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How much to charge a coworker for working on his pc?

MetalMat

MetalMat

Diamond Member
One of the operators at work wants to to work on his computer, says its running slow (I have a good idea of what to do). However, I was wondering what to charge him for the work.

Also, I already told him that I will do this for him once but he cant call me for any problems in the future after I cleaned it up for him unless he wants to pay for the work again.
 
Just set a flat rate for services, for spyware cleanup $50. Basically look at geeksquad prices and multiply by .25. Also, if you aren't really sure how to fix his problem, just say that he should take it to a shop (not best buy) because if you work on it for 4 hours, and don't fix the problem, he isn't going to pay you, you've wasted 4 hours of both of your lives and he still has to take it some where and pay to get it fixed.
 
I charged a co-worker $20 to go over and clean his computer up, and show him how to do it. He fed me breakfast, gave me some coffee, and I haven't had to help him with it since.
 
If hes a decent guy, just ask for a donation, ask him what price sounds about right for him? If hes a buddy, then why charge him at all.
 
Originally posted by: Vinfinite
If hes a decent guy, just ask for a donation, ask him what price sounds about right for him? If hes a buddy, then why charge him at all.
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He is a good guy, and we get along and all but it does take some time out of the day to work on it. Plus I have only been knowing him for about a month. I was thinking of maybe just charging him a case of beer.
 
Originally posted by: MetalMat
How much to charge a coworker for working on his pc?
Click to expand...

Enough so that he never asks you again.


I don't even tell people I work with computers (Software Developer, was a network admin in a previous life) anymore unless I absolutely have to. My wife's idiot dad used to ask me all the time to come over and work on their computer. Her mom (divorced) did too, but less frequently. People at work would bring their ****** in all the time and ask me to look at it.

Would any of these people do THEIR jobs for free?

Finally I just started taking my sweet time doing things. People got a little pissed, but they stopped bothering me nights and weekends. As for my FIL, I simply told him no:

"Sorry. I actually hate computers, but it pays the bills. The last thing I want to do at home is continue working with them."

The truth.

 
I formatted a co-worker's home computer and reloaded all of his software, loaded a free anti-virus and firewall software, secured hs wireless router and connected his son's laptop to his computer via a workgroup. I charged him $100 and he was happy to pay it. I am not paid for what I do, rather for what I KNOW how to do. I have heard from other people that just loading the software around here costs from $100 up to $180, so I guess I work cheap.
 
generic cleanup $50.

family & friends get stuff done for free, or close to it. co-workers do not usually fall into this category, therefore regular rates apply.

it's a little easier for me to stomach the amount of time i put into fixing various problems... basically, when i'm working on someone's PC, it is set up next to my main PC and i can pretty much work & play simultaneously. so i don't keep track of the time spent on it per se, and just think of it as $50 for hanging out and doing what I usually do.
 
Originally posted by: farmercal
I formatted a co-worker's home computer and reloaded all of his software, loaded a free anti-virus and firewall software, secured hs wireless router and connected his son's laptop to his computer via a workgroup. I charged him $100 and he was happy to pay it. I am not paid for what I do, rather for what I KNOW how to do. I have heard from other people that just loading the software around here costs from $100 up to $180, so I guess I work cheap.
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Did almost the same thing for some people in my neighborhood, same price as well. I asked them what they think it's worth and he wrote me a $100 check and we were good. I'd say just help him out show him how to do it and I'm sure he'll pay you himself (if he's a good guy).

 
Charge them to much so they don't come around again.

The guy that had this job before me built computers on the side for other employees, and I have people saying their antivirus software expired "what should I do?!" while saying "Its the computer Jay built for me" as if thats some subtle indication its my problem. Thats not a company PC, *I* didn't build it. *I* didn't get paid to build it. *I* don't give a sh|t, and I wouldn't even if I had make money off the deal. I'm not that guy, even if I do have his position! And antivirus software subscriptions run out, thats not a computer problem thats a "you're cheap" problem. Deal with it.

The last time that woman dropped hints about needing some work done I just acted like I had no fvcking idea what she was talking about. You can tell the ones you just plain don't want to get involved with. When their spell checker doesn't work because they're hitting the wrong function key, and they come screaming to you about the server being down-STAY THE FVCK AWAY.
 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
The last time that woman dropped hints about needing some work done I just acted like I had no fvcking idea what she was talking about.
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Hehe... that's what I used to do, too. If someone was trying to get me to do something that they knew was wrong, unethical, or if they just flat-out knew they were being a pest, I'd play dumb as fvck and make them SPELL it out to me.

"Yeah, could you work on my PC to fix ABC?"
"Sure, is PC Anywhere running"
"It's not installed"
"That's strange... we install PC Anywhere on all of our machines..."
"Uh... yeah, well this one doesn't have it on there."
"Hmmm... who set it up for you..."
"Uh... well... yeah... it's umm... my personal computer."
"AHHHH!!!! I see... No."

