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ForumsAs a technician, occasionally you come across situations where you are not quite sure what to do. Its a fine balance of personal morals, ethics and just doing business. I have written 7 questions which are borderline and I’d love to know what you guys would do in these situations.
1. You have a 1 year warranty on all computers you build. However, one day the client brings the computer back to you because it has totally failed. You open up the case and find massive amounts of dust and pet hair in the CPU heatsink and power supply. This was obviously what caused the hardware failure (overheating).
Do you still provide your warranty? Or do did they void it by mistreating their computer?
Do you still charge them for the USB PCI card because it wasn’t your fault that their hardware fried the card? or do you eat the cost because you don’t want them to pay for something that doesn’t work?
3. You tell the client that their computer needs to be formatted and you say that this will delete all their files unless they tell you what they want you to backup. They say to just go ahead and do it. So, you go ahead and format the computer but once you return it they say that they don’t have some of their important files and they threaten to sue. You don’t have anything in writing.
What do you do?
4. You are setting up a new printer on a clients computer and are just going though the usual “next, next, next, install, finish” process on the installer CD. However, due to some incompatibility problem (even though the manual says it supports the current system) it causes damaged to the clients Windows XP install and it needs to be formatted to get it working again.
Do you charge for your time to reinstall Windows because the error wasn’t your fault? or do you bite the bullet because it wasn’t the clients fault either and you were the one installing it?
5. You leave 5 different clients computers in your shop overnight and that night your store gets robbed. They have taken the 5 computers and your insurance wont cover those 5 computers.
What do you do? Do you tell your clients that the computers were stolen and there is nothing you can do about it? or do you dip into your own pocket and replace them?
6. A residential client that you are visiting for the first time says they don’t have any money on them and they’ll have pay you later, AFTER you have completed the job.
What do you do? do you trust them? or escort them to the closest ATM?
7. A male client wants you to setup monitoring software on his wife’s computer because he believes she is cheating on him. Do you do it and get paid? or decline?
How would you guys handle these situations?
Drop us a comment below. As always, comments are open and you dont need to signup to make one.
Good situation Bryce,
I have given it some thought and here are my responses.
1I would uphold there warranty, opening the case voids any warranty i gave, and unless they are PC Tech’s I don’t advise opening the case, I would explain why it happened and how to prevent it from happening in the future, and explain if the same was to happen again, it would be chargeable.
2 I get payment for all parts upfront, so in this situation i would take the faulty card back to where i purchased it, get a replacement and in stall that, the customer would however have to pay me for my time installing the original card and the new card.
3 This situation would never happen to me, I ALWAYS get them to sign my agreement prior to touching the PC. – Unfortunately we live in a world where you have to cover your own back.
4 I would explain what had happened, Charge them the full fee for my work, along with a letter/report on company letter headed paper stating what had happened, and advise them to contact the Printer Manufacturer, and ask for a refund from them.
5 Don’t know what I’d do, my wife said to explain what had happened to each customer and then claim off the house insurance, but i don’t know what i would do. except I would defiantly explain what had happened to each customer.
6 Has happened twice before, firstly I’d trust them, after all I know where they live, and i got a legally binding document signed by them, if they didn’t pay up, I’d take them to court at the earliest opportunity.
7, I’d sympathise with him, ask him to prove he lives there and that the PC is his E.G. a utility bill with his name on it, a drivers licence, with photographic ID, and a receipt for the PC, (This proves its not a friends PC that he borrowed) Then I would do it and I would arrange a date & Time to collect and process the info the Spyware had provided.
Good for business – get paid twice
P.S. my first marriage ended because she was cheating on me, so I kinda know how the guy would feel.
1. It depends on how clearly you explained up front that the tower must be cleaned out from time to time. Most people just don’t know it up front, but the ones I do tell often become religious about keeping it clean, and will take an air-duster to it a few times a year.
2. This one happened to me: A client asks you to install a PCI card to give them more USB 2.0 ports. You install it and test it by plugging in your own USB drive. Works fine. You test it again by plugging their mobile phones data cable (with the mobile phone attached of course) into the ports. The mobile phone causes a surge over the USB ports and fries the PCI card.
