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The “No fix, No Fee” Guarantee
A topic that is frequently brought up in the Technibble forums is whether they should offer the “no fix, no fee” guarantee. Some people see it as a way to get more clients while others think it will cause problems. So, should you offer it? Read on.
I personally had a “no fix, no fee” guarantee in my first few years of being a computer technician because I thought that it would help new clients see that I was confident in my abilities. I felt I needed it because I was young at the time and might not have been taken seriously.
I stuck with it for the first few years until problems started to arise:
They would debate the definition of a “fix”
I would occasionally come across problems that weren’t viable to fix and a replacement would have been a better choice. For example, there were computers that had critical system files so badly damaged that I could have spent hours on trying to fix only to have to do a format anyway.
I would inform my client that a format would be the best way to go because it has the best results but would cost $XXX more. These problem clients would decline to have it done for whatever reason and don’t want me to fix it so I tell them the charge is just $XX for the time and callout then. Can you guess what they said?
“Oh, but you didn’t fix it. You said no fix, no fee”
I know how to fix it, I can fix it. They just wont let me.
Most of the time ended up getting my money after comparing a computer technician to another service like a doctor who gets paid for his diagnosis time even though he didn’t “fix you”. However, I did encounter a few people wouldn’t budge and I had to compromise and ended up with about half of what I should have. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing I guess. Another problem with the no fix, no fee guarantee is..
It attracts cheap customers
The “no fix, no fee” guarantee is attractive to people who are cheap or are genuinely on a tight budget. It eliminates any risk to them (which isn’t necessarily bad) but these people tend to be a little more flaky. More often than not they will try to negotiate with you, ask you to install pirate software and/or be slow at paying you; if at all. These are obviously not the clients you want. The best type of clients are those who are professionals themselves. They may be lawyers, consultants, doctors, dentists etc.. and they understand that time is money and your time is no different.
Although not advertising a no fix no fee guarantee wont mean you’ll get more professionals, it means you wont attract as many cheapskates.
Now days I have a simple rule with how to charge clients. If I couldn’t fix the problem because its unfixable or the client doesn’t want to spend the extra money, I charge for my time. If I couldn’t fix the problem because I don’t know how to, I don’t charge. Its not the clients fault that I didn’t know how to fix it.
As for standing behind my work, I do. If I just left the clients place and the problem happens again, I would be right back there to fix it for free.
What do you guys think? Do you offer one? If so, have you been burned before? Drop us a comment. As always, comments are open and you don’t need to sign up to leave one. You can even post anonymously if you want.
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Our experience in 3 years is identical to yours. We tolerated c and d customers at first but now neither court them or keep them (we price them out). No discounts and no gift certificates. We offer a valuable (and sometimes critical) service at a fair price. Which is not to say we don’t give away service at times to our best customers. We have found that a free hour here and there builds loyalty.
Amen guys, we used to offer that guarantee and the first time someone wanted to kick me out before we could fix it… I thought on my feet enough to add to the guarantee’s fine print. We said: “If we can’t fix or diagnose, it’s free”. That covered us for those times when someone wanted to take advantage. We don’t offer that guarantee anymore as a result of several folks trying to take advantage of us.
We’ve priced our services to capture both the budget conscience and the one’s who want the best and fastest service (and are willing to pay). Now, we simply charge for our time regardless. Granted, if we couldn’t fix the issue because of a lack of skill or ability, we wouldn’t charge.
Go Gators!
I work along the lines of lonagcio although I never use the word “guarantee”. I simply inform them that I cannot fix it and there will be no charge. I find the word guarantee just causes problems and sets unreasonable expectations.
I also operate with the same methodology as Bryce in terms of returning to fix problems that I just “fixed”.
I think it is a mistake to offer this type of guarantee.
I believe you can offer a “courtesy discount” if the problem is not resolved. This type of discount offsets some of the unproductive time expended but shows the customer that you are being considerate without giving away all your time for free.
I have been offering the “no fix, no fee” guarantee for about 6 years now and have never gotten burned by it.
The thing is about 95% of the people who live in the 30 mile area I work are cheap or are on a tight budget. If I cut these people off I’m killing my business. The bigger name shops already have most of the other 5%.
I don’t advertise the no fix guarantee. If I can’t fix it, I then inform the customer of the guarantee.
I agree with lonagcio in that I don’t advertise this but find it is helpful in procuring a new PC build or some other work which my clients are quite willing to pay, especially since I did not charge for finding the initial problem. My charge is high but it is for actual service performed as I want my clients to know they are getting something. My advertising is on my car and on my website so I’m going after “good” clients like business owners. They often want me to fix their home systems also and pass me on to more good clients.
I charge a minimum just for arriving at the clients residence. If all goes smoothly I remove that charge from the invoice. If I cant fix it I offer to take it back to the lab at no extra cost until its fixed. but I never return the “security deposit”
The no fix no fee guarantee is bs. It states that you are not a knowledgeable tech and you might not be able to fix an issue. I think it promotes lack of knowledge. A true tech can fix or diagnose any issue.
