Friends & Family
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
I used to be nice and generous with those kind of requests, but it got to where I always had multiple computers waiting for all of my free time. Once I started insisting on (minor) payment, far fewer people bother me about it. At most, I only charge $20, plus cost of any parts required. I am willing to accept goods/services as payment (usually soda, beer, or a bottle of liquor). My sole exception to insisting on compensation is when the computer owner is wanting to learn how to maintain their computer themselves. I will happily teach those skills a time or two.
Semper Fidelis
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
Yes offer to charge them. But always remember you offer to charge them you have to pay them for whatever services they might be willing to offer in the future. I have a plumber on one side of me and an electrical guy on the other and across the street is the local butcher. I do whatever they want whenever they want. I end up with alot of free stuff. Like my garage wired for free, installed new water heater etc... and summer bar b ques on my street are awesome. Just saying!
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
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Yes offer to charge them. But always remember you offer to charge them you have to pay them for whatever services they might be willing to offer in the future. I have a plumber on one side of me and an electrical guy on the other and across the street is the local butcher. I do whatever they want whenever they want. I end up with alot of free stuff. Like my garage wired for free, installed new water heater etc... and summer bar b ques on my street are awesome. Just saying!
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
plumber, electrician, butcher - that's just a great story!
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
I moved away from my family. :-D I think the only help I gave in the last twenty years was to help a (non-tech savvy, older) neighbor get his laptop to communicate with his printer. Aside from that I like the phrases "twenty bucks" and "what's in it for me?" -- usually delivered to my wife.
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
Unless it is immediate family I tell them I don't know anything about hardware so can't really help. Course, if anyone I know is reading this I'm screwed...
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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plumber, electrician, butcher - that's just a great story!
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
A plumber, an electrician, a butcher, and a software developer go to a barbecue...
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
I like to do as Johnny, the shoeshine guy, on Police Squad! (starring the late Leslie Nielsen) did. Frank: "What's the word on the street, Johnny?" (This would be the request for help....) Johhny (Me): "Oh, I wouldn't know anything about that." Frank starts peeling some bills off a roll of cash. Johnny relates everything Frank needs to know about his case and more. I'll also accept restaurant meals, beer, or other barter.
BDF I often make very large prints from unexposed film, and every one of them turns out to be a picture of myself as I once dreamed I would be. -- BillWoodruff
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I like to do as Johnny, the shoeshine guy, on Police Squad! (starring the late Leslie Nielsen) did. Frank: "What's the word on the street, Johnny?" (This would be the request for help....) Johhny (Me): "Oh, I wouldn't know anything about that." Frank starts peeling some bills off a roll of cash. Johnny relates everything Frank needs to know about his case and more. I'll also accept restaurant meals, beer, or other barter.
BDF I often make very large prints from unexposed film, and every one of them turns out to be a picture of myself as I once dreamed I would be. -- BillWoodruff
Big Daddy Farang wrote:
or other barter
An eye for an eye ; a tooth for a tooth ; a hard drive for a hard drive. :cool:
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
I have lost a friend or two over this. Granted, by losing them they probably weren't good ones. One of them started bringing me to his family as well. One time I didn't have the time, and it took me 3 days to make it over to his house, and he was very upset. The next time I didn't have the time was the last time I talked to him. I refer most people to my brother now, with expectations of paying him. When we meet people now that ask me I have this rule: I charge $25 just to look at it. This is without doing anything. After that, I charge an hourly rate, with a minimum of $50 (on top of the $25 consult). This discourages most people. If it doesn't, it is worth it to me to look at. The only people I help for free are my brothers. After that it's cash or no deal. No one ever returned favors for me either, even when I needed them. Now if they agree to the price, It's worth doing. If they don't, no harm done... now I don't have anyone mad at me.
If it moves, compile it
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A plumber, an electrician, a butcher, and a software developer go to a barbecue...
and bacon free for all!
[www.tamautomation.com] Robots, CNC and PLC machines for grinding and polishing.
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
My brother switched to Apple which gave me the out: I don't do Apple. It was one of the happiest days of my life. It's part of the reason why I don't have Apple products to this day as I don't care to support the multitude of iPods/iPads/iSexToy owned by every member of my family. Perhaps you could modify this strategy and you could switch to Apple (if your family owns PCs). Either that or you could use cartoonist Jerry Van Amerongen’s cohabitation axiom #6: The less it appears you know how to do, the less you'll have to do. But then I've actually sent people's computers to a fix it shop and paid the $99 myself just so I could get a fixed computer back quickly without wasting my whole weekend toying with some virus infested ho-bag machine. Some of my relatives think downloading everything on the internet is a great idea and frankly, I got tired of blowing my weekend rebuilding their machines (1). NOTES 1: It takes the whole weekend when there are no disks, no drivers, and the harddrive goes bad and the mouse has chewing gum on it. Please install Windows 98 so my game works.... AUGH.
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
Say that you need money to pay for new parts
See if you can crack this: b749f6c269a746243debc6488046e33f
So far, no one seems to have cracked this!The unofficial awesome history of Code Project's Bob! "People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid."
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My brother switched to Apple which gave me the out: I don't do Apple. It was one of the happiest days of my life. It's part of the reason why I don't have Apple products to this day as I don't care to support the multitude of iPods/iPads/iSexToy owned by every member of my family. Perhaps you could modify this strategy and you could switch to Apple (if your family owns PCs). Either that or you could use cartoonist Jerry Van Amerongen’s cohabitation axiom #6: The less it appears you know how to do, the less you'll have to do. But then I've actually sent people's computers to a fix it shop and paid the $99 myself just so I could get a fixed computer back quickly without wasting my whole weekend toying with some virus infested ho-bag machine. Some of my relatives think downloading everything on the internet is a great idea and frankly, I got tired of blowing my weekend rebuilding their machines (1). NOTES 1: It takes the whole weekend when there are no disks, no drivers, and the harddrive goes bad and the mouse has chewing gum on it. Please install Windows 98 so my game works.... AUGH.
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
I find that messing up really bad once or twice gets the word out that you are not the guy for fixing computer. I also use the line that I'm a software guy. I only work on them when all of the hardware is correct. That gets me out of a few things. But generally speaking, messing up good seems to take care of most of the traffic ;P Hogan
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I have used the NCC statement a couple of times now, my relatives usualy balk but when I say I could lose my job they quickly change their tune.
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Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
I have started to use the "I am not familiar with that form of technology". I have had frequent success with this line. However, if they really didn't download the pr0n files from Warez that blew up their computer, then I usually help them out. It's the right thing to do, IMHO. :)
"the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
"No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011) "But you probably have the smoothest scrotum of any grown man" - Pete O'Hanlon (2012) -
Many of us are unfortunately called upon by friends and family for computer advice and/or maintenance. I've spent many, many hours diagnosing and rebuilding my friends and families computers. Most of the time its totally free. If I'm lucky they'll buy me a six pack or give me a $20 gift certificate - it's rare though. Anybody find any "nice" or creative ways of declining these "opportunities"?
"Funny, last time I had to do this for someone, they had a load of dodgy pr0n on their machine". That should do it...
Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
-Or-
A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^]