Do you still charge them for the USB PCI card because it wasn’t your fault that their hardware fried the card? or do you eat the cost because you don’t want them to pay for something that doesn’t work?
Again, it depends. Did they supply you with the card, or did you make the purchase on their behalf. If they gave it to you, it’s already their hardware, and thus they are responsible.
If you bought it, then the customer hasn’t taken ownership, and likely had no involvement in the purchase. Here I would seek replacement from the supplier, as it’s obviously a bad unit.
3. At this point there’s really nothing you *CAN* do, is there? I would do my best to make the situation clear to the customer, that you acted on their instructions, and leave it at that. If they really want to go legal, it’s your word against theirs, and there’s some level of expertise behind what you say.
For this reason, I typically duplicate a hard drive before a reformat anyway. If they don’t need them, I can always delete them later.
4. It falls to the technician. You were installing the software. You can’t hold the customer accountable for actions that they were not part of. Plus you gain huge “positive customer experience” points for doing so. This is just one of the unavoidable liabilities of our field.
5. Well first, you should definitely have insurance that covers all customer property on your premises, thus making this scenario a non-issue.
That being said, I actually had this happen to me, only the computer was stolen along with my car. Be very honest with the customer, and call them immediately. Then start a dialogue to see how any insurance between the two of you might cover it. Homeowners can cover these scenarios, but you need to prove ownership. So you could claim them as your own, but that puts you in another legal gray area. The alternative is that the customer makes their own claim on their insurance.
In the end, the customer absolutely should not pay, and you should pony up if no insurance dollars become available.
6. A residential client that you are visiting for the first time says they don’t have any money on them and they’ll have pay you later, AFTER you have completed the job.
What do you do? do you trust them? or escort them to the closest ATM?
No way, money upon delivery. Simple as that. If it’s a matter of hitting an ATM, he can do that before or while I am servicing his computer. Otherwise, come back when you have the cash.
7. Do you have a moral beef with private investigators who do the same thing in the carbon-based world? If so, don’t do it. If not, you can add “PI” to the alphabet soup after your name.
The only mitigating factor is the potential for court hearings. If you don’t feel like dealing with them, that would be another reason to say no.
The below should all be nullified by a work order signed and agreed before the computer is even touched. Have it worded in simple English. Spend a few hundred with a contract lawyer and protect yourself.
1. This is covered in my warranty paperwork. So the default answer is NO. Since I have a good relationship with my suppliers, I know I can return most anything. I warranty the parts but not my time.
2. Paperwork – Your work order needs to CYA. If you start going around buying double hardware on your dime. You need to start a charity. You are in this to make money – right?
3. Ghost – The first thing I do. You are the computer expert, they are looking to you for answers, don’t let them make the wrong one.
4. If printer software caused a problem so bad XP needs to be reloaded. You uncovered a bigger problem. That problem was preexisting.
5. GET BETTER INSURANCE. My coverage covers a $1,000,000.00 for client hardware/software in my companies care. Why would you hold so much risk?
6. I explain to them I will be back tomorrow for payment. Then jokingly say I know where you live/work. Since I have never in 9 year not been paid, maybe my joking skills are not up to par.
7. Can you really do this work? Do you have “Dark tech” skills? If so get paid. I don’t care where the computers come from or for what it is used for.
Don’t let anyone steal your time. That is the only thing you can’t get back.
You need to find the gray area in the questions above. You can’t run a successful business if you give away your time and resources. On the flip you will not get/keep customers if you are completely inflexible. My first 2 years in business, I wanted all my clients to be my friends. I treated them like I would my family. When you do this you lose your professionalism. The only thing you will have to show for it is an empty wallet and a bankrupt business, those new friends will not care if your can’t make you car/house payment.
1. Unless my warranty specifically does not cover failure due to dust and pet hair and contains instructions to clean the cases that way, of course it’s covered.
Now, I personally don’t build or sell end-user systems, so I don’t have a warranty like that, but the people I purchase from do provide a warranty – and they make no claims about dust or pet hair, and they specifically will replace units that fail in this way.
