# Computer Repair



## Nathan (Jul 21, 2003)

Have any of you guys ever paid for someone to fix your Home / Small Business PC/Network?

If so how much did you pay and did you have to bring it somewhere or did they come to you? Was it by the hour?
How much would this type of service be worth to you?

Thanks


----------



## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

Nathan I handle all the networking for the company i work for. I have hooked up so many lans on MS based systems it got boring.

Right now I am in the midsts of customizing a Redhat linux box to be networked into a windows based system. The linux box will be the brain of the network, file server, print server, CRM server etc...

I know network guys in Chicago charge anywhere from $120 an hour before the bubble burst to about $50 on the lowest end I've seen now. Like any estimateing, Nathan, figure what your time is worth and your overhead. 

You could probably give estimates for various networking tasks, for example hooking up DSL is easy and takes me about 1 hour. L:ike anything you will need to identify exactly what they want. Will you be running cables through walls, under carpet etc...? How many computers? What type of security, firewall, vpn etc...? What type of hardware, Dlink or Cisco?

It's up to you to decide if you should do it by the hour or flat fee. What you can do is call a few companies in your area and discuss it with them as if you are a potential clustomer. I know this is a waste of their time but it happens to all of us every day.


----------



## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

Oh I forgot to mention, one problem I had... When I was designing web sites, I would also do computer administration and repair for many of my clients. Here is the problem:

They just don't know! Really they just don't know anything about what your talking about and they don't know how to accurately convey their wants and needs in accurate terms. This causes confusion in the end sometimes.

What's funny is you are going where I was and I am going where you were. I'd be happy to further discuss this in PM or email.


----------



## Nathan (Jul 21, 2003)

Intresting. I'll send you a PM.

I've not made any real plans yet, just thinking out loud. 
Check out this company to see what I'm talking about: http://www.geeksoncall.com/
They basically make house calls to fix problems. 

I would subcontract work out to tech guys with certs who are looking for a job. There are a lot of them out there right now!
This thought started out with a problem my Dad had with his PC. I was down in Florida and couldn't help him install his NIC card. Finally I just said, "you know you could always take it to Best Buy." He was excited. He said he would much rather pay someone than do it himself. I think they charged him $60 and he had to haul the PC to the store. It takes maybe 30mins to install a NIC card and driver.
My though, I bet there are a lot of people who would just rather pay some to fix their problems than try to do it themselves. 
I wonder if there's a market for such a business?


----------



## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

I've heard of geeksoncall I think they had an article in some computer mag I used to read.

Nathan let me tell you there is a market. Especially for small businesses 5-10 office employees. They are usually too small to have a full time guy, and too busy to do it them selves. 

My boss is lucky I do almost all the repairs for us. What I don't do is because my assistant beats me to it.


----------

