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Thread ID: 48862	2004-09-03 04:41:00	Best Practise for Computer Repairs?	Captive (3159)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
268980	2004-09-04 14:33:00	> However i am wondering if they find that sometimes > establishing safety standards may be in the overall > better interests > > e.g. eletrical safety, OSH otherwise I agree with safety standards but beg to differ regarding service / quality standards - the Warehouse would have been out of business years ago if there was a quality standard (I know service is not quality but then safety is not service either) > I would assume > though by achieving various levels of education in > itself is not necessarily bad Nothing wrong with education, I wasn't knocking that, I was more knocking the (im)practical application of theory / knowledge. A further addendum to my Darwinian proposal is qualifications - does the tradesperson, computer repair person, politician, lawn mower man, tea lady have the requisite qualifications / training / experience? Either the consumer asks and pays accordingly or they don't ask and get what they pay for - I think you'll find that service (and/or quality) versus price are negatively correlated.	andrew93 (249)
268981	2004-09-04 14:38:00	Andrew i would be very inclined to agree with that in order for something to be given under normal circumstances there may be a cost. I could think of this as a general concept of the study of economics although the cases which eventuate may have different systems which can be correlated and have a variety of different analysis Maybe i was thinking that the consumer should be asked if they want the cost of better quality standards, which i do myself but i dont know if others do i was trying to say that by having statistics maybe somehow some sort of consenses would be achieved about what people want so the peoples needs can be assisted Thanks for posting this last response :-) its actually made me think about it in a more formative structure thats further enhancing the idea in my mind, not to say its for better for worse in every instance but perhaps the knowledge may be of gain, or i sort of feel it is	Captive (3159)
268982	2004-09-04 15:01:00	Is there a social and economic function in requiring more regulation and/or prescribed standards in the computer repair business that is not already covered by current legislation and the market? No there is not Not enough people get killed, no large sums of money are involved, no angry crowd is beating a path to their MP's door, the chunk of the economy is not dependant on it. As it is, I wouldn't step out the door for what a computer tech charges an hour. And no, I'm not in IT in any way, as per a previous poster, a good deal of my income is derived from investigation and advice regarding non-compliance in another industry. I think Metal would choke on my PI insurance and his customers would reject the resulting increase in fees as an un-necessary hindrance to getting their hands on a Doominator. Cheers Murray P	Murray P (44)
268983	2004-09-04 15:48:00	Ive not seen this post until now, Here's my few cents on the matter. I think you've got an interesting idea. Standards would be "insteresting" to say the least. How would you define these repair standards? These "standards" would be based upon what? How would you say "Its okay for you to be charged $30 to repair the PC's in the aforementioned .gif (Burn all gif's dude.... As a web-designer you should know better), but not okay to charge $35?" What about those who charge (As I do) a minimum of 1 hours work regardless? Ive been doing PC Repairs for approx. 6 months. Ive been using PC's for the past 12 odd years. I have no formal qualifications that specfically apply to repairing / diagnosing PC's. I have a Lvl 3 certificate in Computer Operating Systems, Hardware, And one other certificate that I got from TOPNZ, but cant remember the name of because to me it doesnt mean jack. I believe I have a ton of experience of real-world problems, issues, and resolutions that years of study can simply not emulate nor teach. I also believe that although I too am not working Full-Time, keeping up-to-date with technology, pitfalls of it, resolutions etc is a Full-Time Job. To be honest: How will you know what to do when a customer comes to you telling you "My PC is shutting down after being online for 60 seconds" if you havent been keeping up-to-date with the latest Windows Vulnerabilities, Viruses, Patches put out by computing companies, hardware reviews etc. I also think this: With all due respect, you dont seem to know much about PC repairs, based on the assumptions you have made, derogitory comments, and ideals that are simply unrealistic. From the start of this thread you seem to have come across with a certain prejudice against all PC Repairers. Why? Yes, Some PC Repairers do a shoddy job, rip people off, sabotage their PC's, and are just downright dodgy. I however pride myself in doing honest work, working for longer than I charge for at times, going the extra mile for customers, and helping them out in any way that I can. From this, I can safely say that "word-of-mouth" is a strong seller, as 3 out of every 4 customers of mine have been referred to me by a previous customer of mine. I can also say that "going the extra mile" sells, and people can see that I take the time and care to look after them, and they respect and appreciate that. I tried for a while creating a "report-sheet" of all repairs made