Can you believe this??

Skillachi

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A couple of days ago I recieved a call from a lady who wanted her computer check, due to slowing down and lack of accessing the internet. So I ask her some basic questions to decided whether she will drop it off or I will go to her home. About three weeks pass due to scheduling conflicts. Finally over the weekend I finally made it to her home. I walk in, introduce my self, then she show me the system which was a Dell Dimension 2350 with a celeron processor and win xp home Edition.

After powering up trying to see why she cannot get access to the internet, I realized the presents of trojans, spyware, adware and viruses and probably rootkits. Mind you she had this system for seven years using NetZero dial up internet with McAfee expired probably like four years ago or more. I was shock!! to see Dial Up still being used in such a up scaled neighborhood with lexus, mercedes, BMW's in the suburbs.


In my mind I was a little bit disappointed because I didn't want to spend my entire day working with a dial up connect plus no wifi. So I told her that I will take the system away because it will take way to long, so I will have to take it out and bring it back. She agreed then I gasp with ease lol. The first thing I did was backup her data because I was not gonna perform endless scans in safemode or tracking down malicious software. Clean Form is the way for this job lol, with all the error messages from windows and third party software errors and popups, plust the system took about fifteen to twenty minutes to fully boot up.


I try talking to her about getting high speed internet and to my suprise she told me she was thinking about getting phone,tv and internet but she didn't make the time to do the research to select a company. For some strange reason I just felt even more at ease when I heard that lol.

So this is what I'am gonna do plus prices let me know what you guys think

Reinstall OS, including updates, patches and configuration = $100
order vipre antivirus/firewall/antispyware, includes installation, upates and configuration=$50
order memory and installation=$50
printer installation and configuration=30
Data Backup=$10
100+50+50+30+10=$240

At this point what I wanna know is
(1) Am I charging to much ?
(2) Should I charge more ?
(3) Am I right on point with the pricing ?


Keep in mind that I didn't charge her for going to her house onsite or diagnostics.

she also thought her speakers was not working after buying a brand new power cord from radio shack which cost her $40 plus it still didn't work, so I troubleshoot that problem by taking my power cord from my router to try it and it work perfect music was playing from those speakers that she had their for years.

The reason I'm asking this is because a friend of mine took interest in me to open a repair shop, he own couple buildings in my neighborhood, so for the last couple of weeks I've been doing research like crazy on more about the business side. I've doing repairs for 2 years without any incident so far.....;)
 
what you charge depends on where you are and what the competition there is charging. Cost of living and therefore services varies astronomically depending on your geographic region and the local cost of living.

you are on an international forum. The people best equipped to advise you of this are people local to where you are.

A strategy to get accurate information might be to call some of your your local competition and ask them for a quote for the same work. Get a sample of prices and decide where you want to sit in the range.

When comparing on-site with shop-based services, generally you should be charging considerably more, because of the higher level of service involved.

As far as shop-based fees that would largely depend on the location of the shop and the cost of rent in that area / flow-through traffic

You might also consider doing a search of this Forum for the keyword 'pricing'. There is plenty of existing discussion about it.
 
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Don't forget about installing programs. Also, ask if she knows all of her usernames & passwords to whatever she may access online and help her change them (due to all that malware).

- As for security software, there's no need to pay for it. Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG, Avira (whatever) are good free alternatives.
- $10 for data backup (and restore) is kind of low in my book.
- Printer installation and configuration - I personally don't have a separate charge for this in these types of situations. I include it in whatever fee I charge for re-installing the computer on-site.

I ran into a similar issue recently (except for the dialup part) and decided with the client to get a new computer for $400. Does it really make sense to throw $200+ into a low end computer that's 6-7 years old? That Dimension 2350 was low end when it was purchased new. Eventually the hard drive, power supply, optical drive and other components may start to fail. I see these old systems as money pits. Also, in reality you will spend around 3-4 hours on this repair. Will you be properly compensated for that?

Unless the client is really strapped for cash I'd opt to replace in this type of situation. Just my opinion.
 
what you charge depends on where you are and what the competition there is charging. Cost of living and therefore services varies astronomically depending on your geographic region and the local cost of living.

you are on an international forum. The people best equipped to advise you of this are people local to where you are.

A strategy to get accurate information might be to call some of your your local competition and ask them for a quote for the same work. Get a sample of prices and decide where you want to sit in the range.

When comparing on-site with shop-based services, generally you should be charging considerably more, because of the higher level of service involved.

As far as shop-based fees that would largely depend on the location of the shop and the cost of rent in that area / flow-through traffic

You might also consider doing a search of this Forum for the keyword 'pricing'. There is plenty of existing discussion about it.

Thank you for responding I did check out the post about pricing, I still wanted to ask for some feedback. By the way am from New York. The average rent cost $1700 for 2 bedrooms and up where I live... and they are not even that big most of times...
 
So this is what I'am gonna do plus prices let me know what you guys think

Reinstall OS, including updates, patches and configuration = $100
order vipre antivirus/firewall/antispyware, includes installation, upates and configuration=$50
order memory and installation=$50
printer installation and configuration=30
Data Backup=$10
100+50+50+30+10=$240

At this point what I wanna know is
(1) Am I charging to much ?
(2) Should I charge more ?
(3) Am I right on point with the pricing ?


Keep in mind that I didn't charge her for going to her house onsite or diagnostics.

she also thought her speakers was not working after buying a brand new power cord from radio shack which cost her $40 plus it still didn't work, so I troubleshoot that problem by taking my power cord from my router to try it and it work perfect music was playing from those speakers that she had their for years.

