8 quick questions to ask your computer repair geek before doing business?
So, as a customer, how do you avoid computer repair fraud? Fortunately, there are a few simple steps that you can take to avoid a fraudulent mishap from a computer repair company.
- Ask the company what their minimum charge up front would be. Most companies refer to this charge as their diagnostics fee. Some companies have an exorbitant minimum and they will charge this regardless of whether or not they get the diagnosis right.
- So the second question logically follows, “If the diagnosis is incorrect, do you still charge?” The answer really should be “No”, or at the very least, the company should be willing to split the difference of the diagnosis should you prove that the technician concluded the wrong problem.
- Ask the company what their “no fix” policy is? In other words, if a technician comes out to your business or home and attempts to fix your computer or network problem but is unsuccessful, will you be charged for his time and effort? Really you shouldn’t be charged. If the technician does not have the skills necessary to resolve your problem, you shouldn’t be charged for his attempts.
- Ask to see the companies written policies beforehand. Maybe they have a link to these placed on their website.
- Ask the company if they are bonded or have had thorough background checks run on their technicians? Character is everything in the computer repair industry.
- Ask the company if their technicians are experienced? Some companies (I won’t mention any names), hire any pimple faced high school nerd as long as they will upsell services to the company’s clients. Skills and experience are not always taken into account for a lot of computer repair companies, or at least, are they not prioritized properly in the order of importance.
- “Are your technicians certified?” Certifications, will indicate at least that the technician has gone through some training in attempts to bring his skill level up to speed technically. And a highly certified technician usually is fairly skilled at what he does. But certification should definitely not be the most important or most advertised quality of a computer repair company.
- “Are you a member of the BBB or your local Chamber of Commerce?” Again this should remain one of the lesser priorities of importance. Because of the bureaucratic delays of some of these organizations, it is often too late before the members therein are disciplined for bad business behavior. So be careful not to place too much emphasis on this one either.
I hesitated putting in these last two suggestions because they are highly overrated. Nevertheless, they are somewhat important. Still most of the emphasis should be placed on the first six stipulations.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
