Job hassle [yet again]

Perhaps AT instead of being on the down as usual you should look at this as an opportunity....

 

Just draw up your terms and conditions of work (and what the customer can expect of you too, like what you will guarantee) in a no bullshit and friendly manner. Explain to them that problems are not common, but you have to be professional and it must be done in case of the unlikely.

If you don't do this, quite frankly you are unprofessional and its your own fault if you have to fork out to fix the problems that occur.

p.s. if you need help with getting the wording right I'm sure if you post it up here many people will be willing o suggest alterations. The right wording can change it from sounding pushy to honest and open.

 

FFS, don't 'wonder' - have a policy on it.

For most people the hardware is entirely subservient to the stored data. Entirely. Capitalise on this; if you sense a callout where data loss could be an side-effect, offer backup as the initial service at extra cost. Most would cough up directly, I bet, and probably for a larger sum than you expect. This could be as simple as you always carrying an empty 500GB USB drive; it could pay for itself very, very quickly.

At the very least 'is this backed?' up should be the first question you ask...make it the owner's risk.

 

Most manufacutrers, including hard disk manufacturers will not accept liability for lost data even if the drive is defective due to fault on their part - remedy is limited to a replacement drive at best.

 

You recommended the system and then modified it. I think this is your problem (whatever actual problem arises in whatever component).

Probably you need to clarify with Acer (who?) what the warranty status is if a 'qualified' person opens the system before this happens again.

Paul

 

The problem is I need to get that mine set in my head that I am in power and in charge, I have become too casual lately as I have become quite relaxed about things. I guess my opening line could be "do you have any important data saved on it"

 

"do you have any important data saved on it"


NO!


IMO you need to put it far stronger than that.

YOu need o make it clear (whch it should be any way ) that data loss/ hard drive failure DOES HAPPEN ocassionally when work is done....it is the OWNERS RESPONSIBILTY to back up their own data.

Thats precisely what my computer shop guy tells me....

I would have thought this was vital in yo postion

Do you do written quotes?

Would it be possible to rwite this at the top along with YOUR name company name etc.......tegther with your policy on warranty of your own work?

Thats the way it seems to me anyway.

 

AT, there seem to be a whole bunch of good opportunities staring you in the face. In addition to the stuff others have mentioned...

1. If your customers won't buy reliable business PCs then sell them a maintenance contract, and get the money upfront!
   
2. Put together some packages for backup hardware - single NAS or USB drives, RAID5 systems etc. Work your customer database to offer these products to your customers.
   
3. Find a system builder with a decent range of PCs that won't need upgrades when brand new. This becomes your in-house brand, then...
   
4. find a couple of leasing companies that offer lease rental and lease purchase. Get them to explain the tax benefits of rental over purchase.

The last two points come together here.

You're making system recommendations and then (I presume) letting your customers go off and spend their money with another company. Meanwhile, you're the first person they call if something goes wrong with the gear that you recommended but didn't supply.

Now look at an alternative. Unless you are charging a consultancy fee for sourcing equipment then don't spend too much time helping the customer spend their money elsewhere, but you do want to offer them a choice.

List the cheap PC + upgrades + loss of warranty + service contract as a total cash price vs. your house brand with all the bells & whistles they need with full maintenance and then show the price as a equivalent weekly lease.

At this point you're probably thinking that the customer can't make an A to B comparison, but that's the idea! There's nothing underhand about this; it's simply a different way of doing business.

What you've done is a very professional job. You've given your customer everything on his wish list all wrapped up in a neat package and shown him how to get it in the most tax efficient way possible.

So far, so good. But we're not home yet. The final hurdle is helping your customers change the way they think about their computers. Someone else said it earlier in this thread; the PC is just a tool, not some precious item to own. They're buying the most important thing - the use of the tool rather than the tool itself.

Now stop whinging, get your game together and go do some business.

Good luck

 

Hex Spurt,
Top post, after more than 400 jobs I would have expected AT to already be operating along these lines after having reached the same conclusions as yourself.

The TV adverts for PC World even offer changeable pc covers to customise your new tool plus a couple of hours with a Tech Guy to do things with your data. BT also offer a (free at first) service IIRC Data Vault to give the customer a nice warm feeling when it comes to family photos, music and other treasured data.

So AT if you are up to it what about helping customers take care of their precious data via a weekly visit to do backups, run anti virus tools and try to sell them other of your services, all financed by a maintenance contract?

One idea may be to offer an Ubuntu based kit. I support family members and a couple of friends by a quick visit once ever couple of weeks to apply via an administration account any accumulated updates - if I pulled my finger out I could always do this remotely for the comfort of my home!

Anyway AT, put your feet up, have a few beers and think about how 2008 can be better for you and your than 2007.

 

Auric, thanks , and good point about remote working too.

I sell and install Sonos systems (great product, crap margin) and I'm just starting to investigate NAS drives as a way to help my customers manage their music collections. Some of the drives I've looked at will email the administrator with heath check reports; that's got to be a great tool for business users too.

I'm also playing around with SyncToy (it's free BTW) as a way to mirror my laptop drive with a HD in my main system. Seems to work pretty good even over a wireless network.

I'm no computer expert, but if I can find tools like this and implement them to make life simpler and more secure then surely someone involved with computers day-to-day would be able to offer something similar to their customers???

AT, I think you need a business manager. My number is............

All the best

 

I've already been investigating a NAS auto backup solution. One thing as well I want to get into is MS Server packages, but they are expensive and I need to play with them before offering it to customers .

Ready built raid setups may be a good idea, I would not want to build them though as I don't really have the facilities my existing business takes up too much home space as it is.

A job I Am currently working on is a 2 month old PC has suffered serious hard drive but it does make me think there is a market for good quality business PCs.

 

**** the PCs AT, they are everywhere. Data is everything.

With that understanding, what are you going to do about it? How are you going to exploit this situation?

 

Good. How far have you got?

Why are you throwing these negatives in? Start NOW with what you can today instead of thinking what you might be able to do tomorrow.

...and you're waiting for what exactly?...

Who said you have to build them? There are plenty of off-the-shelf solutions, so why are you creating another hurdle for yourself where one doesn't really exist?

Like garyi said; the data is everything, so what are you going to do about it?

 

AT,
In addition to the homework set by Hex Spurt you should;

Select, install and explore a free operating system (I suggest Ubuntu).

Design and cost a new service for you to remotely backup customers data using your newly discovered free tools.

Demonstrate your new found knowledge by helping three or more people on the Ubuntuforums.

2008 is getting closer by the day so digito extracto.