tankman1989
Active Member
- Reaction score
- 5
I have a computer, which I sold to the customer a few years back which has a RAID1 array. Upon boot, the computer said that the array had deteriorated and had some other issues with the graphics/video and his northbridge fan was out. I told him to being it in. He told me to do whatever I needed to to to get it working.
Here is the time spent on the system.
3h 45min - Full system backup (140GB of personal /business data on the 2 partitions)
Scan of both 500Gb HD's (Short & extended scan) 450mins total, 3 errors corrected
Second scan -of HD's - same software (short and extended) 420 mins, no errors
Third scan -of HD's - different software software (short and extended) 420 mins no errors
I scanned the second time with the same software because in the past the software has said that the errors were fixed yet they popped up again, or others had come up in the mean time. The Third scan was to verify with other software. I was NOT going to put defective drives back into this computer as this guy has a tendency of being VERY hard on drives
Total shop machine time usage (including backup) = 26 1/2 hours (obviously not billing for service here) I've seen people charge $10/hr for use of a shop computer.
75min - Tried to repair/rebuild the array, consistently failed. Flashed CMOS, setup BIOS, Tried to rebuild array, could never get into RAID controller, Flashed CMOS numerous times. Entering the RAID controller is just a no-go. Thinking it is a Mobo issue as the RAID controller is built in.
Talked to client and he said that he was interested in a new system and thought this was the way to go.
35 mins New system quote, created list of upgrades and other features he could add (extensive list), Printed out comparable Dell model so he could compare pricing. (factor this into a new system purchase?)
Price came in less that 1/2 of a Dell and now the client wants to fix the old machine. I wait to hear from him for the go-ahead.
2 weeks after waiting the client says he is thinking about getting the new machine instead, after I tried to salvage his old one b/c he wanted to "save money".
Now I am ****** that he has changed his mind. He tells me to do whatever I need to get it running, I tell him that I need new parts, he asks about a new computer ans says that is the way to go, I write up quote (I low-balled it too,to get rid of stock, I shouldn't have) and comparison, then he says he wants the old one fixed, I work on it a little more to isolate the issue, now he doesn't want the old one, he wants to look at a new one, but with "less options" than I included (which was a pretty bare minimum...).
What would you charge for a job like this?
Here is the kicker. This guy (who is a friend) was supposed to do a landscaping job for my family and promised to personally do it himself (with help from his workers). He never once showed up on site after the estimate until the job was completed and it was a TOTAL **** job as his workers are totally inept and aren't worth 1/4 of the $50+ an hour he charged. To add insult to injury, because the work was started behind schedule, my dad and I had done 1/3 of the hardest work yet he still wanted to be paid for it! He said that it was in the contract, yet it wasn't a contract it was a quote for the work to be done. The workers, when they did show up and work, gave a lot of lip to my mom and dad when they pointed out that things were not done correctly (it looked like a blind monkey had done much of it, lol), and what had been done was less that half asses and they even faked doing certain jobs, like rolling the soil (they rolled with an empty roller, no water to weigh it down) and MANY other things. The list goes on and on. When all was said and done, he demanded the full payment when I and my father had done over 1/3 of the work that was quoted, not contracted..
A lesson learned, DON'T WORK WITH "FRIENDS"
Here is the time spent on the system.
3h 45min - Full system backup (140GB of personal /business data on the 2 partitions)
Scan of both 500Gb HD's (Short & extended scan) 450mins total, 3 errors corrected
Second scan -of HD's - same software (short and extended) 420 mins, no errors
Third scan -of HD's - different software software (short and extended) 420 mins no errors
I scanned the second time with the same software because in the past the software has said that the errors were fixed yet they popped up again, or others had come up in the mean time. The Third scan was to verify with other software. I was NOT going to put defective drives back into this computer as this guy has a tendency of being VERY hard on drives
Total shop machine time usage (including backup) = 26 1/2 hours (obviously not billing for service here) I've seen people charge $10/hr for use of a shop computer.
75min - Tried to repair/rebuild the array, consistently failed. Flashed CMOS, setup BIOS, Tried to rebuild array, could never get into RAID controller, Flashed CMOS numerous times. Entering the RAID controller is just a no-go. Thinking it is a Mobo issue as the RAID controller is built in.
Talked to client and he said that he was interested in a new system and thought this was the way to go.
35 mins New system quote, created list of upgrades and other features he could add (extensive list), Printed out comparable Dell model so he could compare pricing. (factor this into a new system purchase?)
Price came in less that 1/2 of a Dell and now the client wants to fix the old machine. I wait to hear from him for the go-ahead.
2 weeks after waiting the client says he is thinking about getting the new machine instead, after I tried to salvage his old one b/c he wanted to "save money".
Now I am ****** that he has changed his mind. He tells me to do whatever I need to get it running, I tell him that I need new parts, he asks about a new computer ans says that is the way to go, I write up quote (I low-balled it too,to get rid of stock, I shouldn't have) and comparison, then he says he wants the old one fixed, I work on it a little more to isolate the issue, now he doesn't want the old one, he wants to look at a new one, but with "less options" than I included (which was a pretty bare minimum...).
What would you charge for a job like this?
Here is the kicker. This guy (who is a friend) was supposed to do a landscaping job for my family and promised to personally do it himself (with help from his workers). He never once showed up on site after the estimate until the job was completed and it was a TOTAL **** job as his workers are totally inept and aren't worth 1/4 of the $50+ an hour he charged. To add insult to injury, because the work was started behind schedule, my dad and I had done 1/3 of the hardest work yet he still wanted to be paid for it! He said that it was in the contract, yet it wasn't a contract it was a quote for the work to be done. The workers, when they did show up and work, gave a lot of lip to my mom and dad when they pointed out that things were not done correctly (it looked like a blind monkey had done much of it, lol), and what had been done was less that half asses and they even faked doing certain jobs, like rolling the soil (they rolled with an empty roller, no water to weigh it down) and MANY other things. The list goes on and on. When all was said and done, he demanded the full payment when I and my father had done over 1/3 of the work that was quoted, not contracted..
A lesson learned, DON'T WORK WITH "FRIENDS"
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