HOUSTON, TX - Hundreds of construction professionals throughout North America have experienced a unique form of customer support from a construction software vendor:  free help sessions in or near the customers' cities.  Instead of the customer traveling to the software vendor's city, the vendor in effect comes to the customer-at no charge to the construction company.

It's not cheap for Houston-based construction software developer HCSS to offer those sessions-which it calls "Helpinars"-but the company believes it's worth it.  Since launching the program in late 2007, hundreds of executives, estimators, project managers and office personnel have attended more than 25 Helpinars throughout the United States and Canada.  By year-end, more than 25 Helpinars-devoted to HCSS's field management, resource management, estimating and other products-will have taken place in 2009 alone. 

HCSS implementation and support specialists-typically five to seven per Helpinar-have traveled from Houston to conduct the sessions in cities from Vancouver BC to Miami and San Diego to Boston.  HCSS believes that the free, travel-to-your-customer sessions are unique not only among construction software vendors, but also in the entire software industry.

Average attendance at an HCSS Helpinar-typically held in a hotel conference room-is 30 people;  the largest event has drawn 65.  Attendees represent almost all construction-company job titles, including executives, project managers, estimators, office and financial staff and IT personnel.  HCSS employees are available to individual companies in pre-arranged 60- to 90-minute time slots to answer questions, address issues, explain new ways to use HCSS products or demonstrates what's new.    

Besides existing customers, Helpinars have also attracted customer prospects.  HCSS plans to offer Helpinars indefinitely, and is currently planning 2010 events.