PC Repair Business - Hints and tips

Antispam

I used to do Pcs many years ago for mates/friends etc. I hated it they would call you all hours and they expect you at a drop of a hat to fix there problem, and the reward a few quid and I mean that, and more hassle. I stop doing this because of it, and just think whats its like running a buisness.

I stick with doing my own and giving old pcs to family. In fact I got a pc for Freecycle but even when I tried to get rid of it tahtw ay some idiots expected it to be a laptop

motorguy

I was thinking about this today - its about a year since i stopped doing it. I've already listed the issues i had, but was trying to put some 'rules' around it as it were. Heres my thoughts

Small ad in local paper, newsagents windows, local noticeboards 'Computer and laptop repairs by IT Specialist. Free pickup & return. Also broadband callouts. No fix no fee' Pay-as-you-go mobile number. Ensure professional message on mobile phone for out of hours 'thank you for calling IT solutions, our hours of business are 0900 to 2000, please leave a message and we'll have someone phone you back during those times'. Switch phone off if outside of that timeframe.

Broadband callouts. £40. Ensure customer clear on that and broadband username / password present before visit. Bring spare (known working) router, own laptop for testing. Upsell opportunities - modem based broadband to wireless, usb stick wireless dongle to wireless card, dodgy mouse to new mouse, tatty keyboard and mouse to wireless keyboard and mouse. CRT monitor to TFT monitor, small TFT to larger widescreen. Also consider 'trade ins' of TFT screens as there is always a home for those. RAM upgrades - XP to 1GB, Vista to 2GB. Also minimise programs running at startup if RAM upgrade fitted to maximise perceived benefits.

Pickups. 15 min review. Document symptoms. Advise of minimum charge - £30, max £45. Will phone with quote if more than that. If computer heavily virus infested recommend 'special offer' of full reinstall for £45, inc AVG install and openoffice. Check for upsell opportunities as above.

Returning the unit. Prepare invoice of symptoms, and resolution. Sign off by customer after demo of issue resolved. Upsell opportunities as above - even something simple like 'i notice your mouse seems to stick - we have new optical mice for just £5' - that £3 might cover your petrol costs.

If customer interested in maybe a new screen but not spending at that point, ring at start of next month (ie, just after payday) with 'special offer' on screen.

Keep a stock of

• RAM
• keyboards
• mice
• PSU's
• wireless routers
• wireless cards

Most of the above are 'double your money'

• one or two TFT screens
• cheap but good brand printer or two - epson maybe

Maybe £20 - £30 profit in those.

If a typical repair is maybe £40, then if you could upsell something while there you could maybe average another £10 per callout.

Anyone any additions?

Tesla

That is very good advice from Paul.

I appreciate it's down to personal preference but I have a real hate for printer fixing.

I have found Canon printers to be all-rounders really. Ink price is reasonable, printer cost is reasonable, reliability and print quality are all round great.

I have got through a fair few Epson printers myself but never a Canon, I have never had to repair a Canon printer either. Even something like a paper-jam!

Perhaps due to Epson/HP being more popular but Canon everytime from me.

Another little thing worth keeping: Micro Filters, good selection of cables. A USB cable is around £10 on the high street!

motorguy

Tesla wrote: »

That is very good advice from Paul.

I appreciate it's down to personal preference but I have a real hate for printer fixing.

I have found Canon printers to be all-rounders really. Ink price is reasonable, printer cost is reasonable, reliability and print quality are all round great.

I have got through a fair few Epson printers myself but never a Canon, I have never had to repair a Canon printer either. Even something like a paper-jam!

Perhaps due to Epson/HP being more popular but Canon everytime from me.

Another little thing worth keeping: Micro Filters, good selection of cables. A USB cable is around £10 on the high street!

Fair comment about the printers. They're almost disposable now given the price of a half reasonable ink jet printer. I said epson because there is an epson repair centre near me. Very handy for that call six months later 'its not printing black anymore', you can just reply sure drop it into the repair centre..

Yes, when i was doing it i bought a box of 40 USB cables at a time - maybe £1 to buy, £5 to sell.

IT_nerd

I've priced myself at £5 callout and £10 an hour.
If I solve the problem within 5 mins I just charge £5.
But I only really do this with people I know. All word of mouth.
And only local.
It's really more of a networking thing than a money making thing. The more people you know, etc.

Edit: Also, I third, fourth and fith printers being a pain in the rear. They're so illogical.

motorguy

IT_nerd wrote: »

I've priced myself at £5 callout and £10 an hour.
If I solve the problem within 5 mins I just charge £5.
But I only really do this with people I know. All word of mouth.
And only local.
It's really more of a networking thing than a money making thing. The more people you know, etc.

Edit: Also, I third, fourth and fith printers being a pain in the rear. They're so illogical.

That is such a recipe for disaster. Whether you charge £5 or £50 for a callout, people will expect you to stand over it (or any other subsequent fault they can pin on you).

'Networking' is all very well but i'm not sure what you expect to gain out of it by setting a '£5 a time' expectation - certainly not a viable / growable business or even a sideline.

If you're callout is £30 then if you fix it in 5 mins, take half an hour and remove the dross at startup and make sure they have AV running - if not download AVG. They would have been made aware that you charge £30 callout so you would simply be 'adding value' to that £30 as they're computer will be fixed and you've made a couple of corrections.

You may think its nice to 'do people a favour' at a really cheap rate, but ultimately they (being the general public) will wear you down and abuse your hospitality. When that does happen, at least be able to walk away with some money in your pocket.

IT_nerd

It's not really a business plan. Just favors and covering my cost.
The reason I do this is so if they say I owe them anything, I obviously don't.
If you charge a real price, people (as you rightly said) will expect you to to fix every little fault that could be related in the future.

Tesla

If you charge a "real price" it's actually worth doing though?!

IT_nerd

Why are you talking about customer bases and such? I do it as a favor. It's literally charge to cover my costs. And I do it only 3 or 4 times a year.
I think I can afford to charge mates rates...
Jeez.
There's such thing as being TOO money minded you know.

motorguy

IT_nerd wrote: »

Why are you talking about customer bases and such? I do it as a favor. It's literally charge to cover my costs. And I do it only 3 or 4 times a year.
I think I can afford to charge mates rates...
Jeez.
There's such thing as being TOO money minded you know.

And theres such a thing as not giving people all the facts. :rolleyes:

Personally, if you're only doing it three or four times a year, why bother charging at all?

I only look after family and close friends computers now and i dont bother charging for my time and am not therefore under any obligation to them - if you're doing it as a business (ie, what the thread is about not what you might charge your mates) then that becomes an entirely different matter.

BTW - Bearing in mind we're on the small business forum discussing running a business, i dont think you can be TOO money minded.