Every vendor's brochure promises support. The difference only shows up when something is actually broken — usually at the worst possible hour.

Brochure support is easy to recognize. It talks about response times and ticket queues and escalation paths. When you call, someone reads from a script, asks if you've tried restarting, and promises a callback. The callback comes from someone else, who starts over.

Real support looks nothing like that. The person who picks up knows your environment — or asks the two questions that get them there fast. They answer with specifics, not scripts. And they stay on the problem until it's fixed, including the unglamorous follow-up the next day to make sure it stayed fixed.

Here's another tell: good support tells you when it's their fault. Brochure support never does. If a vendor can't describe the last time something broke on their side and what they changed afterward, they haven't thought about it — which means you will be the one thinking about it, at 2 a.m.

You can find out which kind you're buying before you sign. Ask who exactly picks up the phone — a name, a team, a time zone. Ask what they can change without asking permission. Ask what happens after hours, on weekends, on holidays. Then ask for a customer reference, and actually call them.

The cheapest support contract is the one you never need. The most expensive is the one that isn't there when you do.