Computer Repairs - What are you charging?

[CalixPapi]

I'm sure most of you get asked, "Can you look at my computer?". Since I graduated I have more and more people (family, friends, co-workers) ask if I can help them out. Most of the time I was looking at it as experience so I wouldn't really charge anything. The most I would tell them is if it needs new hardware pay for that and we are good. I would tend to get busy after taking a pc and if I felt I was holding the unit for too long I would tell them I am sorry and wouldn't charge anything at all. After a few of these jobs word got out that I was doing it for cheap and would take care of their problems so I was starting to get swamped with requests. Every party I went to was random questions on how to make their phones, tablets, laptops run better.

Then started the big problem. I was setting my services way too low and was getting taken advantage of. My old neighbor started with simple laptop that I recommended having the OS reinstalled to clear any junk that was not needed. Apparently he did not see any difference after I finished and kept "joking" that I "owed him one". So he came to me and asked to price him the costs of a CAD machine. So after doing research and trying to keep the price down as much as possible I finally priced it to $1200. Instead he brings me an old XP machine that he got from his brother in law that the family swore was a good machine because he built it back in the day to play WoW.    He asked if I could just price what the upgrade costs to the machine would be. Then the "pushing" began. I was still in school at this time and felt that the grades to graduate were more important than the $40 dollars he would pay for my time. I would always let him know that it might take some time however. I honestly don't think he ever even looked at the list I made up for the custom machine. I eventually just loaded Windows 7 on the XP machine to have the video card die on me halfway through the process. There was thick layer of dust in the system that no amount of canned air (or air compressor) was going to blow out. I was asked to fix his mother in laws XP laptop because it was running slow. I put a separate drive in that one an loaded W7 just to see how the machine would react and it did nothing so popped in the old drive and gave it back stating that a newer laptop would be more helpful and was asked to give a write up about what I did to the system. All the time I had the machines was constantly asked everyday where I was with it. The last job was to look at another XP desktop, this time the father in laws, and try to fix it up. I never even got the machine booted up as the PSU was dead but all the time was asked when am I going to have it finished as he needed it for his taxes and had very important files on it. Asked several times when was the last time it was turned on and never got a straight answer. Gave the system back and was then asked the very next day if I could recover the data because of the tax documents and it needed to be done ASAP as the father in law was on his back to get it fixed. The problem is I already was going to when I had the machine but it was an older IDE drive and I no longer had any IDE interface motherboards. So I ran to FRYS after work and picked up an IDE/SATA to USB adapter and went to recover the data. I was really surprised when I asked if he had a hard drive that he wanted me to put the data on but instead brought out a newer W7 machine that he was going to give the father in law. The best part was the old drive had ONE document for tax purposes! It was however filled with pictures and pirated music back from limewire and frostwire days that was filled with viruses. I transferred the data and cleaned all of the viruses. Made a whopping $60 that time because he had to pay for the adapter and was asked "did I give you enough money this time".     During the last moments of the transaction he told me about a "few" more projects that he wanted my help with like running lines from his office to the garage to connect security cameras to his network so he could remotely watch them and other BS. I honestly was trying to keep the prices low or tell him I wasnt charging him so he could just leave me alone but that was not smart thinking because he was so cheap i probably could have charged him high ONE time and he would never come back to me. At the time of the last job I moved to an apartment. About a week later he left me a distraught voicemail saying that the new desktop wont load into windows anymore and that the father in law "only plugged it in and turned it on" and that it needed to be fixed ASAP because he needed the document for his taxes. I told him I was busy with other stuff and after a few weeks I heard he just took it to GeekSquad. Hasnt talked to me since.

I have taken a few other jobs lately and have told them it wont be a next day service but it will get done and some have changed their minds so a small deterrent for difficult people. I still actually like doing this as it gives me experience I otherwise wouldn't be exposed to.

