Video: Computer Tech Fraud

Plantwiz

Video showing a loose cable and how various computer shops handle fixing the problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBvUt2bIQFk


What would you or your company do?

royal

Interesting video. One of the first things I always check is to make sure cables are fit into their slots correctly. Any computer repair person, especially one that is doing it as a living, should have seen this problem in about a minute of inspecting the insides of a computer. This is not to mention that even with the hard drive unplugged, a computer will still POST and should have 1 beep notifying the tech that the motherboard is working. It's amazing that the Geek Squad guy said it was a bad psu when he could use a voltimeter or other tools to test it. It's disgusting to see these shops try to scam users into paying money to fix something that just isn't broke. Kudos to those shops that fixed the problem for free. That's the correct and ethical thing to do for such a simple issue that should be easily diagnosable to anyone who has seen the inside of a computer.

seraphus

LOL

That's hilarious.


Seriously though...
I'm certain this happens often enough. It reminds me of
people getting scammed by car repair/maintenance shops.
Basically the less you know, the more likely you are to get taken
advantage of. Unfortunately, there will probably be many more
reports like this.



Questions though: Why not give the repair shop that fixed it for free
more publicity? Did they even get ten seconds?

D-boy

Compusa was honest but they still charged her over $100's to plug in the cable... I should open a repair shop... Just joking! Yeah I think the guy that did it for free will get more business now... maybe.... That was funny though, but i can believe it happens...

Plantwiz

Although it can be argued that when a person enters your shop they are seeking YOUR EXPERIENCE and therefore should compensated.....it's pretty difficult to charge for something in when it takes a couple of minutes to troubleshoot.

Another example is ram that has crept up....re-seating the ram isn't that difficult, so just do it (especially if when you open the chassis you uncover the problem and correct it). Good business practices like this keeps clients happy and less likely to complain when you have to remove Malware and charge them for 'fixing' their computer.

I unfortunately wasn't surprised because I worked briefly with a guy (he was let go ). who would charge clients for the wrong problem, then when they'd return try to weasle out of warranty work. I've also had several people come in with loose cables, or the power switch off, etc... and just correct the problem at the check-in stage and sent them on their way. Plus, when you are a retail store front....they're more likely to BUY merchandise because they didn't spend all their money on service.


My experience tells me it PAYS to be nice.

mastercorm

it's pretty sad actually, that anyone could not notice the cable is unplugged upon opening it up. as for that a-hole who tried to scam her for $275, it's people like that who give techs a bad name and ruin everything for the rest of us. I hope he goes out of business now.

KGhaleon

That is pretty dirty, but then again I don't like to talk bad about other businesses. Oddly enough, we actually have Geek squard recommend customers to us from time to time so I won't say that all GS employee's are bad.

I generally look at the computer for a couple minutes when it is brought it to see if it might be something simple, and I don't charge the customer. If everything is plugged in and working, then I ask the customer to leave it with me so I can diagnose it.

Though it's bad business, I don't charge anything until I at least know what the problem is...then I call the customer and ask if they want me to fix it, for a fee. The chart with our costs are available at the front of our office. It can be a pain if I diagnose the motherboard as bad and the customer doesn't want to put money in...then I just give it back to them and they go buy a new PC. The good side to this is that they will come back.

I do hate when the news pulls crap like this, because then it makes people suspicious of all IT businesses. I actually have customers from time to time force me to explain and show proof that their monitor or hard drive is bad. It's aggrivating and time consuming.

KG

sprkymrk

Geez, I'd push in a loose cable for a lot less than the $100-$275 they were charging.

How about if I run a Tuesday Special - fix loose cables while you wait only $89.95!
I'll even drive your car around to WalMart for an express oil change at no extra charge.

Daniel333

It turns my stomach, that it's true.