The agency model is broken: Why buying blocks of hours doesn’t work

The traditional agency support model is fairly straightforward – you buy X number of hours per month at an hourly rate and you work through them, trying to prioritise as best you can. Here at GENE, we used to work in the very same way.

But during the last 10 years, our experience has taught us that this puts the focus on the wrong thing. You have client/agency conversations about hours, fixated with tickets complete, instead of talking about value.

Which is why we’ve changed things up, and introduced Unlimited Support.

The Problem with Buying Blocks of Hours

• Inflexibility and Unpredictable Costs

When businesses buy blocks of support hours, they often get stuck in a rigid system that doesn’t fit their real needs. Small issues can eat up hours meant for strategic work, and when bigger problems arise they’re forced to top up hours at an additional cost. This unpredictability can strain budgets and complicate planning.

• Reactive Support Instead of Proactive Management

Pay by the hour models usually lead to a reactive support approach, where teams are only called in when something goes wrong. This can result in significant downtime and disruptions. With limited hours, there’s little room for proactive maintenance, monitoring, or upgrades, increasing the risk of costly outages and hindering innovation.

• Disruption to Feature Development and Roadmap Execution

Ad-hoc support often interrupts ongoing projects and feature development. Teams are diverted from critical tasks to handle urgent issues, delaying the company’s roadmap and missing growth opportunities.

GENE’s Unlimited Support Model

• Always-On Support Without the Limits

At GENE, we’ve designed our Unlimited Support model to provide continuous, always-on support without the constraints of hourly limits. Whether you need a quick fix, a major upgrade, or an urgent Adobe Commerce security patch – our dedicated team is always available to ensure your Adobe Commerce or Magento platform runs smoothly. This flexibility allows businesses to allocate resources where they’re needed most, without worrying about exhausting their support hours.

• Proactive not reactive

At GENE, we take a proactive approach to maintaining your Adobe Commerce or Magento platform. Rather than waiting for issues to arise, we continuously monitor your system, applying necessary security patches and optimizations before problems can occur. This ongoing maintenance ensures that your platform remains secure, efficient, and ready to support your business’s growth. By staying ahead of potential issues, we help you avoid disruptions and keep your focus on driving your roadmap forward.

• Hassle Free Upgrades

Upgrades are often a source of stress and disruption, but not with GENE. Our Unlimited Support model seamlessly integrates upgrades into your operations. Whether it’s a minor patch, a critical security update, or a major version jump, our team leverages rapid deployment technology and automated testing to make sure upgrades happen smoothly, in the background, without impacting your day-to-day activities. This means you can stay up-to-date with the latest Adobe Commerce versions while continuing to execute your development plans without interruption.

Client stories: Unlimited Support in Practice

Our Unlimited Support model is a proven solution that has helped brands like OKA and Vivactive focus on value over hours. OKA, a luxury furniture brand, overcame challenges with an outdated Adobe Commerce platform by leveraging GENE’s support for seamless upgrades, boosting security and performance without disruptions.
Similarly, the Vivactive group – including Age UK and Incontinence Choice , maintained pace with their project roadmap while executing multiple upgrades. This approach – minimising disruptions –  has helped to drive 20% year-over-year growth with features that have improved customer lifetime value.

The Future of E-Commerce Support: Wrapping Up

The limitations of the traditional block-hour model are clear—it’s inflexible, reactive, and disruptive to growth. GENE’s Unlimited Support offers a smarter, more effective solution that aligns with the needs of modern e-commerce businesses. By providing always-on, proactive support and seamless upgrades, we enable our clients to focus on what they do best—innovating and growing their businesses.
Ready to break free from the constraints of traditional support? Contact GENE today to learn more about how our Unlimited Support can help your business succeed.