IT Support to Friends / Family

Tygermoth

Oh and before someone reports me to social Services for being mean to an OAP

My Grampa Is an Optional OAP. He opts in if needs a nasty job doing which he cant be bothered with but acts with outrage and upset if we opt him out because hes older.

Example:

Too weak and feeble to mow his lawn/laundry/do shopping so family have to rotate driving miles to help out. p.s this is not a cry for company... he normaly makes sure hes out at archery or leather stamping class so can leave a list of other 'jobs' to be done. This normaly happens when between Girlfriends who are hapy to wait on him hand and foot.

However, Happy as larry to come along to a week long hill and dale walking holiday because split amongst us its cheap and with his added discounts pays next to nothing. Where he spends the whole day marching ahead of us at the speed of light jollying us along like a drill sergent. Clambering over fence and sty without a care in the world.

Sly old goat.

YORKSHIRELASS

Oh its not just IT, I am an accountant so everyone assumes I am happy to sort out their tax return or check their tax code or whatever.

My parents told a couple of their friends to ask me about their tax returns and to begin with I said this was OK so long as they paid me to do it. Now I just say I havent got time, but I do feel a bit mean sometimes, especially knowing what firms of Accountants will charge.

I always wonder if Doctors get asked for advice about peoples illnesses when they are in the supermarket or the pub or whatever. Would love to know if there are any Doctors on here!

Tygermoth

Not a doctor - but i was a Nurse (many years ago) - I was regularly asked about looking at people random ailments. When i was in Insurance/banking it was how to get a claim through/ppi/bank charges sorted. Gladly though i now do admin and no one knows what that means so i get left alone

Once at a dinner party the bloke next to me insisted on talking about his constipation/piles issue for the entire meal with an offer to 'have a look'

Sambucus_Nigra

Simples.

Ask him what the computer is.

Then ask him what the printer is.

Then tell him he has 2 options. Read the manual to install it [which is free]. Or 'I can come round at 'mates rates', which are half the £60 an hour I usually charge, will be a minimum of an hour's work to fix it'.

Hermia

My uncle is a builder and was sick of people ringing him late at night asking for building advice. Or worse, he would turn up to dinner or a party at someone's house and find they had some work lined up for him to do whilst he was there! He now will only give advice if it's a genuine emergency (e.g. water gushing through the ceiling). If someone wants him to do work he will give them a friends and family quote which is about half the price of his normal rate.

duchy

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I work in support for a large ISP and it's really unbelievable how many of our calls are something like these..........because I'm a soft touch often instead of saying it's not our issue I'll often help them out but there are times I wonder how people manage to get to the shop to even buy a PC. I've lost count how often I've have someone ranting and raving their BB is useless -it isn't working and there's no lights on the router......and I'll ask them to try it in a different plug socket (not because I think it's the plug but because the ruddy thing is UNplugged and they've not had the wit to check)-the decent ones sheepishly apologize and I'll tell them not to worry-it could happen to anyone-the git type ones bluster or just slam the phone down because they feel stoopid.

That said I really do like my job-I'm older than the average techie and female so manage to not intimidate the older/less savvy customers and can coax them into doing stuff they'd refuse point blank to do if you told them what they were actually going to do-although I do get the odd burke who tells me they don't want to talk to a receptionist but a technical person when they hear a female voice (DUH).

Those TextRelay agents have the patience of saints -I need to be patient but they take it to an entirely different level -I couldn't do what they do -most of them are fantastic I've worked with helping a customer.

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

:rotfl: I need that for work, where I AM the accidental techie ...

One of my latest requests was to check someone's sound, because the speakers on their monitor were no longer working, but they were able to use headphones. "I've checked all my settings and I can't find anything."

"All I will do is check the lead is in firmly at both ends, and then check you haven't muted it by mistake."

"No, I've done that."

Today I got a chance to check their sound. Pulled lead out at both ends, plugged it back in again, hey presto, sound. :mad:

Yesterday was "we haven't got internet on this machine." Well, that would be because the machine says you're not connected. Oh look, there's an internet cable unplugged on the floor, I wonder if plugging it back in will make a difference? Gosh, it does ...

What I find particularly frustrating in all this is that NONE OF WHAT I DO IS ROCKET SCIENCE! And yet no-one, but NO-ONE, seems willing to try anything, not even checking cables are pushed in firmly! Or re-booting.

BTW, if you want some REAL fun, try using Text Relay (a service for the deaf where they speak and your answers are sent to a text screen) to troubleshoot GMail while you are not at a computer. The deaf and computer illiterate person is describing (badly) what they can see on their screen, and you are trying to work out what their options are. You are fairly sure they've been logged out, but since they are denying that logging in is one of the options they can see, and since they have also decided that the password carefully written in their diary doesn't have to be entered exactly as written, and since they are also trying to use their gmail password at their computer account login prompt and vice versa - well let's just say I felt sorry for the TextRelay operator, typing the same thing over and over again!

foxtrot_mike

This particular issue has actually brought me to tears, my father has been asking me every day morning and night when im going to call this individual, apparently he has been stressing about it so much to resort to passing that on to me when im about to leave for work in the morning.

I've now resorted to doing this particular one but i have said that im not prepared to do any more free IT support on demand.

He said that his friend only asked him for me to call him so im not sure what all the stress is about, If it was me i just wouldn't bother to ring back.

Thanks for your help, but i just want to be more prepared in the future, as it seems that my father is not able to say no on my behalf leaving me in a bad spot.

pulliptears

We also have issues with friends and family who we never hear from unless they have computer/phone issues. The solution? We play thick.

"ooh I'm sorry I'm not familiar with that phone so I can't help"
"I don't know, computers have moved on a great deal since I last tinkered with them"

Other half is a technology geek so does know and can fix, but as he doesn't do that for a living they believe that he is clueless now

peaceandfreedom

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

What I find particularly frustrating in all this is that NONE OF WHAT I DO IS ROCKET SCIENCE! And yet no-one, but NO-ONE, seems willing to try anything, not even checking cables are pushed in firmly! Or re-booting.

Reminds me of someone I know who, around the year 2000, declared his computer 'had the Y2K bug'. Intriqued, I enquired further and apparently the computer wouldn't power up any more. A quick check revealed the reason - it was no longer plugged in at the socket.

The computer doesn't power up and you don't think to check it's actually plugged in!!! Beggars belief.

peaceandfreedom

foxtrot_mike wrote: »

This particular issue has actually brought me to tears, my father has been asking me every day morning and night when im going to call this individual, apparently he has been stressing about it so much to resort to passing that on to me when im about to leave for work in the morning.

I've now resorted to doing this particular one but i have said that im not prepared to do any more free IT support on demand.

He said that his friend only asked him for me to call him so im not sure what all the stress is about, If it was me i just wouldn't bother to ring back.

Thanks for your help, but i just want to be more prepared in the future, as it seems that my father is not able to say no on my behalf leaving me in a bad spot.

Well, you have my sympathy but you are going to have to be firm with your Dad in future. It's very unfair of him to volunteer your services in this way, I'd be furious if it were me.

Tell him no one else works for people for free, why should you? We have friends who we socialise with who also do work for us - plumber, electrician, accountant, gardener, plasterer, builder - we pay them as we would anyone else - I mean would you call a window cleaner and ask them to pop around and spend an hour cleaning your windows for absolutely nothing?

It's crazy. Put your foot down, foxtrot_mike.