What do you do if your desktop is past guarantee; discard it? For many, substitution is the quickest option, but some may try to deal with it themselves. Some don't want to have to overcome the stress and just end up throwing it out. Little do they realize that selecting the right pc tech could lead to a simple, cheap fix and a computer thats like new again.
Nowadays, quality computer repair professionals are a dime a dozen. Any family's rolodex of numbers is filled with plenty of competent computer repair specialists who are more than adequate to fix most computer problems that you may bump into. This isn't an exaggeration, it really is true. However, what separates these experts from the ones you truly want working on your pc are 3 important things: understanding, support, and documentation. If you know the best questions to ask, you can easily weed out the fly-by-night computer repair folks from the ones that truly mean business.
Experience and References
There's many types of computer certifications around. Some are pertinent to PC repair, and many not so much. Beware that a lot of them are completely vendor specific. For example, Microsoft offers certification programs for its products, however that doesn't do much good for other operating systems. Products are also often updated, so these will get swiftly outdated. Oracle is one of the major networking authorities that have highly credible certifications. Lots of different organizations have their own certifications such as Dell, Cisco, IBM, and many more.
Credentials
There are also some services that will provide neutral certificates for all different kinds of software. Certifications from organizations like CompTIA do give a good overview for what a technician can do. While CompTIA is a legitimate certificate, the business is still in it to make money. They are seeking to earn new members and member fees, so there may just be a feeling that you are just forking out for a certification that may or may not be up to the academic standards you'd find at a college or university.
This doesn't mean that students from this program are not qualified, just that their education may not be as extensive as someone with a four year IT degree. Though a person with a 4 year degree is often not operating their own business, as lots of these employees are contracted to bigger companies. The conclusion here is that you should ask if the individual has a college degree related to computers. If they do not or if they reply that they have some sort of "certification" that's ok, just make a note of what the certification is and progress to the next question. You can then progress to the next question.
Skills and Referrals
The next concern is how much knowledge the professional has and how good are they at what they do? Ask them about their experience repairing computers, how many years have they been in the business? Do they have any references from previous customers? If your technician is skilled, they will usually have a number of references set aside for these inquires. Do not worry that this question is rude, it is actually quite common in this business. A skilled technician will be more than glad to supply these references for you. The most significant factor to take away is how long they have been in the computer repair business. This is valuable information.
Don't stop there. Query what repairs were done to their computer, and what kind of computer or software was repaired. It's also important to find out how much they billed, to make certain that you will not overpay for a similar repair. Even a glowing review may reveal details about how the professional runs his business. All of this insight can help you to make a choice.
Don't forget that this may seem a bit of a a hassle. Following this, you'll already have worked with the specialist, and will understand what they're like.
Techs' Strength
As I mentioned earlier, Microsoft provides their own library of certifications. As it turns out, in much the same way, so does Apple in the form of Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) or Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC). These indicates the person has basic support abilities to help you out with a Mac. For Linux, CompTIA presents a wide spectrum of various certifications. In the case of Linux, technicians also can get certified from the Linux Professional Institute.
Beyond operating system, you'll also find experts that are just better equipped and more knowledgeable to deal with certain brands of computers, even though they are centered on Windows machines. For example, technician might be so specialized with Dell computers that purely from your description of the problem, he or she can rather quickly tell you the reason.
Different brands have consistently assorted quality issues, and technicians who worked with them for a long time are simply more aware with those particular issues due to having fixed them so many times. You just fantastic your tech specializes in any certain computer brand. Ask if they have close ties or good working relationships with certain vendors. Just say you're hunting for computer service person that you can regularly rely on for assistance.
Ask for Prices and Demand Maximum Cost Limitations
Remember that business is not always easy for a computer repair technician. Friends and relatives are constantly coming to them for help with their computers, and expecting a free handout. Nearest and dearest beg for free computer assistance. Worse is that some people then expect complimentary technical support for the lifetime after the repair. So yes, PC technicians can be offended if low balled.
