Accepting money to fix a work mate/ friend's computer?

tchan_4 said:
I wouldn't mind being paid back with a beer but I won't accept money, not from a friend anyway.
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I used to have that philosophy but I ended up getting overloaded with work and ultimately got taken advantage of by friends that kept messing their machines up and expected me to fix it for a couple of beers, not any more, my time is valuable, people may say "oh it's only reinstalling an OS" etc but that's not a 5 minute job, by the time you've reinstalled the os, updated the system, installed the drivers, security software etc you've spent at least a good hour on the system, most local shops around here would charge you £60-80 for that, I won't rip people off, I'll always do mates rates etc, but the days of working on peoples systems for free are over for me.
 
likwid said:
I agree. Spend a little time teaching them this stuff, it's not in the slightest bit difficult. As long as they supply the beer then no problem. Most of the time spent is waiting for stuff to install, scan or download.
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Meanwhile, on planet earth...

Have you ever tried teaching a clueless person about IT? You would spend 5x longer getting them to understand the basics than you would fixing the actual problem.
 
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If its a good friend, I'll usually get something token in response, beers/couple of pints next time we're out or something like that as they'll usually do the same for me in return, unless its going to take loads of time.

If its just someone I know and not a friend, depends on what the problem is, and the mood I'm in.
 
tchan_4 said:
You can't compare building a conservatory to doing something as simple as re-installing windows.
All you need to do to re-install windows is backup important files and then boot from a CD and do something else while you wait.
Could teach your friend while you're at it, it's not rocket science.

I wouldn't mind being paid back with a beer but I won't accept money, not from a friend anyway.
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a few bricks every week/month :P the same time you could spend on your friends computer keeping it in running order.

its not the best comparison but stil you wouldnt fix your friends car and expect nothing in return :p
 
Me personally if it's a friend, I'd do it for peanuts, a tenner or so. Unless it was something time consuming such as building a new machine or reinstalling an OS etc.

For people I don't know or friends of friends I charge them again depending on the job, generally double what I charge my actual friends.

I fixed one person's machine in the past for free, and he told some of his mates who came to me expecting free repairs. From then on I knew I would be taken advantage of so I started charging, not really for profit, but just as a deterrent from constant torture to fix people's problems for them all the time.

I don't mind doing it, but what I just cannot and will not abide is people, regardless of whether they are friends, family etc, thinking I am an IT teacher. I absolutely flat out refuse to waste time teaching people simple things such as how to print, how to move files into different folders, and the number ONE pain in the arse - people who close the Downloads window in Firefox and then ask where their files have gone. All of these problems can be solved with the most minimal amount of effort by simply googling/looking in help files, but no, if there's a mug there to do the hard work for you, why bother.

Even now I'm still tortured by people who want machines fixing or building. At least 3 or 4 a week. Anyone would think I actually worked in IT the amount of jobs I have on.
 
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lowrider007 said:
I used to have that philosophy but I ended up getting overloaded with work and ultimately got taken advantage of by friends that kept messing their machines up and expected me to fix it for a couple of beers, not any more, my time is valuable, people may say "oh it's only reinstalling an OS" etc but that's not a 5 minute job, by the time you've reinstalled the os, updated the system, installed the drivers, security software etc you've spent at least a good hour on the system, most local shops around here would charge you £60-80 for that, I won't rip people off, I'll always do mates rates etc, but the days of working on peoples systems for free are over for me.
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It might take you an hour but you won't be spending the full hour in front of the computer fixing it.

Richdog said:
Meanwhile, on planet earth...

Have you ever tried teaching a clueless person about IT? You would spend 5x longer getting them to understand the basics than you would fixing the actual problem.
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You don't have to be IT literate to know how to stick in a CD to boot into and follow the simple instructions on screen. ie. Next, Next, OK etc.
Once they've installed the OS, send them links to security software. Hardly worth £40 of your friends money.
 
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^^ Sounds fair <Steve 2000>. Its one of the reason only close friends/family get freebies/relative off me. Anyone less who wants something will pay, as I don't mind answering some questions, and I'll build a close friend/family a machine for free (with a 'IOU' in future, was given Dead space for nothing because of this recently) for the enjoyment or for practice, but I don't want to suddenly have a queue of people asking for the same; especially if they're then likely to come asking me for help if something goes wrong, or taking up my time off my actual job.

