computer work for family/friends.....

[N E Day Pc Repair]

I'm curious how you all handle this situation. In this particular arena I choose the barter system and has worked well thus far. I get fed well and sometimes get some nifty spare parts that would be normally costly for me.....just for spending a little time and effort. :P



Curious of some good stories :P, what do you all do?

[N E Day Pc Repair]

Aww....I thought this would be a good topic to hear some stories about.....chime in anytime :P

[anonymous Mac Tech]

Originally Posted by N E Day Pc Repair

Aww....I thought this would be a good topic to hear some stories about.....chime in anytime :P

It's been a good topic too many times or else it's way too early in the morning. A forum search should bring up quite a few threads.

[HFultzjr]

Originally Posted by N E Day Pc Repair

Aww....I thought this would be a good topic to hear some stories about.....chime in anytime :P

Nothing "good" to say on this subject!

Just keep telling yourself.........

I love my family (friend)!
I love my family (friend)!
I love my family (friend)!
I love my family (friend)!
I love my family (friend)!

Like they say.......you can choose you're customers, but not you're family...LOL!

[altrenda]

I am good friends with a dentist, plumber and a mechanic. None of them do any work for me in exchange for a meal. Nor would I ask them to, although I appreciate when they give me a discount. I have a friend who owns a sporting goods store who gives my son baseball equipment in exchange for computer work.

Immediate family is one thing, but my friends understand that I make my living doing this, and expect to pay for my time. I give them priority and after hours service and lots of free advice, though.

[PCX]

I typically do not do work for friends or family. If I do, I charge them the same as everyone else. Same goes for church members.

[thebughunter]

Originally Posted by N E Day Pc Repair

I'm curious how you all handle this situation. In this particular arena I choose the barter system and has worked well thus far. I get fed well and sometimes get some nifty spare parts that would be normally costly for me.....just for spending a little time and effort. :P



Curious of some good stories :P, what do you all do?

Whenever possible, I try not to do work for family or friends, but I don't ignore people. I'll help them. I generally charge, but I'm open to certain situations: a family friend recently needed their laptop repaired (HDD failure) and they're out of state w/ a 4HR drive, so I instructed them to buy the FedEx laptop box, how to mail it, etc. They paid for the box, shipping both ways, and the new HDD. They sent my wife and I a $100 GC to a restaurant we like. Fair.

My parents, who currently are 3/4's of our monthly childcare while my wife and I work, get free hardware, software, and advice. By that I mean, I buy it, give it to them, and set it up for them. Next up for them is a complimentary Synology 2-disk backup system to replace an archaic Linksys NSLU2. They're saving us $1,000/month in daycare, so they get free stuff.

Everyone else is charged normal prices, but I give a 10% discount.

[16k_zx81]

Originally Posted by N E Day Pc Repair

Aww....I thought this would be a good topic to hear some stories about.....chime in anytime :P

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34496

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23985

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23376

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16629

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13342

http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5318

[mau64]

Yeah check what 16K said

I seen it on this forum somewhere and base my feelings on this matter by it.

If they would help you move from house to house, do work for them for free or basically free. Everyone else pays. Moving sucks!

[N E Day Pc Repair]

I love hearing about how people handle certain situations differently, thanks for the honesty :P