Should I start my own On-campus PC repair Company??

[sirpado]

Hello all, I come in search of advice...


At my university the tech department has sales and repairs but is very overpriced, and I feel that me and a couple of my friends could start a repair company of our own. We could do stuff faster, and get parts cheaper(from places like newegg), and for cheaper rates. So basically it would be faster and cheaper. We could be on call as well for emergency repair i guess if someone needs help late at night or something. This idea is just a toss up, and I was wondering what your guys input was.... Is this practical???




HELP AN ATer OUT. THANKS!!!

 

[axelfox]

might be good initially, but then you start getting the pain in the ass calls for a lost screw or something.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: axelfox
might be good initially, but then you start getting the pain in the ass calls for a lost screw or something.

Ditto. I was free tech support for the girls in my dorm building last year. After another computer guy moved in and I was friends with everyone already, I passed everything on to him. Becomes a pain in the ass later on. People are idiots.

<== monkey dance

 

[TNTrulez]

Originally posted by: axelfox
might be good initially, but then you start getting the pain in the ass calls for a lost screw or something.

Charge them 20 bucks for the housecall and 2 bucks for the screw. Pretty soon you won't get those calls anymore.

 

[Jugernot]

Kelvrick is right, it's becomes a pain later on. People are idiots.

 

[frizzlefry]

i'd be careful. charging for the services could have legal issues with whatever rules and regulations your school has. like it takes away from their business. they won't be happy.

 

[spanky]

do it. one word of advice... check out for example... compusa or some other places policy on servicing computers. they usually have a policy that covers their own butt no matter what happens. then after u cover ur own ass... u should make a killing.

 

[IGBT]

Great idea..good luck to ya..and tell everybody about Linux/Mandrake 9.0.

 

[sirpado]

I wonder how much time it will take.....I guess its totally up to me.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: sirpado
At my university the tech department has sales and repairs but is very overpriced, and I feel that me and a couple of my friends could start a repair company of our own. We could do stuff faster, and get parts cheaper(from places like newegg), and for cheaper rates. So basically it would be faster and cheaper. We could be on call as well for emergency repair i guess if someone needs help late at night or something. This idea is just a toss up, and I was wondering what your guys input was.... Is this practical???

Primarily, I'd say it depends how much spare time you have. Consider that starting a business could potentially become a time-consuming venture. Not to mention that you're probably setting yourself up for those 3 am calls when some luser with a paper/project due the next day gets a virus that renders the OS inoperable.

There may also be liability issues that you haven't considered.

 

[smp]

Yes, liability .. worry about that.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: smp
Yes, liability .. worry about that.

Like everyone else said, liability is going to be the hardest issue there is. If you accomplish that, you will be fine.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

If I leave and it's working, I'm done.
You break it afterwards, your fault.
Double the charge if it's something really stupid that I told you specifically not to do.

- M4H

 

[sirpado]

bump

 

[amdskip]

I'd do it as I plan on doing it next year myself. Just turn your phone off at night if it bothers you.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: IGBT
Great idea..good luck to ya..and tell everybody about Linux/Mandrake 9.0.

Yeah, that's a great idea.

Just wait till he starts getting calls like " I tried installing that linux thing you were talking about... how to I open my excel files?"

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: spankyOO7
do it. one word of advice... check out for example... compusa or some other places policy on servicing computers. they usually have a policy that covers their own butt no matter what happens. then after u cover ur own ass... u should make a killing.

what spanky said pretty much, it's a good idea, but liability is the biggest issue.

 

[mcveigh]

treat it like a business however, not a hobby. get good advice from accountants and lawyers as necessary. it'll be worth it later on.

 

[Mday]

you can get a lot of money. be prepared for repairs that dont work, or if you break something. have them sign a contract stating that you are not responsible for any crap and such.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: IGBT
Great idea..good luck to ya..and tell everybody about Linux/Mandrake 9.0.

Yeah, that's a great idea.

Just wait till he starts getting calls like " I tried installing that linux thing you were talking about... how to I open my excel files?"

openoffice


And yeah, I did free tech support for 2 floors when I was at school. It sucked. "My internet doesn't work," "I can't find my files," argh

It was mainly a pain because people were calling me to show them where their missing files were. They just saved whatever they were working on/downloading/making/whatever to any random directory. They had mp3s mixed with system files, and .dlls, and .doc files... c:/windows was a very popular directory for saving things "I wanted to save it to windows." And of course they never remembered the name, and had 1000 of each file type on their computer, so a search for *.doc would return 1000 results... ugh.

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: IGBT
Great idea..good luck to ya..and tell everybody about Linux/Mandrake 9.0.

Yeah, that's a great idea.

Just wait till he starts getting calls like " I tried installing that linux thing you were talking about... how to I open my excel files?"

openoffice


And yeah, I did free tech support for 2 floors when I was at school. It sucked. "My internet doesn't work," "I can't find my files," argh

It was mainly a pain because people were calling me to show them where their missing files were. They just saved whatever they were working on/downloading/making/whatever to any random directory. They had mp3s mixed with system files, and .dlls, and .doc files... c:/windows was a very popular directory for saving things "I wanted to save it to windows." And of course they never remembered the name, and had 1000 of each file type on their computer, so a search for *.doc would return 1000 results... ugh.

Theres always the command prompt....

del *.*

I'm told that cleans out stuff pretty easily. That or an MBR wipe.

-PAB

 

[Armitage]

If you plan on doing this from a dorm you may have problems. Many universities have rules prohibiting running a business from a dorm.
You'll probably be OK if you keep a low profile and fix the RAs computers for free

 

[GoodRevrnd]

If you're going to do this you NEED to get a cell phone. That way you can switch it off and not everyone is nailing your room extension.

Also, I guarantee it WILL get to the point where it begins to interfere with your life or work. You should use an "appointment" system so you can claim your booked (whether you are or not) up so screw you otherwise you'll be doing this nonstop, or at minimum, you make no absolute guarantees when you will help someone unless you specifically state. 40 voicemails of people bitching why you weren't available at 3am will get old fast. Charge rates by time! $20 before 6:00, $30 before 12:00, $50 after 12:00 (or whatever).

 

[mcveigh]

Originally posted by: ergeorge
If you plan on doing this from a dorm you may have problems. Many universities have rules prohibiting running a business from a dorm.
You'll probably be OK if you keep a low profile and fix the RAs computers for free

PO BOX?

 

[sirpado]

hmmm