Basic rule:

Family/Friends - Peanuts or IOU, to help deter becoming a helpline.
Anything else - reasonable charge for time taken.

It's not tight if you're going to end up spending 5-10 hours on this person for various reasons over the next month or two, as you'd likely end up with the best part of £100 or more if you spent this same time in work.
 
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Richdog said:
Meanwhile, on planet earth...

Have you ever tried teaching a clueless person about IT? You would spend 5x longer getting them to understand the basics than you would fixing the actual problem.
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Don't be an idiot. This is not IT, it's basic computer literacy and no-one said anything about clueless people. If you think you're IT savvy because you can install windows then you're kidding yourself.
 
likwid said:
Don't be an idiot. This is not IT, it's basic computer literacy and no-one said anything about clueless people. If you think you're IT savvy because you can install windows then you're kidding yourself.
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Exactly.

I really want to know what these people do for a living, if they charge £40/hour to do a job, how much do they earn in their real jobs?
 
Yep, teaching technophobic people the basic prevention info, firewall/anti virus/spyware software up to date etc is a nightmare.
People don't seem to learn from their mistakes either!
It scares me as the machine i'm fixing this weekend hasn't even got service pack 1!! on never mind service pack 2, no firewall etc, and this guy does online banking/ebay and other stuff.
I see a lot of clueless people owning PC's and taking it for granted that they can shop online and taking a HUGE risk on credit card fraud / ID theft..... crazy!

But most people i know just haven't got the confidence, to put a CD in and follow instructions on screen etc etc when things go wrong. (hence they ask for my help!)
After reading this thread i think i will charge to people i know less well, but good advice and a bit of education on the basics will always be free!
 
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If I would expect them to do stuff for me for free (like a bit of welding or fitting some rads) than I would help them with whatever PC stuff they have gladly - never ask for money.

If it's somebody I wouldn't feel comfortable asking to do stuff for me, I wouldn't do stuff for them. Anything I did do would bring obligations - they'd come to me to sort it out in future because I worked on it once before and I'd just rather not have that hanging over me.

Charging just makes that obligation ten times worse.
 
LEE929394 said:
Yep, teaching technophobic people the basic prevention info, firewall/anti virus/spyware software up to date etc is a nightmare.
People don't seem to learn from their mistakes either!
It scares me as the machine i'm fixing this weekend hasn't even got service pack 1!! on never mind service pack 2, no firewall etc, and this guy does online banking/ebay and other stuff.
I see a lot of clueless people owning PC's and taking it for granted that they can shop online and taking a HUGE risk on credit card fraud / ID theft..... crazy!
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Most PC bought from shop has windows pre-configured to receive automatic updates and have security software already installed. Shouldn't be a problem for most people.
 
lowrider007 said:
Doesn't matter, it still takes an hour, and the OS and drivers/software don't install themselves, it may only be a few clicks but I still have to be there doing it when I could be doing more important stuff.
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It doesn't take 1 hour of your time though. You can be doing your important stuff while you wait.
Like you said in your post, its only a few clicks and charging your friends to click a few things is just ridiculous.

If I was installing Vista, it would only require no more than 5 mins of my time in front of the computer to install.

- Choose Edition
- Enter Product key
- Install

Thats not even a 5 minute job.
 
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Telescopi said:
If it's somebody I wouldn't feel comfortable asking to do stuff for me, I wouldn't do stuff for them. Anything I did do would bring obligations - they'd come to me to sort it out in future because I worked on it once before and I'd just rather not have that hanging over me.

Charging just makes that obligation ten times worse.
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Good point, there's always a risk of that happening!
 
likwid said:
Don't be an idiot. This is not IT, it's basic computer literacy and no-one said anything about clueless people. If you think you're IT savvy because you can install windows then you're kidding yourself.
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99% of people who ask for your help are clueless and can't get their head around even the most basic IT principles... I have been there, seen it, got the t-shirt, etc etc. Teaching people how to install Windows would not necessarily be a quick simple thing... and would need to be backed to by explanations on lots of other little things. Same goes for half the stuff engineers are required to do. If you don't think any of that is in any way "IT" then surely i'm not the idiot... :D
 
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lowrider007 said:
Doesn't matter, it still takes an hour, and the OS and drivers/software don't install themselves, it may only be a few clicks but I still have to be there doing it when I could be doing more important stuff.
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Actually they do. They're packaged in an installer which you execute (double click).
 
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