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ForumsI would like to share with you my (and many other technicians) process of working on a computer and dealing with a client. I have built up this process over many years after making many mistakes of my own and putting extra steps to make sure they don’t happen again. This is my process:
Ask What the Problem Is
When I first answer the phone, I will try and determine what the problem is as much as I can before I go onsite to make sure its something I can fix. However, what they say on the phone can often be wildly different to what the problem actually is. Once I arrive at the clients location, I ask what the problem is again and ask them a few extra questions to help pinpoint what the problem could be. Depending on the problem, I would ask something along the lines of: Did you install any new software or hardware recently? Was the computer making strange noises before this happened? Was there a power outage recently?
Inspect the Computer
If they leave the computer at your location, physically inspect it with them watching and look for any cracks, scuffs or any other sort of damage. If you find something, point it out to them and write it down on your work order. This will save you tons headaches down the track if they say you damaged the computer while it was in your possession, even though the damage was already there when you received it.
Another important thing to do is try to power up the computer in front of them for two reasons:
1, So you can try and reproduce the problem with them.
2, To prove it does (or doesn’t) power up when it arrived.
Prepare to Work Safely
Ask the client if there is any mission critical data on the computer or weird programs that you need to be aware of. If so, back it up. If the system boots, create a system restore point before you start any work and name it appropriately.
Check the obvious to begin with. Is it plugged in? is it turned on?
Start with what would be the simplest solution and make your way to the harder solutions until you fix it. There is no point pulling the computer apart to test a possibly dead motherboard or power supply only to find that it was just unplugged at the wall.
Once you Found the Fix, Test It
One you think you have repaired the computer, try and reproduce the problem and see if it happens again. Also, one of the most important things to do after a fix is to reboot the computer to make sure that:
a, The problem doesn’t come back after you reboot.
b, The repairs you did didn’t upset something else.
Test Some More
I find its a good idea to quickly test some other things which you didn’t directly touch, like loading a web page or checking an email. I once had a job where I installed an antivirus on a clients machine but for some reason it didn’t play nice with Outlook Express and caused it to crash. So obviously, I had to come back and fix it even though I didn’t directly touch Outlook Express, the antivirus did.
Show the Client that the Problem is Fixed
Try and reproduce the problem in front of them to show them has been fixed. Once they agree it has been fixed to their satisfaction, get them to sign the Work Order. It is especially important to do this when you do virus removal jobs as clients can reinfect themselves and come back two days later saying you didn’t fix it.
Anything Else?
Ask the client if there is anything else they like you to look at. If so, do it. If not, find out the means of payment.
Get Paid
To make sure you get paid, this should be your preferred order.
Cash – The best form as there is no risk involved. Once you have been paid, that’s it. The only downside to cash is you have to either record it with a cash receipt or deposit it in the bank.
Check/Cheque – If the client dropped the computer off at my location, they cant pick it until the check clears in case it bounces. If I am onsite, then I make sure I have their details such as name, address and phone number (which I usually already have since I am onsite). Sometimes I may even joke “Remember, if this check doesn’t clear, I know where you live!”.
Accounts – I don’t like doing them because of the extra work involved in writing and sending invoices and chasing them up. I highly recommend you only give accounts to businesses and when you do, make sure you have plenty of contact details in case you need to chase them down. Again, make sure you have a signed work order that says you have completed the work to their satisfaction in case you need to take them to court
Credit Card – I only recommend that you offer credit card as a payment option only if you have a retail location. The fees per month are often high and there is always the possibility of a charge back.
Make it Easy for Them to Refer You
Be sure to leave them a few business cards and say something along the lines of “Here is my business card in case you need to contact me again. I have also left a few more cards if you think any of your friends will be in need of my services”. By saying this, it reminds them that they can help out their friends by recommending me to them.
That’s my process that I have fine tuned over the years. Is yours similar to this? If not, what do you do different? Drop us a comment.
Good article, Bryce! It really does help to document steps like this, it ensures you don’t forget steps. The only items I would add would be to include the financial steps.
For example, I almost got into the habit of not handling my invoice tracking right away. In my case, that means uploading my invoice, bills and any other pertinent information for my book keeper. If you do your own books, adding the steps necessary to enter this information into your accounting program.
This way you don’t end up having to do a whole bunch of this all at once at the end of the month (or worse, the end of the year)!
EP
REP4 Technologies
First Contact should also include some simple questions like what make/model computer do you have, what operating system is loaded. This not only helps me decide what hard/soft tools to bring on site, but gives me an idea of the basic skill level of the customer. Button pusher customers without a clue can rarely provide an accurate description of the symptoms and may require kid gloves treatment and education.
I would add one thing before “Inspect the Computer”, and that would be “Try to Duplicate the Problem”.
