Computer Services Beware!
Beware of your local computer shops providing or offering computer repair. Internet Cafes, Computer Stores and etc are not always what you believe them to be. Don’t put your trust in just anyone, they maybe a scam.
Certified
We all would like to believe that when a business says there certified that means qualified works and etc, but this does not always mean that at all, instead certified could mean registered business AKA legal business license. Ask the question certified what? Just because a business says certified, it doesn’t mean that employees are certified anything.
Authorized Dealers
Authorized doesn’t mean certified. Authorized is often a purchased membership or subscription with a manufacture, allowing the dealer to buy manufacture parts not available to the public. Often this gives the dealer the ability to sell a manufacturer’s products, handle warranties and returns. Computers under warranty or in need of repair are not often repaired at the dealer but directly sent to the manufacture. Computers such as laptops are normally always sent directly to the manufacture.
Employees
Computer places often don’t hire trained or computer certified anything. These days people believe they’re a computer something or other just because they own a computer. These people make the computer job market harder for us certified people.
Cost
Most computer services are unattended; this means that services such as a virus scan runs on its own for hours without the need for someone to watch or monitor it. Don’t pay by the hour, if you do you are paying for labor not provided. If a virus scan takes 3 hours, way pay 50 dollars an hour for someone to leave and buy a cup of coffee. Always pay a flat fee.
Documentation
Every computer technician knows to provide documentation; this is not limited to technicians, but almost all trades and services such as software designers and engineers. Documentation is how you know what happened, what was done and what was changed. Without documentation they can do anything or nothing and charge you anything.
What to Do?
Go to people you trust, ask questions.
Are you or your employees certified?
How many year of experience?
Ask do you provide documentation?
Do they explain things well? Services, Terms and Conditions, Service Limitations.
Service details, read up on the services they provide and compare companies.
Ask about the company; check the Better Business Bureau, ask the public.
Ask questions; know what you’re paying for. Get documentation, the detail and quality of the documentation shows the quality of service often provided. Pay a flat fee, there is no need to pay by the hour for unattended services. Find certified people you can trust, many reporters, studies and independent investigators have proven that 9 in 10 computer businesses have no idea what they’re talking about.
For more information please check my other articles such as “Choosing a Good Computer Technician.”
