[RESOLVED] Worse to give computer help - Friends or Customers?

[ilovetheusers]

Have you ever had a friend ask you for tech support and they wind up being more of a pain that a customer? For instance, I recently had a friend tell me, "I'm not stupid, I know how to use computers!" when I asked her what word processing utility she had used to create a certain doccument. I could give a good deal of examples, but I think you get the picture.

I was wondering if any of you have had more difficulty from fixing friends and family computers than a regular customer that you would charge.

[protechpc]

Family and friends are always a pain ing the tail when it comes to PC problems. They simply do not understand that you do this for a living and actually get paid. Actually, anyone you come into contact with, like at a party, outing, or such will ALWAYS end up asking a question about their PC.

I wonder if Doctors suffer the same problem.



------------------
Need a website? We can help!
protechpc.com

[CPUMan]

Family is the worst for computer problems. They seem to call you at the most ackward times ie showers, bathroom calls, naps, driving along the interstate, you get the point. Then they ask you a question that you need to see a system in front of you to ask.

--------------------------
What we have here is failure to communicate

[theBeast]

My sister just got a computer (actually was my wife's old computer...we didn't want to be a two computer household when we got married). She calls my mother a lot, and doesn't bug me. Lol. She's a nurse, and knows what it's like to be bothered about your profession outside of it. I never ask her for medical advice, and she never asks me for computer advice.
My mother and oldest sisters were kind of pains before I helped them fly. I'd always ask them, "What do YOU think it would do if you did that?" Or, in the immortal words of my college computer teacher, "I dunno. Try it. The worst that could happen is that you'll have to start over again." I taught them not to be afraid of the computer.
It does bug me when I'm on a family outing or something and someone asks what I do for a living. "I'm a computer tech," I say before I can think.
"Oh, what do you think about the new Plentium 4s? Should I wait for the Plentium 5s?"
or
"Whenever I boot up my computer, there's this funny grinding sound."

------------------
***the Beast
- Fate drove me here...then told me to get out of the car...

[jimmr13]

Well the family is no problem My kid's can fix most problems all three are pretty good,
Sis ?? but she is married to a tech.
But Friends and friends of the family Now that's a whole nother story, Neighbors now thats the pitts. You can't charge me I'm you next door neighbor, or I didn't take it into your shop, or It's Sunday and you aren't doing anything any way, At the store hay Jim you got to come by my computer is ....Bla, Bla. or at the restrant Hay Jim on your way home could you....... At the Barber Shop, ask Jim he's one of them computer genius's,
Well I got this problem.... You guessed it I live in a Small town..... Event the tech from the other shop stop's me with Hay Jim I want to network three computers and.....
After over 10 years you kind of get uesdto it...

------------------
If all else fails read the directions !

[LabRat]

the worst are customers who think they're your family or know a few terms and still have no clue just what you can do for them. My family and friends at least respect the information and have the good grace to accept a delay for advice or repairs.

Customers who don't respect the profession or demand free services, on the otherhand are the most obnoxious @-holes imaginable and they're always white caller, work-at-home lusers who don't know where to find the 'any key'.

A prime example being a guy who's home office I visited for an upgrade. While working on the unit, He asks me to take a look at the other unit and to do the some maintenace, so I took care of both systems and charged him for the second one as well. His reply....."But you didn't do anything!" (e.g. optimize memory, scandisk, and defrag). Mine...."Read the service agreement I gave you on our first visit. All units are subject to fee."

It's the mind set that we are there to serve as freeware maintenace kits that really bug me.
Thanks for the therapy.

[J_Man]

The worst would have to be friends of friends. You feel obligated yet they coudln't give a sh!t about you and your time. I do have to admit that my family is good (none have a computer... thank God)

[Imagenatas]

I'd have to say family is the worst.

You say something wrong and they break out in tears. OMG! Talk about a guilt trip.

------------------
Hey? Why is my computer promting me if I would like to accept a cookie? Is it Oatmeal or Chocolate Chip?

[captpackrat]

Family & friends are definately worse.

If you screw something up on a customer's system, worst case, the shop has to pay for it. If you screw something up on a family/friend's system, you wind up paying for it.

And 90% of the time when I've worked on a family/friends computer, something else goes wrong shortly after, and they always blame whatever it was I did and they expect me to come over and fix it.

"I replaced your hard drive, and it was working fine when I left, and now your system won't boot. Sure, it must be my fault. I'll drop everything I'm doing and go over there."



------------------
Captain Troy D. Pack Rat
`akbar Press

If you're furry and you know it, hug the mouse!

[opiate]

Everytime I see a family member they alway include a conversation about how there computer isnt working right and maybe I can stop by sometime. A while back it got to the point where I avoided my family members. I'm still feuding with one of them. It's like they don't even care about how you've been or what have you been doing. I hate that! Now I just change the subject about computers. Except if one of my cousins are in school and they need help, I do it then.

And there always standing right over your sholder. "What does that do?", "What did you do that for?", "It was never like that before!" Ahhh...be quite and let me do my job for $0 dollars an hour.


I here ya man! It does suck.

[CobraTekMax]

Friends are worse. (Most) customers don't have your home phone number.

------------------
"I did my best, God knows I tried - I feel like I've been crucified." - Steven Tyler

[MacGyver]

Knew this one "friend" who thought he was a tech god. Then why on earth are you calling me for help with your crappy clone that you assembled yourself. Sheesh...

------------------
If it ain't broke, and you try to fix it anyway, then it WILL need fixing!

[RoboG4]

Friends and family are terrible. Not caring when they call you, and expecting you to be able to fix the problem over the phone within a few minutes.

[kennethstarrfp]

I give a 3 year warranty on old Pentium 1's I build for $200 internet monitor and all. I then give free software support including fdisking e.t.c. FOR EVER! But if they screwed up I charge them ZILCH but if it is MAJORLY screwed up I charge $5 an hour.

------------------
Don't **** with me, I'm running LINUX!

[AFJuvat]

All of my family live out of state, so I have gotten REAL good at "visualizing" their desktop. Though usually, they never call just for tech support, they mention it when we talk on the phone.

Neighbors are the absolute worst. Made the mistake one time of helping some deeply (and I mean on the verge of being fanatics) religious people who are friends of a friend of mine. Two hours, a windows reaload and about 75 "Praise Jesus for bringing you here to fix my computer" later, I had the system up and running. 1 Day later, they call and ask if I can come over and install some software that I "forgot" to install last time I was there.

I told them to go to hell...

AFJuvat