Starting part-time comp. building business. Help and suggestions needed.

[Hackworth]

all good points.

along the same lines,,
what happens if you're at the customer's site and something happens while
you're working on thier system that causes data to be lost of one reason
or another.?
Do you have the customer sign something ahead of time that relieves you of
any resposnability for any data loss?
Yep.


On the other side of the coin.....

taking the system back to the shops definatly has some advantages.
1. Murphey says that whatever piece of software or hardware needed to
complete the call, will be back at the shop no matter what or hown much
you brought with you.
Yep.

2. working on a system back at the shop where it's quiet allows you to
concentrate much better.
Yep.

3. Taking it back to the shop means to have a much larger selection of
tools and components to use while troubleshooting the problem.
Yep.

3. Working on it back at the shop avoids the typical customer that keeps
asking 'what is that you're doing now.?
Yep.

4. It also avoids the customer that keeps asking 'how much longer will it
take'?
Yep!

5. It helps enforce the concept to the customer that it's broke and you
won't be able to use it for a while.

But....
1. doing the repair on site with the customer present allows you to ask
the customer questions about the symptoms, etc, while you try to track
down the problem.

I always ask pertinent questions before I take the system. I can always call
them on the phone later if need be.

All in all, getting into the PC home repair business requires about 30%
computer and troubleshooting skills, 30% communication skills, and 40%
people skills.

after working with computers for 30 years, and being in the PC
service\repair business in one fashion or another for the last 20 years,
You couldn't pay me enough to do home repairs.

But that's just an old fart getting old.

Yeah, I pretty much just do it for family and friends now, and it's just a
hobby. I work in an office of about 400, and after several years, many folks
know who I am and that I'm a geek, so I'll sometimes make a few bucks doing
repairs for them.

 

[spodosaurus]

Would probably be a good idea; I just use my people skills and try to
be as up-front with people as possible about what can go wrong. All
else fails and something does shoot craps, you apologize and charge
nothing. Happened to me once and I got lots more business from those
people. I much prefer to take equipment with me too, nothing worse
than needing to download a huge driver for something and having
dial-up internet as the only thing available at the customer's place.
Besides, I can cuss in private that way!

I put it this way: I have no idea what the status of the hardware and
software within this system is. If anything is about to fail, it will
likely fail once I start changing things or even when the computer is
moved back to my workshop. Do you have your important data backed up? If
not, I can do this for you at a slight additional charge assuming their
is no component failure preventing me from doing so. (if the computer is
bootable) Please show me which data you require backed up so that I
don't miss anything.

I pretty much repeat this whenever there needs to be anything done on a
system that requires additional software, software changes, additional
hardware, or hardware replacements. If they're calling you, then the
probability is that they are not hiring you to save them time and that
know much less than you about handling and using computer equipment, so
you never REALLY know what they've done, or what a family friends has
done. One client recently had a technician install cable internet
access. This tech was from a MAJOR telecom company here. He couldn't
figure out how to get it working, so the tech just disabled ALL
firewalls and made up some bullshit to tell the client. This was
completely unnecessary and in under 5 minutes I'd fixed what the tech
had screwed up and restored security to the system. This tech is paid
more than I am!!! Who knows what else this so-called 'professional'
messed up in this system. This is just my latest teeth gritting story of
'professional' service that was anything but.

Ari

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[Chris Hill]

I put it this way: I have no idea what the status of the hardware and
software within this system is. If anything is about to fail, it will
likely fail once I start changing things or even when the computer is
moved back to my workshop. Do you have your important data backed up? If
not, I can do this for you at a slight additional charge assuming their
is no component failure preventing me from doing so. (if the computer is
bootable) Please show me which data you require backed up so that I
don't miss anything.

That's a good way to do it. There really is no way to know what could
happen once you start work on something. For all we know the hard
drive could be oh so ready to die and not be showing signs of it until
the system is moved. I preach backups like a new religion. My least
favorite words, though, are "I tried to tell you".

 

[hdrdtd]

I always ask pertinent questions before I take the system. I can always
call them on the phone later if need be.


Yeah, I pretty much just do it for family and friends now, and it's just a
hobby. I work in an office of about 400, and after several years, many
folks know who I am and that I'm a geek, so I'll sometimes make a few
bucks doing repairs for them.

I've gotten to the point I will only help out an imediate family relative
such as a brother or father, and that's it.

Even at family gatherings, if someone asks what I do for a living I tell
them as little as possible. When they start talking computers between
themselves, I just keep my mouth shut and play dumb.

Once they find out you do it for a living, look out...

I handle all aspects of the computing enviornment at work for a bit over 200
pc's currently. The last thing I want to do on my own time is dealing with
even more users. some people understand that, some don't.

Back in the early days of Windows 3.1, the General Manager of the company I
work for asked me If I would be willing to come to his house and help him
install Windows 3.1 on his home machine.

I told him no.
He said he was willing to pay me, and I just told him, it wasn't about the
money, it's just something (house calls) I have chosen not to do.

 

[JAD]

i think you should get out of the buisness. You no longer enjoy it.

 

[hdrdtd]

i think you should get out of the buisness. You no longer enjoy it.

Yep, I have to agree with you on that.

I told myself in my younger days, that as soon as any job isn't fun anymore,
it's time to get another job.

that sounds good when you're young, but when you get much older, you
discover that for a whole varity of reasons, changing jobs is a bit more
difficult.

I'd love to get out of the business entirely and get a job as a woodworker's
apprentice somewhere, someday. But those jobs are hard to find anymore...

 

[sbb78247]

Yep, I have to agree with you on that.

I told myself in my younger days, that as soon as any job isn't fun
anymore, it's time to get another job.

that sounds good when you're young, but when you get much older, you
discover that for a whole varity of reasons, changing jobs is a bit
more difficult.

that holds true whether it is computers, cars, construction, or underwater
basket weaving

I'd love to get out of the business entirely and get a job as a
woodworker's apprentice somewhere, someday. But those jobs are hard
to find anymore...

go to the local union, they usually need people these days since everyone
else wants into the computer business.