Do you mind giving out free advice to potential customers? For example, a customer calls you up and explains that a virus has been found on his/her computer. This customer asks you if there is a good, free virus scanner/remover that can be installed. Would you go on to offer the customer some basic advice, such as recommending a virus scanner, deleting temp files, scanning in safe mode, clearing system restore, running a firewall router, and using limited user accounts for internet purposes? I'm sure that a caller would appreciate receiving the free advice, but did you just kill a service call? Where do you draw the line between free advice and paid service?
Giving free advice
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SOHO-NZ
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No!
If they weren't an exisiting customer, the most they would get from me is a recommendation for a paid Antivirus program (NOD32).
Some people just want it all for free, and if you start out by giving away your goods, they will expect it for free in the future. What I have learnt over the years doesn't come free - my time is my stock in trade, so I don't give it away unless I decide I have to. - would you ring you local mechanic and ask him to change a cambelt?
The advice you are suggesting could easily take 30 minutes, to a user who isn't clued up.
If they weren't an exisiting customer, the most they would get from me is a recommendation for a paid Antivirus program (NOD32).
Some people just want it all for free, and if you start out by giving away your goods, they will expect it for free in the future. What I have learnt over the years doesn't come free - my time is my stock in trade, so I don't give it away unless I decide I have to. - would you ring you local mechanic and ask him to change a cambelt?
The advice you are suggesting could easily take 30 minutes, to a user who isn't clued up.
Of course not, but if my front end was making a strange noise, I might ask my mechanic about any obvious things to check before bringing it in.
That's exactly what I don't want to do, but I also don't want to give a potential customer the cold shoulder right off the bat. I haven't been doing this long enough (on my own) to know if that's a bad business decision. I do know that my former employer went out of his way to make his customers happy. I'd roughly estimate that he spends 10-15% of his time doing little favors for his customers. I thought he was crazy for doing all those freebies until I took notice of how loyal his customers are.
I'm not sure where I stand yet.
SOHO-NZ
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His customers might be loyal to him. Mine are too.
If they are an existing customer of mine, then they might get some free assistance. Five minutes is about the most I will give out for free, after that it's time to start booking an appointment.
If they are an existing customer of mine, then they might get some free assistance. Five minutes is about the most I will give out for free, after that it's time to start booking an appointment.
Good point. He's been working with many of the same customers for over 20 years (mostly network jobs).
NickCat11
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I agree with SOHO here. If they are a potential customer and let's say you give them free advice on what free software to use to protect their computer. They now go from being a potential customer to probably not being one at all and most likely will try to milk you for more info down the line. I had a call the other day from a guy who wanted to back up his songs onto a dvd and asked if I could explain to him how to do it because he was told it was "easy" to do. I simply responded that anything is "easy" if you know how to do it. I ended up getting the machine the next day. He had 44 songs he needed backed up, lol.
dhrandy
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I agree with the rest of you. I would just tell them to Google free antivirus.
TampaBayTech
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I think offering some amount of free advice can be useful in winning over a new customer but only give out advice that you are willing to entertain follow-up calls about. With the virus example I would probably instruct the caller to try AVG or Avira since installing that is simple enough just about anybody can do it. There is also a good chance those programs will not completely resolve the problem and after the caller tries something free and it fails they will be more open to the idea of paying a professional. If you start telling them about booting into safe mode and turning off system restore all you are doing is asking for trouble because they will call you back when they can't get into safe mode and expect more free advice about how to troubleshoot that!
Sevdog
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I would recommend some good free antivirus software for the customer to use AFTER the virus was removed. Then I would explain that downloading a free scanner/remover probably wont do the job completely and that depending on the infection it may take a combination of software and manual work to completely disinfect his system.
bagellad
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I would never do this. It is a huge mistake. Why would you be paying time and advertising dollars to help somebody for free? I worked at a call center I realize I can talk a clueless user through pretty much most computer operations because they are "Borrowing" your knowledge.. but why?