I can't tell you how many people thought because they worked at a company with an IT department that they had their own personal (and free) support staff for all of their computing needs, professional AND personal.

Fvcking leeches. I don't ask our accounting department to do my fscking taxes...
 
Originally posted by: jbourne77
Originally posted by: PingSpike
The last time that woman dropped hints about needing some work done I just acted like I had no fvcking idea what she was talking about.
Click to expand...

Hehe... that's what I used to do, too. If someone was trying to get me to do something that they knew was wrong, unethical, or if they just flat-out knew they were being a pest, I'd play dumb as fvck and make them SPELL it out to me.

"Yeah, could you work on my PC to fix ABC?"
"Sure, is PC Anywhere running"
"It's not installed"
"That's strange... we install PC Anywhere on all of our machines..."
"Uh... yeah, well this one doesn't have it on there."
"Hmmm... who set it up for you..."
"Uh... well... yeah... it's umm... my personal computer."
"AHHHH!!!! I see... No."

I can't tell you how many people thought because they worked at a company with an IT department that they had their own personal (and free) support staff for all of their computing needs, professional AND personal.

Fvcking leeches. I don't ask our accounting department to do my fscking taxes...
Click to expand...


Luckily, we're subcontracted, and I tell people straight up, we don't do house calls, we're business only.
 
have any of you guys ran into that Vundu Trojan yet?

damn, that thing was a bitch to remove for a while.

edit: you know what's funny? you tell people to get Dells for the tech support, right? well, i see it as one of the benefits anyway, especially if they are no0bs.

well the last PC i worked on was a Dell, only a month old, and it had already been screwed over by a trojan. lol
 
Originally posted by: jbourne77
I can't tell you how many people thought because they worked at a company with an IT department that they had their own personal (and free) support staff for all of their computing needs, professional AND personal.

Fvcking leeches. I don't ask our accounting department to do my fscking taxes...
Click to expand...

Exactly...then they'll try and bullsh|t me into doing it. "The firewall is blocking my email at home" Thats nice. I'm glad you picked up the word firewall from that CNN report you watched 2 minutes of while drinking your coffee, but your home email is from your ISP, not us. Our firewall is not installed at your ISP. And its not my job to do your ISP's troubleshooting for them!

The worst part about that woman is she actually thinks she knows what she's talking about. After hearing about space concerns in regards to the servers backup space, she recommended to me first that I use thumbdrives to backup all the data, and then that I use CD-Rs. Yeah, I'll just run right over there and burn a 25GB CD every night and dump server2's 20GB of data onto that 256mb thumb drive that you bought at best buy. What was I thinking using tape and/or external hard drives!? I guess I hadn't heard about the advances in super CD-R technology! :roll: Its not that I care that people don't know what they are talking about, but she wasn't asking she was basically saying "this is how we ought to do it" in an accusatory tone, like I'm idiot for not thinking of this great scheme of hers.

Its like me kicking down the accountants door and demanding to know why we aren't using paypal for all of our transactions.
 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Its like me kicking down the accountants door and demanding to know why we aren't using paypal for all of our transactions.
Click to expand...

LMAO

Yeah, I got the whole "troubleshoot my ISPs problems" a few times too.

I think the biggest slap in the face I ever got was from a "friend of the family". This guy is an entry-level developer and will always be one, because he's lazy as hell. He wanted a new computer and I wanted an excuse to dump my old one, so I bought a bunch of new components and gave him the parts I didn't want - for free. I basically gave him everything except a case and a working motherboard. The motherboard needed servicing but was otherwise okay. This was 8 months ago.

To make a long story short, he kept asking me questions like "hey, any idea what the problem with the mobo is?". I always responded with "no, it just doesn't work but it's under warranty. Call them to arrange service."

This went on and on for months until he finally - GET THIS - asks ME to call them (after I donated about $600 of computer equipment to him) because "he didn't have time to wait on hold". As if I knew some secret phone number that would get me right in or that I had nothing better to do than wait on hold. Frankly, the hold time WAS excessive (about 30 minutes the one time I tried calling in before donating the stuff to him)... but one a fsckass.

I haven't helped him one bit since. That was about the biggest slap in the face I've ever got from trying to help someone. To give you a little background, he's extremely unmotivated, has been fired from a couple jobs, and is one of those guys that when he has a problem he knows it's much easier to ask you for the answer rather than researching it a bit himself first.

I haven't helped him, or anyone else for that matter, with their computer problems since. I absolutely positively 100% refuse to do anything like that, even WITH compensation. Even the times I've been paid for it, it wasn't worth the effort. Because as soon as you lay a hand on someone else's computer, you become their "goto guy" for every problem thereafter... and if they continue running into problems after you work on it, there's a sense that the problems were the result of your work and you're expected to work for free. I simply do not want to troubleshoot computers or do ANY computer-related crap after I leave work.