Big rant but wanted to express my client from hell and thus ask what you good people are charging for your services if you are working on PCs. Have been trying to compile a list of of base services or try to get down an hourly rate.

[pbj]

"No."  Easy as that, friend.

[yotsuya]

I just tell people to pay me what they think is fair.  More often than not, they pay me more than I would have asked, so it's all good.

[pbj]

I just tell people to pay me what they think is fair. 

 

Fool me once....

[yotsuya]

I just tell people to pay me what they think is fair. 

 

Fool me once....

Free for family, strangers must pay. Since they know Geek Squad is like $75 an hour, I usually do pretty well. 

[CalixPapi]

"No."  Easy as that, friend.

I was trying to be the nice guy before but have found myself more fluent with the word "NO", probably help from my kids. 

I just tell people to pay me what they think is fair. 

 

Fool me once....

Free for family, strangers must pay. Since they know Geek Squad is like $75 an hour, I usually do pretty well. 

Funny thing is my family typically pays me very well. It's others that try to barely pay me at all or try get free services and i refuse to take a check payment as that always comes with strings attached ie wait until this day, under a full moon, after you see a white car then there SHOULD be money in my account.

[yotsuya]

"No."  Easy as that, friend.

I was trying to be the nice guy before but have found myself more fluent with the word "NO", probably help from my kids. 

I just tell people to pay me what they think is fair. 

 

Fool me once....

Free for family, strangers must pay. Since they know Geek Squad is like $75 an hour, I usually do pretty well. 

Funny thing is my family typically pays me very well. It's others that try to barely pay me at all or try get free services and i refuse to take a check payment as that always comes with strings attached ie wait until this day, under a full moon, after you see a white car then there SHOULD be money in my account.

I do most of my repairs for people who are retirees (I help a retired teacher, and she refers me to her friends), so I'm not looking to make a buck off of them. Honestly, I'd do it for free but my wife would kill me. Many times, I don't even accept everything they offer because I wouldn't feel right taking $40 for fixing a single setting in Outlook.

Having said that, if I did a full Windows restore or something and a person offered me $10, I'd never do work for them again.

[behrmr]

This is exactly why I made a point of telling everyone that I do not fix any old computers or do upgrades to anything older than 5 years. This was an epiphany I had while fixing my nephews. I was sitting on the edge of his bed in the house alone working on a repurposed corporate pc that was a piece of junk. So now Instead I offer to help configure something new.  People who know little about computers seem to have very big expectations of those who do.

[CalixPapi]

"No."  Easy as that, friend.

I was trying to be the nice guy before but have found myself more fluent with the word "NO", probably help from my kids. 

I just tell people to pay me what they think is fair. 

 

Fool me once....

Free for family, strangers must pay. Since they know Geek Squad is like $75 an hour, I usually do pretty well. 

Funny thing is my family typically pays me very well. It's others that try to barely pay me at all or try get free services and i refuse to take a check payment as that always comes with strings attached ie wait until this day, under a full moon, after you see a white car then there SHOULD be money in my account.

I do most of my repairs for people who are retirees (I help a retired teacher, and she refers me to her friends), so I'm not looking to make a buck off of them. Honestly, I'd do it for free but my wife would kill me. Many times, I don't even accept everything they offer because I wouldn't feel right taking $40 for fixing a single setting in Outlook.

Having said that, if I did a full Windows restore or something and a person offered me $10, I'd never do work for them again.

I take time out to sit with older family members and teach them a few things on their iPhones and Androids just because nobody else will and they don't utilize their devices. I go to my fiancees aunt's house and hold a "class" every once in awhile to teach them their computer and phone. It helps them a lot and keeps me practicing.

This is exactly why I made a point of telling everyone that I do not fix any old computers or do upgrades to anything older than 5 years. This was an epiphany I had while fixing my nephews. I was sitting on the edge of his bed in the house alone working on a repurposed corporate pc that was a piece of junk. So now Instead I offer to help configure something new.  People who know little about computers seem to have very big expectations of those who do.