For god sakes why would you work so hard to get rid of all your business when you are just starting out? "So you will have loyal customers?" You wont be able to afford being around by the time they come back!
You remind me of this other guy on here who was going to send CDs with freeware programs and videos on how to remove viruses, tune up your computer etc.. Start thinking like a business man. Not everyone's "computer guy".
For god sakes why would you work so hard to get rid of all your business when you are just starting out? "So you will have loyal customers?" You wont be able to afford being around by the time they come back!
You remind me of this other guy on here who was going to send CDs with freeware programs and videos on how to remove viruses, tune up your computer etc.. Start thinking like a business man. Not everyone's "computer guy".
Pc Fixed Right
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Free advice is not that big a deal to me as the advice is only as good as the technical ability of the person receiving it. I agree with ACG's way of handling certain situations where no matter what the client will have to come in or leech from you forever.
anonymous Mac Tech
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Its debatable for me. Most of the time I say no unless its a known good customer because free advice is all over the place on line, why waste my time telling them something google can answer? But there has been a few occasions where 10-15 minutes of my time on the phone or at the counter has turned into either a good paying job or a loyal customer. I got a computer in this morning for a HD and data transfer from a customer I spent 15 minutes with last week and didn't charge him counter time to look at his backups. So my advice is feel the situation out and if things are slow give them the time of day and gain some experience weeding out the freeloaders. Because the person you shoo off by not offering at least 5 minutes could turn into a loyal customer with referrals for your competition that does know how to sniff out the freeloaders.
PCSupportGlasgow
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Really depends on the situation.
As AMT says you can tell very quickly the freeloaders but equaly important is learning how to make sure your turning them away in a manner that keeps your company reputation intact even if it politely pointing them towards google.
Having said that there is a certain forum that we personally give lots of freeloaders free advice (under an a generic name) for the simple fact we use it as part of our junior tech's training inbetween jobs as helps them with locating common fault diagnosis and improves their general knowledge outwith a paying enviroment when a client is there.
As AMT says you can tell very quickly the freeloaders but equaly important is learning how to make sure your turning them away in a manner that keeps your company reputation intact even if it politely pointing them towards google.
Having said that there is a certain forum that we personally give lots of freeloaders free advice (under an a generic name) for the simple fact we use it as part of our junior tech's training inbetween jobs as helps them with locating common fault diagnosis and improves their general knowledge outwith a paying enviroment when a client is there.
GeeksInKhakis
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no free advice...
I get people asking for free advice quite often, parties, golf course, etc. I don't give free advice and I always carry business cards with me. Basically, I say something like... "Each computer / situation / virus is different and I can't be sure of the exact problem based on your brief description. There also could be other underlying issues, besides the error message you're getting. We have a very strong track record of removing viruses (or fixing problem X) and I would love to help you out. Here's a card, give me a call tomorrow (Monday, etc) and I'll be glad to help you out."
If they press me, then I explain that if I give some free advice and it's wrong or you 'try to follow' it and fail, then I could be blamed. If it's a long standing customer, I just tell him the same thing and stress that I would hate to steer him wrong without seeing the problem, firsthand.
One guy kept pressing me one day in my shop, said he had his "computer out in the car". When I told him I can't advise him and to bring the system in, he kept pressing, asking, "could it be this?", etc. When I asked him if he even had the item in his car and was just looking for free advice, he got very defensive. What I figured was he was a 'rival' computer guy, that had NO IDEA what he was doing and was desperate.
I get people asking for free advice quite often, parties, golf course, etc. I don't give free advice and I always carry business cards with me. Basically, I say something like... "Each computer / situation / virus is different and I can't be sure of the exact problem based on your brief description. There also could be other underlying issues, besides the error message you're getting. We have a very strong track record of removing viruses (or fixing problem X) and I would love to help you out. Here's a card, give me a call tomorrow (Monday, etc) and I'll be glad to help you out."
