Wait, you’re still paying them to work on your computer?
Have you read the thread Miller? :dubious:
The work was quoted, and I agreed to a price. Yes, a *lesser *price than was originally quoted, but a price all the same. It is incumbent upon me to pay that price, which I will.
I really don’t get the shit I’m getting in this thread. I’m a Luddite, and thus I employ other people to do stuff on my behalf. I’m not familiar with car engines either…that’s why I get mechanics to fix shit on them too. Is that a problem?
??
I can understand Miller’s confusion. From your OP:
So, you think they’re crooks and you’ve explicitly said you’re not giving them any future business - and yet you’re still going ahead with the repairs? :smack: At this point, you deserve to get screwed.
Yeah, you pretty much can. I worked for 5 years in a small computer shop in Doughbag’s neck of the woods. You’re selling a box that lets people Facebook and watch DVDs, not submitting a tender bid to NASA. In dozens and dozens of PC & laptop sales, not once did any customer ask for application load times or anything of the sort.
No one ever deserves to be screwed, but sometimes people let it happen to themselves, especially when they don’t listen to that little voice in their head saying ‘don’t do business here’.
However, I did infer the same from the OP - basically, here’s your diagnosis fee, give me back my computer.
AUD$140 for 1 gig or ram? I know computer components are more expensive there, but really?!? There is no extra work involved installing 2GB vs 3GB (ok, depending on the configuration, you may have to install in 2 slots instead of one, or 3 instead of 2, so maybe an extra 30 seconds). Are they trying to put in high-end gaming RAM in a beater box?
I did. I must have missed the part where, after determining that these guys were ripping you off, you decided to give them your money anyway.
Kind of undercuts your complaint.
I remember as a foolish teenager mucking about with my family’s old used computer’s RAM. I took it out to look at it, and then somehow managed to put it in backwards despite the little nubbins. Turn it on and a distinct metallic burny smell is emanating from the computer and the RAM is completely fried. Welp, my fault so I have to pay to replace it.
Getting that computer’s RAM replaced cost easily three times the normal going rate for RAM because they weren’t making it anymore. I think DDR2 was the new standard, and the family computer was still on SDRAM. I can believe an old-ass computer would have a hefty price tag just to upgrade the RAM.
That being said, going with these guys was a terrible choice. Why would you go with someone you are angry at or who you thought was trying to rip you off? Makes no sense.
Here, I’ve seen shops keeping ‘obsolete’ parts just for such an occasion, usually used, and usually dirt cheap. Back in the day, they used to have computer shows where you could get old RAM, peripherals, etc. and it wasn’t expensive at all. But I live in a major metropolitan area and understand that things are different elsewhere.
Pfft. I don’t even use Facebook, but nice try.
I have no particular interest in your personal information, but if you want to weigh in on a subject related to your work, and want to be taken seriously, it helps if you can at least make clear what sort of industry you’re in. The United States has more than 300 million people. Giving a broad industry, so that your readers can at least get a sense of the issues you’re describing, is highly unlikely to reveal who you are, or even where you live.
You are, of course, welcome to keep this stuff to yourself. Just don’t be surprised if, when you come in and start talking about oranges, people who are having a conversation about apples tell you that you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.
Blah blah blah blah. If buyers have “analysis paralysis,” it sounds like you, as a vendor, might suffer from “explanation bloviation.” No wonder it takes you up to half an hour to explain each option.
How about asking your customer the most important question: “What do YOU need this computer to do for you?” The answer to that question will cut through about 95% of your absurd waffling bullshit. In fact, asking that question allows the experts—in this case, the people in the computer shop—to actually employ their expertise and offer some useful advice.
If the person in question says they’re going to be using the latest version of Photoshop to edit the images from their 24 MP digital SLR, you know that a decent amount of fast memory will be an advantage, and you might also offer advice about the improved program speed that comes with a solid-state hard drive. You’ll also tell them that they’re going to need a lot of storage for all those big RAW files. You can then give them some options and prices that suit their needs.
On the other hand, if the person is a video hobbyist who likes to get outside with their GoPro camera and then edit clips to put on YouTube, you can tell them that they are likely to benefit most from a faster processor, because processor speed is an important factor in video encoding times.
On the other other hand, if the person wants to play the latest and greatest games at high resolution, you might be making recommendations about processor, RAM, and, most importantly, a spanking new, high-end video card. Maybe more than one, set up in SLI configuration. But make sure your power supply has enough juice to run all of your components!
Or, finally, you might have someone like the OP, who needs to run a specific piece of work software, and whose other computing needs can probably be best described as email, web browsing, watching funny cat videos, and sharing the occasional photo that she takes of the kids (or whatever). This person’s needs are very different from the first three people’s needs.
