There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to the best way to run a computer maintenance or consulting business from home. Some people believe that it’s impossible to do good quality work and get enough turn-over if you don’t take the customer’s computer back to your “shop”. On the other hand, there are techs that work exclusively at the customer’s home and never bring work back home with them.
Which way is the best way to run a PC repair business?
As I’ve done in the past, I decided to weigh the pros and cons of each scenario and see how they stack up against each other using good old-fashioned reasoning. Keep in mind, I’m not taking into account the possibility of opening a store front…that’s a whole different ball of wax and I’ll save that debate for a later time. In the following lists I’ve lined out some of the more important factors that I could think of, drawing from my own experiences.
On-Site PC Repair
Pros
- Customers feel more at easy when they can see what you’re doing to their machine.
- It forces you to stay on task and complete the job as quickly as possible.
- If you have any questions the computer, the customer is right there to answer them for you.
- Once you’re done, you’re done.
- Fewer liability concerns.
Cons
- You may have the customer looking over your shoulder the whole time.
- There is a great probability that there will be many distractions including pets, kids, and other noises.
- You’ll have nothing to do when the system is running a scan or clean-up except sit there and twiddle your thumbs or make small talk.
- You don’t have the luxury of researching solutions mid-job.
In-Shop PC Repair
Pros
- Minimal distractions.
- You have access to all of your tools and diagnostic equipment.
- You can work on multiple systems at a time.
- You can have multiple people working on one system.
- You can work at your own pace with less pressure.
Cons
- Liability is a major concern.
- Sometimes the issue may be related to a factor in the customers home, like network set-up, external peripheral, location of computer, etc. that you cannot reproduce in the lab.
- You’ll have to rely on getting a hold of the customer if you need to get additional information about the system.
- Extra travel (there and back to pick up, there and back to drop off).
- You’ll have to ensure tou have adequate transportation to carry computer systems.
- It may be easier for you to procrastinate.
To make the right decision for your business, you’ll need to weigh these options against your personal situation and ask some questions such as:
What kind of work are you doing?
Will you be doing mostly hard ware repairs, software troubleshooting, data recovery, training? Some of these tasks are better completed on-site with the customer present, while others require specialized equipment or intense, focused work in your own shop.
Who are your customers?
If you only service customers in your immediate area, then it might be less of a hassle for you to pick up and drop off your client’s computers. However, if your customers are spread out far and wide, you may want to save time and travel by working on-site.
What can you accommodate?
You’ll need to make sure you have enough room at home to store and work on multiple systems. You’ll need proper power, monitor, and peripheral connections setup. Also, if your primary vehicle is a motorcycle, you may have a hard time transporting computers!
How I’m Running My Business.
So far, I’ve worked strictly on an on-site basis. I have very little work space in my one bedroom apartment, and at this time, since I’ve only just begun my business, my customers are spread out all over the place. I also appreciate interacting with the customers and having them available to speak with if I have any questions. I try to lessen my time on site by asking the customer for a thorough explanation of the issue before I arrive (which is harder said than done) and I do as much research as I can before hand.
I would eventually like to incorporate a policy in which I take computers back to my place for certain repairs, but I’ll probably wait until I buy a house to start doing that. It would be nice to avoid those awkward silences in which I’ve been sitting waiting for a scan to finish and the customer is sitting right beside me, seemingly wondering why I’m wasting their time. Also, it’s much nicer to have the luxury of researching a problem without eating the customers time to do a quick on-the-sly google search.
For all my tech friends out there, what have been your experiences with on-site vs. in-shop computer work? Which do you prefer?
Interesting Matt,
With my business 90% of the work is done in my small workshop, I find this much easier and it lets me work on up to 10 systems at once, along with the added safety of repairing laptops on an anti-static surface, this also helps keep the costs down, £40 per repair as opposed to £40 an hour, better to have 10 customers at £40 than 2 at £80.
My main concern with the on site service was exactly as you said, the waiting on scans which can take a long time depending on the ammount of data a user has, with these goiing on in the workshop it allows me to carry on with other work.
Hi Mark,
That’s great that you’re able to bring most of the systems with you to work on. How big is your workshop? Do you carry liability insurance? Do customers ever refuse to let you bring the computer with you? How long do you normally keep the computer?
