How much for fixing comps?

Airwolf1

My friend who does this (it is his living) charges £50ph, and has various clients. I do odd bits and pieces, more often than not for family and friends, and don't get paid.

azzaelectro

A company I used to work for 4 years ago had to call out an "Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer", £150 call out chagre and I think it was about £90 an hour.

So a £20 call out charge ain't that bad!

AzzA

isofa

azzaelectro wrote: »

A company I used to work for 4 years ago had to call out an "Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer", £150 call out chagre and I think it was about £90 an hour.

So a £20 call out charge ain't that bad!

AzzA

Yes but you are talking business to business services, I'm a consultant and have a high day rate, but, you can't charge this to a home user!

It's a totally different marketplace, and one I'd personally avoid like the plague unless you want zero respect and a very poor IT career.

tomsolomon

All reputable IT professionals have qualifications. It realy narks me when I see people advertising quick fixes for your PC in the local rag for £20-£30. Go get some nuts, and some qualifications, before you can say you can fix a PC.
And before you consider taking it to PC World, bear this in mind. I asked a Manager at the afore mentioned store if they sold anti static wrist straps, to which the reply came "Whats one of those. Oh, Oh we dont sell those I don't think":rotfl:
Seriously, it might be like a lego set or mechano to some people, but to someone in the know its highly sensitive piece of electronic engineering, very easily damaged in the wrong hands, and not to be messed with lightly.

I have one question for II D2 II......
"Do you have any liability insurance???"

ormus

i charge 40 quid for the first hour. (domestic users).
(cisco qualified).

azzaelectro

isofa wrote: »

Yes but you are talking business to business services, I'm a consultant and have a high day rate, but, you can't charge this to a home user!

It's a totally different marketplace, and one I'd personally avoid like the plague unless you want zero respect and a very poor IT career.

Yes I know that's B2B, I was just making an example of how far the charges can go!

I'd much rather pay £90 an hour knowing my computer is in the safe hands of an expert than some local know it all grandad who's only advise is to wipe the computer and reinstall windows. So your paying £20/30 an hour for him to sit there and drink tea!

And don't get me started on PC World...nothing suppries me these days out of that place lol....anti static wrist straps, what are they lol! Funny because that reminded me on a recent trip to China, I toured an electronics factory, one woman, American might I add....said to me after the tour, she was sickened that staff were chained to there desks...after laughing at her for a few minutes I later explained that they were "anti static wrist straps" so they don't damage the circuits.

During my college days I had a techy friend who used to work there part time, he was defo the most techy person there, the manager was nearing 60 and could barely use an computer let alone comment on them, he just lived on the pricables that the higher the numbers the better lol...obv not when Dual Core were coming out around that time as well!

Finally they made him head techy, as most of the other techs just used to give out new laptops even if the problem was just something as small as reintalling windows on returned laptops...these laptops would then just pile high up in the stock room.

My friend now buys up all the faulty and returned laptops from DSG Limted which controls PC World, Dixsons and Currys repairs them and makes decent living off it.

ormus

ormus wrote: »

i charge 40 quid for the first hour. (domestic users).
(cisco qualified).

re commercial/business users, i charge 320 quid per 8 hr day. (1 day min).

Conor_3

tomsolomon wrote: »

Go get some nuts, and some qualifications, before you can say you can fix a PC.

Completely and utterly worthless. One only has to look at the reasons the MCSE was devalued. You could do a home study course, take the test and become MCSE without ever having touched a network or server. In fact I reckon you could have passed the MCSE without ever having touched a computer if the paper based course materials were good enough.

http://mcpmag.com/columns/article.asp?editorialsid=974

mdbarber

d900 wrote: »

well sometimes people do pay for me to simply click a button or 2 im afraid..its not my choice i just fix them and have done now for some 20 years - no call out, no travel charges and £20 an hour, for the larger business i set a retainer and then they can abuse me as much as they like it seems to work well as i know i am always busy and while something like reinstalling windows or moving to a hosted exchange solution may take a long time most of that is sitting around and waiting i use that time to do other work or have a break

i fix family/friends for free but dont let them take advantage as soon as they know someone "knows about computers" you have a job for life and they never learn anything.

so basically you are saying you work on another persons machine, and charge that person for that time, whilst you are working on another and charging another for your time??, sounds a bit dishonest to me?.
Only joking about that but have to say that original simple principle was so very badly communicated.
Also the OP was about call out charges for on-site repairs, which by the sound of it you don't actually do
If you did you would realise that it is not polite to charge one person for your time and work on another persons machine whilst in the first persons house.
And all in all if you do on-site repairs £20 ph -tax and ni, less current car expenses and deprecation on spares etc etc means you are on minimum wage or less dude.

d900

basically its a pain - dont support home users you have no control of the environment - look after business users and lock them down