ALWAYS Save a Speccy Snapshot of Clients Machines

[Vicenarian]

Run Speccy, Click file, Click "Save Snapshot".

It saves a complete system profile in a matter of seconds. If your client disagrees on something later on, you can always refer back to the Speccy snapshot.

Also, you can look at the snapshot to find any settings/info you forget previously.

 

[Xander]

But what's to stop them from claiming you changed the information after the fact?

"My machine is missing 2GB ram now!"
"No, sir. See? This shows you only had 2GB to begin with."
"No, I had 4GB. That report is made up."

Not saying it's likely but some people will debate that the sun shines in the sky.

 

[tf76]

Good idea don't know if would make a difference though

 

[Methical]

I've always wondered about this issue .. Customers/clients debating the specs of there machine when the come to pick it up or take it home from your site.

How does everyone handle this issue ?

Perform an inventory of the PC when the customer/client drops PC/Laptop on-site? Print it out, and both parties sign it ? What if the PC/Laptop doesn't boot ? How are you able to protect yourselves then ?

I would be interested in hearing everyones response on this situation ..

 

[MrUnknown]

I'll wait for them to try to sue me for $30 for the RAM I stole to add to my collection. I don't understand that scam as there is no real value to be made.

I got a laptop now that has a RAM compartment that has definately been opened before.

 

[Kitten Kong]

When pc's come in the workshop here, I have created a kind of checklist, getting the customer to fill in their pertinent details, then I go through the hardware, ie cpu, mem, drive size etc. Tick the boxes in the check list, get the customer to write down (exactly) what is wrong with the computer, get the customer to sign it, they take a copy with them, and I have a copy with the pc.

This then gets entered onto the TS man software. I know it's a long winded way of doing it, but at the moment, I can't think of another system to implement..

Obviously if it doesn't boot, then that's a different matter, and I leave the hardware check list, and fill the rest of it in.

 

[Chilli]

If it doesn't boot and the customer is leaving it with me, I just open it up and take a few quick photos of the inside in front of the customer and email them to them if they want. At least then I could compare photos to prove their nice shiny new expensive graphics card is not replaced with an older model.

Of course it's not going to be a full proof system, but it's better than nothing and shows the customer that you are looking like you are honest and this is for their protection.

 

[stevenamills]

Run Speccy, Click file, Click "Save Snapshot".

It saves a complete system profile in a matter of seconds. If your client disagrees on something later on, you can always refer back to the Speccy snapshot.

Also, you can look at the snapshot to find any settings/info you forget previously.

Doesn't Speccy use a proprietary format? FWIW HWInfo32 can be saved as plain text.

 

[Smooth Gecko]

Depends on the client.
Some people you just get a feeling about.
When I meet one, I fill out all the hardware details and get them to sign it.
If they ask about it, I tell them, "you wouldn't believe what some people have tried, now, unfortunately, it's company policy".

 

[Graystar]

Doesn't Speccy use a proprietary format? FWIW HWInfo32 can be saved as plain text.

I just downloaded HWInfo32 and ran it on my shop pc.
I like the speed and the fact that I can save the data as a text file.
My thoughts are if I run this and email it to the customer while the machine is in "Intake" either at the shop or at their home. A good concept on the surface.

But if my customer reads this report and picks up the phone and ask me to explain why this says XXXX.
I don't think I want that phone call even if I know the answer.

I offer up this example. this is the section on the Hard Drive I installed new last week. a Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Black.
look at this one line as an example
What does this mean and is the drive scoring in the Worst column as new??

Seek Error Rate: 200/Always OK, Worst: 200

Anyone?

