dominexsus
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My first 5 weeks experiences in the premises compare to my on-site PC repair business
Hi guys, on this thread I'd like to share my experiences in the first 5 weeks of being in the premises. From time to time, I will be updating you guys with my latest experiences with my business.
On this thread, I have the advantage of my sister writing on my behalf so I am sure that you will not have any difficulty in understanding what has been written.
The first thing that comes to mind, is the difference between onsite customers and shop costumers. When dealing with onsite customers, the problems are mainly desktop PC and software related. On onsite repairs, the class of the customers generally seem wealthier as their main concern is quality and getting the problem fixed quickly and permanently rather than the cost of the damage. Shop customers tend to be more aware of what they want, and they would have already have done their research on prices and general knowledge on hardware and software. They tend to know exactly what they're after, as opposed to onsite customers who may not be as knowledgeable.
Another thing that came to my attention was the fact that customers who come to the shop tend to inquire about laptop repairs and component sales. In terms of the weight of the jobs, I seem to be getting less jobs concerning desktop PC repairs at the shop and I get more jobs to do with laptop repairs. Jobs concerning laptop repairs are generally hardware based such as: laptop DC jack, GPU repairs and some keyboard replacements and not so much software based. I also get a lot of inquiries about Playstation and Xbox repairs-mainly to do with the temperature and other red light issues. I have started accepting these sort of jobs too. These observations are based on after I have served my first 100 customers.
What I'm currently doing:
On the next update, I will try to post photos of my shop and give you a little update on the more marketing aspect of the business. Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in my threads and I am happy to take any friendly criticism or advice.
Please if you are not interested in my threads then just ignore it, but don't send any unrelated or meaningless posts on my threads. If you want to advice me on something than I am happy to accept your advice or criticism but please if it's unrelated to my thread do not post anything on the wall, but you can send it to me by private message if you must. In my previous threads, I may have come across as arrogant or cocky but I would just like to say that I am not and I am simply sharing my experiences and giving out advice to those that need it. So far, since I've opened the shop, I have had a positive experience and hopefully it will stay that way but if it doesn't then I will also be sharing any experiences which are negative. I am aware that my English is very limited and it may be difficult to understand but I need you to bare with me, as my sister isn't always here to write on my behalf. Thank you.
Hi guys, on this thread I'd like to share my experiences in the first 5 weeks of being in the premises. From time to time, I will be updating you guys with my latest experiences with my business.
On this thread, I have the advantage of my sister writing on my behalf so I am sure that you will not have any difficulty in understanding what has been written.
The first thing that comes to mind, is the difference between onsite customers and shop costumers. When dealing with onsite customers, the problems are mainly desktop PC and software related. On onsite repairs, the class of the customers generally seem wealthier as their main concern is quality and getting the problem fixed quickly and permanently rather than the cost of the damage. Shop customers tend to be more aware of what they want, and they would have already have done their research on prices and general knowledge on hardware and software. They tend to know exactly what they're after, as opposed to onsite customers who may not be as knowledgeable.
Another thing that came to my attention was the fact that customers who come to the shop tend to inquire about laptop repairs and component sales. In terms of the weight of the jobs, I seem to be getting less jobs concerning desktop PC repairs at the shop and I get more jobs to do with laptop repairs. Jobs concerning laptop repairs are generally hardware based such as: laptop DC jack, GPU repairs and some keyboard replacements and not so much software based. I also get a lot of inquiries about Playstation and Xbox repairs-mainly to do with the temperature and other red light issues. I have started accepting these sort of jobs too. These observations are based on after I have served my first 100 customers.
What I'm currently doing:
- I have purchased an infrared re-flow machine with various extra tools, which allow me to repair graphic chips and other chips on Laptop motherboards, Xbox 360's, Playstation 3's and some expensive desktop computer motherboards. The cost of this was £300 including extra tools related to the machine. The reason why I have purchased this machine is so that I can fix these problems myself rather than sending it to third party companies for repairs - this way I will be saving a lot more money and it will allow me to become more competitive.
- I have also purchased more quality tools for DC jack repairs. I have purchased these as I feel like I needed more quality tools to do professional jobs and I felt like the basic tools weren't as practicle and were a lot harder to use. The tools include: Quality soldering machine, Vacuum based de-soldering machine, Hot air gun especially designed for electronic chips, Glue gun and of course various DC jacks; This cost me approximately £300
- I have also bought a complete Xbox 360 repair kit which cost me £80 with a few extras.
- I have established a system which involves taking the details of new customers and putting these into a database. The database includes the date of inquiry, the customer name, address, phone number, the problem with the computer, the price quoted if any and a job reference number. I also use removable stickers and attach them to the customers' PC or laptop with their reference number on it only. This makes it easy to identify each customer's computer once their details have been updated on the database. This makes life a lot easier and makes my work a lot more organised.
- After I have taken a customer's details, I run a full diagnostic on the laptop or PC for free of charge unless the customer doesn't want to go ahead with the repair, the diagnostic has to be paid for. If the PC is mechanically functional, I use PC doctor for diagnostic which I set a custom test which includes: a CPU, motherboard, memory and hard-disc drive only. If the HDD test fails on smart test, then I immediately recommend the customer to replace the hard-disc drive because no matter how well you re-install Windows or use the HDD repair software, it will eventually fail and you will get blamed for the job not being done properly. This is a set procedure which I apply to all jobs.
On the next update, I will try to post photos of my shop and give you a little update on the more marketing aspect of the business. Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in my threads and I am happy to take any friendly criticism or advice.
Please if you are not interested in my threads then just ignore it, but don't send any unrelated or meaningless posts on my threads. If you want to advice me on something than I am happy to accept your advice or criticism but please if it's unrelated to my thread do not post anything on the wall, but you can send it to me by private message if you must. In my previous threads, I may have come across as arrogant or cocky but I would just like to say that I am not and I am simply sharing my experiences and giving out advice to those that need it. So far, since I've opened the shop, I have had a positive experience and hopefully it will stay that way but if it doesn't then I will also be sharing any experiences which are negative. I am aware that my English is very limited and it may be difficult to understand but I need you to bare with me, as my sister isn't always here to write on my behalf. Thank you.
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