It appears that I need to clear the air one more time. Maybe this will be more of a rant then anything else, and I apologize to most of those clients that understand which obviously this does not apply to.
If you are an existing client of mine and I have had, at one time, your computer on my bench. There is a very good chance that you have Symantec's PC Anywhere installed. This is what I would consider a "life-line" for you to "take advantage of me" in the way that I can help diagnose, and in most cases, fix the problems you might be having. I guess I should start a few years ago, and explain things more clearly, since this is what the BLOG is supposed to be for-- communication for the masses!
As this world of computers is ever-changing in both the way we use them and the way they function, over the internet. We have seen the days of slow, dial-up connections almost a thing of the past (although it is still a very handy way to communicate with your email server in a pinch), however now that broadband and DSL has arrived, we see most computers connected to one of these. What this means is your computer is now connected 24/7 to the internet. What that has done is allow people to communicate to you over the phone lines once again, since they no longer get voice mail or busy signals, and from my point of view, it now allows me to help you and your computer by remotely connecting and diagnosing and usually repairing the problem.
There is however, one factor that remains, and that would be the "speed" in which I would have to connect to your computer. I have spoken about this before, in the fact that I require a 'hi-speed' connection and not one of the "lite" packages that the cable company and DSL company offers. Sure, it is true I can connect, however if I want to keep my sanity or what is left of it, I have requested that if you want to take advantage of my "usually free" service, then you should be on the hi-speed connection.
Now, let me clear this up. As I personally was taking advantage of the remote features to my own computer at home when I was out and about with my laptop, I started to realize a few of my aged clients were not getting the maintenance chores done on a routinely manner since I was making a monthly visit to give lessons on using the computer, my one-hour lesson time was virtually all used up in the basic spyware scans, windows updates and general cleanup, which is something each and everyone should be able to do quite easily. I then started to utilize the remote connectivity to these specific clients by connecting, usually the day before I was to show up at their home for the one-hour lesson. I restate this time since any more then one hour usually makes it hard to grasp everything being taught, therefore I would do two things. One would be that I ask the client start making notes and write down on a piece of paper, each time they got stumped at something they were trying to do on their computer. Typically once a page of questions was written up, I had found that this was about one hour of my time in which I was then going through the questions and helping you out with the problems YOU were having. This way I was not coming to your home and giving you a computer lesson on issues that you may or may not ever use on your computer. Since there are literally thousands of different methods to getting the job done, it is always the "shortcut" that we tend to want to look for, so that the time spent on something is less of a challenge as well as allowing you more time to do the things you want to with your computer.
So the day before I was to visit the client for the lesson, I was finding myself connecting, running through all the updates and spyware scans, etc, so that when I was at the home, I knew that the computer was ready, as well, the client was more at ease since they didn't have to sit there and see me zipping along, doing things that they were not familiar with, but were in awe sometimes at the speed in which the mouse and keyboard were moving. Believe me, when you see a lot of computers with similar problems, it does become pretty repetitive, therefore even for the person doing the cleanup work, it becomes a chore to find ways of making this work enjoyable enough to continue to do it.
As the times changed and the price of hi-speed internet dropped and virtually everyone that now has a computer, that is within range of receiving a hi-speed connection is now on one, it became a no-brainer that I would install and have this software on standby for that emergency that would sure to come along. When you are a computer consultant, as I am, you find yourself always under what seems to be a time crunch. There are 24 hours in a day, so how many computers and people can I help in that time-frame... When I am at my bench, I would be doing the necessary repairs to whatever computers were there, but at the same time, I would be going through my email, as well as working on web page material. In the emails I would receive word from some clients that they were having various problems and I was then responding to these emails by usually giving them some things to try out or simply giving them step by step help. It wasn't until I realized that I was spending, on some emails, close to 30 minutes writing down these instructions for them to fix the problem. Personally I know that you learn from experience so I have always tried to "teach and train" as I fix, in the case that I am in the clients home. That being said, I have tried to always keep my rates nearly half of what others doing the same job as me would charge. This is because I know I can get the job done in one hour, just like the other person, but hopefully I am going to take 2 hours, since I am also giving a lesson on how the problem can be resolved in the future by teaching the client how the problem arrived on their computer in the first place. You could say, I am trying to be the same computer doctor as the next person, but with a better bed-side manner.... That being said, I can honestly say that my existing clients, I feel, the communication between us has flourished since they are no longer afraid to ask questions or "feel stupid in asking" something.