2. It’s obviously a defective card. Replace it with a new one, return the broken one to the manufacturer. No money out of my pocket.
3. What do you mean, I don’t have anything in writing?
I point them to the bit in my contract that makes me not liable for such things, I point at their signature on this contract, I restore from the backup I made in advance because I never delete *anything* without triple-checking with the user and then backing it up, and if they really want to persist, I give them the contact information for my lawyer, I sit one of them down in front of a terminal and have him change the root password on the server to something I don’t know, and I walk out with a month’s severance and the certain knowledge that if this DOES go to court, that’s why I carry Errors And Omissions Insurance. Beginning legal action against me qualifies as terminating the contract without notice, with my clients.
4. Bite the bullet. Charge the client for what it SHOULD have taken (probably 1hr minimum charge), tell them what it DID take and why (so they know why you’ve got their system for so long), and, really, call them up, tell them about the problem BEFORE you reformat and get their approval to do it, at no cost to them, before you pull out your Windows disk.
5. Why doesn’t my insurance cover customer contents? What kind of lunatic *am* I, with questions 1, 3, and 5, and yet still running a business?
Step 1: Tell the customers what has happened. Their insurance policy may, in fact, cover this.
Step 2: If my insurance doesn’t cover it and their insurance doesn’t cover it, the customer shouldn’t have to pay. Which means I do. Which really sucks, but *this* payout should be A) tax deductible, at worst
B) covered by my liability insurance, even if it’s not covered by my theft insurance
6. I generally trust them, but I’m a special case. I do not often work for strangers – the only residential or individual clients I take, ever, are employees of my regular clients, or friends and family. This means not only do I know where to find them, but these are people I work with 2-3 times a week.
In the odd case of a total stranger, through a referral, they’d either need cash or cheque. I do accept personal cheques, and I am totally willing to sell debts to a collection agency, should it come to that. It never has.
7. Depends on who the client is. Like I said under #6, I almost never work with strangers. On principle, however, I draw the line at installing malware on systems, and spyware is, by definition, malware. It would need to be an extreme special case for me to do this.
1. What would your car dealership do if you never washed your car? Its more or less the same thing though maybe little closer to never changing your oil. I would probly bite the bullet and inform them of what it was and so they realize that it was thier fualt for not having any regular maintance done and it wouldn’t be covered agian.
2. I would eat it becuase I plugged in the device even though it wasn’t me who really caused it. I would do this in part due to the realitively low cost of PCI USB cards, $20-50, so its an acceptable amount.
3. I tell them that there is no way to recover the data and they told me to go ahead with it. They can do what they like but it won’t recover the files and hope that its just an empty threat. Then go out and get the paper work so this never happens agian.
4. I see it as more of my fault given bewteen me and the customer I should be the one to know better. Its the vendor’s fualt for not making a truely compatible device. If a problem occurs during the install related to the install fixing of that is included in the install’s price. I generally am paid by the hour so they pay for the full time I am there how ever I might tell them it is less becuase they shouldn’t really have to pay for this type of problem.
5. I would tell them that there was a robbery and that we are working to recover any stolen equipment including thier PCs. I would not inform them about the insurance issue until it came time to forget recovery and tell them it is lost. I would probly be chosing my words to not sound at fualt since I wouldn’t really be.
6. Many factors would come into play here such as were they refered by a trusted customer and do they seem the type to be trying not to pay. You have to look at how finacially sound they and thier home look. Depending on what I can read from them and thier surroundings I would either trust them or walk out and tell them to reschedule when they can pay.
7. I think I may just decide to opt for a policy that unless it can be proven that the PC is thier property I will not install any monitoring software of any kind. I can’t give someone access to what itsn’t thiers more then I can question his right to spy on his wife. If it is his PC then I would likely do it if it is a shared property I would simply say I do not do those type of request with limited exceptions.
1. In this situation I would honor the warranty and ONLY replace the needed parts
1. You have a 1 year warranty on all computers you build. However, one day the client brings the computer back to you because it has totally failed. You open up the case and find massive amounts of dust and pet hair in the CPU heatsink and power supply. This was obviously what caused the hardware failure (overheating).
