The Most Important Strategies to getting a Computer Support tech
What do you do if your pc is past product warranty; discard it?
What do you do if your desktop is past warranty; toss it in the trash? Or maybe, are you the type that thinks about repairing it? Regrettably, lots of people don’t want to contend with the trouble or cost of trying to repair their failing device, so they toss it in the dumpster. But just getting a hold of the right tech may equally well be an effortless solution to bringing it back to like new shape.
It is simpler to come across a high quality computer service technician than one may think. Any family’s rolodex of numbers is loaded with plenty of capable PC repair gurus who are more than sufficient to fix most computer problems that you may bump into. This may sound foolish but it’s very real. While these experts have adequate repairing abilities, there are some qualities that divide them from the person that you in fact want doing work on your computer. The most important of these characteristics being experience, documentation, and support. If you identify the right questions to ask, you can easily clear up the fly-by-night local computer repair technician from the ones that truly mean business.
Qualifications and Credentials
The world definitely isn’t lacking in types of certifications. One of the main dilemmas is that the official certifications are distinct only to a given vendor. One leading issue with certifications in the computer repair sector is that most of the respected certifications are specific to their vendors. Like, Microsoft offers certification programs for its products, but that doesn’t do much good for other operating systems. Products are also frequently updated, so these will get swiftly outdated. The organization Oracle has some sound certifications. Many different organizations have their own certifications including Dell, Cisco, IBM, and many more.
Accreditation
CompTIA is one of the few well-known companies which offers a variety of certifications. While CompTIA is a legitimate certificate, the business is still in it to make cash. Their primary objective is to gain new subscribers, and thus member fees, so you may feel that your certification requirements are not the level found at a college or university.
That isn’t to express that a CompTIA certification isn’t valid, it’s just not the same as a person with a four year IT degree. However, people of these degrees aren’t often running computer repair agencies. What you need to know is if your computer support technician has a 4 year college degree that is correlated to the IT trade. If they do not or if they respond that they have some kind of "certification" that’s fine, just make a notice of what the certification is and move on to the next question. You can then progress to the next question.
Skills and References
The next question is how much knowledge the technician has and how effective are they at what they do? Ask them about their experience repairing computers, how long have they been in the field? Do they have any references from previous customers? If your tech is skilled, they will usually have a list of references set aside for these inquires. Do not worry that this question is rude, it is really quite common in this business. A skilled technician will be more than happy to provide these references for you. The most significant thing to take away is how long they’ve been in the computer repair industry. This is important info.
Don’t drop it there. Absolutely call those references and ask them what kind of repairs the tech has done for them, how long it usually takes the technician to do repairs, and if the individual feels that their rates are fair. Are there any obscure fees or business procedures that you should know about? Be careful for those details.
Don’t forget that this may seem a bit of a a bother. Once you’ve finished this process, you’re finished because you can go back to this individual again and again for repairs.
Techs’ Specialty
As revealed above, there are many different kinds of certifications that are around for technicians. Likewise, Apple offers its own certifications too, in the form of Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) or Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP). These are standard certifications for any Mac technician. In the same way, CompTIA offers a Linux certification, or professionals can get an LPI certification from the Linux Professional Institute.
Outside of operating systems, qualified professionals sometimes specialize in different computer brands, even in the event that they are focused on Windows systems. Case in point, a technician may have worked with Dell computer systems for such a long time that just from the explanation of the computer problem, the person can instantly tell you that the most probable cause is a bust capacitor on the motherboard.
There are also commonalities that arise with certain makes of computers, so techs do get used to going through the same problems over and over again. This is why they become so effective at working with certain brands. See if they are in cahoots with any certain brands. It pays to attempt to find a technician that has expertize in your brand especially, this can save you a huge headache today and in the future.
Ask for Costs and Insist on High Cost Limits
Once it has been established that the tech has right credentials and training, the next step in the discussions is to discuss price. It may be hard to break the ice, due to the fact technicians are often taken advantage of. Their relatives may often expect computer assistance for free. Even those whom they are close to will often ask for free support. Many will pay a fee for repair, and then want the technician to work for free for many years after. So yes, PC technicians won’t take kindly to low offers.
