Here's a question

Doesn't Geek Squad download the software through a flash-drive or something like that? But they uninstall it afterward? I forget how it goes.



What if they are a very headstrong person and believe that the program they have is the best. Me, being 15, not a lot of people would believe me saying this is better then that.

They may not believe you because of your age.

I am a Computer Repairer I run my own business, they believe me because of the way I give statistics and demo's, if they don't like it I'll remove it.

As for installing, I contact the companies before hand.
 
They may not believe you because of your age.

I am a Computer Repairer I run my own business, they believe me because of the way I give statistics and demo's, if they don't like it I'll remove it.

You have to be assertive and give reasoning behind your suggestions. Logical thought process has to be displayed. Moreover, you need to provide your customer with demonstrations of what you are talking about.

Give them statistics, demonstrations, videos. If you cannot convince them in the end, then you have to accept defeat. That's simply how it goes.

However, if you believe program X to be benefitial and have substantiated evidence to your point, I highly doubt anyone will object to it. If they do object, you either have not given enough evidence or they simply have a subjective reason behind their decision. Either way, nothing you can do.

If you try to convince a "headstrong" person to change their preferences, they will simply not do business with you again.

Lol, I like how we basically said the same exact thing. Seems like great minds think alike.

Yeah Holysky, you can install whatever you want on a customer's computer as long as it is legally purchased or is share/freeware.

The companies are against you reselling their programs, as you can easily charge a markup and the company would be out of a certain amount of money.

When you receive payment from a customer, it is not for the programs but for labor and services rendered. You aren't selling him/her the programs, you are selling your services. If you were charging him for the programs separately, then yes it would go against most license agreements - but the point of what I am saying is that you aren't. You are charging for labor.

As for installing, I contact the companies before hand.

See above - you are being cautious, I understand that but there really is nothing wrong with installing software on a computer, as long as you aren't charging for the actual programs.
 
My procedures for a laptop and a desktop would be essentially the same. In the first 30 minutes I would optimize the computer on a software level basis. Uninstall crapware, clean the registry, defrag, and update any drivers (listed in order of priority). Assuming there is a customer involved, I would reinstall whatever crap he/she wanted, making changes to msconfig as I see fit. In the following 30 minutes, I would probably take the time to analyze hardware. If necessary, I'd do some upgrades. There's very little you can do on a hardware scale without buying new parts (which in this case I assumed were there already).

Backing up and reformatting would not be a viable option in 30 minutes. Not all computers are decked out with 7200RPMs and highly clocked dual-cores. Backing up could take the full 30 minutes depending on how much important files the user has.

I wouldn't force any software upon the customer other than Chrome and AVG. So, I guess, having some information printed out for them regarding both programs would be a good idea. Assuming I had leftover time for not doing any hardware upgrades, I'd probably give the customer some tips on how to keep their computer performing at the highest level.
 
Lol, I like how we basically said the same exact thing. Seems like great minds think alike.





See above - you are being cautious, I understand that but there really is nothing wrong with installing software on a computer, as long as you aren't charging for the actual programs.

Great minds think alike! Love it!

I don't charge for installing programmes no.
 
First...didn't read all of the thread...seems somehow, somewhere it got stuck on 'customer' though. When I read the original post, I assumed friend/relative/personal computer. I'm going with that thought in mind.

First 5 mins: open the case and blow out the dust and clean the heat sinks and fans (on a laptop I'll at least blow out the air vents).

Next 10 mins: Turn on the computer and see how much bloatware is installed. Ask owner of said computer if s/he really needs 6 toolbars and 3 "free" screensavers. Explain the negatives of said bloatware. If given permission, uninstall bloatware. Update MSConfig to speed startup. (this timeslot is variable depending on how much bloatware is installed)

Half way through, next 10 mins: Make sure updates for Flash/Java/Adobe/Windows/Anti-Virus are installed. Schedule AV/Malware scans at a time when users says the computer will be on but not in high use. (also a variable timeslot depending on how many updates there are)

Last 5 mins: Discuss any hardware upgrades/replacement recommendations with the owner, as needed. Accept payment owner feels s/he needs to give me for doing very easy work that they themselves could probably do but are too afraid to try.
 
Alright so heres what you do... you charge a hefty service fee of like.... 1200 an half hour. You walk in to their house smash there old computer throw it in the trash and set up the new rig you brought over. Tell them the photos and personal files on the old hard drive were acceptable casualties, collect your bounty and be off.

I'm aware this might not be the most ideal business model but if you record it, blur some faces and post on website X the income potential could go up.

To recap
Min 1-3: Show up with bat and locate computer
Min 4-6: Get office space up on that shit.
Min 7-15: Clean up wreckage.
Min 16-28: Set up new system with preinstalled everything.
Min 29 and 30: Collect and Run.

The preceding post was completely spawned from someone who knows very little about the optimization of a computer. Hope you enjoyed a chuckle :)
 
Alright so heres what you do... you charge a hefty service fee of like.... 1200 an half hour. You walk in to their house smash there old computer throw it in the trash and set up the new rig you brought over. Tell them the photos and personal files on the old hard drive were acceptable casualties, collect your bounty and be off.

I'm aware this might not be the most ideal business model but if you record it, blur some faces and post on website X the income potential could go up.

To recap
Min 1-3: Show up with bat and locate computer
Min 4-6: Get office space up on that shit.
Min 7-15: Clean up wreckage.
Min 16-28: Set up new system with preinstalled everything.
Min 29 and 30: Collect and Run.

The preceding post was completely spawned from someone who knows very little about the optimization of a computer. Hope you enjoyed a chuckle :)

Was funny.
 
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