I have put a ban on XP machines. No Vista.  Sometimes I will still take a look at them just to be nice but 98% of the time it is a no.


My great uncle recently brought me his machine because of a virus and apparently the last guy that worked on his system installed a custom W7 image and stole his video card. Don't know who would be that bold to take a major component of a custom build but unfortunately my uncle wasn't as computer savy to realize what was missing, he was just confused when he got it back and had an extra cord in his hand that didnt match up with the pc and had to find a new cord to plug in his monitor.

[SNAAKE]

give your price and dont negotiate. thats how I run my xbox business. what I charge is more than fair. don't like it then go elsewhere...which is nowhere 

[Generic Eric]

I was paid up to $29 for what amounted to tech/desktop support.  I start there.  Or barter.  One person I did work for paid in ground beef from the cattle they raised. 

The new tech gets in they way of helping people.  I'm not inclined to learn Win8 at this point and I don't have an iPhone.

I have one person I do work with periodically that likes to make sure he paid me enough.  I think its his way of admitting he needs help and subsequent guilt for not knowing.  He has a bizarre problem that mp3s moving on his old machine.  I'm reluctant to carrying on about it here because a.) It doesn't make sense b.) I'll be making money from it when I work on it.  He is one of the retired folks that drinks coffee every morning at the gas station, I don't know if that is a local thing or not but I never noticed it before moving up here.  He said to call so and so down the road because he needs help, but I'm not interested in chasing after leads right now.

Don't beat around the bush about the machine.  I don't care to keep someone ones XP machine running.  If it needs a RAM upgrade I'll say so.  If that won't cover it, tell them to call back when they have bought a new machine.

Do you do home visits?  I've had cable installers come in with the white room booties over their shoes.  I thought that was a nice touch.

Additionally, I don't believe everyone needs a computer now a days.  I think tablets fill that low tech/high info ratio well. 

Finally, know your competition.  If the guy down the road will do the same work, even if for more, tell them they can queue up or pay the other dude extra.   

[Malenko]

I charge more than what I get paid at my real job, 1.5x to be exact. I put in my 40 hours a week, so anything else I have to do is overtime.  I make some exceptions for family but its few and far between. If you do something well, don't ever do it for free.


Also, since M$ doesn't support XP, neither do I.

[CalixPapi]

I was pushed into learning W8 and honestly don't have much to say either way about it but am not looking to "upgrade" to it. I was an Android user for awhile but have more Apple products that like to talk to each other so going with it for awhile.

I do home visits sometimes but have been making them come drop their machines off to me. This gives me a good idea about how serious they are about the repairs. If they give it to somebody else to drop it off to me they wait longer because then they are all of a sudden unavailable to answer simple questions about what went wrong and what do they want saved if anything at all.

Had one family member send his pc with somebody else and would not respond to my calls or texts so after a week and a half I dropped it off at their house. A month later he text me and said the computer was doing the same thing and told him that is because I never worked on it. Two weeks after that he text back why? Now he won't look me in the eye at parties and heard he was trying to talk ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- about the work I do.

[Mr_Numbers]

I have a system just like Malenko, I charge 1.5x what my hourly is.  Repeat customers I only charge 1.25x or about 25-30/hour.  The trick with being in business is to be fair but stern about what you want to get paid. 

[Le Chuck]

Computer repairs/upgrades are barter only.  If they want to pay cash they can go elsewhere.  As soon as I take cash they expect lifetime tech support.  Same reason I don't make machines for much above cost.  I let them know that it's a hobby and I'm doing it for enough that I'm not going broke making them a machine.  Limits the tech support calls. 

[knave]

... they expect lifetime tech support...

This is the reason I almost always say no. (Except for mom...mom does get lifetime free tech support.)

But when I do charge, I charge ~$50-$100/hr depending on the issue.