Nevertheless, there still will be some shadier techs to take advantage of the tech-illiterate. This could include up charging the hourly price, or saying that a simple job took longer than it truly did. Not knowing otherwise, people will pay too much.
Some sites advocate for hourly rates, proclaiming that it takes a long time to do a job correctly. Others in the industry think that a flat fee is the only thing that represents a fair agreement between the two people. Having done plenty computer support jobs before, I can tell you this:
Basically, the problem can be narrowed down to just a few distinct causes. Nearly any problem can be triangulated inside of an hour.
So, since most places require a one-hour minimal charge, you can just ask the PC tech if they can spend a maximum of one hour problem solving before revealing back to you as to whether it'll take more time and cost more bucks. Hourly rates can vary, ranging anywhere from 20 to 50 or even 70 dollars in some cases, but much of that depends on your area and demand for services. Regardless of cost, just ask the max diagnostic time, and if they don't reply, go to somebody else.
How Data Safety is Taken Care Of
One of the most important things that the PC technician does is assure that your PC is delivered as close to its initial state as possible. This procedure is a way for the tech to get your pc back to the state it was in when you last used it. There is no cause to leave your work, or other personal files to risk.
The process normally includes:1. Backing up critical files, like financial records or priceless family photos, onto a USB stick or external hard drive.2. The next step is to make a restore point in the operating system. This is a provisional place to recover data.3. Moving profile folders, like documents, bookmarks, internet history, and other personal configurations onto the USB or hard drive.One of the ideal ways to gage how effective a repair tech will be is to ask them how they will save your data. If they look at you with a dummy stare, leave.
Is there any record keeping of the changes to the system being logged?
Another thing that distinguishes pros from amateurs is documentation. Fly-by-night computer repair technicians are often very, very bad at tracking every modification they aim to make on a computer to mend it.
Any effective technician realizes that this is a very important part of repairing a computer. The worst thing is to return to your computer when a bunch of changes have been made, without knowing how to change them back. It's your computer, and you've set it up to be least complicated to use for you; so if the technician changes things, like additional security settings, you need to know. Otherwise you'll start seeing odd activities and you will not know what's going on.
So, the question you should ask is uncomplicated: how are the changes monitored? Do they offer a full report at the end of the repair that marks all changes made, hardware installed, or any extra modifications?
The answer here should be an instant yes, and they may even show you a sample report (or a format) that they've printed for previous customers, so that you know what to look forward to at the end. This quality is one of the most significant for a pc technician. If they're effective with keeping arranged, thorough documentation of the work they do, the odds are pretty beneficial that they really know what they're doing.
Follow-up Support and Guarantees
The last thing of notice is what kind of follow-up will your tech provide. It is fair to expect that a professional will be around for phone calls, or even follow-up visits, if there are lingering problems that crop up after the repair. Otherwise, the trouble wasn't really fixed, it was just temporarily patched. So, ask the tech if they warranty repairs for a particular number of days. Ask what kind of follow-up service they give during that time, and isit acceptable to give them a call, or do you have to bring the computer back in the shop again? Is the tech willing to do in-home follow-up service as an alternative?
These are the sort of questions you need to ask before you have issues following a repair, not after. Once you get a adequate answer, make sure that any and all agreements discussed be put down in writing prior to the start of repairs.
Bear in mind, you paid a fair amount for computer, and you should know what to expect when you entrusted it into another person's hands. Perhaps even more importantly, you need to be assured that the repairs won't cost more than actually buying a new computer.
If you got the proper questions, a solid price quote, and all agreements in writing, you are able to leave your computer with the technician without any worries. Your computer will be fixed, you'll pay a reasonable rate, and you can rest knowing that if the problem comes back a few days after the repair, you won't be left hanging with the same trouble but with a lighter wallet.
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Orignal From: 7 points to ask a computer support tech
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