Drop off or Onsite PC work?

[Appleby]

I have an office in an upscale office building and I find that many customers are shocked that I don't work out of my home. Others are shocked that I don't have a retail store font with someone sitting behind a desk 8-5. So ya never know.

Virus removals, serious blue screen, major hardware diagnosis, all these things I require to be dropped off to me OR I'll pick them up and return them for 1/2 hour each way. I'm just too busy to drive all over the place picking up computers for beans.

However......the real money for me is made on-site. I love on-site jobs because I can bill for my actual time and I know I'm making money. Working on 3-4 computers in my office at one time seems like a money maker but over the years I've found out that I make the most money on-site charging my hourly rate.

One option for your drop-offs might be to find a family member or good friend who owns a business. Set them up as a drop off location. Give them all your forms and let them have the customer sign them. You talk to EVERY customer first, get all the details and then the person accepting the pc gets a signature on paper. You pay the drop off location a small fee per computer. Charge a diagnosis fee and that way you can still pay the drop off location people even if you end up not doing the repairs because the customer opps not to etc. Just a thought.

 

[MobileTechie]

I do dress professional (business casual) but didn't have any forms for the lack of knowing how to create a "legal" document for the service agreement. And I don't have all clients not wanting me to take to "shop" just a minority. I just feel that it's human nature for people to feel uncomfortable to allow a person (not a tech from a big company like Geeksquad) they just met to take their computer away.

I have created a legal agreement and feel that people will feel better when they have this document with them just in case they need reclaim their computer.

Yes they will. People won't look at you as a professional if you're not doing what they think a professional does - gets the legal details sorted, has proper documentation and leaves then with a receipt for the goods etc. Would you feel comfortable giving a valuable item to some guy not in a uniform with no receipt or legal documents? I wouldn't.

 

[Martyn]

I do dress professional (business casual) but didn't have any forms for the lack of knowing how to create a "legal" document for the service agreement. And I don't have all clients not wanting me to take to "shop" just a minority. I just feel that it's human nature for people to feel uncomfortable to allow a person (not a tech from a big company like Geeksquad) they just met to take their computer away.

I have created a legal agreement and feel that people will feel better when they have this document with them just in case they need reclaim their computer.

I bought these and tweaked them to suit complete with a logo. They look good and instill some confidence in you.

http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/

 

[Bexy84]

I'm with the OP on this.

As im just starting up i dont want people coming to my home where i have a workshop to do my repairs. So far i havent had a customer ask to drop their machine off but i always collect, take a number for them and hand them a business card so we can keep in touch while the repair is being carried out. This has worked laods of time for me in the past.