[RESOLVED] Letting the user install the hardware

[rb_electronics]

This is one of my favorites and it happend just last week...

Customer buys a cd-rom and I ask if he would like me to install it for $10.00 he said no any idiot can do that in 10 minuets so I proceed to show him the jumpers and where pin 1 is on the ide and send him on his way...3 hours later... ring ring.. I can't get the old drive out I removed "both" screws and it won't budge.. told him to look on the other side oh my 2 more screws... 4 hours later ring ring, I plugged it in but the machine wont boot, possibly bad cd-rom ?? I asked nicely if pin one was correct on the cable, "sure it is I know that" but after looking he put it upside down.. than while on the phone we booted the machine it said Primary HDD controller error... again asking the dumb question, did you set the jumper just like the old drive ?? well "NO" I thought since it was a new drive it would automaticaly set the jumper for me... DUH the computer fairy can't move jumpers.. So now I vow to try to have people not install there own hardware even if I have to do it for free

------------------
Wadda you mean I lost all my information !! It has been making that noise for 2 months and working fine..

[ReBoot]

I like to let people install their own stuff, it makes for more income.
After innumerable burnt parts, I get the labor to install it.
I have a scorched AMD K6-2 on the wall, with a sign that says, "Sure you can install it yourself!" You'd be amazed how many people see that, and get me to install their stuff.
I install, full warranty, they install, curb warranty. (Once they get to the curb outside the shop, no more warranty).

------------------
Who needs a life, I have Internet!
Jim & Sue's Free Files | Jim's Modems

[Larommi]

Then there are the few that get lucky and think they now know enough to open a shop down the street from you.

------------------
You spend your whole life believing that you're on the right track,
only to discover that you're on the wrong train.

[Damned Angel]

I install...I support. You install....manufacturer supports. Don't bother calling saying it dosn't work cause I ain't gonna help you on the phone, bring it in and I will bill you.

[MAYHEM]

I NEVER tell a customer that installing anything is easy. For you and me? Yes, we've all done it a hundred times and know it all by heart. If a customer has done it before, he/she already knows if it's easy or not. If the customer asks, "Is it difficult to install?" Then odds are he/she has no business attempting it. No I will not install it for free, and i will not spend an hour on the phone talking them through it. If they want to do it themselves, fine. But, I'm not going to br their baby sitter.

------------------
Who the hell is General Protection and why is he messing with my comuter?

[protechpc]

With EVERY product that I sell over the counter, I include a printed notification to the customer. Basically "once opened, the product cannot be returned" "if you cannot install the product, we will install it for our normal installation charge". As far as giving a "tip" on installation as in the "red line on the IDE cable goes towards the power" Forget it!! The minute the customer starts asking questions on how to install, I simply reply that you need to bring your PC in the store to have a QUALIFIED technician perform the installation. Although, for us, a CDROM drive install is a simple concept, you run a serious risk of screwing up something else if not done correctly. For example "you mean I had to turn my computer off first?"

------------------
Don't take life too seriously -- It isn't permanent

www.protechpc.com

[AlienDyne]

Most of my customers know a little about hardware. Some of them, who are smart enough, want me to install their new hardware for them.
Some others think that building or upgrading a computer is just like making a sandwich for breakfast. You put everything inside, until it's full.
I had to replace lots of motherboards in the past, cause their owners wanted to install them theirselves. So they did; but they didn't know what those tiny plastic things are for, and they burned them cause they were mounted directly on the metal case!
Since then, every time a customer buys a new motherboard seperately, we use to bet if he'll come back the next day saying it's not working.
Of course all these is extra money for us, so I'm not complaining!


------------------
"Matter is passive. In spite of its power, it can't be controlled without the human mind." Sokrates

Photos Of My Work

[FU_MAN]

I give very limited support for the do-it-yourselfers. Such as the website for the part that they just bought, how to send the part back when they wreck it.
We used to give more but there was a guy that would build machines for people out of parts that he bought from us, then would call constantly for help. We told him that we would not do this for him anymore. Then the jerk would have his wife call and we cut her off too. He asked us why we do not back up what we sell, and I told him that we do if we do all the installing. Now he has his "customers/buddies" trying to get replacement parts out of us because we generally warranty the parts that we sell for a short period of time. I guess it is time to cut that policy too.

Why is it when you sell a person a $10 mouse they think it entitles them to hours of free computer advice and support? I have never bought spark plugs from an auto parts store then called back and EXPECTED to be walked through an engine rebuild. Ahh the nerve of some.... I feel so used!

Ok, I will quit ranting now!

------------------
I do not wish to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.

[This message has been edited by FU_MAN (edited September 20, 2000).]

[Revenant]

some of my favorite quotes in this genre:
These just plug in, right? I can do it myself.

I mean c'mon, it's plug and play, how hard can it be?

I just open the hard drive and plug this in right?

So do I have to take the old sound card out to put the new one in?
(You mean remove the fried one? yeesss...)

I'd like to add some more MHz to my hard drive, how much is, like, 100MB? (These are always the people that want to do it themselves...)

Or my all time favorite:
Customer: I want to install a modem for my ____ (insert relative/friend here)
Tech: Ok do you need a PCI or ISA modem?
c: What's that?
T: That's the type of slot they plug into.
C: Oh, I work for IBM/AOL/HP and I've done this sort of thing 1000 times before. I'm not up on the current "lingo" so just give me the one I need.
T: Certainly, do you need ISA or PCI?
C: I don't know
T: Are your empty slots black/brown or white?
C: I don't know
T: You opened the computer and checked for free slots right?
C: Of course.
T: But you don't remember the color/shape/whereabouts of the empty slots?
C: Well, it has room on the back.
T: Bring your computer in before I kill you as a service to all Computer Techs. BTW are you the "friend" of all these people who come in with a "friend" who knows all about computers b/c you work w/ MS Excel all day? (insert sound of b**ch slap.)