I would have it in detailed writing on any contracts and bills the customer must sign. Since it has been brought up I do now debate if I would advertise it. The advantage is that it can attract many people and I would make sure to have myself covered in writing for what the guarentee is exactly. I agree to koonter on charging a call out fee as regardless you took the time and gas to come to them that alone has its worth even if it can not be fixed.
I use it. But with a disclaimer, if I can fix it but you won’t let me you still get charged. If the fix is a new part and you don’t want to spend them money on it, I still charge.
If i’m told to do whatever needs to be done and I still can’t figure it out I won’t charge.
I have been doing credit checks on first-time customers and it has helped me to filter out ones I suspect are going to be cheapskates.
great post,i don’t have a “no fix, no fee” guarantee as it seems to bring only hassle after.
I offer the “no fix, no fee” depending on the job. If a customer wants something fixed and I know I can do it, but the customer is sitting on the fence, I will offer the ‘NFNF’ and that usually closes the deal.
We do not give such an offer, as it will just lead to many unpaid invoices, and hassle customers. Seeing how we mostly do business/corporate accounts, we do not find that it’s needed.
Wow, I am amazed at the responses to this. We don’t advertise a no fix no fee, nor do we advertise our prices (which is another article all together) But we do tell our clients what our prices are, onsite…1hour min service fee…inhouse…1/2hr min service…then going on the normal hourly rate. For “cleanups” we charge a set rate with a little adjustability. Now, all that said, You have to use your Moral Judgement and be business Smart too.
“No Fix, No Pay”
This should be a standard with software or even hardware in most cases. Now I have the ability to throw parts at a project and have a (almost) unlimited software base. There should be no reason that I can’t fix a computer. If it is HOSED, then tell em to buy a new one. It’s not that the product has to be fixed, just the problems at hand. A BSOD due to windows being a pain in the @$$, do a data backup and get windows reinstalled. If the HDD is toast, replace it, try some recovery software (which can take up to a week) and see if you can get there files. There should be no reason a computer can’t be fixed, just troubleshoot the thing till you get it right. This also needs to have a time limitation to it but make customers come to you, this will take that sense of urgency off your back and give you a better realm to troubleshoot then having someone look over your shoulder every ten seconds. All I have to say is CHKDSK /R!!!
After I had clients telling me to charge them even after I had explained the no-fix no-fee guarantee to them, I’ve been a lot less likely to use it. I have one client (gotta love those lawyers) who tells me to charge them even when they call with a standard question. Who am I to argue?
I would say upfront that it will cost this much for time, etc… and if there the problem isn’t fixed then that is all they pay. If you can fix it then you add that on top of everything. I think the main thing, is to just be up front about what each and every thing will cost.
Garret says: “The no fix no fee guarantee is bs. It states that you are not a knowledgeable tech and you might not be able to fix an issue. I think it promotes lack of knowledge. A true tech can fix or diagnose any issue.”
How does a guarantee of my work mean I’m not a knowledgeable tech? What the “No Fix, No Pay” guarantee does is get me all the customers that have been ripped off by the bigger shops where they had to pay hundreds for the 17 year old “techs” time and they still have problems.
Yes I understand that customer must pay for your time, although your visit doesn’t seem make their PC work normally. No free lunch…At least, they must pay for the fuel you use visit their place.
I have had a slightly different guarantee for the last two years and it had not caused me trouble yet. When a customer calls, I always explain that there is a diagnosis fee that will only be charged if I find the issue AND they elect NOT to fix the problem.
I explain that if I cannot find the problem, then there is no charge. That is where the ‘No charge if I cannot fix it’ part comes in. But that never enters into the equation since I can always find something that will fix the problem, even if it is as severe as reformatting the HDD or replacing the motherboard (doesn’t usually happen). My clients almost always have me repair the computer. Basically the fee keeps me from being used as a free diagnostic service.
we have offered this for 2 years with no ill effects, we just charge a small pick up fee, or a diagnostic fee if they drop it off, so my time is covered. usually when we cant fix its due to the cpu being so old, its not worth replacing hardware..etc. But 99% of the time that turns into a new cpu set up and data transfer.
One particularly interesting one was an issue with a HP Pavilion laptop, the Broadcom Wireless adapter didn’t appear to be installed.
Anyway, after investigating I learned of a serious design/manufacturing issue with a range of HP laptops.
I wrote a full report on my investigations, so the customer could communicate this to HP. I gave them as much advice as I could and charged €50 (they were happy and gave me €60).
In the end they phoned me back and was delighted to let me know that they are getting an out of warranty fix for free from HP.
If this was an awkward customer and I had a “no fix no fee” guarantee they could claim that I didn’t fix anything and that instead I was fobbing them off to HP.
