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Study Unit
Preparing for YourCareer as a PCTechnicianReviewed By
William J. Scannella
Copyright © 2011 by Education Direct, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright may bereproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval sys-tem, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to Copyright Permissions, Education Direct, 925 Oak Street, Scranton,Pennsylvania 18515.
Printed in the United States of America
All terms mentioned in this text that are known to be trademarks or service markshave been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this text should not beregarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.
About the Reviewer
William Scannella has more than 25 years experience in the PC
and information technology industry. He has worked as a help-
desk analyst, desktop support technician, software tester, and
systems analyst. He has developed print and online documentation
and training for in-house developed and off-the-shelf systems. Mr.
Scannella has a master’s degree in technical writing from Miami
University of Ohio.
iii
Preview
Preview
In this study unit, you’ll learn that
being a successful PC technician
involves much more than the ability
to troubleshoot and repair computer
systems. Knowing how to fix a
computer or install a network is
one thing; dealing with clients and
running a business is something else
altogether. This study unit will help you recognize and apply
the interpersonal skills and business know-how necessary
to succeed in your career. Although the content of this study
unit might seem somewhat trivial as compared to the more
technical portions of your program, it’s every bit as important
to your success. Whether you’re self-employed or working
for a company providing PC support services, you need
to understand how to conduct yourself, how to work with
customers, and how to run your business.
When you complete this study unit, you’ll be ableto
• Identify the work-related characteristics that are importantfor a successful PC technician
• Explain how to establish and maintain good customer relationships
• Explain the importance of good communication and howit relates to performing your job
• List the elements essential to achieving professionalismand discuss the importance of each
• List various types of resources, records, and informationtools that you need to maintain and describe the purposeof each
• Describe the methods available for you to remain currentwith new developments in technology
• Name the laws pertaining to software copyrights andexplain your responsibilities with regard to the protectionof software copyrights
• Describe how to control billing and manage inventorywithin your business
• Identify some additional services that you can provide to improve your value and your relationship with yourclients
v
PROFESSIONALISM 1Professional Image and Conduct 1Professional Organizations and Certifications 7Practical Exercise 1 12
WORKING WITH CUSTOMERS 15Communication 15Service Calls 21Practical Exercise 2 26
RUNNING A BUSINESS 28General Business Requirements 28Providing Special Services 33Parts and Supplies 36Billing Practices 39Practical Exercise 3 45
SELF-CHECK ANSWERS 47
Conte
nts
Conte
nts
1
PROFESSIONALISMYour success as a PC technician depends on more than just
your technical abilities. Although technical ability is critical,
don’t underestimate the importance of conducting yourself in
a professional manner. Professionalism is what establishes
and maintains relationships with your clients. In this section,
you’ll learn about the traits and qualities that are instrumental
to professionalism and how professionalism is important to you
and your business.
With the proper training, just about anyone can learn to
troubleshoot computers and replace defective parts. Why,
then, do customers prefer one repair technician to another?
One major reason is professionalism. In the following para-
graphs we’ll describe in detail the individual characteristics
that determine professionalism.
Professional Image and ConductDid you know that people will, upon meeting you, form an
opinion of you in just a few minutes? And once their opinion
is formed, whether good or bad, it will be hard to change it.
For this reason, it’s very important that you always look and
act like a professional. That way, you’ll make an excellent
impression that inspires confidence in both prospective
employers and your customers.
The pursuit of excellence sets a fine technician apart from
an average one. Paying attention to detail is one important
way to provide excellent service. You’ll inspire confidence
and loyalty in your customers when they perceive you to be
honest and skilled in the way you conduct your business.
Preparing for Your Career asa PC Technician
Remember to regularly
check “My Courses”
on your student
homepage. Your
instructor may post
additional resources
that you can access
to enhance your
learning experience.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician
Let your excellent work and professional manner speak for
themselves, and you’ll get all the business you can handle.
Now let’s examine the individual characteristics associated
with professionalism. As you read about each characteristic,
try to see yourself through your customer’s eyes to determine
if there are certain areas where you may need improvement.