It's seriously just not worth the hassle unless it's a full-time business that you run. Anymore, if anyone asks me to look at their computer they're likely to get kicked in the balls. For some reason I'm just supersensitive to the expectation that some people have that I'll do charity work for them and that I have nothing better to do than tinker with their Kazaafvckbox of a computer.

Frankly, I don't even like computers. I hate them. What I wouldn't give to go back to college and become a mechanical engineer or something. Then I could just be a pesky end-user who's AutoCAD ferks up once or twice a year and I could basque in my PC ignorance like everyone else.

 
Originally posted by: jbourne77
I haven't helped him, or anyone else for that matter, with their computer problems since. I absolutely positively 100% refuse to do anything like that, even WITH compensation. Even the times I've been paid for it, it wasn't worth the effort. Because as soon as you lay a hand on someone else's computer, you become their "goto guy" for ever problem thereafter... and if they continue running into problems after you work on it, there's a sense that the problems were the result of your work.

It's seriously just not worth the hassle unless it's a full-time business that you run. Anymore, if anyone asks me to look at their computer they're likely to get kicked in the balls. For some reason I'm just supersensitive to the expectation that some people have that I'll do charity work for them and that I have nothing better to do than tinker with their Kazaafvckbox of a computer.

Frankly, I don't even like computers. I hate them. What I wouldn't give to go back to college and become a mechanical engineer or something. Then I could just be a pesky end-user who's AutoCAD ferks up once or twice a year and I could basque in my PC ignorance like everyone else.
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Yeah, precisely. And from my perspective it makes no sense. Its about the same as me driving over a bunch of tire spikes, buying new tires at sears and then blaming sears when a rock cracks my windshield 3 months later.

I used to do that stuff, but I learned my lesson real fast. Just go to best buy and have the geek squad screw you over for it. Since they all seem to be out to screw me, I guess I don't feel to bad that they get charged $100 to install a stick of ram.

I like the toys alright, but honestly I don't really get as much joy out of tinkering with them when I get home after I do it as a job all day.
 
three times whatever you think it fair, that way he is unlikely to have you do it. therefore, you are more likely to stay sane.

good luck
 
Nice bottle of vodka/whiskey whatever. Couple six packs of nice beer. Whatever. I usually just ask them to grab me some nice alcohol instead of just cash.
 
Hehe... thanks. I'm just at a point in my life where I detest the very technology that pays the bills. It's a pretty awkward situation.

I think what I hated most about working on people's computers was when they wanted to know what the problem was. Talk about a dilemma. 99% of the problems were the result of their own ignorance and stupidity. The other 1% was legitimate hardware/software issues, but then the dumbass would want an explanation for what happened. That's like trying to explain rocket science to Corky. If you try to explain it they think you're trying to talk over their head and screw them over. If you tell them "it's too complicated", they think you're treating them like an idiot and trying to screw them over.

It's a lose-lose situation no matter how you look at it.

At least in software development I can just tell people "hey we just write the code... the ****** that runs it is someone else's problem". Of course now I'm subject to Microsoft's buggy tools and such, but it's not nearly as painful as being a network admin or PC support.
 
Originally posted by: jbourne77
Originally posted by: MetalMat
How much to charge a coworker for working on his pc?
Click to expand...

Enough so that he never asks you again.


I don't even tell people I work with computers (Software Developer, was a network admin in a previous life) anymore unless I absolutely have to. My wife's idiot dad used to ask me all the time to come over and work on their computer. Her mom (divorced) did too, but less frequently. People at work would bring their ****** in all the time and ask me to look at it.

Would any of these people do THEIR jobs for free?

Finally I just started taking my sweet time doing things. People got a little pissed, but they stopped bothering me nights and weekends. As for my FIL, I simply told him no:

"Sorry. I actually hate computers, but it pays the bills. The last thing I want to do at home is continue working with them."

The truth.
Click to expand...



I ran into the same shat...The reaon why people come to us is because they are cheap. I was doing computer work for a business and then the owner decided to take the liberty to fvck with configurrations in between times when I work on it. He would call me up frantic and say his network is fvcked and I would say did you do anything to it and he would say no...bullshaat.

I would drive down there and could tell in 2 seconds he was fvcking with all the parameters. Then to top it off he got so cheap that he would call me on the phone and expect me to talk him through installing operating systems when he does not not even fvcking know what he is looking at on the screen?!?!

Fvck that shat life is to short to be USED by cheap people.

Another thing that cheap people expect is when you build a computer for them they think it comes with free lifetime support and also for some reason you are responsible for teaching them how to use the fvcking thing too!

WTF?!


Ausm
 
Originally posted by: jbourne77
I hope you charged the bastage for phone support.
Click to expand...



I sent a nicely worded E-mail out to 6 people who were heavily abusing the phone policy and he called me up and reamed me a new arshole that he would "pay" me for phone support and of course he never did.

I told him to take a hike...


Ausm
 
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