Home visits

pandas66

I think the theory of a 13 wiz fixing pc's @ £8 an hour sounds ace to you, after the inital £35 in your pocket. But how are you going to get there? Bike! and then to get the parts? the bus? so thats why in reality a pc repair guy charges more, overheads.
By the way, I think I got a virus, what do I do? free advice swop here!

thewizard

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=193926

Look at the AV bit on that

pandas66

thanks, now go and study!

thewizard

Nope, done enough this weekend, my brain hurts after all that and writing that big guide just for MSE

pandas66

thanks for the 'to do' list, that will make my head hurt! I'm going to print it all out and go though it step bt step.
Where shall i forward the £8.00 (as there was no home visit)

thewizard

lol erm consider it a freebie

The_Geek

Hi TheWizard

I think its pretty amazing the amount you know at the age of 13 and you sound pretty mature in your postings and a lot of business acumen for your age.

Personally I would suggest that when you are older, you do start up your own business. Do it at a time when you have little outgoings and little responsibility should it all fail. I've often wanted to do this but alas I had kids early and although I still dream about jacking it all in to start my own empire, I have to remember that I need to pay the mortgage each month.

I wish I'd have started this when if it all did go pear-shaped, I could turn up at my mum's house for food!

They will happily pay £60-£150/hour to have their car repaired, have a plumber fix a pipe, get an electrician to wire in another plug but seemingly not so much for PCs.

True, so true. I think its because to most people PC's are just an expensive toy. The downside of not having it fixed properly is little. Eg. If you mess up your gas pipes you could blow up your house. Mess up your PC and there's no real harm to life & limb. Thats why businesses pay, the impact to them is much more real.

Oh and also, a plumber is a skilled tradesman, a electrician also. To most people, a IT person is just a geek with no social skills.

The only other main problem discussed was people constantly badgering you after you've been out to do the job. The reality is alot of people like to fiddle and if things mess up again, they will nearly always say that you haven't fixed the problem properly, even if it's unrelated to the original problem.

You get this all the time with businesses too. I remember a classic case when I first started in the industry years ago. A customer called to say their PC didn't work since our engineer had visited. Turns out our engineer had only turned up to deliver a printer and didn't even go near the PC!

Point accepted tho and I think wizards idea of getting customer to sign an acceptance form to say work is completed is a good one.

Thanks all