These are quesitons I’ll need to answer myself if I decide to start taking computers offsite with me.
Hey Matt, this is a great list as it’s completely accurate! I would say that about 95% of my jobs were done on-site and found that, other than the ones that needed to be (network setups and such), I dreaded just sitting in some persons living room or office, waiting for a 20 minute scan to finish. Not only did I feel like I was wasting my time, but I often times had the client sitting their, looking over my shoulder, asking questions that tired me out. Small talk was a must and I tired of that as well.
If I could do it all over again, I would bring at least 50% of the work back to the shop. And many people don’t mind dropping it by and picking it back up, as long as they get their computer back and all fixed up.
Very useful info, Matt. Keep it up! Eric.
Hey Eric, glad you found this useful!
Yeah, I can see the onsite-only method getting frustrating and old very quickly. I’ll start experimenting with options, but I want to make sure I get liability insurance before I start carting around thousand dollar property in my car!
Speaking strictly as a possible customer, I know I would be more likely to use a service that came to my home, and fixed the problem there. When someone takes your computer, you have no control over when you will get it back. Knowing that your computer is being repaired in your own house is a very comforting feeling.
Great to get a perspective from the customer’s point of view (as that can be lacking on a blog made by a geek, for geeks)!
I agree that the customer will prefer to have the work done on-site probably 95% of the time. Hopefully I’ll be able to strike a balance between both scenarios, and only take computer home when there will be a good deal of work involved.
I don’t own a PC repair business, but I have done a fair amount of “charity” PC repair for friends and family. I’ve done both, fixing some on-site and others I’ve brought home. I’d prefer to do any repairs that can be done on-site there, others requiring more in-depth repair at home.
The previous comment may make the best case – most customers probably would prefer it be done in their own home.
I think you hit the nail on the head there Jamie. I agree that, when plausible, fixing a PC onsite gives the customer much needed piece of mind.
I think the problem may come in when you have to do a job that involves lots of thumb-twiddling time like system scans or OS installs. Or when you run into a problem that you need to consult with someone else about (and lets face it, NOBODY knows the solution to EVERY problem that can arise on a PC).
So we’ll see how things go. I’ll be posting about this topic again later down the road once I’ve had a chance to try out both scenarios and get a feel for what works best in which case.
Most of the work has to be done onsite. I can’t justify taking a computer with me unless it’s REALLY screwed up or I know it needs to be completely wiped and reinstalled. If I think I’m going to just be sitting there waiting for scans, etc then it comes with me, otherwise I suck it up and get it done onsite. My preference, of course, would be to have it back here where I can be working on several different things at once (is that my computer ADHD kicking in again?)
Hey Bill,
Haha, I think all computer techs have some form of attention deficit. Why else would we spend our lives constantly upgrading computers and looking for the next coolest app or gadget?
Having done personal work, work on behalf of a shop, contract work, and work as an in-house employee, I can tell you that the definitive answer is: it depends
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More or less covered by all above comments, most clients would rather be witness to the work done. If you have several places to go or can make appointments in certain areas on certain days, than you can hop-skip around and minimize cost of sitting there and doing nothing while a time intensive operation takes place, if you prefer. I usually try and take that time to help with other things or give tutorials and training. Either they’ll be interested, and they’ll appreciate it, or they won’t, and their eyes will glaze over. In this case, you are now free to run google searches
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Hardware work done on site can be extra-impressive to a client, but no less risky that if done in a shop, maybe more so. Power conditions, pets, children, static-y carpets, all major hazards. Not to mention the lack of a hygienic way to clean the machine.
I like to give the client the choice, unless I’m especially busy. They can have it done where the computer sits, at additional cost because of rate AND time, or they an let me take it, which I generally talk them in to if any sort of non-healthy hard drive is involved or if there are many virii or be dealt with AND the machine is old and busted, as in impossibly slow.
I guess it also depends how much they trust you, and whether they know they can find you in a shop someplace or not.
I resent the ADD thing, though. I’m a computer tech and I don’t -oh look, a squirrel..
Well said!