[eds1275]

I said it somewhere else on this site. My time is precious to me, and if you take that away. its going to cost you. it doesn't matter if I enjoy doing it, or if its a hobby of mine, but I don't have enough time for my own needs as it is!

[ark_ader]

Don't do it.  Once you offer, then you have the guy for life.  I did a casual upgrade for a guy for $50, and all he did was pester me for free stuff.  If anyone asks for help, send them to Office Depot.  Also if you are thinking of doing this work for a living, then get a help desk/technician job at a company.  Last time I decided to go into business, the clients ended up paying 120+ days on each invoice.

[BadMouth]

TL;DNR, but I have a client who is a very vocal Mac fan and has someone who charges him by the hour to sit and watch his OS reinstall.
They my troubleshoot for an hour first, but always end up reinstalling.  The bill is usually for two or three hours at $100/hour.
It happens at least once a year.

+1 on being stuck providing service for life.  Never again will I give a family member an old computer or work on theirs.
Suddenly you're obligated to provide lifetime service.  Lately I've used the "I don't know anything about windows 8" excuse.

[pbj]

What kind of peasantry is still using a personal computer at home?  If it's for business use, they can pay someone else to do it.

[CalixPapi]

I am already doing this so I was just seeing what the trend has been for others as far as pricing. Once a skill set is brought into my extended family you get bugged. No way around it and I do like helping family. I do value my time too and I am not looking at this to make a living. I have my full time job and I am in computers so its not a stretch for me to do these jobs on the side. The lifetime support is exactly what the neighbor in the original post was trying to get. Honestly if he didnt try to rush me for every job I would still be helping him but this is why I have started setting boundaries and looking for a way to charge fairly because I do get asked what is it going to cost and when I make it low then all of the other requests come into it.

Doing these jobs however has opened connections to other tech savy people that I probably would not have met unless through the weird chains of clients. So its not a total waste of time IMO.

[knave]

Don't forget that on average a $200 computer will meet the needs of most of the folks who need to ask for support. Two hours of your time or a shiny new budget system...

[Generic Eric]

Don't forget that on average a $200 computer will meet the needs of most of the folks who need to ask for support. Two hours of your time or a shiny new budget system...

I don't necessarily support your notion here.  Spec me a $200 PC.  If anything, most people need a tablet. Now spec a tablet that is going to give a well rounded experience. 

[Vigo]

Pushing family and friends to switch to Win7 and Chrome has dramatically dropped requests I have gotten. These days, shady routers are the only things I seem to get asked about, and every time I just told them to buy a new router and all was fixed.

[SavannahLion]

I help my mom, my immediate family and one old retired guy (whose PC is now in my garage waiting for a new part) that's it. If people ask I tell them it's outside of my field or that I don't do it anymore. The number of zombie XP boxes floating around now is ball dropping and the viruses are some of the nastiest I've seen so far.

I'm not a kid anymore and I have a family to take care. I can't blow another 20 hours a week for no pay fixing someone elses zombie crap.

There was a time, long ago, when I genuinely thought these people I helped would help me get jobs, discounts, whatever. Don't believe what they tell you, it's all lies. All of it. They DO NOT have a position open in their company, in their relatives startup or any other place of business at all. Their discounts are crap. And if whatever they have to offer is useful, it will be off the table within a day after fixing their PC. If they want to offer me a reliable job, give me the job first then i'll fix their PC.

So like PBJ says, just say no....

[yotsuya]

I'd probably have them pick up a cheap W7 machine off Arrow Direct if they're still running XP.

[pbj]

Arrow Direct?  No thanks.  That junk is fine for running Galaga at 95% speed.  Off lease computer equipment is a sure fire way to guarantee continual tech support.

Last laptop I bought was $300 new.  Didn't even send it out for bids - just told OfficeMax to send me the cheapest thing they had.

Previous to that, unbeknownst to me, a team of experts collectively worth $1,000+/hr had spent hours fighting the old one.  Reinstalling everything, dealing with lazy IT, having it crash at meetings.  On and on.  Key piece of equipment using specialized software, so they couldn't do without it. 

