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Thread ID: 58011 2005-05-18 21:44:00 PC Support for Small business t_user (8155) Press F1
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356475 2005-05-18 21:44:00 Hi All

I've got a friend who is starting up a small business in Auckland and is going to need Windows PC/small network setup/support for a couple of users.
In the spirit of self protection (ie. avoiding becoming the ad-hoc support guy myself) I'd like to recommend a reliable/value for money service - anyone have good/bad stories I can pass on?

cheers
t_user (8155)
356476 2005-05-18 21:54:00 I'll do it, and he could get me onto broadband lol, and pay the bill for it.

Since I'm doing sfa else at the mo. And I'm getting nowhere fast.

Broadband will most probably cost him less, than what I could help him with.

Depending on what kind of help they / he wants.

Only thing is, where in Auckland is he?? In town?? elsewhere?

Can't say anything about any support places. I dont deal with anyone myself.

To save money etc, I try and fix probs (if any) myself.
Speedy Gonzales (78)
356477 2005-05-19 00:54:00 sorry i can't recommend anyone at the mo . however one trap i see some people run into to is employing the elcheapo school kids or home pc techs as their IT dept . concidering that the success of the buisness is reliant on the use of pc's then i wouldn't risk anyone other than a pro to look after it . check out some of the IT companies that specialize in small buiness setups (been a few advertising latly) .

also check out what responibilty they have and course of action should the techs lose all your valuable data .

on a side note . . . . has any IT company been sued in NZ for damages?
tweak'e (69)
356478 2005-05-19 01:02:00 on a side note....has any IT company been sued in NZ for damages?[/QUOTE]

that's why i have public liability insurance :cool:
quarry (252)
356479 2005-05-19 02:07:00 sorry i can't recommend anyone at the mo. however one trap i see some people run into to is employing the elcheapo school kids or home pc techs as their IT dept. concidering that the success of the buisness is reliant on the use of pc's then i wouldn't risk anyone other than a pro to look after it.
Thats rather insulting. I am a "home PC tech", that is I run my Computer Services business from home. I am certainly not an amateur.

Having said that - I only do West Auckland area and I only do home users (cause no-one else wants to) and small businesses. Large networks in a business I leave to the big IT companies.
pctek (84)
356480 2005-05-19 02:18:00 lol i thought someone might bite ;)

when i say "home PC tech" i mean someone who only works on home pc's. i don't care if you work from home or some flash dodah office.
all that matters is busniness pc's are not treated like home pc's.
tweak'e (69)
356481 2005-05-19 03:35:00 [QUOTE=pctek]Thats rather insulting. I am a "home PC tech", that is I run my Computer Services business from home. I am certainly not an amateur.

i agree, there's nothing wrong working from home. a doctor or lawyer can work from home as well - doens't mean they're mickey mouse. i work from home, but at the same time things could have been different. i was offered a free franchise ($50k+) from People PC when they first started, but i didn't want a company telling me what to do (they were experts on pizzas).

however there are, like anything, some useless amateur techs. imagine formatting a HD just to get rid of a hijacked homepage.

i only do homes / small biz as well , nothing to do with lack of knowledge, but because i don't want to be on 24/7 standby & i share looking after my kid.
quarry (252)
356482 2005-05-19 03:58:00 I didn't read that into tweak'es post at all . I thought he meant home as in rank amatures like me rather than people who have a home based business (like me but not in IT) .

In small businesses (10 to 50M turnover) I have worked for, one or two man bands, working from home or some space at the local shops, have sufficed for IT needs . They tend to understand the needs of another small business much better .
Murray P (44)
356483 2005-05-19 10:00:00 lol i thought someone might bite ;)

when i say "home PC tech" i mean someone who only works on home pc's. i don't care if you work from home or some flash dodah office.
all that matters is busniness pc's are not treated like home pc's.
Some people work on home PCs from choice not because they are stupid as that implies.
I have plenty of experience working in corporate networked environments including Akld Uni. I hated it, its boring.
pctek (84)
356484 2005-05-19 22:23:00 Thanks for the feedback guys .

I see the group of individual PC support operators as containing the best and worst of the breed - if you get a good one then they usually provide much better service than bigger organisations but you also can strike the sort of cowboy who tried to sort out my parents PC:

In the spirit of not bothering me every time she wanted something done to her PC my 70 year old mum managed to upgrade her version of Symantec Internet Security (or whatever it's called) over the web . Thumbs up to Ma but something went wrong with the install process . Not her fault but again not wanting to bother me she got a local PC guy out to help her .

After 3 hours of trying and buggering around downloading utilities and other bumf he got nowhere .

Ma eventually called me in, I went over, uninstall . . . reinstall . . . fixed .

So that's why personal recommendations from knowledgeable people like those who frequent this forum are so valuable . :D

cheers
t_user (8155)
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