Computer idiot

Did a computer repair yesterday and returned it today.

He said he knew how to hook it up.

A few hours later he called and told me he could not enter text.

From previous experience with this clown I knew at once he did not have the keyboard plugged in.

My question:

How did he manage to plug in the mouse, the AC cord, the monitor and the Ethernet cable?

For that matter how did he even figure out how to dial my phone number?

Reply to
philo
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How do you know he had ANY of those plugged in? He may have been staring at a BLACK monitor, banging on the keyboard and complaining that he "couldn't enter text!"

I won't do repairs (computer, TV, etc.) or reinstalls (software) for hire. Gladly do them GRATIS for friends/colleagues but not "the paying public"... they expect too much and invest too little!

Reply to
Don Y

For friends of mine with little or no money, I do not charge.

If the person has a decent income, I typically do charge...or at least barter. Years ago I made a fair amount of money repairing computers but now rarely take on more than two repairs a week.

I find working on computers fun but dealing with people a PITA.

The person in this situation is one of those who earns his living by selling books on eBay so I keep his machine working. He makes just enough to get by.

Reply to
philo

A'freaking'men. Repairing computers usually is not worth the hassle.

Reply to
FrozenNorth

last year I got my technician license, to use amateur radio bands. I found an email list, about two way radios. A couple posters say much the same thing. When selling discount radio equipment, the buyers are often cheap penny pinchers who are totally demanding. often they will expect free programming of radio they bought from Amazon seller.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Per philo:

Dunno but after a few years of mainframe user support at a major utility company, I learned that the first question to ask (tactfully...) is "Is the device powered on?"...

Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

I turned down a job a few days ago from someone who has a proven bad track record. He is notorious for wasting my time and expecting not to pay me.

The ones who actually pay however, tend to be the least amount of trouble.

The most recent of those was a woman who got a new computer, and the place that sold it to her said they'd put the data from her old machine on her external drive and the fee was $100

She agreed to that but they then told her the USB ports on her old computer were not working and they could not do it. At least they did not expect payment.

She paid me $100 to do so. It only took me a few minutes to fix the USB problem.

Reply to
philo

Yep!

Reply to
philo

I do it on a regular basis, but it's to the point I have to charge enough to cover the inevitable right up front. If they think I'm charging too much, that's fine with me. I'm getting ready to retire - I don't particularly need the work.

Reply to
clare

What's that old joke(?) ?

Support: Please check to ensure that the computer is plugged in.

Idiot: I can't see the wall socket to see if it's plugged in.

Support: Well, just follow the cord.

Idiot: I still won't be able to see it, the power's out and we have no lights!

Reply to
Unquestionably Confused

And selling them is even less "rewarding".

If you can make 2$ profit on a computer sale today you are doing good. Not worth the hassle, particularly when you then have to spend half an hour or more on "free support" just to get the customer up and running. I supply hardware to the customers that pay me to maintain their stuff - more as a courtesy than anything else. I get paid by the hour by several customers to "be there" and look after whatever needs to be looked after for that week.

Reply to
clare

Even more basic - is it plugged in???

Reply to
clare

You are so right there.

Can't make anything building machines now...and since I stopped doing so I can mostly relax.

Decided to clean up my workshop today and almost all of the old machines I have down there are dual or quad core machines.

There was only one with a single core CPU, so I posted it up free on Facebook and it was gone in an hour.

Reply to
philo

My time is worth more (to me) than the money I could make charging for such repairs. So, I smile and shake my head when someone asks me to do one.

OTOH, friends/colleagues *deserve* my time (else they wouldn't be in that category!). So, I put a brave face on and "gladly" tackle whatever mess they've got themselves into -- with a "wisecrack" to suggest they not make a habit of doing so!

E.g., a friend lent one of his ToughBooks to someone for a "deployment". It came back with ransomware. Do I tell my friend *he* should eat this -- it was his fault for loaning it out? Or, do I bail him out KNOWING he has learned his lesson and will be really slow to let anyone else use his stuff again?! (most folks realize they are asking a lot and don't make repeat requests).

Likewise, had a friend break the power inlet on his Dell XPS laptop (pricey piece of kit). I had to tear the thing down to bare metal in order to gain access to the power connector. Bought a replacement ("no charge"). Machined the case to accept the modified replacement (obviously, someone realized there was a flaw in the original design!). Rebuilt the machine, and delivered it.

I'm sure the next time I see that machine with a "broken power inlet" he will be GIVING it to me to dispose of...

Reply to
Don Y

hasn't that morphed into something like:

From each according to their willingness, to each according to their wants.

Reply to
taxed and spent

maybe he has you on speed dial.

Reply to
taxed and spent

I try not to deal with the people that don't have a clue for technoligy. A few years ago I got a phone call from a local ham that bought a new amplifier. This was a ham that had his Extra Class license, the highest of the 3 classes. He said it would not work the first time and sent it back and they installed a relay the was suspose to be plugged in by the owner after shipping. I told him just to ship it back as I did not want to do anything that may void the warrenty.

When someone buys something, he either needs to know how to make it work or pay for some lessons on how to use it before he jumps into it.

I part of my work was trouble shooting problems. Best call I got was when someone said a machine would not start. I walked up and he was pressing the big red button labled STOP. I said try pressing the green button labled START.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Sorry - fat finger syndrome -- Make that 2% - which is a bit more than $2 but not an aufull lot!!!!

Reply to
clare

On 03/13/2016 05:33 PM, taxed and spent wrote: ?

Probably.

That said, even though he does not have any money to pay me, he generally at least gives me some books.

This time he gave me a Scientific American magazine from 1917 !

Reply to
philo

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