[General Information]
Drive Controller: Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Drive Model: WDC WD1001FALS-00E8B0
Drive Revision: 05.00K05
Drive Serial Number: WD-WMATV6807696
Drive Capacity: 953,868 MBytes (1000 GB)
Drive Capacity [MB]: 953868
Media Rotation Rate: 7200 RPM
[Drive Geometry]
Number of Cylinders: 16383
Number of Heads: 16
Sectors Per Track: 63
Bytes Per Sector: Unknown
Bytes Per Track: Unknown
Number Of ECC Bytes: 50
Number of Sectors: 16514064
Total 32-bit LBA Sectors: 268435455
Total 48-bit LBA Sectors: 1953523055
Cache Buffer Size: 32767 KBytes
Controller Type: Not Specified
[Transfer Modes]
Sectors Per Interrupt: Total: 16, Active: 16
Max. PIO Transfer Mode: 4
Multiword DMA Mode: Total: 2, Active: -
Singleword DMA Mode: Total: -, Active: -
Ultra-DMA Mode: Total: 6 (ATA-133), Active: 5 (ATA-100)
Max. Multiword DMA Transfer Rate: 16.7 MBytes/s
Max. PIO with IORDY Transfer Rate: 16.7 MBytes/s
Max. PIO w/o IORDY Transfer Rate: 16.7 MBytes/s
Transfer Width: 16-bit
Native Command Queuing: Supported, Max. Depth: 32
TRIM Command: Not Supported
[Device flags]
Fixed Drive: Present
Removable Drive: Not Present
Magnetic Storage: Present
LBA Mode: Supported
DMA Mode: Supported
IORDY: Supported
IORDY Disableable: Supported
[Features]
Write Cache: Present, Active
S.M.A.R.T. Feature: Present, Active
Security Feature: Present, Inactive
Removable Media Feature: Not Present, Disabled
Power Management: Present, Active
Advanced Power Management: Not Present, Inactive
Packet Interface: Not Present, Disabled
Look-Ahead Buffer: Present, Active
Host Protected Area: Present, Enabled
Power-Up In Standby: Not Suppported, Inactive
Automatic Acoustic Management: Supported, Inactive
48-bit LBA: Supported, Active
[Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology]
Raw Read Error Rate: 200/51, Worst: 200
Spin Up Time: 253/21, Worst: 253 (Data = 1158)
Start/Stop Count: 100/Always OK, Worst: 100 (Data = 51)
Reallocated Sector Count: 200/140, Worst: 200
Seek Error Rate: 200/Always OK, Worst: 200
Power-On Time Count: 100/Always OK, Worst: 100 (Data = 306)
Spin Retry Count: 100/Always OK, Worst: 253
Calibration Retry Count: 100/Always OK, Worst: 253
Power Cycle Count: 100/Always OK, Worst: 100 (Data = 50)
Power-Off Retract Count: 200/Always OK, Worst: 200 (Data = 9)
Load/Unload Cycle Count: 200/Always OK, Worst: 200 (Data = 41)
Temperature 120/Always OK, Worst: 106 (Data = 30.0 °C)
Reallocation Event Count: 200/Always OK, Worst: 200
Current Pending Sector Count: 200/Always OK, Worst: 200
Off-Line Uncorrectable Sector Count: 100/Always OK, Worst: 253
Ultra ATA CRC Error Rate: 200/Always OK, Worst: 200
Write Error Rate: 100/Always OK, Worst: 253

 

[krutoi]

I usually run Belarc Advisor for system overview and CrystalDiskInfo for HDD status/info

 

[Vicenarian]

I checked, and if you save Speccy snapshots in their own format, it is proprietary and cannot be manually edited as plain text. Thus, you could prove to a client that this snapshot of their system has been unaltered since you received it, whereas plain text snapshots could be easily edited, and thus proved unsecure.

 

[xxsilk109xx]

I have been using TSMan for some time now but am now looking for another direction to go, it does seem like it takes a lot of time and its not real user freindly...

for example if you make a mistake and create an invoice before your ready, its a bunch of steps to undo it, but it does keep a lot of info on client machines at your fingertips.

 

[usacvlr]

That's when you point them to the spot on the map where the people who care live. Then you call the police if they don't leave. I've only had a single difficult customer though. Frankly most of my customers end up leaving with more ram than they came in with! I usually put my old extra sticks in any system that needs it to give them a boost.