Appearance
As a technician you should dress neatly, as though you were a
guest at the customer’s site (Figure 1). However, in addition to
making a neat appearance, you should also dress comfortably
and functionally.
By dressing comfortably, you can concentrate on your work
and do a better job. If you’re not comfortable, such as being
too warm for example, your attention may be diverted,
causing you to make poor judgments and give less than
your best effort.
The last, but perhaps the most important thing, is to
dress functionally. First and foremost, this means that you
should keep jewelry to a minimum. Jewelry can get caught
on a component, short an electrical circuit, causing further
damage to the computer, or cause you to receive an electric
shock. Another consideration is to wear short sleeves, or,
if you must wear long sleeves, roll up your sleeves when
working.
2
FIGURE 1—By dressingneatly and comfortably,you can get your jobdone while creating agood impression.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 3
Attitude
Psychologists consider attitude to be a mental screen or pre-
disposition that affects people’s behaviors and the way they
interact with others. Another term for attitude is mind-set.
Your attitude has a profound effect on your customer.
Remember that your attitude, as well as the quality of your
work, will determine whether the customer will seek you out
the next time a problem arises. If you work in a computer
support role for a business, don’t think because you have
“captive clients” that this doesn’t apply to you. The impres-
sion you make on your coworkers goes a long way when it
comes time for promotion.
In some cases, events occur which you have little or no control
over. Attitude, on the other hand, is one thing during a service
call that you do have control over. The basis of a good attitude
begins with enjoying your work. However, there are bound to
be times when things are going poorly and you’re in danger
of slipping into a bad attitude. At these times, it’s extremely
important for you to keep a positive attitude and prevent
your customer from getting the feeling that you don’t want
to be there.
Behavior
Along with attitude, behavior is another important service
characteristic under your control. One way to demonstrate
good behavior is to do your job with as little interference to
the customer as possible. This is especially true if you’re
making a service call in an office environment where several
people are trying to work around you. Try to stay out of
the way as much as possible and refrain from striking up
idle conversations with employees. Too much unnecessary
conversation reduces productivity and can annoy the client
(Figure 2). Remember that you’re a guest in the client’s work-
place and your job is to make the repair in the shortest time
possible without causing any disturbance that will reduce
the client’s ability to carry on business.
Dependability
Another way to win over and maintain the loyalty of your cus-
tomers is to be dependable. That means you should make every
effort to keep your promises. If you tell a customer that you’ll
return tomorrow morning at a certain time, be there at that
time. Better yet, be there slightly before that time. Customers
appreciate people they can trust.
Occasionally, circumstances will occur that may prevent you
from keeping a promise to a customer. When this happens,
always contact the customer as soon as possible to apologize
and explain the problem. Never ignore a promise. Usually,
your customer will understand, and you can make different
arrangements to satisfy your customer’s needs.
Demonstrating Knowledge of Your Field
While it’s important that you give the customer the feeling that
you’re very competent, it’s just as important that you don’t
make the customer feel computer illiterate. Don’t try to impress
the customer with technical jargon. Explain the problem and
your remedy in simple, everyday terms (Figure 3).
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician4
FIGURE 2—Don’t wasteyour client’s time andmoney by gossiping orbeing overly talkative.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 5
One way to impress your customers with your knowledge,
and at the same time show your desire to learn more, is to
take an interest in your client’s business. Let your clients
provide you with information and publications that describe
their operations. Then, be on the lookout for related business
and technology information that you can pass along to your
client.
Credibility
Having credibility means that the customer sees you as being
worthy of confidence. Credibility is established by demonstrating
technical competency and performing your job to the customer’s
expectations. However, one of the fastest ways to lose your
credibility is to try to deceive and stall a customer when
you’re in over your head and can’t resolve a problem. To
maintain your credibility, it’s best to admit you need help
and seek whatever assistance is needed. Putting your cus-
tomer’s needs before your own personal pride will win you
continued respect.
