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Thread ID: 93481	2008-09-18 09:54:00	Venturing into a new job	qazwsxokmijn (102)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
706143	2008-09-18 09:54:00	After a few annoying things too many, I am entirely fed up with customer service in a f***ing supermarket, I've decided enough is enough. I cannot go to lunch at a time normal people usually have theirs (10 in the morning is NOT lunchtime!!!). That on top of bitchy customers who demand you do things that aren't your department, etc......god. Although computers isn't something I want to make a life out of, computer hardware is an amateur hobby of mine (though money is a limit) and I know sufficient enough to build, replace parts, speed up and fix problematic PCs of my own and my friends'. Most of the time anyway. So I thought I might as well earn some money out of my hobby. That said, I need to gather some info from you guys who are tinkering with customers' PCs. How much do you guys charge? I'm looking to charge my customers realistically, so maybe 50% of what you guys normally charge. Do you usually work at your customers' place, or do you take their PCs home for a couple of days? What sort of equipment should I buy? Anti-static gloves etc? What programs do you guys keep handy in your USB sticks? I can think of Avast, spybot and the like, anything else? What do I do with persistently bitchy customers who insist on knowing more than you do? What do you do if you made some sort of mistake? I am mostly experienced only with XP and Vista, so anything before XP is mostly out of my skills. Lastly, how can I get my business out there? I think I heard someone suggest before to bribe kids to hand out flyers for some candies. Are candies enough? Or do they want iPods these days? Hope someone can point me to the right direction. I feel like stabbing the next customer who says the wrong thing in the supermarket. And my manager.	qazwsxokmijn (102)
706144	2008-09-18 10:01:00	If customers annoy you, maybe self-employment is not the answer for you. You will have more bosses than customers, and you can forget lunch hours. Warranty claims, bad debts, and customers kin will be a bit of a bother when you are the only one to blame / kick. Start handing out sweets and iPods to kids, you will be noticed alright :=>	R2x1 (4628)
706145	2008-09-18 11:12:00	Lol. welcome to life I start work at 7.30am, if Im lucky I get a smoko break in the morning, yesterday I got to have lunch at 1.40pm. Im continually listening to one colleague racing round doing the "the sky is falling, the sky is falling"; another colleague who runs away when the trucks need to be unloaded, not to mention the few customers we get who are annoying when they come to pick up goods. However, I quite like my job (mainly coz of the others I work with) :D Find another job, but stay away from self-employment. If you cant handle customers who are grumpy at you for no good reason, how are you going to react to customers fuming at you coz their computer has taken a week to get repaired, or they got it home and it didnt go, or they get impatient and youre waiting for a part to arrive. Learn how to deal with customers. Learn to find the good points in your job. Its not all roses	Myth (110)
706146	2008-09-18 11:41:00	You get to eat lunch? You're lucky. Once I'm at uni and studying and then tutoring, I wont have anything till about 6pm in the evening and then nothing till about 24 hours later (No, I don't have breakfast)	beeswax34 (63)
706147	2008-09-18 17:58:00	How much do you guys charge? There have been threads created to address this. I would suggest you to do a search. Good luck :)	Renmoo (66)
706148	2008-09-18 19:16:00	(No, I don't have breakfast) Your choice though.	gary67 (56)
706149	2008-09-18 19:41:00	Not meaning to offend those who don't have lunch, but I'm after advice, not info on lunchtimes.	qazwsxokmijn (102)
706150	2008-09-18 19:49:00	I think the transition from hobby to profession would be dangerous at your young age. If you are serious about making such a step then it would pay to get some qualifications. As much as you think you know there is a lot more to learn. Even after any qualifications are gained the learning curve just gets steeper. Take the advice of those here about self-employment, especially in the computer field. If you are going to offer services at a cheap rate then you will attract customers you wish you had never met. I am wondering however whether you are really just wanting to do some under the table cashies, again this is an area you dont want to get mixed up with. Mr IRD has less mercy than Hitler, Mussolini and Pol Pot combined.	sam m (517)
706151	2008-09-18 23:16:00	After a few annoying things too many, I am entirely fed up with customer service in a f***ing supermarket, I've decided enough is enough. I cannot go to lunch at a time normal people usually have theirs (10 in the morning is NOT lunchtime!!!). That on top of bitchy customers who demand you do things that aren't your department, Remove the word supermarket & insert the word 'IT', Its just the same with a lot more stress & pressure.	sroby (11519)
706152	2008-09-18 23:38:00	I am entirely fed up with customer service in a f***ing supermarket, I cannot go to lunch at a time normal people usually have theirs That on top of bitchy customers computer hardware is an amateur hobby of mine Welcome to the world of Grown-ups. EVERY workplace is like that. My son has whinged about every single place he worked in. I could give you a list too, in all the places I've worked. My lunchtime varies from never to 3pm. IT customers are worse, you can expect lots and lots of moaning. Everything will be your fault. If you touch their PC, whatever happens to it from then on will be the result of whatever you did, even if all you did was lean on it. Being an amateur isn't good enough for a business, thats how all these cowboys end up giving us a bad rep. Not to say you are a bad tech but there is a LOT you need to know. Every man and his dog who twiddles at home thinks they then know enough to set up in business. You should know O/Ss before XP too, I have a Win98 one here right now, doing a clean up, installing a NIC and getting her an LCD> Now thats tricky because the graphics in it won't be able to display 1440x900. Did you know that? I've told her, and I ma checking on drivers, if not, then she'll have to have a graphics card put in. Which of course, means it needs an AGP slot. The PC is a bit of a mess too, all sorts of old rubbish in its startup - autoexec.bat etc. Take a look in the Western Leader - that show you how many techs are advertising in just your area. Loads. Then go look at the Yellow Pages and Local Directory at PC shops and repair places. If I was still in Auckland I doubt if I would have started a shop at all - they're a dime a dozen.	pctek (84)
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