But what's to stop them from claiming you changed the information after the fact?

"My machine is missing 2GB ram now!"
"No, sir. See? This shows you only had 2GB to begin with."
"No, I had 4GB. That report is made up."

Not saying it's likely but some people will debate that the sun shines in the sky.

 

[ProTech Support]

I can definitely see a client trying to flip this on you with "Those specs are not of my pc/Those are made up".

If you want to implement something like this, I think the best bet would be to print this report/screenshot out as soon as they drop it off and have them sign it to verify it is there system.

Now when you have an issue, you pull up the file and show them the specs with their signature

 

[MasterTech99]

It's unfortunate but for some people scamming is a way of life. It doesn't matter if it's two dollars or two thousand, if they can get it for free then they're going to try. Some people will deliberately go after a one-man or small shop because the sense weakness. Others will go after larger ones because they expect apathy and damage control. It doesn't matter where you are on the ladder you will have to deal with it eventually.

The good news is that it really does come down to your word against theirs. If a customer comes to me and tells me that their system is missing something or something was swapped I'll start by giving them the benefit of the doubt and look for it. If I can't find their part and the tech is confident that nothing was misplaced then I'll politely but firmly tell them that they're mistaken. If they want to push it they can try to sue us in small claims court but it's their word against mine. Nobody has successfully pulled one over on me yet.

I've thought about having them sign some kind of separate statement at checkin but in the end I think it would just reduce their confidence in us. We notate the system's physical description including any scratches, chips, or other obvious defects on the work order. We also list any accessories that are checked in. Then the customer signs the work order which includes a description of their system, what work they want done or a description of the problem they're having, and our TOS. We keep that copy for three years after the system is picked up.

If a problem comes up that's outside of that then I just deal with it.

 

[tech0007]

Run Speccy, Click file, Click "Save Snapshot".

It saves a complete system profile in a matter of seconds. If your client disagrees on something later on, you can always refer back to the Speccy snapshot.

Also, you can look at the snapshot to find any settings/info you forget previously.

how can you save this into another format like pdf to save as proof,

tech0007

 

[ForsitheComputers]

Just put it in the work order and the contract. Attach it to the contract add a few lines mentioning it and then have the work order verify no changes (or appropriate changes). This way the client cant say a word. Your Contract and your work orders will save your life!

 

[_sorry4u_]

Depends on the client.
Some people you just get a feeling about.
When I meet one, I fill out all the hardware details and get them to sign it.
If they ask about it, I tell them, "you wouldn't believe what some people have tried, now, unfortunately, it's company policy".

Do like I did a while ago, put a put a physical sticker on the lids of the box, It should say “sealed by company pc fixers” breaking the seal voids warranty, see T&C, see reverse of invoice, or it should be stated in the paperwork that you use to “book in pc’s”, or do house calls from.
From experience, most of my clients are in a hurry. They just glaze trough the T&C and give a signature, without me giving a statement of each item, it’s serial number, or specs, so on, meanwhile in this contract, or simple paperwork has an option to review each and every item, from ram to hdd, if you whish, every serial number, with the specs of the item may be recorded and the client may review the “spec sheet” afterwards, or when the job is done, yet another piece of paperwork, they agree that all specs and or serial numbers matches. Once again do you agree that all of the above is correct?

Once we had someone blaming us for switching out 256mb of ddr400 ram, to keep it short and sweet, we ended the day with calling the OEM, and getting all of the serial numbers from them, date and time bought ect, turns out no one swapped nothing, the client tried to score a freebie for out of warranty faulty ram.

Speccy will not help, real paper with the clients signature, and the “I agree” with your T&C may do, provided you explained everything. This all may sound like a lot of work, but at the end of the day, simple paperwork may keep you out of trouble, get into the habit of filing every day. You never know, this may help you out in the near future.

 

[Martyn]

I use http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html

I have the technician edition.