Would You Pay for Computer Help?
Feb 23rd, 2010 by Carlos
So I’m thinking of starting a side business to help people get the most out of their PCs. There are some tweaks that almost all PC owners can do to take clean out certain parts of their machines that make them slower than they need to be.
What I need to know is if any of you out there are potential customers and what you would want/pay for a service like this.
The service would be something like this, though I haven’t nailed it down yet: I’d come over to your house for an initial inspection. It would take about a half hour and cost around $25. If your computer doesn’t need any work, then that’s it—job over.
But if it does, it would take me about an hour (on average) to run some software on it and get it working faster. I would show you before and after data that shows the improvement so you don’t have to take my word for it.
That service would be an additional $50. So that’s $75 for an inspection and a revamping of your system.
Not only that, I’d set all the software to run once a week so you don’t need to call me again.
The target customer: someone with a computer that doesn’t have the time or the patience to learn the intricacies of making it faster. Someone who feels his/her machine is slower than when they first bought it and is maybe thinking they need a new machine but don’t want to spend the money.
What do you guys think? How much would you pay for something like this?
Any and all feedback is appreciated!
I might pay for something like this. But aren’t you restricting your customer base to people who live near you? Why don’t you think about using some remote connection software?
You will never have time to do this, trust me. Your free time is ending.
Let’s be honest: All you’re selling here is snake oil.
Your market consists of people who either don’t care about or aren’t interested in learning to maintain their system. Even a “fully automated” system needs some user-level intervention on a relatively regular basis, so your “set it and forget it” little more than a hook for repeat business.
I did PC house-calls for years and it’s something that I’ll never do again.
It never hurts to try out a new side project/hobby so I say go for it. Who knows what it leads to or what conclusions you come up with.
I don’t think 98% of the people who read your site will be interested, but maybe your parent’s friends are a better market. People who use computers every day, but they don’t really know how the nuts and bolts work.
If you can get to those people and let them know you exist, you’ll be successful.
Austin @ Foreigner’s Finances
I think you are right and wrong at the same time. Wrong because the service you are willing to do is not as necessary as you may think. In my opinion people just don’t care about this type of improvement. But I do think you are right about people are willing to pay for IP cameras installation, network services, wireless printers installation and stuff like that. Hope it helps your side business…
Chris: I’m curious to hear more about your experience on this. Was it really bad?
Thanks for the comments: this is something I’ve been thinking about for a while and it’s nice to get some feedback.
As for the remote idea: I thought about it but figured it was too invasive to start with. Maybe if I get a lot of clients and am recommended by people this is a possibility, as it would make it more scalable.
Also thought about things like installing RAM and other upgrades, or even helping recommend and set up new machines.
It was pretty terrible most of the time. A few examples:
1. I had to use a computer that was flanked by a litter box and a trash can, neither of which had been emptied in quite a while.
2. I got angry phone calls from past clients, within weeks of my visit, complaining that their computer was “acting up again”. When I asked if they had opened any email attachments (they had), they got angry with me for blaming it on them.
3. Please like to blame the computer. It’s easier than taking responsibility for their ineptitude. When you try to explain that they’re actually at fault for the problem, they get angry and defensive.
4. People want their computers to “just work”. The car analogy is old and tired here, but it works for a reason. They want to “fix it up” once a year or less, then have it run with no problem until the next “shop visit”. You and I know that it doesn’t work that way, but the typical user doesn’t.
I could go on for pages, but that’s the idea.
PC repair/tuning is the McDonalds of tech work. Like Chris said, your dealing with inept people who will blame the last person who touched their computer. Typical end users will not employ good habits, even if told specifically what to do. Your often put in crappy situations. For example, I was at a clients house and was helping him get his pics off his digital cam, and all the sudden, the picks pop up of him having sex with his male partner. I really didn’t want to see that, but it’s the risk of house calls. Even worse, you find child porn on their PC, and then you have to get the cops involved. Home visits stink.
Also, charging a flat rate is suicide. People can screw up their computers so severely that it can suck up your day. You need to charge hourly. The PC techs I know that have survived self employment and home calls charge about 100 an hour. If you do this type of work, you really need to be targeting rich clients. This type of business model has been rehashed a billion times. It’s just not worth it.
Now catering to small business, that’s a different story, but you need some solid small business networking skills, not just PC skills.