Now, knowing this, I still try to explain that in my emails, however what I have found is instead of spending 30 minutes on an email explaining how to do certain things to attempt repair (since this may not be the problem in the first place), I am simply connecting to their computer, and diagnosing and repairing the problem for them, in many cases, in under 15 minutes. This means that I have saved myself 15 minutes, and the client is happy because their computer is working again, without that specific error. The one thing that is not being done here, well, actually two things. One being that the client didn't learn anything about how the problem first got on the computer in the first place, and the second being that no money exchanged hands... hmmm now that doesn't seem right does it? :-) Well actually okay, so I didn't send an invoice for my time, however I know I saved myself 15 minutes.. And that becomes huge for me, over a 24 hour period, so the way I see it, is it is a win-win situation. The client has their computer fixed by simply emailing me their question/problem, and I have managed to help them, saving myself a house-call (which would have had a charge of course), as well as about 15 minutes (on average) per email. I should inject at this time, that I am finding myself working more like a lawyer might do, by accounting for all the time spent on the job. This being said, I am testing a number of small programs out there, that will allow me to keep track of just how much time I do spend on each computer that I am fixing on my bench, for example, and whatever tasks I am performing. The one draw back to this is the simple fact that the act of doing this is also administering time itself and just who pays for that? I do! So there has to be a fine line drawn between "billable hours" and "free time". I try to attempt this by the amount of time I spend "looking at the screen" of one clients computer. Therefore if I connect to a client with a problem they are unsure of, and I see that they have a trojan horse virus that I should be able to remove, I will start the cleaning process, however the time spent on this remotely is actually low-priority over the computers on my bench, therefore, this problem may take a few evenings before it is fixed. I have in the past, taken a week of connecting in the wee hours of the morning for a few hours each day, to repair a stubborn virus. The end result would probably be in the neighborhood of 10 hours that I was actually connected to the clients computer, however they were only invoiced 1 hour! Think about it.. you email me a problem you are having, I connect while you are not using the computer (while you are sleeping perhaps), and the problem is fixed. The next day you wake up to read your emails and see that I have connected and repaired the problem or am in the process of doing so with information as to what you should do while I am working on this. In many cases, it might be that you should not use a specific program until I have fixed the problem, however you are still free to use your email, and or web browser, etc. But what is that worth? Your computer is fixed, while you are not using it, and it did not have to leave your home! Wouldn't that be great if everything in life was like that.. you have a problem with your car and tell someone about it in an email on your way to bed, only to wake up having your car fixed. Maybe some day it will be like that for your car, but for now, it can be like that for your computer!
So, now that the machine is running smoothly..... Or is it? Well that depends on the routine maintenance. As with any machine that has been on my bench at one time, it will have the latest in anti-spyware (which you can read my TIPS on this and download for yourself). There have been times in the past however, whereas I will spend the time in explaining how to do something, only be receive a response "oh, that is way over my head and I do not want to attempt this.. Could you do this for me? Can it be done remotely?).. So the answer would always be "yes" and usually "yes, it can be done remotely".. Now is when I have to make that executive decision as to whether or not this client should be charged for my time. I know, if you are consultant reading this, you are saying I am crazy to have not charged in the first place, but then you are not me.. And this is my business and my clients and I know how it feels, just as you should, when you go out and buy a computer for what would be now, under $1000 only to get it home and have it up and running on this hi-speed connection for maybe less then a month, before you are hit with all sorts of problems.. And end up calling a computer consultant or taking it to a local computer store for repairs, only to find out that you will pay anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 of what you paid for the box in the first place.. You probably will only be doing that once! After this you are either going to find a new hobby, or you NOT going to be using the computer as much, since you are now afraid of it. A sollution that some have asked me about is an annual contract whereas you would pay a fee for this service... yes it has been tossed around however I am still a firm believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". It is the routine maintenance and upkeep that needs to be done.