“I try to lessen my time on site by asking the customer for a thorough explanation of the issue before I arrive (which is harder said than done)”
Ha ha! I’ve been working on computers for years (as an employee keeping up the in-shop PC’s and as charity-work for friends and family) and this is one of the funniest issues to deal with! Everyone wants to know what they have to contend with before they arrive and have to figure it out from the mouths of the less computer-savy! “Well, it’s running slow and the light thingy stopped flashing” or “my yahoo email made it so my computer won’t start up again” or the infamous “the built in cup holder broke off!” J/K about the last one but I’m sure you know what I mean.
If I were a customer, I think I would prefer dropping off the computer to a store front. That way I know where I left it and I know where to pick it up and I don’t have to worry about what may happen in transit with someone else driving around with it. As for on-site services, I am personally funny about strangers having to spend extended periods of time in my house. I think it’s a personal bubble kind of thing. If it were a friend, I think the story would be different.
I also understand that cleaning out a dusty computer would be a lot nicer on the customer if you could do it somewhere else than their living room!
Hey Tim,
Thanks for stopping by!
Haha, the ol’ cup holder gag! It’s very true that it’s like pulling teeth trying to get any useful information out of certain customers before you arrive on-site, but I think it still pays to ask the right questions before you go.
I know what you mean about dropping it off. I think there’s a healthy split between customers who want to bring their machine to a shop vs. those who prefer on-site help. I’d love to have a store-front, but that’s just not pin the cards right now Maybe sometime in the far future!
In your experience, how have customers felt about remote assistance through services like logmein? Does the idea of allowing someone else to log into their home computer give them the heebi-jeebies?
If I’m not mistaken, companies like Best Buy sell their computers with a Geek Squad version of logmein that a customer can pay to ask for assitance through. The print shop I used to work at would have logmein installed on all the computers in all of the locations so IT could work remotely if needed.
I suppose someting like remote desktop access would be a third option for some technical issues.
The only experience I’ve had with remote assistance is in a corporate environment made by companies like Citrix, Altiris, and Bomgar. There, it’s something that’s pre-installed on everyone’s work computer so they accept it as the norm. It’s extremely helpful for software and user-training issues.
I’ve considered looking into this for my own business, but there are so many variables when trying to connect to an unknown customer’s computer that it’s probably hard to do unless you they are a regular customer and there’s a trusted relationship established. Plus, so far, the majority of the work I’ve done on my own has been for connectivity issues, multiple computer networking, or slow/virus infested PCs, which are all not conducive to remote assistance.
Just popped in to see how well things are going, hope you are keeping busy.
Hey Mark, good to hear from you! I am definitely not in want of things to occupy my time, that’s for sure! How are things on your side of the pond?
I had a storefront, and while costs were over $2k USD a month, I could justify myself over people who did it in their home, I joined the Chamber of Commerce, I didn’t have to negotiate my pricing, and it gave me capital to burn with problem customers.
Liability insurance wasn’t that much, like $50/month for $1 million. The commercial car insurance was almost twice that. I could work on over 20 computers at a time, just me. I would have them drop it off, pick it up, at the shop, and had a girl at the front desk do the paperwork for either.
I collected my money before they left, that way I didn’t have to keep up with cash, or worry about checks. If I was on a call, all they had to do was drop off the PC. For people that were weird about it, I came and picked it up for a small charge. I kept them for a few days, usually, unless they wanted to pay more. It was first come, first serve. People aren’t so weird about bringing it to you when you have a storefront. It’s instant trust. Now, if you are working out of your basement, it’s a different story.
I kept my rates really low for bringing it to me, and charged what everyone else charged for onsite. Residential customers (usually) can’t justify over $250 for computer work, at that price point most of them start thinking about a new PC (unless it’s a newer PC). Onsite with travel time can bloat to this easily. Then you have all the disadvantages to being onsite to contend with. I charged a flat rate and fixed everything on the machine, no matter what it was (labor only).
I always told customers, you can have it good, cheap, or fast. Pick any two. Personally, I don’t take computer repair companies seriously unless they have a commercial location. That lets me know they made a commitment, and they spent capital. Otherwise, it’s probably someone working out of their house, and anyone can do that. Who exactly are you letting into your home? Where is your computer going? Is your data safe?