Honesty and Integrity
Honesty and integrity are closely linked with credibility. Never
try to hide a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. If you make
a mistake, take full responsibility and correct the situation.
FIGURE 3—Describe prob-lems using language thecustomer can understand.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician6
Trying to hide a mistake will do nothing but compound the
problem. Sooner or later the truth will come out and you’ll
lose respect, credibility, and probably your customer.
Demonstrating Respect
Demonstrating respect for your customers is another way to
ensure that you’ll have repeat business from them. Your
customers are your friends, your allies, and your partners in
business, so be sure to treat them as such. All of your
actions and communications with your clients should show
respect.
Showing concern for a client’s business and schedule can be
effective in demonstrating your respect. For example, you
may remain late to fix a problem so that the customer will
have the equipment available to begin operations first thing
in the morning. Another way to show respect may be to sug-
gest a way, or discuss a special feature the client can install,
to increase productivity.
Standing behind Your Work
A PC technician who fails to stand behind his or her work
probably won’t be in business very long. Not only will repeat
business suffer, but because word has a way of getting
around, new business will also be reduced.
The main factor involved with standing behind your work is
cost. One way to reduce the number of jobs that have to be
done over is to do a quality job the first time and every time.
Sometimes, however, warranty service is beyond your control,
such as when you install a part that later fails. Although the
failure isn’t your fault, the customer looks to you to make it
right since you chose the part and did the work. It’s then up
to you to replace the part again at no cost to the customer.
Although you’ll be working for free to gain the customer’s
respect and preserve your reputation, the cost of the part
should be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.
You can be, in a technical sense, the best PC technician in
your town or within the company or business where you
work. However, if you lack any of the tools of professionalism
we’ve just described, your business or career is going to
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 7
suffer to some degree. You and your business can flourish
when your clients or coworkers enjoy having you around and
know that you can be trusted.
Professional Organizations andCertificationsIn addition to your image and conduct, there are other ways
in which you need to demonstrate your professionalism. As
a PC technician, it’s important that you’re able to show your
employer or your customers, that you’re dedicated to the pro-
fession and that you’re fully qualified to perform the work.
To show your ongoing interest and concern in PC repair, sup-
port, and technology, you should consider joining a professional
organization. Professional organizations help you by providing
information, offering insights, and establishing contacts within
your profession. Also, to prove your knowledge and proficiency
in the field of PC repair, you may want to (or in some cases be
required to) become certified in your particular type of work.
If you’re learning PC repair solely for your own interests,
you’ll probably have no reason to join an organization or
seek certification. However, if your livelihood involves com-
puter repair and support, whether you work in a small repair
shop, run a repair business, or work for a larger company,
you should seriously consider becoming certified. In a small
business, such as a repair shop, your certification will
instill confidence in your customers. In larger businesses,
you’re very likely to find that certification is a requirement.
Many companies require certification for initial employment
while others may grant you a specific period of time such
as 90 days or a year from your date of hire to obtain your
certification.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician8
Why Certification?
Some PC technicians have learned their skills by hands-
on trial and error. These people have no formal training or
certification. By completing a formal training program and
obtaining a certification, you demonstrate your commitment
to your profession and possess the credentials of a qualified
computer repair technician. The result is that you’ve improved
your job opportunities and chances for success and promo-
tion. Your customers will view you as a professional and
reward you with their confidence and their business.
A+ Certification
CompTIA’s A+ certification program is the computer industry’s
most well-known certification and the standard for entry-
level computer technicians. CompTIA (Computer Technology
Industry Association) is the leading global IT association, with
over 16,000 members in more than 89 countries. For entry-
level IT technicians, the CompTIA A+ exam covers preventive
maintenance, basic networking, installation, troubleshooting,
communication and professionalism. As of 2009, the A+ exam
consists of two parts: the Essentials exam and the Practical
Application exam. The Essentials exam is designed to test
the knowledge of a technician with only 500 hours (about
three months) experience. The Practical Applications exam
tests the technician with 1000 hours (about six months).