Often, as you said, it is difficult for the customer to convey to you what the problem is. There is a language barrier because not everyone “speaks geek”. I will always say to the customer “OK, show me where the problem is”. or “Show me what you were doing when you got the error message”.
I find that taking this step before jumping in and trying to solve the issue can often save a lot of time. Otherwise you could end up chasing a ghost.
If they can’t reproduce the problem, I always try to do what I can anyway. If I can’t find anything wrong, I will show them how to take a screen snapshot and email it to me the next time the problem happens.
-Mike
There is no point pulling the computer apart to test a possibly dead motherboard or power supply only to find that it was just a broken front USB skt.
Some people have big feet!!
The only part I don’t agree with is starting the computer up when they drop it off. We are often way too busy to sit there with the customer, because most customers will go on and on, taking up too much of our time. We aren’t short with the customer though, just let them know we’re too busy if they request us to start it up while they are there.
Great article….if for nothing else it helps validate that much of what I do is followed by others as well. I approach clients and situations very similarly.
I am curious what others think about follow up. I do some follow up with customers when the situation calls for it – not for each and every case. I do have surveys and feedback forms online so anyone can file information after service but I mean calls or emails to the customer after the service to see how things are working. I have done this here and there when there was a major problem or if I feel the customer may need some additional assistance afterward – what are other people doing for follow up?
Andy
<a href=”http://www.acecomputernj.com/”ACE Computer Services, NJ
thanks bryce this is really helpful – As you know (spoke to you on twitter) I’ve just got my diploma and am not yet really “in business” but getting more and more requests for assistance so this is helping me get started – thanks again
ifelloutofatree
“However, what they say on the phone can often be wildly different to what the problem actually is.”
Ain’t that the truth, brother!
@ Muncher, that’s right! i had one yesturday who said their computer turned on but nothing was displaying on the screen. i thought it was the graphics card or maybe the monitor didnt work, i asked if he heard any beeps and said no. he brought it over to my place, and i hooked it up. it started beeping so i unpowered it and checked the voltage. he later said he remembered it beeping. so i opened it and switched the RAM from slot A to slot B and it booted up fine. im just going to remove the trojans it has and i’ll be done.
* i ran memtest over night*
im going to make them sign a simple work order that basically says that it works, and i’ll let them play with it before i officially hand it over to them.
great article!
Most of my Onsite work is done in one hour. All are delt with the Optimize/TuneUp/CleanUp. I never see the customer for 6 months after that, they call me throughout the days, and refer me. Using the simple rules above I’ve never really seen them typed out, but I use them daily. Only thing I put a head of that stuff is that I Optimize TuneUp CleanUp first, I hate a slow computer. And everyone likes that i treat there computer like mine at home.
i have a question on ONCE YOU FOUND THE FIX, AND TEST SOME MORE.
what is a good way to do this when you are onsite, say after a virus removal. i mean like, well…they might think you are just looking through their personal data when you open media player or their web broser, stuff like that. i especially dont like to do this when they are constantly looking over my shoulder, i always ask them if they would like me to test the computer after i remove the viruses because it might have messed up a program’s files and then i’ll have to go back later. this is why i perfer offsite. Another advantage i found with offsite, is that i can eat, or take a shower, or watch t.v. etc… while its scanning.
Great article, does anyone clone the hard drive immediately once the computer boots? It seems prudent too, especially if there’s important data on the machine.
Before service I ask if the customer would like a free backup prior to repair, then I remove the drive and clone the drive using arconis. Once work is done I ask them if they’d like the same done and we’d store the backup for $1/day, min 15 days. Client pays for time while this is happening. Adds an extra 40 minutes plus $15 upsell to the call. An extra $80, why not?
Once you get yourself good and seasoned with removal of malicious crud. You won’t really have to worry about them looking over your shoulder. I usually use Malwarebytes to do the main scan of bugs. I’ll do a full scan if the desktop looks outrageous with a sharewared to death computer or p2p is another reason too. Most of the time clean up is done with a gut feeling with how well they have described the issues at hand. The rest is all cleaned up. :p also the rest is a secret since technibble is all about secrets and money :p // Backup? I’d just assume you guys know how to image the data.
I agree on all points that was raised by Bryce. In addition I would like to add that sometimes people bring their PC’s to our store and at first inspection, we cannot seem to replicate the problem they are telling us. Like the computer freezes or hangs, etc. One way to check is to look up the event viewer which is a utility of both Windows XP & Vista. This can be found by control panel, under maintenance. For Vista just try typing reliability on the search and it will give you the reliability monitor. Event Viewing in Vista is more graphical & you will see almost at once the problems represented by the X.
Great site…I agree with the majority of what was put here.
I use a program called TS Man – great software for a tech shop
http://www.blanchesoft.com/products.html
I think lots of you will find this helpful in keeping track of tech’s and their work or for future reference when you need to remember what you did on a computer from say 6 months ago.