On Wed, 26 May 2010, Thane Sherrington wrote:
Yeah, with eSATA, I should be able to do imaging as well (at least as an
upcharge option.)
I do imaging as a CYA for myself, not for the customer. I can then go
back to the image and retrieve data if something gets deleted that they
needed (Some people store crap in the recycle bin and other stupid places)
Always always give them a quote on upgrading their memory if they need
memory, as we all know it is the cheapest upgrade you can do for an
immediate speed increase.
All good points. I'm definitely raising prices here. For $170, what do your
clients get? (feel free to back channel if you prefer, since this is a public
list.)
We don't charge a set price. $85/hour and we charge however long we are
at the keyboard of the machine.
First off we clean the virus. Yank drive, scan, fix TCP/IP as needed,
etc.
What they get is a machine that has the "junk" uninstalled. Dell solution
Center? Gone. Trial versions of NIS, trial version of X, trial version
of Y, etc. Gone. Lots of different codec packs installed? Uninstalled
and VLC put on machine.
5 different versions of malware removal programs installed? Gone.
Install Malwarebytes. Upgrade Flash Player, Adobe Player, etc.
If it is a personal computer I generally recommend they get rid of
whatever AV they have, even if they just bought it and have them install
Avast. I show them how to do the registration once the year is up.
Windows updates and office updates installed.
PDF Creator installed
Create optimal pagefile.
512MB of memory? HIGHLY recommend that they upgrade to whatever the max
their mobo will take, or 4GB if only 32bit OS.
If the machine is used for family photo's I talk to them about picasa. I
have not seen a better program for managing your photo's.
One of the most important things I try to do (and this is kinda on the
sales side) is whenever I point out something I recommend they upgrade I
also point out something that I think is ok with the system.
If they only have 512MB of memory, I'll recommend that they upgrade the
system memory to whatever, but at the same time I will say "It looks like
your hard drive is only 50% full (Or whatever) so there is no need to
upgrade that.
By telling them both what they need and what they don't need people will
be more inclined to believe you, whereas if you just tell them what they
should upgrade they are more cynical, thinking you're trying to make them
spend more money and they're more likely to decline.
Yes, you're trying to get them to spend more, but only because they really
should get what you're recommending. Point out the options for free AV,
etc and they'll see the value you're giving them.
Christopher Fisk
--
You are not my son!
-- Homer Simpson, Boy-Scoutz n the Hood