Asking the person what they actually need to do with their computer very quickly eliminates a whole range of possible configurations. And you don’t need to do it over email; ask them when they bring the damn thing in for service, so you know beforehand what sort of advice to give.
Older RAM can definitely cost more. My 4+ year old computer has DDR2, and DDR3 is the new standard. The prices seem to have gotten a bit closer recently, but i remember looking last year and 2x2Gb of DDR2 was about 40-50% more expensive than the equivalent DDR3.
I’m guessing it was a case of just wanting it done, and not being willing to eat the diagnostic cost and then have to pay it again at a different store. But i also am sort of surprised, kambuckta. Like Macca26 and Miller, i was under the impression that you had decided not to use these guys.
Ah yes, because no customer service situation every overlapped with customer service situations in other fields. Gotcha.
So its just that easy huh? Your world must be a much easier place.
You may have noticed that you are actually doing exactly what I am doing. Your examples were perfect setups for guiding the customer to (proper) choices. You don’t even realize you were doing the opposite of what you were demanding as a customer earlier in the thread.
Old 2nd hand parts, that’s always nice to sell.
Most of the times the cost for them is about $0, that’s about $0 in US Dollars or just about 0 in Euros.
And yes, you can still order lot’s of that old stuff, sometimes its however just not worth it, but if you must keep a machine going… you have to do/pay what you gotta do/pay
$380 for a 2-3GB DDR2 ram upgrade and Virus removal, even a complete back-up & reinstall however is still very high.
Kambuckta my Dear, you have been ripped off a quick Google gave me this: 2x2GB (4GB total) DDR 2 AUS$ 93 and the rest for a Virus removal … and they say Ireland is a rip off… damn, I’m in the wrong country
This is definitely looking like too high a price for that work. But I kinda wish we had more details from the OP in the first place so it looked less like whining about a repair situation.
So, what are you bitching about?
This shop clearly saw you coming… and when you realized this, you agreed to getting fleeced, unless you did not tell us the full story or got things mixed up.
Please ask the shop in question what they’ve done for your money and let us know, so we can make an informed decision on whether you’ve been screwed or not.
Remember that she didn’t know why the computer was slow, which is why she took it to a shop. And she also may not feel comfortable doing the virus scan and adding the memory. When I take my car to the repair shop, the actual part may cost only a few dollars. But I pay more than that, for their expertise, diagnosis and warranty.
What’s that quote (I can’t find it), something like, “You’re not paying me to turn a screw, you’re paying me because I know which screw needs turning”
Something like this:
INVOICE
- 1 Strike of hammer 1$
- Knowing where to hit: $149
TOTAL $150
If your industry requires 10-30 minutes to explain each option to a customer, then it’s different from fixing someone’s computer.
Bzzt. Incorrect. Again.
My whole point in this thread has been to advocate for being upfront with the customer, finding out his or her needs, and giving him or her the information necessary to make a decision. That’s all. There’s nothing wrong with guiding—and, in fact, that’s one of the best uses for expert knowledge—but what the OP’s computer repair people were doing was not guiding.
Just like there is more than one way to skin a cat, there is more than one way to provide good service. But, in my opinion, the way to provide good service is NOT to just quote the most expensive possible price and then work your way down without actually finding out your customer’s needs. Simple, really.
Oh, that’s perfectly fine. Sure that shop needs to make money, so do I. There is absolutely nothing wrong with bringing your faulty computer to a computer repair guy – and expertise needs to get paid.
There are two possible scenarios:
a) The shop is fleecing the customer
*or *
b) The customer (specifically the OP) does not know what the computer shop is charging her for and what is actually getting fixed there.
Except that’s not really happening here, is it? I mean, you can’t really upgrade the processor or motherboard of a laptop, so your only real reasonable options to speed it up are to remove bloat or add memory.
It’s entirely possible that malware removal and/or a fresh install of the OS would do enough to bring the system up to a reasonable speed, so it seems like this is paying him to turn all the screws.
I can see why she’d get them to go ahead with the repairs. The lower price isn’t outside the realms of reasonable IMO - comparable to most computer shops, particularly if it includes, say, a Norton licence. If she took it elsewhere, she’d have to pay their equivalent of the $44 diagnostic fee and hope for a lower price.
$44 suggests their hourly rate is $88 ($80 + tax). That’s not surprising to me. Their practice of offering one high price first and then dropping it is. Most places assume you’re on a budget, or at least ask.
My computer is home…and working pretty sweetly.
I suppose this isn’t the time and place to now complain about the car mechanic who came to fix my driver’s side window this morning (it had a hissy-fit two days ago and wouldn’t go up)?
No? Didn’t think so!
I’ve had a financial fucker of a week, thanks for asking! 