Are you prepared for holiday PC repairs?

[rkr1958]

In the U.S., the holiday season is about to begin. This Thursday is Thanksgiving, which begins a six-week cycle of travel, parties, and family gatherings that won’t end until the last bit of confetti is swept up after New Year’s.

For IT professionals and computer support people, however, the holidays have a different meaning. Every visit to Mom, the grandparents, or your favorite brother-in-law is invariably accompanied by a hesitant request: “Say, I’ve been having this problem with my PC. You don’t suppose you could take a look…?”

You will, of course, say yes. So why not accept the inevitable and show up prepared for the job? If you have the right tools, many software and hardware repair jobs are trivially easy. If you show up empty-handed, even the simplest tasks can turn into marathons.

full blog

[yoda313]

nope I don't offer anymore. If I have to look at it for more than a minute I say take it to the store. Even though I know a lot I don't want that "responsibility" plug. I don't even get anywhere near the stage of opening the case. It's on them.

If its just a matter of rebooting sure. Anymore than that and they are on their own. That's what GEEKSQUAD is for at Bestbuy

[budz]

I get this response from friends/family, "We'll just wait until our computer doesn't bootup anymore before we contact you to fix it". They say that because now I charge a small fee to fix their computers. I was so tired of being taken advantage of. Their computers were always full of spyware & viruses because they're too freaking lazy to scan them. The computers got to the point where it could no longer bootup. Then I'd have to wipe the hard drive and reinstall the operating system.

[Soopafresh]

"Could you just take a quick look? It'll only take a minute..."

(4 Hrs later)


"Thanks! Well, sorry we ate all of the dessert without you. We thought you left!"

[stiltman]

Depending on what my friend(s) do for a living, I'll ask them how are they planning to reciprocate. I'm on vacation and you're on vacation. If I work on my vacation, I want some reciprocation. I also do not take cash from family/friends. Bartering is much more profitable in these cases. Again depending on what the do for a living.

Past example:
4 hrs spent on brother-in-law's computer
Brother-in-law owns electrical company and does 4 hrs of work on my house. He didn't but one of his workers did.

[ozymango]

I work on my family and friends' PCs all the time, as I can fix anything of course , plus maybe I'm lucky in that my friends and family aren't the jerks that apparently a lot of these technicians know -- I do them a favor, I can always count on them doing me a favor. Isn't that what life is all about?

EDIT: If you've visiting family and they're giving you a place to sleep and food to eat ... wouldn't you feel bad if you didn't help fix their computer? I'm glad that the full blog link shows that this guy just makes sure to pack a full tool kit when he visits!

P.S. I also fix cars, leaky faucets, and squeaky doors.

[ozymango]

Past example:
4 hrs spent on brother-in-law's computer
Brother-in-law owns electrical company and does 4 hrs of work on my house. He didn't but one of his workers did.

You got code-approved work at an incredibly good exchange rate, I hope you were very appreciative!

[stiltman]

Past example:
4 hrs spent on brother-in-law's computer
Brother-in-law owns electrical company and does 4 hrs of work on my house. He didn't but one of his workers did.

You got code-approved work at an incredibly good exchange rate, I hope you were very appreciative!

Actually, he only pays his workers around $18-22hr, so I was really paying for his license

[ozymango]

Actually, he only pays his workers around $18-22hr, so I was really paying for his license

Ah, apprentice labor, smart man and good deal for all three of you!