I’ve actually been offering a warranty like this for about 3 yrs now but only for PC builds. If a part goes bad during the usual store warranty, I will help the client get the part replaced. If the warranty is already expired on a part, the client knows that after they purchase a replacement part, I will still help them install it and I usually do not charge them again. (but by offering services like this…..they always pay me for the labor anyway) I told this one guy that I would help him restore his PC after his hard drive crashed….(I originally built the PC but the drive crashed after about 6 months). I was able to salvage the data and then restore it to a new hard drive (that the client purchased). The whole restoration took about 4 hours. When I was done, I got a check for $300 even though I told him I would do it for free.
I guess with experience you’ll learn that the “No fix, no fee” guarantee is a bit unrealistic. As you have highlighted that some problems would get you working hours on end just to have to format it anyways. So it might do great for marketing, but could have a negative effect on your reputation though at the end of a hopeless project.
It’s better to put the NFNC in advertisement–but at the same time -tell the customer upfront that minimum charges apply for coming and diagnosing.
I love the “No Fix, No Fee” guarantee… when other businesses use it.
If I am going to drive to their house and do a computer diagnostic there is no reason I shouldnt be able to charge.
If it turns out that the hdd is having some issue and the user dosnt want to pay for a new one or what not I then have to be caught up in the no fee clause.
I really like what you said:
“If I couldn’t fix the problem because its unfixable or the client doesn’t want to spend the extra money, I charge for my time. If I couldn’t fix the problem because I don’t know how to, I don’t charge. Its not the clients fault that I didn’t know how to fix it.”
I have always struggled with this problem. I feel so guilty if I charged them hourly and they ended up paying $100 to $200 and I didn’t fix the problem. This method actually alleviates the pressure I feel because sometimes I just can’t figure out the problem and don’t want to sit there for 8 hours to figure it out.
If you can’t fix it have you ever referred them to someone else?
Wendy
If you can’t fix it..i mean really can’t fix it then you shouldn’t be a computer technician. I guess there is a fine line between fixing something and wasting time trying to diagnose something that should just be replaced or reinstalled. I have never not charged someone unless they were a family friend, of course I’ve never been beat by a computer problem either. Sometimes there just not worth fixing the way you want to i.e not reinstalling the operating system. As a rule of thumb if I can’t fix a problem in an hour and a half I will just reinstall the OS unless it my own machine then I will spend countless hours just for the fun of it.
I belive that you should charge at least a diagnosis fee if you spent your time driving out to the customer, and worked on the machine. However, if the customer brought their computer to you, then you can probably offer a no fix-no fee service because you did not waste driving time, wear and tear on your vehicle, or gas money.
I wanted to add on to my privious comment…
There is never, ever a situation where a quality computer technician cannot fix the problem. There is always a rhyme and a reason that whatever it is, is not working. It just comes down to wheather or not the customer wants your to fix it, or if its cost effective to fix it. With that said, a diagnosis fee should be charged if you spent time working on the machine in the customer’s home or workplace, and they declined repairs.
“A quick look is free” is our motto. Since customers don’t always know the best way to describe their problem. We do just that, take one quick look then let then know the price of the fix. We aren’t out any real time and they aren’t out any money. :)
When I first started I “offered” a warranty like this. I never placed it in ads. Being new to fixing computers, I felt guilty charging someone 5 hours when I should have been able to do it in four. So sometimes I did charge more or less upon what it should have taken me. The area I was in had lots of Yard sale hunters and they would bring in systems that had no chance of being fixed for a decent price. So to offer a No Fix, No Fee would have been crazy.
As a beginning technician the “no fix, no fee” guarantee was a really good idea, but it landed me in trouble with customers. I still offer a “no fix, no fee” to my existing customers but the ‘first time’ customers dont this option. I would normally build a relationship with them so they genuinely know that i tried and cannot fix the problem and so some of them still pay. I think when i reach a problem I cant fix it will be a learning experience for me and another of the similar problem will not beat me again.
I have a no fix no fee guarantee. Every appointment involves two signatures – the usual, agree-to-pay-the-estimate signature, and a satisfaction signature at the end of the job. Once the satisfaction signature is signed, I’m off the hook.
Also, of course, the no-fix-no-fee doesn’t apply if it CAN be fixed but the client simply does not want to pay for parts. It’s simpler to pull that off when you do flat-rate, non-hourly pricing like myself.
You are absolutely right. They way you are doing it now, I believe is the way to do it. People will always find a way to stretch or skew what you are offering them. I have been working in the customer service business for 16 years now and it is the same in every business. Don’t screw yourself over because it just makes it hard to do business. A mentor of my life once told me something that paid for its self over and over. It it isn’t written down it don’t exit. Always cover your a**. Make your policy know and have them sign on it.
Great posts by the way. Thank you.
Hi i am a new one here i bin start a company of my one now for about 3 weeks. I ask a €25,- fee of diagnoses en if the customer wants to repair/replace of re/install i ask a hour loan of €40,- en de fee falls off. I can use a advice about here the middle prices are betwin the €50 to 60€ but some big company asking a €25-€35 but i most pay a tax of 60% so hat is wise to do ? sorry for my bad english i live in the netherlands