Almost every day

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TrailBeast

TrailBeast

AKA Mopars4us on Youtube
Joined
Mar 11, 2011
Messages
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Location
Arizona
I hear "My friend's, brother's, chimpanzee or whatever is a certified MS programmer and he said this would only take a min or two to fix, so why do I have to pay your min service call charge of ***?

Pisses me off.

If your friend's, brother's, chimpanzee knew that to be true then he would have fixed it.
Right?

Then they say "Oh sure, but he didn't have time because he is so busy"

Blah, blah, blah
 
Tell them to look up the definition of "minimum".

I fix people's computers all of the time for free, but I also have a regular paycheck. I don't know how normal people can afford to own computers. One virus and you might as well throw it away and get a new one. It'll be cheaper than paying a place to clean it off for you sometimes.
 
TrailBeast said:
I hear "My friend's, brother's, chimpanzee or whatever is a certified MS programmer and he said this would only take a min or two to fix, so why do I have to pay your min service call charge of ***?

Pisses me off.

If your friend's, brother's, chimpanzee knew that to be true then he would have fixed it.
Right?

Then they say "Oh sure, but he didn't have time because he is so busy"

Blah, blah, blah
Click to expand...

Why does your friend's, brother's, chimpanzee owe you anything for free? He went and got the training to do what you want done. Maybe the feedback from what you are saying about having to pay has gotten back to friend's, brother's, chimpanzee and that is the reason he doesn't want to deal with you. Maybe he has cash paying customers that are willing to pay the bill without complaining and he is busy. There are costs and time to run a business (even a part time business) besides the time he is sitting at your computer. Just think about it.
 
Man you guys said how i feel about this topic...But ask your self what you could do for him and what you might do for him in the future...?????????
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
Why does your friend's, brother's, chimpanzee owe you anything for free? He went and got the training to do what you want done. Maybe the feedback from what you are saying about having to pay has gotten back to friend's, brother's, chimpanzee and that is the reason he doesn't want to deal with you. Maybe he has cash paying customers that are willing to pay the bill without complaining and he is busy. There are costs and time to run a business (even a part time business) besides the time he is sitting at your computer. Just think about it.
Click to expand...

I think you may have misunderstood the meaning behind Trailbeast's post. I rephrased it and if I am wrong in my understanding OP please let me know. If I am misunderstanding your response please let me know as well.

Trailbeast: "It will cost $*** to fix your computer. That is our minimum service charge
Customer: "My friend's, brother's, chimpanzee or whatever is a certified MS programmer and he said this would only take a min or two to fix, so why do I have to pay your min service call charge of ***?

Trailbeast: "If your friend's, brother's, chimpanzee knew that to be true then he would have fixed it. Right?"

Customer: "Oh sure, but he didn't have time because he is so busy"

I run into these issues all the time as a tech and they are very irritating to me as well. I don't care what your buddies friend says is wrong or how much he thinks it would cost to fix it. I give the customer a fair price that covers my time and overhead if they like my price great if not they are free to go elsewhere for repairs.
~Michael
 
Diagnostics is time spent. The customer needs to pay for that time. They do everywhere else they go, ie: doctors, dentists, plumbers, electricians, etc... Not to mention the expensive tools and training that wasn't free. When I was running a shop, diagnostics were always charged, usually at a higher hourly rate unless they fixed the car. I always charge more labor if there is no parts to mark up or they supply their own parts. Plus, we supply a warranty on our repairs and will fix them under warranty quickly. Good luck getting "My friend's, brother's, chimpanzee or whatever" to find time to re-fix your car when they aren't getting paid. Mechanics and computer technicians are grossly mistreated in the industry. They need to learn more than most doctors and everyone bitches because they want to charge actual money to use that knowledge.
 
Another problem I think is that some people think they know how to fix computers when they haven't got a single clue. I built my 1st computer last Christmas and haven't looked back. It runs great and if there's a virus or other problem I can usually fix it without loosing all of my data(the operating system is on a separate hard-drive)
 
Dartman1969 said:
I think you may have misunderstood the meaning behind Trailbeast's post. I rephrased it and if I am wrong in my understanding OP please let me know. If I am misunderstanding your response please let me know as well.

Trailbeast: "It will cost $*** to fix your computer. That is our minimum service charge
Customer: "My friend's, brother's, chimpanzee or whatever is a certified MS programmer and he said this would only take a min or two to fix, so why do I have to pay your min service call charge of ***?

Trailbeast: "If your friend's, brother's, chimpanzee knew that to be true then he would have fixed it. Right?"

Customer: "Oh sure, but he didn't have time because he is so busy"

I run into these issues all the time as a tech and they are very irritating to me as well. I don't care what your buddies friend says is wrong or how much he thinks it would cost to fix it. I give the customer a fair price that covers my time and overhead if they like my price great if not they are free to go elsewhere for repairs.
~Michael
Click to expand...