They get the new one and all those problems go away.  New one runs like a dream.

"What should we do with the old one?"

"THROW IT AWAY!"

 

[yotsuya]

Arrow Direct?  No thanks.  That junk is fine for running Galaga at 95% speed.  Off lease computer equipment is a sure fire way to guarantee continual tech support.

Last laptop I bought was $300 new.  Didn't even send it out for bids - just told OfficeMax to send me the cheapest thing they had.

Previous to that, unbeknownst to me, a team of experts collectively worth $1,000+/hr had spent hours fighting the old one.  Reinstalling everything, dealing with lazy IT, having it crash at meetings.  On and on.  Key piece of equipment using specialized software, so they couldn't do without it. 

They get the new one and all those problems go away.  New one runs like a dream.

"What should we do with the old one?"

"THROW IT AWAY!"

 

Enh, the people I know that would be using them are going to be sending emails, looking for recipes, maybe some online banking, and sending out photos of the grandkids. They don't give a crap about running Gauntlet Legends at any speed. Arrow Direct stuff would work for them. Better an off-lease Dell than an old eMachine.

[Admiral688]

First off you don't make much off of the home user/casual user. I'll usually fix casual issues for family, but nothing older than Win7. I deal with this stuff for isps professionally and maintain a side business maintaining professional businesses and charge between $125-200 per hr.

[knave]

Don't forget that on average a $200 computer will meet the needs of most of the folks who need to ask for support. Two hours of your time or a shiny new budget system...

I don't necessarily support your notion here.  Spec me a $200 PC.  If anything, most people need a tablet. Now spec a tablet that is going to give a well rounded experience.

This is just the first example I found in less than a minute.

Acer 15.6" Aspire Laptop 4GB 500GB Celeron N2830 2.16GHz win 8.1 ($213.49)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9660138&CatId=4935

Its not the fastest CPU but would surf/Facebook/Email fine. I don't mind refurbs.

I use the Dell Core i5 with 8 gigs of ram that I got from Arrow Everyday. It was $200.  They are out there.

[Malenko]

even faster than that is the $125 i5 with 4GB of RAM that TKWarrior is selling, with a fresh valid Win7 license installed.

[lilshawn]

Spec me a $200 PC.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VRnNjX

can i keep the extra 53 bucks?

[dkersten]

I charge family the most.  In my case they can afford it and this prevents them from calling me 20 times a week asking stupid questions and asking me to spend my Saturdays at their house trying to make their computers run faster.  Since I work for my family business and my dad is the CEO, he gets free tech support, but the calls aren't TOO bad simply because he knows exactly how many hours I work already.

For close friends, tech support is mostly free, but again these are close friends and they know how disrespectful it is to ask for constant tech support. 

For others, I either decline or tell them to pay what they think it is worth.  I have always been overpaid this way because they already know what it costs for GeekSquad to come out and help them. 

There is one exception to all of this.  If the person I am helping does something for a living that is useful to me, I will fix computers and do support for them for free, but then when I need their services I also expect them for free.  It is expected and it works out in the end.  I do a lot of home renovation and the such, and I have saved thousands of dollars having things I can't (or won't) do myself for free or for a steep discount.

When it comes to computer repair, it more or less follows the rules of Karma.. the more you help others, the more that will come back around later.

[Connorsdad]

It also seems that if you're 'The computer guy' people think that they don't need to ask you to help them, it's a case of 'you're the one that can sort this for me, I'll drop my laptop/desktop/$h!theap in tomorrow'.

Like an idiot I didn't charge folk but word got around regarding my love of JD whisky, at one point I had around 12 litre bottles of the stuff!

I finally nipped it in the bud as my time was no longer my own

Any other skill/trade, people will happily pay a decent amount and appreciate what you have done, whereas fixing someone's pc is seen as a trivial 5 minute job.