What Computer Repairs / IT Requests Do You Dislike Most?

[Dee]

This business is challenging and is probably why most of us chose this path knowing that there will be always new things to learn and come across in problem-solving, its just part of the job and expected. So, the most IT request I dislike is requests asked by customers who are ignorant of even the simplest things in operating a pc or general know-how of basic IT, it is not the work as its expected in our business, its the dealing with customers who want me to explain a whole education and experience in one minute so that they understand why I am charging them anything as if its my responsibility and duty as a technician fix their failing hard drive or cleaning of viruses. There should be a license before they can use a computer and go learn the basics and how to use one like everyone else. So many in my part of the world have just bought a pc with no knowledge what so ever and then just messing around on them, this day an age, its hard to browse the internet without catching anything like adware, its almost a skill you need to avoid this crap, and its getting worse with these adwares using tricks and invisible buttons. People need to learn how to use stuff properly, especially computers, it is not a toy. Granted there are a lot of sensible customers and I enjoy the work I do no matter how challenging they are, but nothing to me compares with dealing with requests from customers who think their internet comes from a black box somewhere, or their computer does'nt turn on so it must be a virus and an easy fix so do it for me as cheap as poss, and when i tell them that your mobo has died and cost X amount they freak out accusing me of ripping them off as they know better and its just a virus. Sorry for this rant, but it makes my blood boil.

 

[JoeTech]

Trying to read a big block of text with no formatting is another thing I dislike.

 

[Dee]

Trying to read a big block of text with no formatting is another thing I dislike.

Sorry I will try better on my next rant lol.

 

[KrustyTech]

I seem to have my fair share of these.

Was once "into" computers , has a problem with his computer , can reel off the exact model of his mobo and CPU but still call a USB port a UBS and tell me how many kickabytes he has.
As I start explaining the problem will talk straight over the top of me and not concentrate/listen to one thing I am trying to explain without crushing his ego
Will start the conversation with this will only take you a sec.

 

[brandonkick]

People explaining what is wrong, but obviously do not know what is wrong (since they came to you / didn't fix it themselves) and then argue on the price because as stated above... "it shouldn't take that long / be that hard to fix"......

So and so offered to fix it for this much, I think your really over charging me. Or so and so "knows about computers" so maybe they can do it cheaper. I don't get this one quite as much, as rarely do I divulge in detail what is required to fix it. I've had this once or twice where the customer actually went to so and so, and then in those cases they wound up back to me but with a bigger repair bill since so and so didn't know what they were doing.

 

[NETWizz]

I dislike troubleshooting anything that requires troubleshooting anything that involves Spanning-Tree

 

[Josh_]

Printers

 

[Rosco]

Exactly why I outsource
Don't mind the others.

Were do you outsource

any AIO mac or windows also printers can be pain. I always figure it out but sometimes the printer gods are just not with me.

 

[GTP]

Were do you outsource

any AIO mac or windows also printers can be pain. I always figure it out but sometimes the printer gods are just not with me.

I could tell you, but the shipping to and return freight from Australia to Massachusetts would make pricing unattractive to your clients!

 

[G8racingfool]

I dislike hate "those jobs". You know the ones. The jobs where absolutely everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Murhpy's law incarnate.

Case-in-point: Had a residential customer bring a system in for me to install the W10 Creators update on. So I happily set about doing that, get it installed, run through my checks to make sure everything works.

Speakers don't work. Alright, check the drivers, sure enough the right one wasn't installed. Install the driver, still doesn't work. Disable front jack detection (yep, realtek). Now I get sound!! ...out of only one speaker. Spend a couple hours trying to find a work-around. Nothing suitable. Okay time to roll back to 1607 until this bug gets fixed. "We're sorry, there was a problem going back to your previous version of Windows." $*$%&! Resort to my pre-update system image (that I made "just in case"). System boots up, check the sound, still only one speaker. ("FOR THE LOVE OF #$#(*&#@!")

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EDIT: Oh, and anything that has to deal with a M$ account. I swear, 90% of the "I forgot my password for my computer" tickets I get these days are profiles linked to an M$ account. Which requires the customer to be there as I reset their password, then they look at me dumbfounded when I give them a bill. "But, I could've done that myself!" Yea, you could have if you just looked up the info online. Oh but wait, you couldn't have done that because your computer was locked.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Normally I would be saying "Why didn't you check the hardware first with a Linux boot disk" but seeing a wrong driver in place I can see how you went down that rabbit hole. Would have done the same....