Do you still provide your warranty? Or do did they void it by mistreating their computer?
Unless the warranty has ‘customer shall keep PC free of dust during warranty’ written into it I would honour the warranty but advise them of the cause of the problem and inform them future failures will be void if they dont keep it clean.
2. This one happened to me: A client asks you to install a PCI card to give them more USB 2.0 ports. You install it and test it by plugging in your own USB drive. Works fine. You test it again by plugging their mobile phones data cable (with the mobile phone attached of course) into the ports. The mobile phone causes a surge over the USB ports and fries the PCI card.
Do you still charge them for the USB PCI card because it wasn’t your fault that their hardware fried the card? or do you eat the cost because you don’t want them to pay for something that doesn’t work?
Customer could argue the card was at fault. I’d wear the cost.
3. You tell the client that their computer needs to be formatted and you say that this will delete all their files unless they tell you what they want you to backup. They say to just go ahead and do it. So, you go ahead and format the computer but once you return it they say that they don’t have some of their important files and they threaten to sue. You don’t have anything in writing.
What do you do?
Tell them to go ahead. As nothings in writing they dont have a leg to stand on.
4. You are setting up a new printer on a clients computer and are just going though the usual “next, next, next, install, finish” process on the installer CD. However, due to some incompatibility problem (even though the manual says it supports the current system) it causes damaged to the clients Windows XP install and it needs to be formatted to get it working again.
Do you charge for your time to reinstall Windows because the error wasn’t your fault? or do you bite the bullet because it wasn’t the clients fault either and you were the one installing it?
Shouldnt happen. If it did I’d be looking to possible causes such as virus issue. If it can be proven later a virus was on the drive I’d charge for the format.
5. You leave 5 different clients computers in your shop overnight and that night your store gets robbed. They have taken the 5 computers and your insurance wont cover those 5 computers.
What do you do? Do you tell your clients that the computers were stolen and there is nothing you can do about it? or do you dip into your own pocket and replace them?
Tough one. I’d need to think a lot more about my answer to this one.
6. A residential client that you are visiting for the first time says they don’t have any money on them and they’ll have pay you later, AFTER you have completed the job.
What do you do? do you trust them? or escort them to the closest ATM?
Suggest ATM. If not an option I would advise them I dont take IOU’s without arrangement and make a definite time to come back and collect the money (within 24 hours).
7. A male client wants you to setup monitoring software on his wife’s computer because he believes she is cheating on him. Do you do it and get paid? or decline?
I’d do the job. Why not? Business is business and theres nothing unethical about performing such a task in my opinion.
Just to quantify my answer to the last point: I would need proof the male owns the PC. If its not his I have no legal right to touch someone elses PC. If the wife simply uses HIS PC then yes by all means I would perform the task.
Not having anything in writing in respect to #3 is exactly why you would lose such a lawsuit. Having documentation will save you in court…not having it will work against you.
What would you do Bryce?
Contract can be verbal as well as written JM Boyd, I guess it would depend if anyone else was in earshot. If not, you are right, you would probably lose!
A back-up pre deletion might be a good idea!
In answer to #6, I would have made my terms clear before turning up to see the residential client. They deserve the same treatment as corporate clients, business is business after all.
1. Yes in most cases – repeat business.
2. As a business owner I think you have to take the hit.
3. Offer them something in exchange and tell them you did only what they asked. Learn from the lesson and backup popular files for them anyway.
4. Bite the bullet – how are you going to charge them for that? They’d be quite upset and reluctant to use you again.
5. Dip into your own pocket – it’s not their fault or yours but it’s your misfortune.
6. Invoice them and install a virus that can only be shut off by you!
7. Get paid if it’s legal. It’s none of your business just do what they want.
For those of you who said no to number 7 due to the husband/wife and not wanting to be a court witness, would it make any difference to your answers if it was the boss of a company wanting to obtain details on an employees computer use? At this point I would think the ethics would not have a problem, but the court case might still exist.