This is where I have seen many people turn around and sell the thing or simply decide that they will not spend any more time then they absolutely have to, on their computer (ie: only using it for email and the odd search for something).. Not realizing that their long distance phone bills could be a thing of the past, if they were to spend a little money on a web cam, they could be having live two-way chats with their loved ones. Yeah, I know it is getting close to not requiring a long distance provider anymore, but most will still have a phone in their home, so why not try and use the technology you have in front of you.. That is where I hopefully come in to action, just as every computer consultant out there does.
So, getting back to my "remote help policy" issues.... It seems that even though I place certain icons on the desktop and then explain that these should be used "daily", as I suggest, on your way to bed, since the spyware scans can be going on while you are sleeping, then in the morning, you are left with the report of what was found and removed in some cases you then simply select everything and remove it. Read more of this from my TIPS. So when I get the email from the frustrated client that is telling me their computer is running slow and this and that... I connect and actually the first thing I usually do is go to the "ad-aware" spyware program which is currently on the desktop, one of the few that I suggest running each day. Frustrated client or not, you can imagine how I feel when I make this connection and click on this program only to find that the last time it was run was last month!!! Ok, fine, so you don't want to take the time to keep your computer clean, and want to TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME.. Which is what I have always said to do.. No problem.. But then you shouldn't also have a problem in paying my one hour fee for this... Right? So why do some people have a problem with this?
Putting it another way.. Your house is a mess and you just don't want to clean it, or maybe because you have better things to do.. So you hire Molly Maid house cleaning service...For example... Hey, they did such a great job, that I think I will hire them to come once a week for the hour or two that they spend, keeping my house clean has never been easier... The key to this is the simple fact that if you have routine house cleaning service, hopefully, the house is not usually as messy the next time and the time after that.. Soon, you will find that things are in order and when they aren't you are picking them up and putting them where they belong, simply because "it looked out of place"..
I have some clients, whether it was their military upbringing, or simply that they like a clean house, that have all their icons in order, and as for maintenance.. They have their daily routines which they defrag, run virus scans, etc and know exactly when the last scan was done and what it found. Whereas others would laugh at that and could care less, so long as they can come home from their normal jobs or duties, and hop on the computer to get through their email and read a bit of news.. And don't want to have to deal with running scans, etc. Those are the people that are either hiring MollyMaid or simply reaching in to their pocket each and every time they have a problem.. Nothing wrong with that either.. Considering the price of a new computer now a days, it has become an ongoing battle for me as a consultant to "justify my time" that I do spend on a computer problem. This is why my rant, and I know this is a rant, but hopefully also a little lesson for all that have ever attempted to repair what should be a "simple computer problem". When the dentist tells you to brush your teeth because if you don't you will get cavities and/or you will need your teeth pulled and will require dentures.... So you know there are toothbrushes and toothpaste available, so you use it.
When the computer consultant places icons on your desktop and shows you how to use them, as well, if you forget how, creates web pages full of TIPS for you to read and understand what it is you have to do... Then why does that same consultant end up connecting and running a program that you could quite easily have done yourself? Maybe because you just don't feel it is something you need to do.. And you don't.. Just don't get upset when you get an invoice for the hour the person spent cleaning your computer! Bottom line, that is what it boils down to. Sure, I will have spent more then one hour on many a client computer, and not invoiced a penny but that is simply because I am doing the work over a period of time, while I am waiting for other problems I am fixing on my workbench.. This is what I call part of doing business.. And offering this as a service to my existing clients.. And hopefully they appreciate it.. In fact I know they do, because these are the ones that will time and time again, pass my name on to their friends, and their two friends, etc. If there is one thing I have learned in my ummmm almost 40 years of living and 28 years of doing business (yes, I actually started working in the television production field at the age of 11!).. "Your next job is only as good as your last" meaning, if I do a good job, then they will hopefully pass my name on in good faith.. I have and will continue to believe in "what goes around, comes around" and the simple fact is, if I have found a really good plumber or family doctor, or TV repair man, I will go back to that person and if someone were to ask me if I knew any good plumber for example, I would be passing my plumbers name along to them.
