Xander ,'First Date'
Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!
Has anyone had experiences with doing IT work for acquaintances?They've been very messy and frustrating mostly.
If you are going to do it, set a price before you do anything and make sure that he doesn't expect free maintenance. That will help take care of a lot of the problems I have seen and had.
I will allow others with more and better experience give advice on the price, contracts and how to bill.
Has anyone had experiences with doing IT work for acquaintances?
I do it all the time, and it's freaking miserable. I do it for free, too. I wish I hadn't started, but now all family visits are essentially tech calls. Hate. Do up a contract. Either he'll be offended and won't make you do it, or you'll have some reasonably established (and legally backupable) expectations.
About the rate, I can't really tell you there. The problem with setting up a home network is that depending on his gear and setup, it could be very very simple or totally not, and there's not really any way to know before you get in there. You could maybe set a base flat rate with an hourly overage beyond a set number of hours. Definitely establish any follow-up work parameters from the beginning, though.
Ooh, good question tr. My mother's been trying to pimp me to her friends as "the girl that knows computers," which, while not untrue, tends to put a damper on my visits home.
Good advice all.
The Geek Squad charges $159 for setting up a wireless network, FWIW.
ThinkGeek charges $15 for a T-Shirt that says "No, I will not fix your computer." FWIW.
ThinkGeek charges $15 for a T-Shirt that says "No, I will not fix your computer." FWIW
I love that shirt. But somehow, people seem to think I'm joking.
I am so glad to be free of people that expected I'd drive far to come fix their computers while they nagged at me. Now I have people I wish I could help better, but it never comes down to them asking so much that I'd need to pay.
However, back in the day, I did manage to set up a barter system (I told him that at work I was billed out at between $100 and $250 an hour) where he ended up giving me stuff (like a modem) that came his way.
Still, by and large, get iron-clad. Flat fee is best so they don't freak and choke, but you really need to be sure you have a handle on all the variables before you do that. So it doesn't eat your life.
ThinkGeek charges $15 for a T-Shirt that says "No, I will not fix your computer." FWIW.
HA! I think I like your idea better.
Yeah, we do barter our services a good bit. In fact, our plumbing just got worked on in exchange for some web development. That was nice because a) we totally couldn't have afforded a plumber and b) we didn't want to be his friends who abuse his expertise.
The problem with being the family tech is that it has only recently occurred to them that it's problematic. So now they ask for help and feel guilty about it and spend a bunch of time apologizing instead of explaining the problem so we can fix it and get on with our (limited) time with them.
If your free time is worth anything to you, charge a moderately high hourly rate and state that half of it will be donated to a charity of your choice.