Anyone run a local computer repair service?
 

Anyone run something like this in their city/town?

It seems like an attractive option as another business and something fun to do..


Virus removal, hardware troubleshooting/replacement, upgrades, O/S installs, internet setups, network wiring/installment, checkups, optimizations..

shit like that...


$35 for a checkup and some optimization, $75 for a virus removal or some shit like that.

Do 8 or so jobs a day, thats $600/day, not that bad, plus its fun..

Whos got some experience with this? What are some good places to start advertising?


Is there anyone near 92376/RIALTO area that wants to partner up?

I've thought about it but some people are such a pain to deal with

yah exactly nagging people about computer problems is the last thing i wanna deal with

The more they nag or bitch, the more you charge :Graucho


I do a lot of freelance gratis shit around here, everyone keeps asking me to fix their fucking computers... Audio stores, the damn property management of my apartment wants me to fix their shit all the time so I told em $8k/month and i'll be on-call, lol

I do it on the side and the phone calls I get make it quite discouraging...

Everyone wants free advice with great detail..

"How do I....?" .. "Yeh but what if.....?" .. "But what if it.....?" and on and on...

Doesn't matter that I tell em I need the box in front of me to see what it's doing..

Hehe, I have a merchant account, I can take credit cards over the phone :glugglug

Those people are the worst...they just try and fix it themselves because they dont wanna pay but will call over and over again for advice

I'd only do it if you had someone good working with you. Sounds like a LOT of trouble to me.

The idea of non-computer savvy clients scares the shit out of me.

LONG time ago. One suggestion: try to open a compute repair shop with an in-house Internet Cafe (including the actual Cafe, of course). Are there any in AZ do you think?

Where do you want to run it?

Well, theres already a bunch of internet cafes/gaming cafes around here, I think theres 4 within a couple miles of me.

I want to run the repair shit in my local area, 92376 Rialto/Fontana/San Bernadino/Riverside/Ontario/Corona/Pomona even (California)


I know I have a ton more real work experience than anyone else who offers the service around here, I doubt anyones ever actually worked in a datacenter environment knee deep in repair shit.

I'm sure there. But - what about a repair shop that also features a small Internet Cafe in it, where ppl can hang out while you fix their computer in the back room?

True, that would be cool, but requires a nice amount of upfront capital for building lease, zoning, computers, public washroom facilities, furniture, electic, water, and whatever else, then a smaller amount of capital to advertise.

Want to invest? I'd be up for that if you were willing to.

I think it would take off, no one else offers that kind of personalized service.

Have one or two computers with cable internet, a TV, Xbox/PS2 and some refreshments while they wait for their PC to be fixed.

It can see it taking off. Theres LOTS of people in the area

Why not just get a van down by the river and goto the clients location.... no upfront capital.

Sorry, all my resources are dedicated to Adultie.com at the moment :)

Where do you plan on opening one?

Dont plan to, Id rather drive to their homes and pick it up or do it there, or they can drop it by my office

Why re-invent the wheel? http://www.nerdsonsite.com/

Open a franchise and bank on their publicity and marketing power.

I do that once in a while, pain in the ass and hardly worth the effort though.

OK I do this as a part time job. I started working for a small ISP / Consulting biz during my senior year of high school and been there since really.

Ok Phone support fucking sucks ass, people asking how to do shit, and they expect you to tell them how to do it for free. Removing virues and spyware onsite fucking sucks. You sit there doing nothing while the scans run. Sure you can charge that the time but it is fucking boring. I like at the office where I can kick off 3-4 spyware/virus scans at a time and let em go. We charge $60/hour with 30 min minimum. We should bump that to $60 minimum for sure because the same peopel keep bringing in the same pcs every month because they are so fucking stupid.

I wouldn't keep anything in stock, maybe a cd-rom/burner, floppy, network card etc. But just for testing puroposes. If theirs is broken, tell them you will have to order one and then mark it up 40%.

Just be prepared for the on going phone calls and stupid shit that comes with it. I would straight up tell them it would be $60 minimum for you to look at it, and offer no free phone support unless they already paid for your service and have a question on the work that you did.

Just my thoughts :)

Pc repair is a bitch sometimes. When you deal with the ignorant ass holes. I've set up large networks for companies gone to Milf's home and fixed computers. Most of the time it is alot of fun but that bad ones make you think damn I really don't need this money that bad.

Where do you advertise? I have no problem dealing with the people. If needed I can put up a sign on the front glass of my suite, and start accepting drop-offs or bring them all there and start working on them all at the same time.