on the PC's, but this usually confused most customers. Honestly, 1 out of every 5 customers understood what Spyware was, if even that many!?! There's not much point doing writing up report sheets for most customers, unless they ask. Why bother creating more hassle for yourself? So, here's my thoughts: 1. Get some more experience in the area before recommending things like this. Understandably if you were taking it from a consumer perspective trying to protect your ignorance as a consumer, then yes sure, but you're not. 2. Not all PC Repairers are *******s. I personally take great pride in my work, as I know several others who frequent this forum do. 3. Threatening other members that you'll "Tell the Moderators" doesnt bother most. Give Bruce an email and tell him Ive stepped out of line in this thread by saying the word ******* more than once. I doubt he will care. 4. Lighten up, please!? </rant> Chill.	Chilling_Silence (9)
268984	2004-09-04 16:22:00	Hey I have decided i am going to stop watching this topic. The original intention was for more standards to be establish so people would be given better quality of service, it was highlighted that it would be at a cost and various people may have said they didn't want to pay to have good service, others saying qualifications dont actually produce better service. I have decided that most of the comments here seem to be less in favour of improving standards so i think are contradictory to what i wished to achieve from the thread . Ideally about now i would delete the thread as it didnt serve the purpose i was aiming for but as i cannot do that i will remove myself from being notified about it. Bye	Captive (3159)
268985	2004-09-04 18:27:00	> Ive not seen this post until now, Here's Ect > 4. Lighten up, please!? > </rant> > > > Chill. Some lawn mower shop proprietors of course, became very wealthy.	drb1 (4492)
268986	2004-09-04 19:59:00	Captive said he was going to stop watching this topic. Actually Captive started this thread. So it looks as though the argument is over, guys... ..for the moment.	Laura (43)
268987	2004-09-04 21:49:00	as far as work sheets are concerned,i write one up for every job,they may not be able to understand it but they can at least see i have claimed to have done something. I also provide a sheet detailing what spyware is,its purpose and where it comes from,and a breif run down on what tools i have installed,normally spybot and adawere.	metla (154)
268988	2004-09-04 22:01:00	Ive actually got a Database Im going to be setting up, with my own records of exactly what Ive done on completion of the job, so I might fill each record with the following: Name: Joe Bloggs Contact #: 818 1818 What was done: Format - Install WinXP Home OEM (Sold new copy), audio drivers from: www.xyz.com I havent got myself an "Admin" PC yet, thats coming next week (Being built in my spare time) so we'll see how it goes.	Chilling_Silence (9)
268989	2004-09-04 23:45:00	This thread is a laugh riot. I'm sure that a thread on a random message board will change the face of the computer service industry. I haven't read all of it, so I'm going to just make a statement or two - apologies if the ground has been covered before. Any industry will have shoddy workmanship and sharks out there, it doesn't matter whether you buy the same "crystal bowl" from a top of line gift store for $60 or from the big red shed for $0.60c. The world relies on trust. When I take my car in for a warrant, and it comes back with work needing done I don't know whether thats true or not unless it's something glaringly obvious like a tail light out. I trust the mechanic has diagnosed correctly and that he is skilled enough to carry out the necessary work for a fair price. If I didn't work in IT chances are I'd be doing the same thing with my computer - if I took it to a shark, I'd probably get fleeced and the world would continue turning. As for chargeout rates, anyone should charge what they are worth. When anyone from my place of work goes off-site for IT work we are charged out at well over $100 per hour. It seems expensive, but it will generally take us substantially less time than any other joker so it all evens out. Case in point, a community organisation had 2 "tech's" with a reported combined 40 years of networking experience according to their web-site investigating an issue. After 2 days (yes 2 days) on site the "tech's" were trashing my company up and down the country side etc. I went out, checked the link between modem and NIC. No link light, replaced dodgy patch cable, and was out withing 15 mins. Needless to say payment to the other firm was rather a contentious issue. </random stuff> Mr "Captive" seems to be an interesting fellow with a lot of completely bizarre ideas. I take this from the initial reading of his CV (freely available on his web-site) in which he happily stated he had withdrawn from 2 computer courses after laying complaints about the lecturers, in one case the lecturer left his job. I'm sure most employers would be more than a little hesitant on reading that. This seems to carry over to here, as every thread he's posted in so far seems to have involved him running and hiding in the mods skirts (no intended x-dressing inference) like a child. I've got a great mental image of that, I also imagine he'd be the kind of guy sitting there with 111 at the ready to call the cops as soon as someone parked on the yellow lines near the dairy. *shrugs*	whiskeytangofoxtrot (438)
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