Clueless customers
in [Repair]
|
From: Jeff Liebermann on 11 Mar 2010 23:09 On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:17:48 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005(a)bigfoot.com> wrote: >I have the image of the evil explorer falling into a pond full of >pirhania. Not this customers. However, I do have an occasional customer that drops his laptops off when he visits the area. However, he's not evil. He's a doctor that travels to some of the strangest parts of the planet, lives there for up to about 3 years, tries to leave the locals in better shape than when he arrived, and returns to civilization every few years. The laptops have come back full of fungus, green slime, mud, corrosion, and insect remains. I have to disinfect and deodorize the laptop before tearing it apart for a more thorough cleanup. A few years ago, it came back smelling of rotten Durian fruit: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian> I stock replacement keyboards in anticipation of his arrival. Also spare HD drives in case something dies. Most of the LCD's have the bottom part of the screen trashed, where capillary action sucks water into the LCD panel. Fixing his machines is like equipping an expedition. I got him to buy a 3 year warranty extension from Dell on the last laptop (Dell Precision M4400). I haven't tried it yet, but I wonder what Dell would think if I mailed them the smelly fungus farm laptop for repair? >That makes sense. The odds are that half the time he'll put it in >right-side-right. He has disk envelopes for most of his CD's. About half of them are inserted with the data side facing the window, where he can't tell what's inside the envelope. My guess(tm) is that the definition of "right side up" depends on which way the disk is inserted in the envelope. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com jeffl(a)cruzio.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
From: Jeff Liebermann on 11 Mar 2010 23:22 On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:41:15 -0800 (PST), "William R. Walsh" <wm_walsh(a)hotmail.com> wrote: >> I need to rant... > >alt.sysadmin.recovery is a good place too. There's an entrance exam. >(Sorry, but the FAQ for the group says you're not to drop hints.) Been there, done that, and know the trick. (No, I'm not telling). The problem is that most of the posting are for or about sysadmins doing evil and dastardly things to customers and lusers. That's fine, but not very interesting to me. I have no intention of retaliating against paying customers. It's just that sometimes, I get a bit frustrated and need to unload. Methinks a repair newsgroup is more appropriate for a repair oriented rant. >> He had already sprayed contact cleaner all over (and under) the >> keyboard. > >Oh. Oh my. I think I'd have told him to just push it into the trash at >that point, or maybe that I'd come by to perform the autopsy. I gave it about a 50% chance of being able to recover the keyboard. I was more worried about what was inside the keyboard that was causing the intermittent connections and sticky keys. I guess the alcohol and water washed it and the contact cleaner oil away. >Later in this thread, I believe you relent a bit. I like to see the >best in people, but really--they can't be "bothered" to make sure the >disc is put into place the right way every time? What else (whose >outcome might be significantly more serious) can't they be "bothered" >to concern themselves with doing correctly? Driving? Voting? Wiring >the house? Servicing potentially safety-sensitive equipment used by >the general public? Good slippery slope theory, but it doesn't apply here. The customer is quite wealthy. If I bothered to take his annual income, and divide it by the number of hours that he "works", he could easily afford my exorbitant rates instead of learning how to operate the computer by himself. Let's just say he has better things to do. >I start thinking some very BOFH-ly thoughts when this kind of stuff >rolls around. Sure. Biting the hand that supports my decadent and lavish lifestyle is not good policy. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com jeffl(a)cruzio.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
From: Jeff Liebermann on 11 Mar 2010 23:33 On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:12:56 -0800 (PST), "hr(bob) hofmann(a)att.net" <hrhofmann(a)att.net> wrote: >Who provided the air hose?? Ummm... me. I have an air compressor in the office, in my Subaru, and a big one at home. It's best to blow the dust and dirt out of machines outside before I bring them inside. Much less dirt and dust to clean up later. It's also useful for blow drying liquids and to accellerate evaporation, such as for keyboard cleaning. Before I bought the compressors, I used to blow out the dust with my breath, which I decided was not very healthy when I discovered black dirt in my nose and throat. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com jeffl(a)cruzio.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
From: Jeff Liebermann on 11 Mar 2010 23:39 On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:04:08 -0500, Meat Plow wrote: >I spent several years as an IT consultant and you are 200% correct. I >would much rather sit 8 hours in a NOC and monitor traffic and admin >routers and other ingress/egress equipment than to deal with an office >full of idiots. The choice is dealing with things or people. I do better dealing with things, but it's dealing with people that generates the most revenue for me. I get bored easily and reading reports or staring at monitors all day does not do anything for me. Working in IT or as a corporate hired gun is very different from helping individual customers and small companies with their computer problems. One of the major differences is that I can fire an individual customers if necessary. You can't easily do that in a corporate environment when one user gives you a problem. I've been doing this (and other things) since about 1983, and have only had to fire perhaps 4 customers. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com jeffl(a)cruzio.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
From: Dave Platt on 12 Mar 2010 00:39
In article <qfejp5p4n60fgvk56479js454ps8pcsr9s(a)4ax.com>, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl(a)cruzio.com> wrote: > I have to >disinfect and deodorize the laptop before tearing it apart for a more >thorough cleanup. A few years ago, it came back smelling of rotten >Durian fruit: ><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian> Out of curiosity - does rotten Durian fruit smell any different/worse than fresh ripe Durian fruit? -- Dave Platt <dplatt(a)radagast.org> AE6EO Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! |