Should I Allow Customers To Come To My Home?

A week ago, a member of the Technibble forums asked how to handle clients wanting to drop off their computers to his home office. Should he let them come to his home and go inside? or stick to only doing onsite work and pickups only?

Its a good question that most computer technicians need to think about when they first start in their home based office.

There were two differing opinions to this question. Some of the technicians said that they allow their customers to come into their house because it allows them to boot up the computer and see what problem the customer is talking about. They also use their office to show their customers that they are a serious business and not just some kid doing it for a hobby in his bedroom. These technicians feel that this reassures the customer and adds to their credibility.

The other more popular opinion is to allow them to drop the computer off at your house, but don’t allow them inside. I personally use this method and here’s why:

Security

There will be times when you come across a shady client that will bring in a potentially stolen computer. Just this week I had someone wanting to bring over a laptop because the Windows install had a username and password they couldn’t remove.

Due to having coming across these suspicious requests before, I have developed small a checklist of questions I usually ask to determine if a computer is potentially stolen. The chat usually goes something like this:

“Are you able to ask the person you bought it from what the password is?”
“No, I just bought it like this”
“Perhaps its mentioned in the manual. Do you have the manual or disks that came with this laptop?”
“No”
“Perhaps the place that sold it knows the password, where did you buy it from?”
“From a friend”
“Does you friend know the password or have the manuals?”
“No, I just got it as is”

By this point, there is a high chance that this laptop is stolen and I tell them I cant help them. Other than the fact its unethical to work on a stolen computer, but I really don’t want anyone that either steals or buys stolen goods to know the value of the equipment that I have inside my workshop and how well its secured.

This “pre-qualified” client never made it to the door because I thought he was suspicious beforehand. However, there is also the possibility of seemingly good client turing bad. One of the posters on the Technibble forums had his own story like this:

“I had a laptop brought in for repairs. the owner was adamant that he be in the lab and oversee the entire process, he claimed there were important files on his computer he couldn’t let out of his sight.”

At this stage, there are no problems. Just someone concerned about their data so you are unlikely to turn them down.

“It was an IBM thinkpad with xp. it also had exactly one program installed on it: a credit card ripper. I told him I couldn’t fix the issue and got him out of there as fast as I could.”

Now it seems this person is a criminal and now knows the layout and the value of this technicians house and contents.

The othe technicians said that he should have reported this person to the appropriate authorities but this can create another headache you dont need. The person will know that it was most likely you that reported him and there is the potential of them returning for revenge.

Insurance

Insurance is a huge problem when letting people into your home. As one technician put it:

“There are just too many people out there only too willing to trip / stumble on thin air just to make a claim against you.”

Your homeowners insurance policy will almost never cover you if a customer is injured on your property. If you do want to allow a customer inside your home and protect yourself with the right insurance, your premimums will go up dramatically so it is generally not worth the hassle.

Due to the above factors, I mostly do onsite work but if they must come to my place I keep them at the door and meet them outside. I have never had a client not want to give me their computer because of this. While I understand that there are credibility benefits if you show clients your workshop. I feel that the risks involved are much greater than the benefits.