is a success so far, says Bob Pearson, manager of Dell's communities and conversations group, which oversees Dell support blogs, forums, wikis, and other content. In Accepted Solutions' first eight months, users submitted more than 15,000 solutions, with an average of 350 views per solution. That works out to 5 million page views. The program eases the burden on Dell's phone support, too. "Let's say 20 percent of the people who view those solutions didn't need to make a phone call," says Pearson. That would mean 1 million support calls avoided by the vendor. The bottom line: Fewer calls and greater cost savings for Dell.

Pearson rejects the argument that older users won't try online support tools, saying it's really a matter of personal preference. "It's not just age. Some people want to surf and find the answer. Some people are the Mr. and Mrs. Fix-it of their neighborhood, and they want to keep up to speed on everything. And some people just prefer to pick up the phone."