Articles
Blogs
Kits
Forums
In this article I would like to show you how I book my computer repair jobs as an Onsite Computer Technician. While I am not telling you that this is how you must do it, its a way that has worked great for me over the years.
On a typical work day, my clients usually start calling sometime after 9am. I will book the first onsite job for the day (which may have been booked a few days ago) at around 11am as this allows an hour in office for answering calls, checking emails and 1 hour travelling time.
When a client calls me, I will ask them some very basic questions. Nothing too technicial like “are you getting a reboot loop?”, but rather base it off things that they will see even though they dont know a thing about computers. For example, I would say something like “When you press the button, does it show the black screen with white writing, show the Windows XP logo, then go back to the black screen with white writing?”
To a technician, we know that this is probably a Blue Screen of Death with “Automatically Restart” turned on, but we cant ask the client if its a “BSOD with automatic restart turned on”, so I use the above method based off what they see.
The reason why I ask my clients these questions is because it gives me a rough idea of how long the job should take and allows me to book my day appropriately. A Blue Screen of Death could be anything from a failing hard drive to a simple driver issue, so I will probably allow 2-3 hours or so for this to account for the time consuming problems.
If a client called me and said “My computer is dead”, I would have to ask the question “As if it had no power? No noise or lights whatsoever?”. If they say yes, then it is most likely going to either be a dead power supply or a dead motherboard, in which case I would only allow 1 hour for this job. If it is the power supply then I can test and swap that out pretty quickly, if its a dead motherboard then I will run various tests onsite to confirm it is a dead motherboard and take it back to the workshop to replace it.
Now that I have a rough estimate of how long my 11am job will take, I can book my next job at around 12:30pm to 1pm depending on driving distance from the first job. When the call for the third job comes in I will usually give the customer a ballpark time since there is a chance one of the earlier jobs can take longer than expected, so I will say something like “between 3 and 4pm”. If there is a 4th or 5th onsite job to do, I will do similar with the ballpark time but if there is no more call outs for the day, I will go back to my workshop and do whatever is on my workbench.
This setup allows me to be on time about 95% of the time and if I am late, its no more than 15 minutes. If I am going to be late and it is more than 10 minutes or so, I always call my customer and let them know.
It is important to do this because when someone is expecting someone to arrive at a certain time, they will stay at a “readied state” where they may not want to start another task. If someone stays in this “readied” state” for too long, they begin to get anxious watching the clock and wondering where you are. However, if they know you are going to be late, they at least know where they stand with their time and can do something else while they wait.
When I am late that 5% of the time, I always apologize for being late on arrival. It is important to respect the importance of other peoples time.
This is how I book my onsite jobs as a Computer Technician and as I mentioned earlier, this is not the definitive way do it, its just a way that works great for me.
Do you have your own way that differs to this? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
I find even sending a quick text message (SMS) to say your running a late helps.
Do you stock a range of power supplies with you?
Jamie
Jamie, usually 2 or so. Just 430w Thermaltake ones that have both Molex and SATA power connectors. Never needed anything older than that or higher end.
Hey bryce can you give out the full name of the thermaltake that you use? I havent gotten around to get a multimeter (Im not confident that i will use it properly) and I’d love to have a dependable power supply that i can use on most jobs for testing purposes.
I’m just now starting to pursue being the local pc repair tech and it’s going alright for now. This is a poor area so I really cant find a way to charge more than a flat rate for most stuff. I’ve never charged more than 50$ for anything I think because people would rather let their pc die, i know it’s THAT sad.
Thanks for your site btw, it has been of GREAT help to me. I lost my job recently and this has been a great way to make some money while I find a steady job again. The only thing that I’m worried about is getting in trouble for tax reasons as I cant possible make a “legit” registrated store front with no funds :(
I try to book appts by 2 hour increments. 9, 11, 1 or 3, for all day phone supports.
Onsite I give it a bit more time for drive time, but I too like Bryce interview my clients before booking appt.
One tip: I always ask in the interview, “Does your internet works?” then I book it as a phone support and don’t drive to their location. I have even set up routers, home share networks and many printer issues this way.
When I book appointments I always give a half hour arrival slot. This helps with traffic etc.
I always call just as I am leaving for them as well.
@Lisa:
Lucky (Call That) girl you are.
@all:
Bryce, thanks for the affirmation; I seem to be doing this one right at least.