------------------
What's this button d--

[This message has been edited by Revenant (edited September 20, 2000).]

[shawnMt]

This is tue - 99% of the time someone buys a mainboard and says "how much to install it" and you tell them standard labor rates and they then say "oh, well I can do it" you WILL, I repeat WILL get a call from them. If not the same day the next day. And they will expect you to walk them through finding out why their modem, sound, nic don't work (if they get it to POST.) Also why does my video look crappy?

I had a guy pick up a K62 400 and board and said he could install it. This guy actually talked a pretty good game and had me thinking maybe he could do it. Next day he comes in with his machine. This one was good because I figured maybe just 1 or 2 of his devices didn't work. Not even close - it wouldn't post.

BTW - I told him I could set the board up for the chip but he said not to worry about it he knew how. I was also slammed that week and actually believed him.

voltage wrong
ide1 plugged in backwards
floppy power not plugged in
clock speed wrong
single DIMM in slot 3
video not seated properly

Uh - this did come with a MANUAL you know...

I only charged him 2 hrs to find/correct everything and get the hardware working in 98. I was compensated more by telling him what was wrong while his wife/gf standing there (he had an attitude.)

------------------
GENERAL FAILURE READING DRIVE A:
(A)bort, (R)etry, (G)et a beer?

Paint your old laptop!

[This message has been edited by shawnMt (edited September 20, 2000).]

[thirdfey]

Questions I get once a month

I get about every question possible about installing new hardware/software in 8088's/286's/386's.......a friend of a friend just gave me this computer and I want to put "winders" on it(i live in the south). I ask what they were donated, its always a piece a crap 286.

selling IDE devices always guarentees a call about not finding their cdrom or something else cause nothing is jumpered.

I hate helping IT "professionals" cause they buy it, screw it up, tell their boss its our "faulty" hardware, their boss screams at me, i end up fixing it, get screamed at by the boss again and watch the IT guy take the credit, people with computer degrees with no computer experience suck, a 4 year degree is 4 years old

soundcards always get a call from the customer cause the soundcard is broken when they have the speakers plugged in wrong or not plugged in or not turned on

modems installers call us because there dialup connection is still looking for the old modem

people in my area are too cheap, when i lft my old job we were at the point of installing for free if they bring their computer in and NO PACKARD BELLS!!!

now i'm an "IT professional" or whatever that means, I sit in a cushy office and fix computers in our office or test stuff out, now i only get crap from the boss instead of customers. I can handle a boss that misunderstands computers over hundreds of customers

[CobraTekMax]

A dude called the other week and said he was trying to help his friend find the reset switch on his computer, and he was pretty sure he found it, but once he flipped it, the machine wouldn't POST. I asked him to descibe the switch he pressed, and he said "No, I didn't really push it. It was a little red toggle switch on the back, right next to where the power plugs in." I put him on hold so I could have a good laugh, then picked it back up and told him that what he hit was the voltage switch, and if he did it while the computer was on, then it was pretty much a given that the power supply was fried at the very least, and god knows what else it took with it. The whole machine could be nothing but a smoldering hunk of metal and plastic. "Oh, great. So how much does a power supply cost?" I told him it would be 45 for the part, and 40 to install. "No, I don't need it installed, I'm pretty sure I can do it myself". I don't know what came over me, but I went off the guy. I asked him if he was sure this was his FRIEND'S computer, because I'd be damned if I'd stay friends with an idiot who just fried my computer because he thought he knew more than he did. And I said that I flat out REFUSED to let him buy a power supply, and I was leaving the sales staff with instructions not to sell a power supply to ANYBODY while I was out. To my suprise, the dude actually started CRYING on the phone about how I was being a d*ck, and that he was just trying to help his friend, blah blah blah. "Sorry, sir, you've helped your "friend" enough. If you want it fixed, bring it in to the shop, and let ME or one of my guys do it. But if you want to do it yourself, you're going to have to buy the part someplace else." *CLICK*

So, anyway, that call really opened up my eyes. The new rule at our shop is if they ask if it's hard to install something, then they have no business doing it, and therefore they don't get the part.

[Danrak]

Some of the best stuff I've seen is a customer buying a motherboard then mounting it to the chasis with the gold posts and plastic posts on the wrong side.
I've also had people call up and ask why their motherboard they just bought from us will only read XXXmhz. Turns out they didn't know they needed to change jumpers, then wanted me to walk them through it.

------------------
.·°Danrak°·.
The box said "Requires Windows 95 or better" so I installed Linux

[NeuromancerIV]

I make it point to tell my customers we do not provide phone tech support for individual components(unless the system is one of ours). If they would like, we will gladly install and test components for our regular fee. Some of them obviously feel I'm joking when I tell them this. (Of course if its a minor issue I dont have problem) But this has saved us untold aggravation.
----------------
"first static
then silence
this $4000 dollar flat screen dies so beautifully."

[ShadowWynd]

We had a guy come into the shop, buy a CDRW, and refused to have us install the thing for $25.

A week later, he is in, trying to bum advice from us. We tell him things like make sure it is powered, jumpered, cabled correctly and send him on his way.

A week later, he is back in, whining that it still doesn't work.

At the end of a month, he finally had us cable the thing correctly ($35 bench fee).

The fifth week, he came in griping that he couldn't get his Adaptec software to work.

We gave him some tips, then sent him out again. He refused to have us install the software.

The guy has not been abe to use his brand-new, $200 piece of equipment in close to two months because he did not want to pay $25.