Break/fix is dead... Or is it?

[pc-rebuilders]

Don't do much break/fix too much anymore. Just curious where the money is today? What is your vote? I just picked a few choices, so share your opinion.

 

[gavinsane]

I wouldn't say break / fix is totally dead. It's still a good portion of my residential clients, but the thing that has been my major money maker the past few months has been selling new / refurb systems, and installing / transferring their data. The role of "computer repair guy" is evolving more into a systems integrator / IT consultant etc.

 

[joydivision]

Most my income comes from malware removal but I do make a bit of money on selling systems especially to businesses.

 

[callthatgirl]

I voted managed services, but not like running business servers and per computer, my managed services I've noticed doing well is

GFI monthly plan
SOS online backup
Prepay tickets (for ongoing support)
Office 365 projects

All cloud, all remote.

Break fix is definitely the reason I closed my stores, remote is much better for me and my company. And the cloud is going to be around and when I do a new computer setup for a client, setting up their cloud apps rocks, takes less time and the clients like how fast they are up and running.

 

[cypress]

Most of my services done lately have been malware and managed services. I haven't done break fix in awhile.

 

[NYJimbo]

There is definitely a big sea change going on right now in break/fix.

For example, one of the bigger shops in my area used to be all about B/F and is now all managed/desktop services. The funny thing is they had a office-type store above another store last year and then they expanded to a big store front but now they are doing the managed thing so their store front really doesn't make much sense now. Their website has completely changed and all of the online ads, google, yahoo, etc stuff no longer says anything to do with repairs.

One shop here who built their name on selling used laptops and desktops is now heavily promoting cell phone/tablet repairs, odd jobs like photo copy and faxing and selling phone cards. Another shop that moved from a small strip mall to another location close to me is now specializing in CCTV and security but they will still take on B/F work.

As you might know I do repairs for several shops in the area and their drop offs are about a 1/3 as much this year than last year. Some have stopped dropping off all together.

I don't think people are just abandoning laptops/desktops, a tablet is really not enough for everything. I also don't think its all just super cheap machines that people are willing to throw away. I still get a nice flow of hardware jobs coming in, but I'm kinda like the go to guy in my area for this stuff so I am not a typical example of how B/F is going.

Somebody has to be fixing the machines, I mean they are out there and not all of them are cheap and can be just thrown away. If this is something permanent then who is buying all the $700+ machines we see for sale on HP, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc and where are they getting fixed ?

 

[pc-rebuilders]

Responses

This has been in line with what I've been doing too. Thinking of putting together a managed services program in a much stronger way. Thanks for the input!

 

[glennd]

a combination of malware removal and optimisation and internet/wifi issues. people are less inclined to spend money on laptop hardware than desktop hardware fixes/upgrades.

having said that there's a quiet desperation to keep machines running so they don't have to get a new machine with windows 8 on it.

 

[Martyn]

I agree with the last post, optimisation(slow computer), malware and internet/email issues. I'm mainly residential.

I talk to customers a lot and understanding and explaining internet speed issues often gets you more work i.e. setting up tvs and spreading the internet through the house.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

IT Services for SMBs. Growing...growing...growing.
Target higher end disaster recovery services...HUGE profit there. Triple digit profit each month per server per client, not spending time on just 20 or 50 dollars profit per service per month.

Managed services for networks...security, patch management, AV, MDM managers, etc.

Seek businesses that need these services....healthcare for example.

 

[frederick]

Break-fix isn't dead, not for me at least. It comes in waves, some weeks its up, others its down. There is no consistency. With the summer here, business is already starting to slow down on the residential side of the house.

I'm not gonna talk about profit margins, but break-fix isn't a huge money maker these days. I'll leave it at that.

With providing managed services, consulting, etc., it keeps us busy. We are always working with a client, someone is always over at a business either doing something on a clients network, talking to the client (and their employees) about whats going on, or over here at the office doing up next weeks maintenance schedule. BDR and network security are the big ones. Going around and checking for heartbleed exploits and closing those up has been fun (not), but it's our job and keeping busy keeps us happy. On the managed services side, it is what is maintaining and growing the business for us because it is consistent and a check is always in the mail.

 

[CLC]

I probably have about even marks when it comes to all 3, but I do a lot of iRepairs and dc jacks.

 

[tom11011]

Somebody has to be fixing the machines, I mean they are out there and not all of them are cheap and can be just thrown away. If this is something permanent then who is buying all the $700+ machines we see for sale on HP, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc and where are they getting fixed ?

Probably all the old pc's sit in peoples closets etc.. You could post an ad on craigs or whatever that you buy old pc's.