 

[HFultzjr]

Anything that has to do with asking customer their password or security info!

 

[Rosco]

I could tell you, but the shipping to and return freight from Australia to Massachusetts would make pricing unattractive to your clients!

right
didnt even look where you where from. That would be lot!

 

[mikeroq]

But my boss at my full time job is horrible at this if he does the check in. Literally there have been check ins with the only words being "not working" or "virus" and every... F-ing.... Time the customer is upset that we didn't fix their issues with it because we find and fix something else. So now we have to call them back and ask them all the check in questions over the phone and apologize that "the guy" who checked it in didn't write down their problems or ask what was actually wrong. Makes us look like idiots and in sure we've lost customers because of it.

OMG sounds just like my boss. Sadly we are very old school and check in / repair notes are all done on paper. His problem descriptions are very vague. Virus, error, etc. The worst is when he doesn't put anything down. Other issues include: No date or time when it was checked in, check in date is there but no time, no serial number, no customer name, no phone number, didn't have the customer sign it, didn't get the password, etc. I've worked on computers without having any idea of who it belongs to before. It really sucks when they call in and ask about it.

The last one I got was with an ipad, no issue, no date, no time, no serial number, no signature. Then I have to go pry the information out of him of what the issue is or what he wrote means. I'll admit I do it to sometimes, but at least in my case i'm the one that actually works on it and when I check it in, I've talked to them about the issue. I hate having to call and find out what the issue is. "I told the guy when I brought it in...". So i usually pry it out of the boss.

 

[mikeroq]

Guess I should chime in on what I dislike doing. Mainly anything I cannot replicate, or cannot find an issue. Spend an hour trying to get it to do what they said it was doing, then give it to them and it happens instantly.

Largest PITA over the last couple years are updates in Vista/Windows 7. MSFT sure screwed it up somewhere. Hell even WSUSoffline has issues. Back in the day I used that all the time. It would just breeze through installing the updates. Now it takes FOREVER. Thankfully I have Windows 7 images so I don't have to deal with the "checking for updates...four hours later" crap anymore. I really need to make images for vista but getting over the hurdle of the updates is painful. Especially the last vista install I did recently. Hopefully it is my last. Guy with a 2007 vista laptop. Was trying to get him to get a new laptop or at least a refurbished but in the end he went with the HDD replacement. Windows XP isn't too bad. Install from SP3 disc and have like 120 updates to install and that's it. Worked every time rofl.

 

['putertutor]

Anytime a client tells me they don't want the computer leaving their office/house. Generally, they are the distrustful type or even worse, the chatty sort. If I liked people I wouldn't be doing this work!

The ones where the problem is just the tip of the iceberg and everything you do just opens another can of worms.

Freaky hardware issue like the one I had where the computer refused to boot when laying sideways, but was fine standing up (cracked sata plug).

The ones where it's the easiest fix imaginable, but you overlook it for days. (It's never the power cord, until it is.)

Anything from a body shop, smokers home, or the crazy cat lady!

 

[G8racingfool]

The ones where it's the easiest fix imaginable, but you overlook it for days. (It's never the power cord, until it is.)

Oh you've had that one too huh? I let a machine sit 6 months before I finally figured it out (it was one of my own systems though).

 

[TechLady]

As for me, I dislike troubleshooting complex server issues and tedious email backup / restores for ungodly large mailboxes.

That's pretty much my list.

Was once "into" computers , has a problem with his computer , can reel off the exact model of his mobo and CPU but still call a USB port a UBS and tell me how many kickabytes he has.

Oh yeah...those supposed "used to be into" computers guys. Ugh.

 

[kpk1]

Anything that involves interaction with end users who think they know better.....

I'm in the wrong business...

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[GTP]

Clients who have an expired trial of Office Whatever and after you work on the computer complain that you must have done something to make it expire!

Sent from my ASUS Laptop, with 32 GB Ram and 1TB SSD running OpenBSD with the lights on in the office!