How far would you take good service/ what would you do

[effiecgu]

I usually work only with businesses, and only with brands like Dell/HP.
I agreed to replace a motherboard for a 3.5 year old computer (friend of the family).
Bought him a new Gigabyte board, installed his windows, charged my fee.
After about a month started having problems - board resetting itself. Tried doing bios updates etc, every 1-2 weeks problem returned.
Took it to the distributor (who I bought it from), they sent it to Gigabyte, who returned it after 2 weeks saying it was fixed. After another week or so, same problem!
Took it again, and they said all they can do is send it to Gigabyte again, but told me the best they would do is either fix it or replace it with a fixed unit. They suggested I would save the 2 week wait, and take another fixed unit directly from them (the distributor), which would be a slightly different model, but same socket, and features the client needs. I took their offer.
Computer has been working for 3-4 days. This morning I get a call form the customer, computer cut off in the middle of working, and won't start again.
I don't know if it's the board this time, and the rest of the hardware is out of warranty now.
The small profit I made on the sale and installation has long been spent and then some, on hours of work and driving back and forth to the client and distributor.
I was thinking about giving him back the money he paid for the board (not including the work), and asking him to either solve it himself directly with the distributor, or buying himself a new machine. I just can't go on spending all this time and money anymore.
What would you do in this situation??

 

[glennd]

What would you do in this situation??

See it through to the bitter end.

Not sure but I would be considering offering a full and total refund on every last dollar the customer has handed over and then continue to try to resolve the issue as a courtesy.

Curious to know more about the board changeover: was it faulty or merely old? If merely old i'd be tempted to put the old board back in and let the customer use it for a while to see if it continues to play up. There may well be other issues developing like power supply etc.

I just can't go on spending all this time and money anymore.

It sucks but you bought in to this problem, you've taken the customer's money but you apparently haven't resolved the issue. Start thinking outside the cube...

 

[sapphirescales]

This is one of those cases where having proper diagnostic equipment is a must. You need to be able to test the CPU, GPU, power supply, motherboard, RAM, etc. and find out EXACTLY what the issue is.

But by this point, the client is probably completely fed up (I know I would be). When a client keeps having issues with a computer, I trade it in and give them 100% of what they originally paid + trade in value for the unit towards another computer. If necessary I give them another computer at cost.

But you should have avoided this mess in the first place by running complete diagnostics on his system to identify any other potential issues before you decided to put any money into it.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

Why did he need to replace the motherboard initially and what psu is in that system?

 

[cypress]

I recommend you see this through the end, go through some options. Personally I would refund the money given back and help in assisting with another computer if this issue with this computer doesn't get resolved.

 

[oldtech]

No good deed goes unpunished. Provide a loaner and take the unit into your shop and spend whatever time necessary to determine the root cause. Then fix it free of charge and apologize for not getting it resolved sooner.

 

[fencepost]

Once you get it back, I'd see about swapping out the power supply - problems with two separate motherboards (though now you're dealing with refurbs.....) sounds like the mobo is the victim not the problem.

 

[lan101]

This is one of those cases where having proper diagnostic equipment is a must. You need to be able to test the CPU, GPU, power supply, motherboard, RAM, etc. and find out EXACTLY what the issue is.

But by this point, the client is probably completely fed up (I know I would be). When a client keeps having issues with a computer, I trade it in and give them 100% of what they originally paid + trade in value for the unit towards another computer. If necessary I give them another computer at cost.

But you should have avoided this mess in the first place by running complete diagnostics on his system to identify any other potential issues before you decided to put any money into it.

Yeah I agree. Just make it right with them and hopefully they remember that part down the road rather than how the computer had non stop problems. I think I'd just either take it in on trade if you do that or just take the current money spent and apply it towards a new or newer machine. If I have any problematic older systems I just replace with a newer refurb dell optiplex and that usually will run much better than their older system did.

 

[effiecgu]

The motherboard was replaced because old one died after the warranty expired.
This was one of the last systems I built, and then switched to selling only brands.
Since it was a friend of the family, and it was a good Core i5, I wanted to save him money so I told him he could do with just replacing the board.
Since I'm only buying systems with manufacturer warranty, and since there are some problems you just can't diagnose right away (unless you build a whole system around the ssupected part, and sometimes wait for a week until the problem shows itself), I don't see any reason to invest $hundreds in pro testing equipment.
I'm happy to see that people here are more interested in giving good service, even at price of losing money.
I'll just try to have it fixed, and if he agrees, I'll return what he paid me, and he can do whatever he wants with his money.

 

[Gareth | IT Zen]

This brings back (bad) memories of when I used to work in the residential market. Like you I now only sell HP business PCs. It's been amazing how few issues I've had with them over the years, and the issues are resolved easily instead of the time-sucks like you're encountering.

Client Management - I completely agree with others that say to see it through. We've all been there, and know what it's like (just want to stick your head in the sand and never see that darned PC again). Funny thing is though, as annoyed as the client might be right now, if you continue to handle the situation professionally and with patience the client may end up having a lot of respect for you and referring you. I've found this to happen more often than not in these sticky situations. As a side note, the way I view it is these painful jobs will happen and you should ensure your regular hourly rate is high enough that you can wear the cost of these painful jobs.

