Answers to Yesterdays Questions

In my last post, I asked Technibble readers to ask me questions in regards to the computer repair business that they wanted to know the answers to. Here are the answers.

focuz asks:
I know you mention you make everyone paying with check sign a workorder. Once the check clears would you say its safe to throw the paper away or do, and just keep your invoice as a record of the job?

I keep the work order as a physical record of the work. You never know when someone is going to turn around and do something weird. For example, if one of their computer parts failed and demand that you to replace it even though you didn’t supply it. The work order remains as proof of what you have done or supplied. Also, by law you are supposed to keep such documents for 7 years

Jason Porter asks:
I want to know what hours you work? Do you put in a regular 40 hour work week? Or just work “as needed”. Personally, I work a full time tech job (40+ hours) and my wife and I run Porter Computer part time). We put in many hours in just the operation and promotion of PC even when we aren’t getting billable time. Wonder how you handle it?

To be honest, I don’t know how many hours I work a week. There is never any real check-on/check-off time with what I do. For example, sometimes I will be working intensely on my business at 1 in the morning, other times I’ll do something non-business related during 9-5 work hours.
I guess the short answer to your question is “as needed”.
I try to always keep myself busy with something productive though. If I am not working on a clients machine then I am playing with my advertising, doing office admin such as invoices, cleaning my office, learning something new or writing for Technibble.

Jeff J asks:
With the prices of computers continuing to drop do you feel that the computer service business is still a viable business to run? What computer services do you feel are the most profitable?

The computer selling business is definitely getting more competitive and there will always be a college student who will do it cheaper than you.
However, the computer service business is still a very viable business to run. In fact, I foresee the declining prices of computers increasing the amount of work available. As computers get cheaper more people will have them which means more potential clients. If the computers are made with cheap parts it might be you they are ringing to replace some defective parts. Once they know you and trust you as “their computer guy” they will want to get their next computer though you, regardless of price.

John asks:
If someone has an anti virus software such as norton or mcafee and they ask you to upgrade it would you mention that you can get avg for free.would you think that if they did get a virus after you installed avg that they might say its ure fault for recommending a free one.

I would definitely mention AVG Free. I tell them that its a very good antivirus and I even use it myself on my own systems. I also let them know that it wont slow down the computer like Norton or McAfee.
I sometimes tell them that “alot of other computer technicians sell Norton/McAfee because they can put their own mark ups on it, but they aren’t very good products. AVG is far better, and free”. This helps establish their trust me as they see I am looking out for them and trying to save them money.

Interstella asks:
When replacing faulty parts for home users which you don’t have in your car/van stock, should you charge extra for time taken in making a return journey to them with the part or time taken to get the part – always/never/depends on customer/whether you ’should’ have had it in stock etc?

I try and carry 1 one everything when I go onsite so most of the time I have everything I need. However, sometimes I do need to make a trip somewhere. If I should carry it (such as a power supply) then there will be no charge. If its something I couldn’t predict then I buy it for them and place a nice markup on it. The markup usually covers the time to go and get it.

Computer Repairs asks:
if you come across a problem which you are sure has been caused by a faulty or malfunctioning hardware, but you cant prove it to the client as you dont have a compatible replacement part to test it with. What do you do in such a situation ? Accept that you couldn’t pin point the problem and couldn’t fix it and not charge, or just ask the customer to get a new part himself and charge him for the hour’s you spend diagnosing the problem ?

I would tell them that I need to take it back to my workshop for further testing because I have better testing equipment there. From there I can use Google or the Technibble forums in my own time and usually have some spare parts to test with.

Lets say that it was a highly specialised part that is very hard to get and I couldn’t prove it. I would ask the client if they knew how to get a replacement and get it for them if I could.
If there was no way for them to get a replacement part and I couldn’t recommend something else that will do the job – if I was pretty sure it was that part which was failing then I would charge them for my time. Its not my fault that the part is no longer available. However, if I wasn’t sure which part was failing, I wouldn’t charge.

When it comes down to those issues where you are unsure whether to charge or not, I use the following rule:
– If I cant fix it due to my lack of knowledge, no charge. Its unfair on them.
– If its unfixable, Ill recommend a replacement and I charge. If they don’t want a replacement then I still charge.

SteveinFlorida asks:
Do you always have your clients sign a form stating that they could lose their data before you begin work? For instance, would you have them sign it if they just wanted a wireless card installed?

Not always, though I probably should. I know a few service businesses that won’t even touch a computer (regardless of the problem) until the client signs an engagement form. If the issue was just a wireless network card, then I usually wouldn’t get them to sign a waiver. However, if I was replacing a hard drive, formatting and reinstalling, recovering data, or repairing a crippled Windows install then I would.

Thanks to everyone who posted a question. I hope some of these helped answer some of those nagging “what should I do when…” questions.