A commercial location solves those worries, and, IMO, is more important than the convenience of getting it fixed in front of you (which most non-tech customers will then want you to justify your time watching progress bars). I just don’t see the justification of working onsite when you have a shop, unless it’s business/home networking, or you are charging a premium. Yeah, it’s cheaper for the tech. That’s why the less qualified people do it. Anyone can do it. If you do enough volume, you need a service center/shop. Onsite just does not scale. Remember, I’m talking about residential repairs, and I’m talking about big things like hardware problems, viruses, data recovery, etc.
(which most non-tech customers will then want you to justify your time watching progress bars)
This is the biggest problem I have with onsite repairs, the latest infections require multiple scans to ensure everything is removed and it is just silly to expect a customer to pay for your time waiting, and if that customer has 500Gb drive with 20% free space you may as well bring your pyjamas.
In my workshop I have a “clean system” and the quickest way to remove infections is to remove the HDD and install it into my clean system then scan the pants off it until I know it is clean, I can then get on with everything else and turn things around quicker.
It’s not an easy life ours but being able to do something you love and getting paid for it is.
Matt.
I own an IT consultancy business and more through association than choice, I do have to deal with the odd home user.
Unless their issue is with their ADSL connection, I will NEVER do work on site.
My normal hourly rate to business clients is £55 per hour. No home user is going to pay me that for the process of removing a virus from their PC.
I have always been an advocate of not charging people for staring at progress bars so clients bringing PCs to your workshop has to be the only option.
As Mark said earlier, you often have to remove drives and perform multiple scans to remove malware and viruses. Are you really prepared to sit on site for that length of time?
In previous lives, I have been an Ops Manager, Technical Director and Systems Manager. As a business owner in my tenth year (and seen many fail during that period) I can tell you for a fact that home service cannot bring you enough revenue to survive economically. You can’t realistically charge for all of the time involved (unless you are already charging to little).
Hi John,
Thanks for the insightful comments.
Virus scans are definitely something that should be done in-shop. I only had to do one or two on-site scans to figure that out.
When I was running my business part time (which was the case when I wrote this post), I think in-home service was the best way for me to go since I didn’t have any kind of business area at my home to bring back systems to work on or any kind of remote connection software set-up.
Now that I’m running my business full time, I do see the cost and time benefits of not doing all my work on-site. I’m working on moving more and more of my customers to remote service. I’m doing a little bit of everything right now, and I think there’s no one right answer. The only wrong answer is not trying out every service scenario to see which one is right for your individual business.
Nice article Matt.
I used to to most of my work on-site, even during the days of dial-up, waiting 1/2 hour for a virus sig file to download was not much fun. But, now I nearly always bring the system back to the workshop.
Another con of doing work onsite is that you’re less available to take phone calls. So therefore may miss out on potential new leads when people don’t want to talk to your answering machine. I have, however, signed up for an answering service with real people who take a message and instantly transcribe to email. This works out at about £1 per call ($1.50?) which is pretty good value. They also screen out obvious sales calls so you’re not paying for those!
Hi there, just looked at your post. Interested to know, do you have details of the answering service you signed up to? Might be something I want to look into myself. I’m just starting out and my main contact number is my mobile phone but I’m not sure customers want to call a mobile and would rather have an alternative option. Appreciate any info regarding that. Thanks. Andrew
The only time I work on-site is for a network issue. Otherwise, the machine comes back with me. I do have a couple of loaner PC’s (towers) if someone has something critical to do- and I’ve lent them out a few times to people either online trading or doing online school work. These are two Linux machines running Mint. Amazingly, I got them off the side of the road during the last “verge” pick-up here in Australia. Both are beautiful, dual-core machines.
Anyway, I digress. I use the loaners if I think I can’t get their own PC back within 24 hours because I need to order parts. It’s worked out well & they are very appreciative.
As with the others who commented, I can do more back at my shop than at one client’s home. Most of the time, the people are so fed up with the machine not working that they want me to take it away- lol. And no, I’ve never had anyone worry about me taking it with me. Probably because I have a decent following of a few local groups as references? Good word-of-mouth is gold!
Yeah, it all depends on what you as a tech are more comfortable with. I have limited space in my home office so I don’t like having more than 2 or 3 systems max at a time. I definitely prefer to take care of an issue on-site if possible.