I was thinking of putting an ad in the local paper to fix computers for people, spyware removal virus removal, upgrades etc. This is just something to do on the side, in my free time. Does anyone have any good links to more information about how to go about doing this, like what would be involved legally and on the business end? Any experiences to share? I'm just kinda throwing the idea out there right now, I want to make some money on my hobby maybe get something out of my countless hours spent in front of a computer screen. Any input is appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Fixing peoples computers around town
- Thread starter The AZ11 Bandit
- Start date
I wouldn't. Not onsite, especially if you don't have any experience in it. Somebody will call you up saying they have slow bootup, and you go and find out that they're getting BSOD while booting up. You quote them a price of spyware removal, and after 30mins at their computer, you know it's a lot more serious. Are you going to tell them they need to reinstall their system? And what are you going to charge them when it takes over 2 hrs to reinstall 98 on their slow ass computer? And how are you going to get all the drivers they need?
I've done onsite for a little while... and it's a pain. At least when you have a shop, you can do other stuff while the scan or install is taking place. And you have access to the internet to get their drivers or figure out exactly what their problem is.
I've done onsite for a little while... and it's a pain. At least when you have a shop, you can do other stuff while the scan or install is taking place. And you have access to the internet to get their drivers or figure out exactly what their problem is.
meltdown75
Lifer
- Nov 17, 2004
- 37,548
- 7
- 81
Looney makes a lot of good points.
If you do it, just don't get in over your head. My idea of advertising for this sort of work is posting an ad on a tree in the woods five miles from town
... that way I never get swamped (because it can & will happen).
try to get work by referrals if possible, ie. friends of friends, etc.
and the phrase, "i will have a look at it" is your friend. not "i will fix it."
If you do it, just don't get in over your head. My idea of advertising for this sort of work is posting an ad on a tree in the woods five miles from town
... that way I never get swamped (because it can & will happen).try to get work by referrals if possible, ie. friends of friends, etc.
and the phrase, "i will have a look at it" is your friend. not "i will fix it."
The worst thing was the atmosphere. People often keep their computers at their feet, so if you have to go down there, you have to put up with the smell of feet and dust. Or OMG if they have cats (which i'm allergic to). Or they sit and stare at you while you're working on the computer... which is even worst when you're just letting the computer do it's thing for 30mins.... and they're thinking they're paying you to just sit there? Or if they have kids...
Thanks guys, spread the word through friends and coworkers, it's so obvious now, why didn't I think of that? Oh... and they can bring the machines to me.
My in-laws are famous for THAT!!! The only mistake I made was building them a new one. Now everytime it won't perform as they wish, I have to make a repair. Now I just tell my wife to go get it and it seems to be slowing down.
Funny thing is that they never read a manual, a forum or try to find the trouble themselves. Seems they can only utter phrases....."my e-mail doesn't work" or " it's just so slow right now."
Schadenfroh
Elite Member
- Mar 8, 2003
- 38,416
- 4
- 0
After you fix it, you'll be their little b1tch. They will call you for every little thing going wrong.
meltdown75
Lifer
- Nov 17, 2004
- 37,548
- 7
- 81
this is true only with the crappiest of clients.
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and the cliche applies here. usually if you install Ad-Aware and tell them to run it once a week, you eliminate 75% of the callbacks.
that, and... you can just ignore the really persistent ones until they learn to make a decision for once in their lives.
Originally posted by: meltdown75
that, and... you can just ignore the really persistent ones until they learn to make a decision for once in their lives.
That's my grandmother. She can't close a dialog box without someone saying it's okay. I got a phonecall the other night @ 9pm because Norton popped up asking her if she wanted to update her virus definitions.
"It wants to know if I want to update the virus definitions?!"
"And...?"
"Do I?"
"Yes, Grandma."
She's been using computers for about six or seven years and has been using Norton for about three.
actually ive had this in plan as backup incase i have no job oneday,
creating business cards, fixin pc's, & last but not least *THEMOST IMPORTANT* once the PC IS FINE its f*n xtra for any "customer support"!
be a geek with honors not a chump geek!
creating business cards, fixin pc's, & last but not least *THEMOST IMPORTANT* once the PC IS FINE its f*n xtra for any "customer support"!
be a geek with honors not a chump geek!
So true. last job I did I swear it took them mere hours to download a virus, call me in a panic because of the havoc it was wreaking, certain that I caused the problem.
I go back to the place and their son must have installed every p2p program in existence on this thing... I spent another 2 hours cleaning the NEW mess. I told the parents about RIAA and the fines they've been dishing out and guess what, no call back after that...
That scenario is not the exception, it's practically the rule....
I would strongly consider the down-side before moving on this. If you don't mind the headache, go for it.
the worst is when the computer is tucked away in some tight desk cabinet, and you have to move furniture just to get to the backside and unhook cables and get the thing out.
oh yeah, and it also sucks when their computer is having major problems, and fixing it costs a lot more than you and they figured. or if after many hours of work, u find out they need new parts, and then they just say to you: "oh well, i should just buy a new computer then probably"
A lot of the people who have computer problems download music and visit unsafe website or do not carry legal versions or software titles. If it's not legit, and you are helping them install copyrighted software without the consent of the EULA, your name could go public and you could end up losing more money than you tried to earn.
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