"Computer Guy" woes

[CJZ]

I pretend that I don't know anything about computers except how to check e-mail. Works great.

 

[bugsysiegel]

I get the same thing at work, people are too lazy to even try and figure something out, they would rather someone held them by the hand and led them to the answer.

 

[veryape]

The problem in a nutshell is that people who call us are ignorant and just don't want to know how to do "computer stuff" and just assume that we are happy to do it for nothing, and quite to their dismay when I charge them for my services. Sorry mom. It's blatent ignorance, and most of these people just think that they are better than that and someone else should do it for them, because it should operate by itself. It's a computer for goodness sakes, doesn't it do that on it's own? You mean I have to press OK?

 

[edjam]

Scootin, same problem here man, nice when the teachers ask fo help tho

 

[Scootin159]

<< Scootin, same problem here man, nice when the teachers ask fo help tho >>



Don't count on that one...it's nice once in a while....but annoying as hell when you spend half your day setting up the prof's e-mail. Although I will give them a great deal of credit that they do TRY (and they try pretty hard) to do it before coming to me, and then try to understand what I'm doing when I'm there.

 

[axelfox]

MOVE!

 

[Scootin159]

<< MOVE! >>



lol, not exactly the idea I was going for, but hillarious none the less.

 

[Scootin159]

Actually there is the trick I did with one kid who just crossed the line:

It was about 3:30am, I had a final exam at 8 in the morning & really wanted to get to bed. Anyways I was just starting to get ready to go to bed & someone knocked on my door..."Help, I can't get any programs to work on my comptuer & I have to write a paper for tomarrow." Anyways, I figured this would take about 5min to fix (the way he described the problem I was pretty sure I just needed to fix his user permissions), so I decided I'd do it for him.

Anyways, I get down to his room & had him log on as "administrator". I then first removed his firewally program from his startup folder (as he had troubles accessing the internet he said as well). After doing this ICQ popped up (he was sitting in the chair at the time), and he proceded to talk to someone on ICQ, for all of 30 minutes, telling me that he's almost done all along. At the end of the 30 minutes, I finally got control of the comptuer long enough to 'fix' his other problem, I made "EVERYONE" an administrator on his comptuer, and left.

I then went back to my room....loaded up "\\dave\c$", and proceded to change his start menu button to read "I'm a Stuipd Idiot", along with numerous other changes (such as denying him access to his mp3 folder, and others). Revenge is sweet. From what I hear, he actually had to send his comptuer back to dell to get it fixed....,how fun.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

<< I then went back to my room....loaded up "\\dave\c$", and proceded to change his start menu button to read "I'm a Stuipd Idiot", along with numerous other changes (such as denying him access to his mp3 folder, and others). Revenge is sweet. From what I hear, he actually had to send his comptuer back to dell to get it fixed....,how fun. >>


Ok, now that's funny.

(this thread seems genuine - i.e. no skoorb effect, at least not imo)

 

[ImTyping]

<< didn't say geek lovin, I implied geek needing. Once I fix their comptuer, it's out the door for me >>

Sux to be you, if they at least won't let you bang one of their ugly freinds.

As far as kindly cutting down on this sort of work, do this:

Start charging them. Ask for the money in advance.

A flat rate is cool for most people, for most problems. If someone describes the problem to you, say, "well that may take a while to fix. I am a poor college student. I will have to charge you 20 bucks to come over there and make it right."

They will either pay you (SCORE!!!), or they will tell you to get lost (suddenly you have lots more free time). Either way you win.

 

[falias]

Scootin159, The Company Computer Guy! Moooooove!

 

[Beattie]

I am lucky on this one. I work for Residential Networking on my campus. I, therefore get paid pretty well to deal with people's (networking mostly) problems. It's better than having to do it for free since the people know I am there anyway.

 

[dirtboy]

Why try something when someone will come over and do it for you?

 

[Swag1138]

Im one of the computer guys in my family. Im one of three computer guys in my class. I work in a Comic Shop. I have Star Wars posters in my room. My favorite DVDs are Hackers, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and The Matrix. I watch the Clerks cartoon. Ive seen LOTR 9 times, saw Star Wars ep 1 40 times in the theater.

I believe I may qualify for the Geek of the Year award here.


But I know how you feel. Ive even told somone off when they asked me to fix the stupidest simplest problem. Like, five minutes later, I felt like crap, and went and apologized.

I hate being a geeky getleman

 

[Thegonagle]

Wear this t-shirt.

 

[Red Dawn]

Tell them to pay you or piss off. If they are to fscking stupid to figure it out then they should have to cough up some bucks. Times money and you wouldn't be giving those wankers your money, why give them your time? Sure you won't be popular but they only reason they like you anyweay is because of what they can get from you.

 

[WageSlave]

6

 

[Scootin159]

<< 6 >>



umm......yeah

 

[Geekbabe]

There are only two groups of people who get my help for free with computer related problems

1. my children

2.my partner and since most guys I know are tech's ,help flows both ways


all others pay cash!!

 

[Geekbabe]

<< I am basically the 'go to guy' for any form of comptuer problems on our campus. At times it's kinda nice (read hot girls), but at times it's annoying (how do I open a .bmp file?). Do people even try before asking how to do something? >>




Right now my biggest woe is clients who book appointments and then are really late or who cancel with very short notice, I've got a guy on his way over now who didn't learn his lesson from the last $50 spanking he got.People value your time only when they are made to pay for it and obviously I need to help this fellow learn the value of my time a little more strongly at this pont :|

 

[Scootin159]

I just put the following in to my profile: (there are links in there as well, but not gonna bother linking them here, you guys know that stuff).

Tech Support Rates:
$4/hr for on-location help (broken into 15 min. blocks).
$1 surcharge for anyone outside of Miner
$5 deposit for borrowing CD's (returned with the CD)
$2 for a copy of a CD, or CD's generated from files
AOL IM: FREE
Windows XP Remote Assistance: FREE
Other sources of FREE Help:
Anandtech Forums
Hard|OCP Forums
Microsoft Knowledgebase

 

[jaydee]

Next time ask for sexual favors in return, just to see what they would say. And see if they come back

 

[geek167]

When asked what I do I just say I deliver pizzas and I love it. Telling them that I repair and build computers for a job will suddenly make them attack me with requests to fix their computer for FREE.

 

[hans007]

my dad works at a big computer company, and well i learned all his computer junk by watching him when iwas little. by the time i was 12 i was go edit their autoexec.bat file and free up some lower dos memory boy since he moved up into high management and didnt do that crap anymore. now i am just gadget fix it boy . setup the dvd player. fix the cable modems. network these houses. call hp for the restore CDs.. etc. gay i hate it