At the same time, I think it's fair (after a fair few returns) to have an honest chat with the client. You're both on the same side (you both want this issue sorted ASAP) so frame the discussion that way: "Obviously this has been an ongoing pain. I'm happy to keep looking at the issues but I've got to say I'm not sure it's the smartest move at this point. It's very unusual that problems take multiple goes to fix and it appears as though there are other issues as well as the original mobo issue. I can't say for sure what the issue is and since it usually takes 1-2 weeks for the problem to resurface it's going to continue to be difficult and time-consuming to diagnose. This is obviously costing me a lot of time and I want to see it resolved just as much as you. For a 3.5 year old PC my opinion is it's not worth continuing to figure out the issue. If you feel the same way I'd be happy to buy you a replacement machine at cost price". People aren't stupid - they'll see that what you're saying makes sense, and they'll be happy that an option to fix the pain immediately is there for the taking. (Another option you could consider is offering to buy them an equivalent replacement. A 3.5yo Dell or HP business PC will only cost $150 or so from Ebay, which is only a couple of hours work).


Technically - I again agree with others that I'd be looking outside of the motherboard at this point (the original issue of forgetting settings was probably the board, but the latter issues don't sound like it). Often the warranty companies can't find a fault in the board you send back but they know you'd complain if they said they found no issue, so they send it back and say it's been refurbished (when in fact there was no fault to begin with).

My approach when you have these long-running issues is to try lots of different things. Power supply would be right up there. That's a commodity item - swap it with a known-good one for a while and see how it goes. RAM is often faulty - swap that too if you can, or have him try with just one stick for a while if you don't have any spare to loan him. If there are any PCI cards that aren't critical remove them for a while. Same with USB devices (I've seen computers refuse to boot due to a USB device. I've also seen computers bluescreen during boot due to USB devices. And one PC would slow to a grind whenever a certain USB device was plugged in. As soon as you unplugged it the PC would go back to normal speed). Since his computer cut out, lend him a UPS for a while and see if his problems go away. Heat is another potential issue. It'll take 5 mins to apply some new thermal grease and ensure the heatsink is fitted firmly. You can also leave the side off the case and ask them to point a desk fan inside the case while they're using the PC to see if the shutdown issue re-occurs.

Individually you might read all of these ideas and think they're unlikely to make a difference, but the more of these things you can do increases your chance of fixing it, or at least narrowing down possibilities. Also, be sure to explain to the client what you've done. Customers will get frustrated at their PC if it's misbehaving. But they'll get frustrated at you if you keep sending it back to them 'hoping' that it'll work this time, without being seen to take steps to diagnose the issue.

 

[Mercenary Roadie]

[QUOTE="effiecgu, post: 519536, member: 17153"
........since there are some problems you just can't diagnose right away (unless you build a whole system around the ssupected part, and sometimes wait for a week until the problem shows itself), I don't see any reason to invest $hundreds in pro testing equipment.[/QUOTE]

So what your are saying is you're not a protessional.

What do you do once the brand name system is out of warrenty?

If you want people to use you, you have to have the proper tools to do the job. Otherwise you're just another hack taking peoples money and only providing inferior service and you can expect to always be on the money losing end.

Harsh statement? Yes, but if you want to be a real business you have to act like one.

 

[Gareth | IT Zen]

So what your are saying is you're not a protessional..

I'd say that's harsh. He said at the start he only replaced this motherboard because of special circumstances - it's not something he normally does. I wouldn't spend hundreds on testing equipment either if I'm only likely to use it once every two years on family/friends computers. I'd say a good power supply is essential, but there aren't many other items I can think of that would help diagnose this fault.

What defines professionalism much more is how you handle the situation, not how you handle the diagnosis.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

I would also say a power supply might be in order. Sometimes it seems like OEM power supplies in consumer grade units are flaky anyway, or weak. If you are having issues with 2 or more boards and cpu tests ok, I'd say look at power supply. Also, use a program like open hwmonitor to look at cpu temps to see if those are in spec.

 

[effiecgu]

Thank you all for all the good advice. I agree with Gareth, that it's more about how you handle the situation, and not the diagnosis.
One must also remember that we are running a business, not a hobby, and that everything is measured in terms of time and money.
So when I see as a business owner that a problem is taking too long to resolve, I will think outside the box, and look for other options.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mean throwing everything away, and screwing my customers. I mean choosing another course of action, that would resolve the situation, in the least amount of time, and leave everyone happy.

This time I called the customer, explained that I would usually recommend buying a new system, and I only agreed to replace his motherboard because I wanted to help him save some money, which ended up not only costing me a lot of time and money, but also caused him a lot of hassle.
I offered him that I would refund his money, and that he could buy a new system, not necessarily from me. He asked me how much a new system will cost, I offered him a new Dell Latitude at cost price, including my work, and in addition to the refund, and he took it.
I'm not doing this in order to get referrals from him, he's just a friend of the family, and a pensioner, so there's no one he knows to help me get the type of business clients I want anyway.
I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do, and mostly so that I can sleep at night.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

And another good thing, if he wants you to dispose of the system, you might have time at some point to spend more time playing with it, then you may figure out what's actually going on, and when you have another like it, you may know exactly what to look at. But good job on a happy client.