1. I am goung to presume that they are bringing the computer back within the 1 year warranty period. I would clean the computer, replace the defective component(s) with RMA components from the manufacturer, and instruct the user on proper cleaning of the PC.
2. Replace the card, show them that the card works with my flash drive, and RMA the zapped card as defective.
3. Won’t happen. I make all clients sign an agreement that includes the phrase “Not responsible for data loss” before I even touch the computer.
4. Try system restore, if no go, try repair install, if still no go reinstal OS, and also refer client to my previous statement for #3.
5. My agreement that I have clients sign before I work on their computer also has a clause similar to JM Boyds
On the formatting point I’d have somthing in writing for them to put their name on date and sign. Always air on the side of caution.
Andy I work for a fairly large company and have had my part in generating reports on what employees are doing. I see no ethical issues with some minor exceptions such as I believe they had no basis for the request they just wanted to find a reason to fire them. I hate permitting that type of thing even here becuase there should be more then jealousy or paranoia behind this in a work place. Bottom line for the office scenario is that these are not the employee’s PC nor is it thier internet connection or thier email it all belongs to the company. I have not been part of any court issues over these matters though I have had to prepare data collected off a PC for use in court however no court case ever came up.
1. I suppose this would depend on the T&C in the warranty agreement. Also, the extent of the damage would (to me, at least) dictate what sort of parts I’d be willing to replace at my own cost. Personally, if all it would take to repair the PC was a new PSU, I’d do it under the warranty and gain many more clients through this happy one.
2. No, you don’t charge the customer, because it was YOU who connected the equipment, not the client. Once you complete testing the equipment to your and the client’s satisfaction, anything that happens is not your responsibility. The way to ensure that this happens is to use only trusted equipment for testing, and NOTHING ELSE, especially the client’s equipment.
3. What do you do? First of all, avoid it by getting instructions in writing. Of course, at this point, this advise is, well, pointless, (haha), so, you tell the client to go ahead and sue. When the case gets to court, it’ll be the client’s job to prove that a) he did have some data on the HDD and that b) the HDD was in a working order.
4. Yes, you do it at your expense. See the answer to Q#2 – you break it, you fix it.
5. Ooooohhhh, you dig DEEEEEP into your pocket. Because if you’re dumb enough to get insurance that won’t cover ALL contents, at least up to a certain extent, you simply deserve it.
6. Similar to Q#3, you make sure that these matters are agreed upon before you leave the shop. I suppose what you do depends on the situation – some clients will mess you about with countless excuses, while some will have honestly forgotten to get out some cash. Advice: If you sense that the customer is about to pull a fast one on you, create a small txt file somewhere deep within the OS folders, give it an inconspicuous name and type some identifying info inside, such as your full name, date & time and a few words about the work you’ve carried out. This may not be easy, but neverhteless possible if you have a few seconds to spare.
7. You should ask a lawyer, because today, privacy laws are quite complex. If this would have been a child, the problem wouldn’t have existed, as child welfare means that sometimes, children’s right for privacy has to come second to their safety. However, in the case of a legally responsible adult, the law can be (and in most cases, is) very strict.
Edan
An opinion from a full time tech.
Reply to No. 1.) There can’t be many cases like this. Just bite the bullet and buy the new power supply or CPU. The customer will be an invalauble reference to list for new buyers of your equipment. Be sure to add a fan filter the second time around.
It would be unjust to rule mistreatment unless you had a specific clause in your contract to deny coverage of the warrentee in this instance.
Reply 2.) Cover the cost. Deny future guarrentee on the PCI card if damage is caused by mobile phone shock. Obviously, this issue was caused by bad manufacturing of the USB wire used in this senario (no safety’s built in).
Reply 3.) I feel so sorry for you. Well the customer reliquished temporary control to you to fix his system. I would obviously try using a recovery tool to recover what I could for the customer. The tech really needs to be slapped in the head for not approving such action in writing.
The customer should have had a backup of the files before requesting a format. The tech should have asked customer this before hand. Ultimatly, it is the customers fault for putting his data in danger by not having a backup and not having a work order in writing.
Reply 4.) By charging for an install (hardware or software) the tech accepts all risks involved in the process. Tech should learn about backups and restore points.
