Family + Pc Nerd...

wannabedamned said:
Worst thing for me is my mum, She pimps me out to her friends! Its so damn hard on me, I have to run around fiddling and screwing with their hardware, always making sure there's no infections and making sure they use decent protection. Generally the job is obvious at first glance, usually just an old bit of kit, in need of a bit of maintenance. I am happy to help though
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I'm sorry but I think you have the wrong thread old boy!
 
Me, my wife, my brother and my parents all runs Macs. Amount of support I do for them. Zero. Sure haters gonna hate but that's the way it is. No viruses, no real threat of spyware. No driver issues.

My in-laws have a PC. An old one of mine. It isn't on the Internet and works fine right up until I'll sort em out with a new one.

The only PC I really support is my sons and only as much as sort out the technical issues he can't deal with.

I've had plenty of peole outside of family ask me to do this and that for them and my answer has always been a polite but ifirm "no" - I've seen other techs get snowed under with crusty old computers. No thanks, my personal time is too valuable.

Anybody asks what I do nowadays and I tell them it's in Project Management. I neglect to mention it's in IT! :D
 
I get it all the time, family, friends, workmates, tbh i don't mind that much and most of them are really simple clean-ups anyway, although once i did find a load of gay porn on the laptop of someone who is rather close to the family !! A revelation i'll tell ya !!

:D
 
platinum87 said:
How it goes for me

1) Be told of a problem

2) Have no idea how problem is caused or how to fix it

3) Google the problem and read relevant information

4) Fix problem
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i do the same.


i don't mind helping my parents or my sisters, but anyone else, i say no now.
 
Would never dream of charging my family for it. As for extended family, they are a decent bunch and whilst I would never charge them, they always see me right.
 
Just had my dad on the phone, laptop running at 100% CPU. That's it I'm installing vnc. Had enough of doing it over the phone. Lol
 
I started charging for such help long ago, the only family members that get free help now are my mum dad and sister, but even they have to wait until i "feel" like doing it. I don't want to come home and continue doing my job. They all understand this :)
 
Jaffa_Far said:
Why oh why.

I have custom built my own PC about 4 times (3 different rigs). The family know that I know a thing or 3 about PC's, but why is it anytime ANYONE they know mentions a problem with a PC, I am the one told and told to fix it, 90% of the time I dont want to, or have any intention to, and you can't charge family can you?

Fed up of it tbh, wish I never got into PC's because of that. :mad:
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Welcome to my world, If my brother in law, sister or dad phone me, 9 times out of 10 its PC related.

Barstewards indeed. :D
 
BoomAM said:
Exactly.
I decided long ago that I wont fix anyone's computer.
If they complain I just profess, "I work with computers all day every day, what makes you think I want to continue messing with them in my free time!?"
Most of the family have the idea now, as do most of my mates. lol.
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This is exactly whats happened to me.

I was alright doing it before i worked all day with them.

Now they ask me when i get home, for example on Friday night i just finished setting up my parents TV and i got handed a laptop and my mam saying will you sort that.
She text me asking if i can fix them, i never agreed to it.

Then her friend was on the phone and she was having problems....mam hands over the phone to me. Told her what she can do, definitely not touching it.

One of the worst things about fixing computers for other people is the computers are generally ****e. So it takes AGES!
 
.Ox. said:
One of the worst things about fixing computers for other people is the computers are generally ****e. So it takes AGES!
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Not to mention that once you fix one problem, everyone thinks that every future problem has been caused by you!

EDIT
67mft3.jpg


^ My work life explained in a simple dilbert comic :D
 
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I've been to my Auntie/Uncle's about 5 times within the past 6 months.
For simple things like, setting up his new iPhone (syncing songs, contacts, setting up his email's etc etc). to removing the simplest of virii.

It doesn't bother me, I'm always offered beverages, and they've even cooked dinner for me once.
It's real irritating trying to fix the slowest 10 year old laptop though, you're sat waiting 20 minutes for the thing to log-in.

I never charge or ask for money, but he refuses to let me leave without 10 or 15 quid.
 
I was in London today for a get together with some friends & family and guess what.....I have 2 laptops to wipe and clean install Windows on :p

It's not a big deal as I have RT7/nLited both 7 and XP previously so won't take long but the upshot is that the owner has agreed to pay for my cinema tickets forever whenever we go see films at get togethers from now onwards so I could not say no :p
 
I'm never building a pc for anyone again, especially family. Built a PC for my dad a few years ago and whenever anything goes wrong with it, I have to spend all day messing with it. Never get paid anything.

It's almost as though he think that whenever anything goes wrong its due to me building it 3-4 years ago :rolleyes:.
 
I have had this problem for several years, for some people I don't mind building/fixing a PC but when its people I hardly know I start getting annoyed.

I was studying for a few exams last year and my mum walked in with the neighbours PC, she said she had told them I would have it back the next day (which was an exam day).

I had a phonecall from a family member asking me why her computer wasn't working 5 years after I had done anything to it (her neighbour had said it was something I had done). Again this was when I was trying to revise for exams so I couldn't help her, but I was left wondering how anyone could think that something done 5 years ago was responsible for current software problems.
 
I think what people don't understand that most IT jobs your sitting there trying to diagnose the fault and solve it, which can take hours.

I just tell people I don't deal with IT related areas unless I no them. I won't be building a PC again for anyone I will just go straight to Dell then add 10% on. It's how I make my money from it now. I do reloads but only if they have the original disks.

I have also given up on installing updates as well, because I have done a lot in the past and they bring it back weeks later to find it's broke again so I just format with the relevant disks and be done with it.
 
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iDroid84 said:
I think what people don't understand that most IT jobs your sitting there trying to diagnose the fault and solve it, which can take hours.

I just tell people I don't deal with IT related areas unless I no them. I won't be building a PC again for anyone I will just go straight to Dell then add 10% on. It's how I make my money from it now. I do reloads but only if they have the original disks.
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What if they don't take no for an answer?!
 
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