If they press me, then I explain that if I give some free advice and it's wrong or you 'try to follow' it and fail, then I could be blamed. If it's a long standing customer, I just tell him the same thing and stress that I would hate to steer him wrong without seeing the problem, firsthand.
One guy kept pressing me one day in my shop, said he had his "computer out in the car". When I told him I can't advise him and to bring the system in, he kept pressing, asking, "could it be this?", etc. When I asked him if he even had the item in his car and was just looking for free advice, he got very defensive. What I figured was he was a 'rival' computer guy, that had NO IDEA what he was doing and was desperate.
LunchBox
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There are pros/con to giving and adivese and not giving advise.
Pros.
1. You give them enough but not tell them how to do it. They like your willingness to offer help and hire you on.
2. You give them enought but not tell tehm how to do it. They ask for more and try their best to pull all your knowledge on PC repair.
I give a few minutes. I do my best not to tell them how to do it. Becasuse I was helpful for those few minutes I landed a few jobs.
If they ask "how do I clean up my internet history" the basic information I give them is using the tools in IE. I DO NOT tell them how. I simply tell them that in my website there is a page called sef help and in it I have listed very basic useful information. I even landed a job because of it.
Pros.
1. You give them enough but not tell them how to do it. They like your willingness to offer help and hire you on.
2. You give them enought but not tell tehm how to do it. They ask for more and try their best to pull all your knowledge on PC repair.
I give a few minutes. I do my best not to tell them how to do it. Becasuse I was helpful for those few minutes I landed a few jobs.
If they ask "how do I clean up my internet history" the basic information I give them is using the tools in IE. I DO NOT tell them how. I simply tell them that in my website there is a page called sef help and in it I have listed very basic useful information. I even landed a job because of it.
Methical
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I wouldn't offer them anything lol . Not even free advice on free A/V software and the likes. Chances are they are already running some sort of A/V software ( or five lots of A/V software lol) and are ringing up for some 'tricks of the trade' advice.
From here.. offer them a diagnosis ( free if they want it serviced after completion of the diagnosis )
Doctor Micro
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Deoends on who's calling
If it's an existing customer who we have an ongoing business relationship and they're asking a simple question, I have no qualms about offering a quick fix suggestion. I feel comfortable doing this because (a), I know the customer, (b) I reasonably expect we'll continue business in the future, (c) I already know their system and history. If I feel that an existing customer is abusing our standing relationship by trying to milk as much as they can, I stop trying to help them and request they make an appointment.
If it's a cold caller, I'll try to elicit as much information as I can from them about their problem and offer to make an appointment to check it out for them without giving them chapter and verse as to how to fix it themselves. In the course of the conversation, it usually becomes pretty apparent that they're just calling around to various places, hoping they hit the jackpot for free.
For the cold callers, I also have what I call a "ten minute rule". If the conversation goes longer than ten minutes, I offer them the opportunity to make an appointment. If they accept, great; if not, then it's "hasta la vista, baby... nice talking to you" [not].
If it's an existing customer who we have an ongoing business relationship and they're asking a simple question, I have no qualms about offering a quick fix suggestion. I feel comfortable doing this because (a), I know the customer, (b) I reasonably expect we'll continue business in the future, (c) I already know their system and history. If I feel that an existing customer is abusing our standing relationship by trying to milk as much as they can, I stop trying to help them and request they make an appointment.
If it's a cold caller, I'll try to elicit as much information as I can from them about their problem and offer to make an appointment to check it out for them without giving them chapter and verse as to how to fix it themselves. In the course of the conversation, it usually becomes pretty apparent that they're just calling around to various places, hoping they hit the jackpot for free.
For the cold callers, I also have what I call a "ten minute rule". If the conversation goes longer than ten minutes, I offer them the opportunity to make an appointment. If they accept, great; if not, then it's "hasta la vista, baby... nice talking to you" [not].
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