Reply 5.) Why the hell would insuance not cover them? Obviously someone did not do there homework on what was covered in their policy. If the insuance company is shaddy, you will have to sue (highly unlikely). The bottom line is, the tech company will be paying for acceptable replacements for all 5 customers long before they ever see a dime of reimbursment from the Insuance company.
Reply 6.) If payment cannot be guarrenteed within 48hours of the service call, I deny service for their unit. If hardware installation is involved, the computer is not released to the customer until payment is made in full. If a local is serious about paying you, then there is no reason they cannot comeup with the money within 48 hours. All non-local support requests must be paid immediately after service is rendered.
Reply 7.) Depends.. Does the man own his wifes PC and ALL the content on it. He can legally spy all he wants if this is the case. It is no different than a parent monitoring a child’s computer or an employer monitoring an employees computer.
I am very worried about Jayson’s message above. About his responce to number 6. Quote “Invoice them and install a virus that can only be shut off by you!”
What if you are not able to access their PC after receiving payment? Do you tell them you added a virus to their system. Man-O-Man I would avoid you like the plague before having you work on any of my systems.
I second Any’s opinion. Very questionable practice to say the very least …..not to mention probably Illegal…..
This is in response to number 7:
If the man is a client, and the job doesn’t require breaking any laws, then the purpose of the job is irrelevant from my perspective. People’s motives are their own personal issues, so if my job is to set up client monitoring software on computers, then that is my job—the purpose of it is all on the client themselves.
Now, on the other hand, if the client didn’t actually own the computer and it was violating some kind of laws that could get me or the company I represent in trouble then I would obviously decline.
Regarding question 7, I would think that installing anything on HER computer without HER permission would be illegal. You’d need a very good lawyer.
1. I would void the warranty. It’s their fault. I’m running a business not a charity.
2. I wouldn’t charge them because the computer was my responsibility.
3. Tell them it’s their negligence and move on.
4. I wouldn’t charge them to fix the windows installation.
5. I would dip into my pocket and replace them. They were my responsibility.
6. I would wait for them to go to the ATM and back.
7. I would set it up. It’s none of my business what the software installed is used for.
1. as long as they know what is covered in warranty ( selling white boxes is a nightmare)
2. cannot see ho this is your fault .
3. IT people should always backup . I would not even ask just backup it up
4. Split the cost
5. replace them
6. n/a we only do companies. But no one works for free
7. Accept …
1 is a tricky one as if they had opened their pc to clean the dust out it would void the warranty as the warranty void sticker would be broke but if not it could over heat due to the dust and pet hair i think i would honour the warrenty.
1)Depends on which type of warranty it was. If they purchased full, then yes. If they got limited, it’s their fault for being cheap.
2)I’d charge them for the labor and half the pci card. Then tell them to return the card to the manufacturer and get a refund.
3)Why is nothing in writing? I’m not that stupid! Since nothing is in writing there is no proof that I was even there that day.
4)I’d tell the client to sue the manufacturer, then charge twice as much to do the job since they’ll have so much luck sueing:)
5)I’d tell them tough luck and if they have a problem with it they can pay to get me a better insurance plan. I wouldn’t charge them for any work though. See how nice I am?
6)I’d wait on their couch until they found the money.
7)See if it’s illegal. If not, install it, but tell the husband about it immediately!
1. I am goung to presume that they are bringing the computer back within the 1 year warranty period. I would clean the computer, replace the defective component(s) with RMA components from the manufacturer, and instruct the user on proper cleaning of the PC.
2. Replace the card, show them that the card works with my flash drive, and RMA the zapped card as defective.
3. Won’t happen. I make all clients sign an agreement that includes the phrase “Not responsible for data loss” before I even touch the computer.
4. Try system restore, if no go, try repair install, if still no go reinstal OS, and also refer client to my previous statement for #3.
5. My agreement that I have clients sign before I work on their computer also has a clause similar to JM Boyds
6. If they don’t pay after service is done, I’ll wait till they go to the ATM or something. If they tell me to get out of there house imma burn the mother f***** down =)