I can see it the way you are reading it also. I can see it either way. The thread isn't clear the way the OP wrote it. The way you rewrote it is very clear. Maybe the OP will fill in the details but I do think you have it correct.
 
340_dart_power said:
But what about Prostitution....?
Click to expand...

Bout blew beer when I saw that one.

Just bitchin about how people that don't know **** and need your help try to tell you that it shouldn't cost as much as it does.
I expected it to get worse when the economy turned down, and realize I am lucky that I have a job I can support my family with at 55.
I used to be what people call a "professional" mechanic with decades in auto repair and service.
Years at Aamco as a trans builder and service manager, Goodyear service manager in Santa Barbara Cal., and head mechanic for three equipment rental stores called Taylor Rentals and I was doing ok in life.
Then came the wife and kids and bills and school and, and, and.
Had to make a change from what I knew well to something that made more money.
Told the wife one day that I was going to learn how to work on computer systems and that I quit my current job.
I thought she was going to freakin faint.
I bugged the hell out of every computer related place in the area to hire me, but had to answer that I didn't know anything about it. (Great)
FINALLY, one of the places told me that they would hire me for two hours a week to clean the bathroom and vac the floors on Mondays for 7 bucks an hour.
Yep 14 bucks a week.
I went in every day and made sure the bathroom was clean, and the floors were vac'd and stayed the rest of the day greeting customers and directing them to the person I thought could help them the best.
The owners asked me who told me to do this and I told them "no one, it just seemed that they needed a little help in that area" and they said "we are only paying you 7 dollars an hour twice a week to clean the bathroom and vac the floors" and I told them I didn't come there to do that for the rest of my life, I came to learn what they knew, and if I had to start by cleaning then so be it.
The owner said, "well then, come in the service area and let's get you started.
15 years later, and I have my own computer service business in this town, and have a good reputation for getting down to the issue and handling it.

Sorry for the long boring story, but that's how it went.
A lesson some of todays kids could take.

And this is me now, so there ya go.
 

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TrailBeast said:
Bout blew beer when I saw that one.

Just bitchin about how people that don't know **** and need your help try to tell you that it shouldn't cost as much as it does.
I expected it to get worse when the economy turned down, and realize I am lucky that I have a job I can support my family with at 55.
I used to be what people call a "professional" mechanic with decades in auto repair and service.
Years at Aamco as a trans builder and service manager, Goodyear service manager in Santa Barbara Cal., and head mechanic for three equipment rental stores called Taylor Rentals and I was doing ok in life.
Then came the wife and kids and bills and school and, and, and.
Had to make a change from what I knew well to something that made more money.
Told the wife one day that I was going to learn how to work on computer systems and that I quit my current job.
I thought she was going to freakin faint.
I bugged the hell out of every computer related place in the area to hire me, but had to answer that I didn't know anything about it. (Great)
FINALLY, one of the places told me that they would hire me for two hours a week to clean the bathroom and vac the floors on Mondays for 7 bucks an hour.
Yep 14 bucks a week.
I went in every day and made sure the bathroom was clean, and the floors were vac'd and stayed the rest of the day greeting customers and directing them to the person I thought could help them the best.
The owners asked me who told me to do this and I told them "no one, it just seemed that they needed a little help in that area" and they said "we are only paying you 7 dollars an hour twice a week to clean the bathroom and vac the floors" and I told them I didn't come there to do that for the rest of my life, I came to learn what they knew, and if I had to start by cleaning then so be it.
The owner said, "well then, come in the service area and let's get you started.
15 years later, and I have my own computer service business in this town, and have a good reputation for getting down to the issue and handling it.

Sorry for the long boring story, but that's how it went.
A lesson some of todays kids could take.
Click to expand...

Thank you for setting my wrong thoughts correct. I apologize for what I posted but I thought you were the one complaining about the cost. I couldn't see the forest because there were too many trees in the way, LOL.
 
It was just a vent.
I benifitted from it even though,
Thank you

Oklacarcollecto said:
Thank you for setting my wrong thoughts correct. I apologize for what I posted but I thought you were the one complaining about the cost. I couldn't see the forest because there were too many trees in the way, LOL.
Click to expand...
 
damnimcooltom said:
Tell them to look up the definition of "minimum".

I fix people's computers all of the time for free, but I also have a regular paycheck. I don't know how normal people can afford to own computers. One virus and you might as well throw it away and get a new one. It'll be cheaper than paying a place to clean it off for you sometimes.
Click to expand...

Define normal people for me.I have three computers pc,lap top,and a IPad and I think I fall in the normal range. Except I'm a lucky norm my son is a net work director. He fixes all my screw ups

Moe
 
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