Customer calls and says this..How should i prepare?

[Shawn5800]

Point made, ill stop advertising. I will take the Yellowpage ad down. I was always taught that hands on experience was the best way to learn. Just to note. Every computer i have repaired, every customer was very happy. I did what i had to do and left. Thanks again for your help.

Good being here, good day to all.

 

[JRDtechnet]

Point made, ill stop advertising. I will take the Yellowpage ad down. I was always taught that hands on experience was the best way to learn. Just to note. Every computer i have repaired, every customer was very happy. I did what i had to do and left. Thanks again for your help.

Good being here, good day to all.

Yes, I would agree, however, hands on experience in the form of working on family and friends computers or working for an employer. Would you want a mechanic your paying learning on your car or a surgeon learning on your body?

I just noticed the yellow pages link now has 2 reviews with one being a one star rating that says "The review left here by "Shawn5800" was left by the business owner himself." obviously it was posted by a TN member here in this thread. Whoever you are that's way out of line to post a review against any business that you didn't use their services for. If you don't believe Shawn5800's story about him using his account so a customer can post then use the abuse form to report the comment to yellowpages.

IMO Shawn was just ignorant about starting a legitimate business and hopefully this thread has set him straight. I say good luck to him on completing his schooling, gaining some experience and then starting up a legitimate business in the future.

 

[Shawn5800]

Thanks for the good luck wishes i suppose. I did not want my first impression here to be bad. I really am just trying to learn. Getting laid off has left me desperate trying to support my apartment and other bills. I just saw my layoff as a introduction into a career i really truely want.


I have removed the listing from YP, i dont know why its still up. Its embarrasing to say the least now that the 1 star rating is up. Im just hoping its pending removal. Thanks again for the luck wishes.


PS: Thanks to the upstanding citizen who left the review to. Appreciated.

 

[Paul Rodgers]

Thanks for the good luck wishes i suppose. I did not want my first impression here to be bad. I really am just trying to learn. Getting laid off has left me desperate trying to support my apartment and other bills. I just saw my layoff as a introduction into a career i really truely want.


I have removed the listing from YP, i dont know why its still up. Its embarrasing to say the least now that the 1 star rating is up. Im just hoping its pending removal. Thanks again for the luck wishes.


PS: Thanks to the upstanding citizen who left the review to. Appreciated.

I really hope you succeed. I just don't think you are ready to go out on your own. I suggest you get some experience working for someone else before you go out on your own.

 

[Knightsman]

Hey don't worry about it. I started out at charging $29 hour. I got cheap customers, but I got experience.

Now I charge no less than $59 flat rate and hourly. I have a hard time charging more with computers being so cheap these days, and the area I'm at, demographics show medium $31254.

Charge what you want right now, treat people right, and fair. Don't let the customer that calls everyday at 9 am and 3 pm to get the status of their computer get you annoyed. Raise your rate as you raise your experience.


---
oh wait, so the story is he got a guy to make a review under "his" account???

 

[Shawn5800]

Thanks for the hope Knight, I honestly believe that every customer i have had has been quite pleased with my professional appearance, attitude, and the fact that i have been on time, and reliable. They also are pleased with my prices. Every customer has said they will call me back...I think that means something. I may be wrong for trying to make money(?) But i definitely did not put out a bad name for other techs.

Gotta say though, all this criticism has certainly struck my hopes in the field.

 

[iptech]

I honestly believe that every customer i have had has been quite pleased with my professional appearance, attitude, and the fact that i have been on time, and reliable. They also are pleased with my prices.

If only that were enough Sawn we could all work at rates as low as yours, but professional technicians require continuous learning and application if they are to stay ahead of the game, you cannot fund that on a $20 per hour cash-only business let alone pay taxes and the necessary overheads all businesses have to cover.

It's clear from your OP that you lack the necessary skills to perform even the most basic of computer repairs that your are likely to encounter from paying customers. You're not going to make many friends on here if you think it's OK to undercut fellow techs on price and then expect those same business owners to provide you with free technical support as to how you can do the job you're being paid to do because you lack skills and experience.

For the record it wasn't me who posted the counter review on your Yellow pages advert, although I do believe it was entirely correct to do so. Whether you posted your glowing review on behalf of a customer or not, it's still a deception and to name Best Buy and imply that the whole industry overcharges is discourteous and unprofessional. Likewise you say in your op "I did resolve an interesting one today that none of my other "techy" friends could figure out". 'Techy friends' who leave loose screws in computer cases aren't the best to draw inspiration from - judge your skills by what you do right, not by what others do wrong.

I don't believe you're anywhere near ready to go it alone, you need to work on your technical diagnostic skills and learn the fundamentals of running a legitimate business before you start advertising in online directories. If you value your skills at $20 per hour I'm sure there would be many established computer repair businesses who would be happy to pay you that as a wage - that would be a far better way for you to build-up your skills and experience.

Good luck with your exams, it's important to learn from theory as well as experience in a business that requires a conceptual approach to diagnostics.

 

[xxsilk109xx]

My advice would be to work under someone that you can bounce ideas off of and learn from on the fly...

as far as the problem goes, bad virus infection. Possible bad power supply...