On the flip side, there are some dishonest PC repair individuals that take advantage of the fact that many people know zero about computers. This could consist of up charging the hourly price, or saying that a simple job took longer than it really did. People who lack computer knowledge are not able to see these hoaxes for what they are.
There are sites out there that state a certain hourly range is fair. Other individuals in the industry feel that only flat rates per service is reasonable. My feeling, having dabbled in being a PC support technician for a a lot of clients, is this:
There are commonly only a few causes for troubles: hardware, software, or a little of both. It normally doesn’t take much longer than an hour to figure that out.
Since most companies have a 1 hour minimum charge, simply ask the computer technician to only spend an hour troubleshooting before reporting back as to whether it’ll take more time and money. Hourly rates can vary, ranging anywhere from 20 to 50 or even 70 dollars in some cases, but much of that depends on your location and demand for services. Regardless of cost, just ask the max diagnostic time, and if they don’t reply, go to someone else.
How Data Protection is Maintained
Nowadays, backing up important data should be one of the first things any suitable technician will do prior to attempting repairs. This procedure is a way for the technician to get your pc back to the state it was in when you previously used it. It’s not just a secure thing to do, it’s a smart thing to do.
The plan usually involves:
1. Backing up needed documents, such as financial records or irreplaceable pics, onto a USB drive or external hard drive.
2. Making a restore point using the resources obtainable in the OS.
3. Copying profile folders, including documents, internet history and favorites and other personalized settings onto the USB drive or portable hard drive.
So, an ideal way to judge whether this tech is one that you should allow to mess with your pc is to ask a simple question: What is their preliminary backup procedure? If they can’t reply, just walk off.
How Does The Tech Track Variations Made?
Another behavior that separates the experts from the novices is documentation. Amateur computer repair technicians are typically very weak at tracking the adjustments they make on the computer in their attempt to fix it.
While the work may commonly lead to a repaired pc, there often a few dozen changes made in the control panel that you’ll be totally unaware of when you have your computer back. It’s your computer, and you’ve set things up in a way that makes good sense to you, and works for you; so if a technician chooses to change things around, like increased security settings, allowing or disabling Windows updates or the firewall, you really need to know. Else you’ll start seeing strange activities and you will not know what’s going on.
Therefore, the question you should ask is simple: how are the changes monitored? Do they give a full report at the end of the repair that outlines all changes made, hardware installed, or any extra modifications?
If they are ready to give you detailed responses about what changes were made, and why they were made, then that is a very beneficial sign. This one issue alone is a main feature of an excellent tech. If they’re adept at keeping documentation in an orderly and detailed manner of what they do, chances are good that they know what they’re doing.
Follow-up Assistance and Assurances
The final thing of notice is what kind of follow-up will your technician provide. Will they stand by their work and be available for a reasonable amount of troubleshooting? Or will they leave you high and dry. If not, the problem wasn’t really repaired, it only went away briefly. So, ask the tech if they warranty repairs for a particular number of days. Ask what kind of follow-up support you can anticipate if the problem comes back inside that time frame, is it ok to call, or do you have to deliver the computer back into the store again? Is a tech consenting to do in-home service preferably instead?
These are the sort of questions you need to ask before you have problems following a repair, not after. Once you get an acceptable answer, ask that all deals you discussed should be put down in writing previous to the start of repairs.
Remember that you spent a good amount for your support, there is no reason for you to be getting low balled with support after the fact. Perhaps even more importantly, you need to be confident that the repairs do not cost more than simply buying a new computer.
If you’ve asked the correct questions, you have a solid rate quote and all arrangements and guarantees in writing, you can entrust your computer with the technician without any worries. Your PC will be repaired, the technician will get paid, and you can be safe that if the situation returns after a few days, you will not be left with the same problem but with a smaller wallet.