On Monday 28 November 2005 01:47, Wayne Stallwood wrote:
On Sun, 2005-11-27 at 18:23 +0000, Ten wrote:
I know what you're saying, but to my mind if there were fewer computer "shamen" in the world, we'd all be better off.
And that counts doubly for retail chains that will charge people money to run scandisk, defrag and spybot S&D on their computer and call it a "tune-up" (hahahaha).
Yes and I have also heard that some garages charge to change the oil in your car.
Ah, another industry plagued by the same problems :)
The sad fact is that time is money and if doing those things resolves a problem and is beyond what the end user has the time/knowledge to do themselves then why shouldn't they charge.
I am not condoning sloppy application of (mostly) automated tools as a answer all problem to every machine that comes through the door, but if someone does these things to improve the stability and performance of the machine and has acceptable results then why not ?
Of course in an ideal world a large percentage of people wouldn't be using an operating system that frequently needs such attention...but as long as it does and that work isn't being performed and charged for where it is not needed then I think a reasonable charge for the time taken is justified.
Actually some of the machines that pass by me end up going out charged at a somewhat less than our hourly rate simply because if I charged them for the full time it (sometimes) takes to rid a sickly Windows box of all the spyware, malware and viruses it would quickly become uneconomic for the customer to proceed.
We operate a policy of customer education and if there is a quick fix that the customer can apply with instruction then this is freely given.. similarly if there is advice we can give the customer on how to avoid a repeat visit then it is of course shared...
You see, these are perfect examples of how you *should* behave, and perfect examples of what's not getting done by the unscrupulous.
but if the box comes in and has bench time to resolve a problem then I am afraid I have to charge something.....
You turn up, you do the work, you charge for it, and that's all to the good I say :)
I think (hope) that you are referring more to the "tune up" services which are implied as necessary at regular intervals even when they are not.
What I'm referring to is not only misrepresentation of what's needed but misrepresentation of the standard of service and expertise you're getting.
If you take a machine to a "clinic" where a yts monkey is being presented as an expert and you have a problem they're unaware of, they won't tell you they can't identify the source of your problem.
Oh no, first the buggers will charge you fifty quid to run said tools, THEN let you go away and rediscover the problem for yourself, THEN charge you still more to fix it again - whether they have any idea of what's wrong or not, and so on..
There are also people who will give people back their machines with the same hardware in them and hit them for a replacement fee, people who propagate viruses(who can forget the number of companies overlooking NYB'd floppies because of the business it brought them in the early 90s, or in fact the propagation of windows for the work it brings, heh) and so on - you know the sort of thing.
It's all because people are being encouraged to pay good hourly rates for someone who will *only* have 3 solutions to a windows problem, which suggest they are hiring the services of a professional.
There are mechanics who'll charge you money to change your oil when it doesn't need doing/is not your problem, and every dishonest or inept mechanic charges the same rates as a brilliant one, if not higher. As a consequence, many people find it hard to know whether to trust a mechanic, even when they're quite familiar with them.
Like I said, if people want to be very gullible users then good luck to them, but the multitudinous people in the computing professions that are only awaiting their TV debut on BBC One's "Rogue Traders" reflects badly on everyone, and for me, represents the bad stuff about the way mainstream computing has gone.
If we're not careful, people will start to view us in the same light as lawyers or something - then we're all stuffed :P