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I do alot of computer repairs for home users.
I had a customer who was in recently for me to install some software that they were having trouble with.
They wanted the new version installed but they wanted to keep using the old version too.
Not really that hard but you had to go thru a custom install of the new version so it would not overwrite the old one... not really relevant.
Just a quick and easy software job.
I showed them how to use both versions, they took it home and all was well.
Or not...
I got a call the next day from the husband.
He was really upset that I charged his wife $25.00 for such a simple job.
I explained that my minimum charge for any work (other than warranty work) was $25.00.
This is actually really low for the industry and prevents me from spending all my time on "easy" work that takes alot more time than most people realize (doing the work took 10 minutes, showing them how to use it took another 20, ending the conversation politely took another 10, etc.)
This conversation took alot more time than that but that was the gist of it.
As is usual once that objection was addressed the goalposts shifted.
He says he cannot get on the internet. His email works but not anything else.
After some questioning we find that there is no problem with his internet after all.
The real problem he has is that now when he connects to the internet he does not get his dial-tone sound before it dials, it just goes into the connection sequence and connects with no noise at all.
I attempt further troubleshooting but it is not going well (he wants to complain, not fix it).
I explained that nothing I did would have changed his dial-up settings.
He of course goes ballistic and threatens me with everything from the police to the better business bureau.
I try to help him at this point but he has alot of difficulty following directions.
I tell him that if he brings his laptop back in within one week of the initial service I will see if I can do a quick fix (free same-day service) if he leaves it with me for a couple of hours.
I don't hear from him for a few weeks, then his wife comes in.
She is very upset from the second she walks in the door.
She come up to the service counter and slams her laptop on the counter.
I don't recognize her at first but the story comes out eventually.
She uses alot of shaming language and condesending blame-throwing, but it finally ends up with the fact that ever since she had it in she gets no sound (not just the dial-tone now).
I explain that I told her husband to bring it back within a week for same day service, and it has been over that. She will have to have normal service turn around as I am extremely busy now.
She will have none of that and is really getting spun up about it.
Finally I tell her that if she leaves it for a few hours I will try to fit her in.
She wanted me to do it while she watched (which I wouldn't do even if I wasn't busy. It always turns into a free training session and takes three times as long).
Since I wouldn't do that she left with the laptop, saying she can't leave it because she doesn't trust me anymore...
Ok. That is the end of that... I wish.
I am sure that if I could spend a few minutes with the laptop (or half an hour with someone who wanted to be helped on the phone) I could fix their sound problem, but they both want to argue and fight too much to be helped.
I know that it is unrelated to anything I did, probably just a simple user error, but they are too focused on the drama to do anything useful. They want to have been ripped off. They can't see that I am making no money on this, so why would I waste my time making their life difficult.
The really annoying part is that I know it connected to the internet when it left and it had sound. Part of the final checklist is to connect to the internet using their connection (or at least their type of connection) and to play a dvd (with sound) or audio cd (if they don't have a dvd player).
I will update when they come back in again. People like that always do.
I had a customer who was in recently for me to install some software that they were having trouble with.
They wanted the new version installed but they wanted to keep using the old version too.
Not really that hard but you had to go thru a custom install of the new version so it would not overwrite the old one... not really relevant.
Just a quick and easy software job.
I showed them how to use both versions, they took it home and all was well.
Or not...
I got a call the next day from the husband.
He was really upset that I charged his wife $25.00 for such a simple job.
I explained that my minimum charge for any work (other than warranty work) was $25.00.
This is actually really low for the industry and prevents me from spending all my time on "easy" work that takes alot more time than most people realize (doing the work took 10 minutes, showing them how to use it took another 20, ending the conversation politely took another 10, etc.)
This conversation took alot more time than that but that was the gist of it.
As is usual once that objection was addressed the goalposts shifted.
He says he cannot get on the internet. His email works but not anything else.
After some questioning we find that there is no problem with his internet after all.
The real problem he has is that now when he connects to the internet he does not get his dial-tone sound before it dials, it just goes into the connection sequence and connects with no noise at all.
I attempt further troubleshooting but it is not going well (he wants to complain, not fix it).
I explained that nothing I did would have changed his dial-up settings.
He of course goes ballistic and threatens me with everything from the police to the better business bureau.
I try to help him at this point but he has alot of difficulty following directions.
I tell him that if he brings his laptop back in within one week of the initial service I will see if I can do a quick fix (free same-day service) if he leaves it with me for a couple of hours.
I don't hear from him for a few weeks, then his wife comes in.
She is very upset from the second she walks in the door.
She come up to the service counter and slams her laptop on the counter.
I don't recognize her at first but the story comes out eventually.
She uses alot of shaming language and condesending blame-throwing, but it finally ends up with the fact that ever since she had it in she gets no sound (not just the dial-tone now).
I explain that I told her husband to bring it back within a week for same day service, and it has been over that. She will have to have normal service turn around as I am extremely busy now.
She will have none of that and is really getting spun up about it.
Finally I tell her that if she leaves it for a few hours I will try to fit her in.
She wanted me to do it while she watched (which I wouldn't do even if I wasn't busy. It always turns into a free training session and takes three times as long).
Since I wouldn't do that she left with the laptop, saying she can't leave it because she doesn't trust me anymore...
Ok. That is the end of that... I wish.
I am sure that if I could spend a few minutes with the laptop (or half an hour with someone who wanted to be helped on the phone) I could fix their sound problem, but they both want to argue and fight too much to be helped.
I know that it is unrelated to anything I did, probably just a simple user error, but they are too focused on the drama to do anything useful. They want to have been ripped off. They can't see that I am making no money on this, so why would I waste my time making their life difficult.
The really annoying part is that I know it connected to the internet when it left and it had sound. Part of the final checklist is to connect to the internet using their connection (or at least their type of connection) and to play a dvd (with sound) or audio cd (if they don't have a dvd player).
I will update when they come back in again. People like that always do.
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