An MSP turned off its client’s Office 365 to make them pay their bill, and partners gathered in Florida for conferences this week.

Each week we like to pull together a roundup of the most interesting channel-related content on social media. We always find juicy stories, advice and debate on the “r/msp” subreddit, and you can find all the latest social happenings in the agent channel on LinkedIn.

Check out the latest topics partners are buzzing about.

A Bold Move

An MSP owner gave play-by-play updates of their attempts to elicit a client payment. The customer only worked with the MSP for an Office 365 subscription. The relationship turned sour a long time ago, according to the Redditor. The customer frequently paid late and disregarded late payment fees. Thus, the MSP intended to shutter Office 365 functionality until the payment came.

The majority of commentators agreed with the plan.

“Not only would I turn them off, I would also not turn them back on until they paid the amount due, the late payment, and one month upfront. You’re dealing with assholes and you have to meet them at their level,” Mesquiter wrote. “Also, I would not answer the phone as if it were an emergency either. Let it bake for a bit…it helps get the point across.”

Some commentators urged caution, however.

“I mean… I kind of love this. But. Did you at least warn them it’s happening? Also and please take this with a light smack to the back of your head… But why the hell are they not on automatic ACH [automated clearing house]?” MooCower asked. The original poster said they don’t make enough margin on the services to do more than a monthly check. The MSP is working with a reseller to deliver Office 365.

One partner urged them to take a second look at their contract.

“This could easily turn sour for you if you didn’t give them proper notice,” auimaa wrote. It turns out that the original poster had sent a warning email.

One user brought up the Georgia MSP owner who shut off services when a local chamber of commerce prematurely terminated their three-year contract. He ended up in jail, charged with extortion, computer theft and computer trespass. But another redditor noted that MSP threatened to delete Office 365 data and did other questionable things.

You can read the thread, in all of its glory, below.

Conference Shenanigans

No controversy here – just some good clean fun.

After more than a year of virtual events, many of us have been getting back on the road. Our own Edward Gately wrote about his first experience at an indoor, in-person event. He was attending the ConnectWise IT Nation Secure event in Orlando, Florida with 500 other live attendees.

However, it seemed like much of the agent/telco channel was congregating at the Miami Beach Convention Center for ITExpo. And by the looks of what people posted on LinkedIn, it looked like a fun time. Several channel-facing companies, including Granite Telecommunications sponsored booths.

Source: LinkedIn

T-Mobile made an appearance as well. Peep their use of the term “primary agent,” which some vendors in the channel are using instead of the term “master agent.”

Source: LinkedIn

That’s it for our social media recap. Now log off and enjoy your weekend!