What Should I charge......

When I run into this I try to ascertain if they knew it was a hacked/cracked version or not. Subtly. The little old lady who can't spell PC probably didn't seek out pirated software. The 20 something guy with a Grokster shortcut on his desktop, probably did. In the latter case, I either walk away and say "Call me when you are ready to use legal software". In the former case, I try to explain that the person has illegal software and it will end up that some nephew or neighbor kid set things up. "So, I can call Microsoft right now and we can you all legal, it will cost you about XX, but it's the only way to keep your computer up to date and safe". Now with the WGA notification, people are more aware when they have pirated Windows. You can run a WGA check and get redirected to the page where you can buy a legit key or you can sit on hold with Bangalore and get one purchased over the phone.

If there is an OEM key on the machine for the Operating System contact the OEM and request/purchase recover media. There will be a charge and it may become more difficult as XP is phased out of the OEM channel.
 
hawks5999 said:
In the former case, I try to explain that the person has illegal software and it will end up that some nephew or neighbor kid set things up. "So, I can call Microsoft right now and we can you all legal, it will cost you about XX, but it's the only way to keep your computer up to date and safe". Now with the WGA notification, people are more aware when they have pirated Windows. You can run a WGA check and get redirected to the page where you can buy a legit key or you can sit on hold with Bangalore and get one purchased over the phone.

If there is an OEM key on the machine for the Operating System contact the OEM and request/purchase recover media. There will be a charge and it may become more difficult as XP is phased out of the OEM channel.
Click to expand...


Yea. The funny thing is on my girlfriends computer, the computer was legit but it still had the WGA check, and said it wasn't legit, weird. Anyways, Thankyou, I will do the same thing. I had another question that was on my mind but I forgot....
 
Last edited:
Oh yea. So I'm charing $99/hr. If I'm there for 5 minutes, do I still charge the full hour? Should I bill in increments, like 30 minute increments, or have it set at 1 hour minimum? Or just fix what i can on the computer for 1 hour.
 
Last edited:
Get a signature!!!

cleanwithit said:
So do you do the sign off form(paperwork), before or after they pay? I'm guessing when the job is finished.
Click to expand...
Bro, it's no problem. We all started out at some point and I've only been in business for myself 2 years. Actually it is 2 years this month.

Absolutely, get them to sign a form immediately after finishing the job. I have some sheets that I had printed in 3-part NCR for billing. I give them a copy when they sign, then I send the second when I bill them and I keep the third on hand for records or to make a copy in case I have to bill them again.

I'd change the form a bit but if you want the template, I'll make a few necessary changes (removing my logo and putting in a signature line) and post it for you. It's in MS Excel.
 
TimeCode said:
Bro, it's no problem. We all started out at some point and I've only been in business for myself 2 years. Actually it is 2 years this month.

Absolutely, get them to sign a form immediately after finishing the job. I have some sheets that I had printed in 3-part NCR for billing. I give them a copy when they sign, then I send the second when I bill them and I keep the third on hand for records or to make a copy in case I have to bill them again.

I'd change the form a bit but if you want the template, I'll make a few necessary changes (removing my logo and putting in a signature line) and post it for you. It's in MS Excel.
Click to expand...

Right now I'm trying to figure out a name for my business, then I'm going to get a logo. I will put up a signature soon.

Thanks man. I plan on ordering the Technibble Kit, for $49. It comes with all the forms, from what I can see. I appreciate you willing to help me. So, you bill them through the mail after you're done?
 
Last edited:
Question:

If I'm there for like 5 minutes do I still charge the whole hour? or should I bill in 30 minute increments? or stay at one hour minimum?
 
I have questions popping in to my head left and right. Anyways, from what I've read alot of people don't do Data Recovery/Virus Removal on-site. I don't think I'm going to do that either, because sometimes spyware, root-kits, viruses, browser hijacks, can take a long time to remove. So, how should I charge that? My hourly rate is $99.
 
You do have a lot of questions :)
That's good. Better to ask now then later I suppose. It seems like some of your questions might warrant an individual thread. In fact a few of them already have.
You might find some answers through searching. Not a problem to ask though.
 
hawks5999 said:
You do have a lot of questions :)
That's good. Better to ask now then later I suppose. It seems like some of your questions might warrant an individual thread. In fact a few of them already have.
You might find some answers through searching. Not a problem to ask though.
Click to expand...

Yes I do :) I'm just trying to get a feel for how I'm going to do things, so when they come up, I won't look like a deer in the headlights :P Yea, I usually seach alot, but I just kept asking questions to keep the conversation going. lol. Thanks hawks5999 for all of your help, and others.
 
Last edited:
I for one usually recommend a format if I get an inkling that their win 98 machine is going to take a 3 hour scan to remove 1000 viruses. yes, I've sat thru these scans before, especially on calls that have taken me out into the country and I had an "i'm here, let's get it over with attitude" but it's my experience that formatting can be your best friend in these situations.

Many of these virus laden computers are for nice elderly couples who didn't know their kids where stocking up porno with Limewire on their otherwise Email only PCs. They are usually happy to hear that a format will wipe out all viruses, porno and give them back much better performance. And by my rates, I end up charging less for the format then for the time it would take to scan.

However, I have also bent my rates a bit when faced with an extra long scan, i will usually knock off a half-hour to an hour on the charge simply because I hadn't anticipated staying for dinner with them!

It might not be the best way to deal with it, but I would recommend to you that you should be prepared to perform a small amount of your repairs off-site. You can at least keep busy with other tasks while the scan/format is running, and when you tell a customer it is going to be 250-300 dollars to scan for viruses on their computer, I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to run to Walmart and buy a new tower instead.

In reality, I always tell my customers that I should take the computer back to the shop if I anticipate the service call is going to last longer then two hours (except for a few business customers with many computers, it's expected that you will be there 3 or 4 hours and they aren't nearly as hard to sell to). I haven't had anyone reject the idea yet.

Good luck in your business venture! As a nearly one year old home based business, my best advice is advertise! Everywhere and anywhere you can, they can't call if they don't know you exist.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Appletax
What should I sell this Durabook for?
Replies
10
Views
1K
Blues
Blues
RCD_Technology_Solutions
Thinking of closing retail store, stick with businesses.
Replies
9
Views
2K
callthatgirl
callthatgirl
thecomputerguy
Oprah says, "and you get a violation, and YOU get a violation, and YoU get a ViOlation!"
Replies
11
Views
2K
DRPCNZ
DRPCNZ
HCHTech
Outlook New rant
Replies
12
Views
2K
dcomp12
D
thecomputerguy
Which Unifi VPN should I be using here?
Replies
5
Views
1K
Sky-Knight
Sky-Knight
Back
Top