1. I do hose calls only.
2. By far most of my customers abhor the idea of eventually having to unplug their computer to take it to a store.
3. I have heard it said many a time: “After the experience with the support guy in India – that I could hardly understand in the first place – and him not helping at all I want to see what you are doing and I want to be able to ask what and why; I want some explanation that I can relate to or understand.”
That’s about all the reasons why I do house calls only. I’d sure loose many customers if I had a store. There would be much more competition to contend with.
Here the only competition for house calls is the Geek Squad – and they are no competition at all.
Life is good.
I also allow 2 hours per appointment. I’ll only book 3 per day as it can get quite dynamic if loyal previous customers call and need it fixed “now”
Brilliant post.
Nothing makes a customer angrier than waiting an entire day for someone that never shows.
I could not tell you how many times the cable guy or the internet guy had me wait a day and then didn’t bother calling or even show up.
Great Post!
We tend to schedule out at least a day in advance as necessary, however try to remain flexible as emergencies do come up, esp with businesses. When we do schedule we try to leave a couple hours open for these real emergencies or for regular clients that we can “squeeze” in. Allows us to be more available and flexible for our clients, plus it shows we can get to them quickly if necessary.
Fantastic article.
When someone expects you to be there to repair their computer, and you don’t show up on time, they will often give you a colder reception, and you’re left wondering why (even though you should know!)
Calling ahead is one of the best things you can do to build customer loyalty. Being on time (or a little early) and presenting yourself in a professional manner is the best thing you can do!
-Computer Repairs Tampa
Very good attitude and client oriented work. Really liked it. I would also implement it.
Our business will give an estimated time like all other onsite services, and make sure the client knows it. We will give times “between 2 and 3pm” rather than “2.30 give or take 15 minutes”.
Other onsite services have been doing onsites for a lot longer than us I.T folk, and theres a reason they give approximation times, some are even as bad as to just give a day, rather than an approximate hour.
We have been operating sucessfully for 15 years and have found this method the most sucessful for our location.
Great Tips! I usually just try to spread them out enough to not conflict. Maybe not the best strategy. I do like your way though.
Effective communication is key to making your life easier. Talking to customers in a non-technical manner is an art form, and one that should be cultivated by every techie out there. There is nothing worse than walking blindly into situations where prior intel would’ve made a marked difference in how you would have approached them.
Bryce I like the idea of the buffer in time after the first appointment. Without the buffer you could end up running late for the whole day. I try to only book one appointment in the morning and I make it as early as possible. Depending on the client I’ll even bring some coffee along for the client.
Very good article. It touches a lot of points we see and perform daily.
1. Customers dont like it when you talk over their heads or even talk down to them.
2. They like to think that you care about them and/or the job.
3. Their computers are very important to them so they appreciate it when they dont have to wait 2 or 3 days for someone to show up and repair it.
4. Their time is more valuable than yours (at least this his how i see it) so they appreciate it when you treat them respectfully, return their calls and show up to your appointment ON TIME!!!!
5. They like it even more when you are prepared and know what you are doing. :)
This is a great article with great comments too. I try to leave early for computer repair jobs since the traffic can be bad in Calgary and also to have on hand whatever computer parts I think will be needed. I also have a virus lab so I have to schedule time for that too. I run scans on several computers at a time. Sometimes I have emergency jobs, such as a store that can’t function without their computers, so I have to go there immediately. I call the next client to advise them about the delay. I’ve never had one client who seemed upset by this. If the emergency job is taking too long, I also have a tech friend who will cover for me in a pinch and I do the same for him.
Great Article. Thanks!
I pretty much follow the same timetable and you are absolutely right, people are much more receptive when you call them ahead of time than just showing up and apologizing. Since we are concentrating more on web design now and not much of computer repair, I kind of miss going door to door and business to business repairing computer. But soon we will put it back in place. Good article.
Although our work somewhat related to hostels, we also keep a technician for onsite works.
I agree, calling ahead helps alot – I let them know when I can head out, then I call with an ETA. If I think i’m going to be more than 5 minutes late, I call and let them know.
I always leave an extra hour buffer in between appointments–in addition to what I estimate the job will take. This is because it’s not uncommon to run into unexpected problems on the job, traffic, and other such nonsense that winds up taking time. Other than that, I usually just schedule appointments at my earliest convenience. Earlier if the client really wants to. This is usually the same or next day. When I get so busy that I have to schedule things out a couple days or more in advance, I know it’s time to hire another technician.
Excellent Post!
These are some very good strategies. I usually say, I can take about 4-5 clients a day and that’s it. Unfortunately, some times it happens that I finish all my work by 3PM and I have no more clients because I declined them in the morning.