A few days ago I asked the Technibble readers to ask me a question about the computer business. Here are the answers:
Read the rest of this entry »

I often write about how to work on your business, your computer or your client; but in this article I will be focusing on working on ourselves. It takes a certain type of person to become successful in the computer repair business and here are 5 tips on how to become that person.
Read the rest of this entry »

Just recently on the Technibble forums we had a young soon-to-be technician who said he thought he was “pretty freakin good” at computers. Many of us told him that he was yet to encounter a job that makes him realize that there is a lot more to learn. Its quite a humbling experience when it happens and I would like to share with you one of my own “humbling experiences”.
Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of technicians have expressed their concerns about whether they should use Google while working on a clients computer. The client called a technician because we are supposed to know something they dont know such how to fix their computer problem. Of course, its almost impossible for a computer technician to know what every single error code means and how to fix it which leads us to our problem; should we use Google in front of a customer?
Read the rest of this entry »

If you spend any decent amount of time working on clients machines (especially residential ones), it wont take you long until you encounter a computer with pirate software on it. This can sometimes be just a few applications like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop; or the whole operating system itself.

The question was raised in the Technibble forums about how should we deal with computers that have pirate software on them and there were many different answers. Some said they will flat out refuse to work on a computer that has pirate software on it. Others said its none of our business what a client does with their own machine and will work on it anyway.

Some said they will tell the client that they have pirated software to make them aware of it, but not lecture. Others will recommend freeware alternatives in their place.

Another issue is, what if your competitor is installing pirate copies of Windows on the computers he is selling? Should you report them since they have the price advantage and leave yourself open to revenge tactics? or just let them kill themselves off as more customers find out their copies of Windows are pirate and cannot use them once Windows Genuine Advantage is installed?

What would you do? Would you flat out refuse to work on the machine? Turn a blind eye? Tell them and work on it anyway? Is it our responsibility to tell the client?

How would you deal with a competitor who was selling computers with pirated copies of Windows? Drop us a comment.

There seems to be scams in just about every industry including the computer repair world. However, this article isnt a piece on shady computer repair technicians, this article is about scams that target computer technicians.

Here are two common scams against computer technicians that you should watch out for:
Read the rest of this entry »

The question “Should I charge businesses more?” recently came up on the Technibble forums and the short answer is yes. Heres why:
Read the rest of this entry »

A thread recently came up in the Technibble forums where a Technician asked about how to charge friends and family for computer repair work. This computer technician seems like your typical nice guy who wants to be good to his friends, family and clients. We all want to do the right thing by these people but there comes a point where your “being a nice guy” just gets taken advantage of. This can be in the form of friends and family calling you at 10pm on a saturday night for every single little technical problem they have. He might even give a discount if a client asks for one because hes such a nice guy.

By doing this you will eventually hurt your fully paid work by devaluing it. Here are the two most common ways technicians devalue their services and why you should avoid them:
Read the rest of this entry »

I would like to share with you a story about being a penny richer but a dollar poorer based on personal experience.
Read the rest of this entry »

In my last article I wrote about how I couldn’t help one of my clients because I couldn’t open up a certain laptop model. In this article I am going to talk about the next step which is telling them where they can find the right help; and even make a little bit on the side by doing so!
Read the rest of this entry »