The reason I'm asking this is because a friend of mine took interest in me to open a repair shop, he own couple buildings in my neighborhood, so for the last couple of weeks I've been doing research like crazy on more about the business side. I've doing repairs for 2 years without any incident so far.....;)


$240 is a lot to spend on an older computer like that with a celeron imo.
You could give her free AV, which would knock off $50.

My opinion on AV is that you shouldn't have to buy AV software to keep your computer protected.
Kudos to M$ for offering a free solution for Windows users.
 
Yeah...it's probably not even worth upgrading the memory on that thing. Better to get a new PC I believe...especially with Windows 7 being loaded on all new PCs now.
 
A Dell Dimension 2350 in good working condition is certainly worth less than $200 and can often be found for around $125. It's not usually in the customer's best interest to suggest a repair that exceeds the value of the machine by so much.

Make sure she makes the repair/replace decision with a clear understanding of the risks and economics involved.
 
Yeah...it's probably not even worth upgrading the memory on that thing. Better to get a new PC I believe...especially with Windows 7 being loaded on all new PCs now.

hey you guys are right after doing some research I found a new system costing $399 with this practical desktop and monitor combo with 20" upgrade (CQ5600Y, S2022a).

Key features: AMD Athlon™ II dual-core processor 170u; 2GB memory; 500GB hard drive; Windows 7 Home Premium; 20" widescreen LCD monitor included

Features
Desktop also features: Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with LightScribe labeling; NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE graphics
Monitor features: Ultrafast 5 ms response time; energy-conserving 2-lamp panel; antiglare screen; built-in speakers; 1000:1 contrast ratio (5000:1 dynamic); digital DVI with HDCP and VGA inputs

So I will run that by her and hear what she say. I will tell her I will go to the store with her to buy and set it up for $160 is that a good price what do you guys think?
 
hey you guys are right after doing some research I found a new system costing $399 with this practical desktop and monitor combo with 20" upgrade (CQ5600Y, S2022a).

Key features: AMD Athlon™ II dual-core processor 170u; 2GB memory; 500GB hard drive; Windows 7 Home Premium; 20" widescreen LCD monitor included

Features
Desktop also features: Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with LightScribe labeling; NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE graphics
Monitor features: Ultrafast 5 ms response time; energy-conserving 2-lamp panel; antiglare screen; built-in speakers; 1000:1 contrast ratio (5000:1 dynamic); digital DVI with HDCP and VGA inputs

So I will run that by her and hear what she say. I will tell her I will go to the store with her to buy and set it up for $160 is that a good price what do you guys think?

So far I've never been paid to set up a computer, but I do have this listed on my web site for
what I would charge:

$60 - Computer Setup
- Pre-purchase advice
- Unpack and assemble
- Setup individual user accounts
- Connect to the Internet
- Check if your computer is functioning properly
+ $25 - Data migration
+ $25 - Printer setup
+ $15 - Tune up
+ $5 - Software installation

I'll probably up the prices. $60 is starting to feel like I'm under paying myself. Probably charge more for the
tune up, but leave the other prices as is.
 
hey you guys are right after doing some research I found a new system costing $399 with this practical desktop and monitor combo with 20" upgrade (CQ5600Y, S2022a).

Key features: AMD Athlon™ II dual-core processor 170u; 2GB memory; 500GB hard drive; Windows 7 Home Premium; 20" widescreen LCD monitor included

Features
Desktop also features: Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with LightScribe labeling; NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE graphics
Monitor features: Ultrafast 5 ms response time; energy-conserving 2-lamp panel; antiglare screen; built-in speakers; 1000:1 contrast ratio (5000:1 dynamic); digital DVI with HDCP and VGA inputs

So I will run that by her and hear what she say. I will tell her I will go to the store with her to buy and set it up for $160 is that a good price what do you guys think?

I think that's commendable on your part for opting for a new computer for your customer. What you charge for setup really depends on what type/extent of services you will be providing for this. If you are just going to plug the computer in, and start it up, then I wouldn't charge that much. But, if you get it all customized, etc. Get their email accounts set up, their data/emails all transferred over, etc. then I think $160 is fair.
 
Good news guys I just spoke to her and she agreed to buy the brand new system which I mention above. So I will charge her $160 for going with her to buy it and setup, plus she want the old system to be working I will reinstall the os for $100 what do you guys think ?
 
I think that's commendable on your part for opting for a new computer for your customer. What you charge for setup really depends on what type/extent of services you will be providing for this. If you are just going to plug the computer in, and start it up, then I wouldn't charge that much. But, if you get it all customized, etc. Get their email accounts set up, their data/emails all transferred over, etc. then I think $160 is fair.

yes I will be doing that Email accounts, update, data transfer, antivirus, firewall, printer setup going with her to buy and setup. Plus she want the old system back which I will reinstall the os for $100 + setup like updates, security, install software etc..

By the way guys in NEW YORK you pay for everything NOTHING IS FREE!!
You even pay for the plastic bags you put groceries in when you go shopping

Also check out our local big box store called best buy aka geek squad techs and the prices they charge. Warning do not scream at your screen when you see the prices!!
Link http://www.geeksquad.com/services/computer/service.aspx?id=2887
 
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Those prices are far too cheap and many people on here say I am too cheap.
I also do computer setups all the time but then I advice clients against repairing older machines if the fault is serious or in some cases will cost too much to diagnose.

If I see an old PIII which is say locking up beyond a RAM/HD and PSU test I am not going to waste any more time on it.
 
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