Both exams address both hardware and software.
The questions on the Essentials exam fit into one of six topic
areas (See Table 1). Within these topics, you will be tested on
• Ability to install, configure, and maintain all the stan-
dard parts of a PC, such as installing and setting up a
hard drive
• Ability to configure devices with appropriate drivers in
Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7
• Familiarity with standard Windows diagnostics tools
• Knowledge of computer security tools and techniques
for troubleshooting
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 9
• Knowledge of safety and environmental issues, such as
how to recycle and dispose of computer gear properly
• Ability to communicate effectively with customers and
coworkers in a professional, tactful, and respectful manner
The Practical Application exam has four objectives (Table 1).
It covers the same hardware and software as Essentials,
but stresses a hands-on approach to finding the appropriate
solution to a problem. It tests your understanding of how all
the technology should work, how to diagnose why something
doesn’t work, and how to fix it.
To understand the difference between the two exams, consider
how knowledge of hardware is tested:
The Essentials exam focuses on identifying parts, purposes,
and characteristics of devices with a question like this:
Table 1BREAKDOWN OF A+ CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION
Essentials Exam
1.0 Hardware 27%
2.0 Troubleshooting, Repair, Maintenance 20%
3.0 Operating Systems and Software 20%
4.0 Networking 15%
5.0 Security 8%
6.0 Operational Procedure 10%
Practical Application Exam
1.0 Hardware 38%
2.0 Operating Systems 34%
3.0 Networking 15%
4.0 Security 13%
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician10
How many pins does a SCSI-2 cable have?
A. 24
B. 40
C. 50
D. 72
The Practical Application exam tests your knowledge with
real-world scenarios such as this:
A technician has just installed an upgraded graphics
card. The computer’s power turns off before it finishes
booting. Which of the following is the cause of the
problem?
A. The monitor can’t display the increased
resolution of the new graphics card.
B. The power supply doesn’t provide enough
wattage to power the new graphics card.
C. The new graphics card is incompatible with
the existing processor.
D. The computer doesn’t have enough RAM to
support the new graphics card.
For information about the A+ examination, log on the CompTIA
Web site at http://www.comptia.org. Here you’ll find detailed
information about each exam’s objectives, the specific content
of each exam, how the questions are structured and scored,
how to find authorized exam providers, available locations, and
how to register to take the examinations (including online).
Other Certifications
Depending on your particular job requirements, you
should also consider other certifications in addition to the
A+ Certification as appropriate to your individual needs.
Some certifications show general competency (IC³, Net+,
Server+), and some are company software or hardware specific
(MOS, CCNA, CNA). Below is a brief discussion of some of
these certifications that can be used as stepping-stones to
your career success.
Certiport’s Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³)
is a validated standards-based training and certification
program for basic computing and Internet aptitude. For IC³
certification, you’re required to pass all three IC³ exams:
Computing Fundamentals (hardware, software, and operating
systems), Key Applications (common program, word process-
ing, and spreadsheet functions) and Living Online (networks,
accessing and using the Internet, electronic mail, and
Internet/computing issues related to society.
CompTIA’s Network+ and Server+ certification show mid- to
upper-level technician competency in maintaining networks or
the hardware and software for servers. Examination structure
and scoring are similar to those used in A+ certification exams.
Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exams test expertise as a user
of Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, Access,
PowerPoint, and Project. For most of these products, you can
qualify at the Specialist, Expert, or Master level. They’re typi-
cally performance-based, asking you to complete tasks
showing your level of competency.
Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) is a high-level cer-
tification designating someone with expertise in designing and
implementing various Microsoft server systems such as
Windows 2000, 2003, NT4.0. An MCSE candidate should have
one to two years of experience in designing, installing, config-
uring, and troubleshooting network systems. To earn the
MCSE, you must pass seven exams: four exams on network-
ing systems, one on client operating systems, one on design
and one elective exam.
A Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) attests that a person is
professionally certified by Novell to administer NetWare-based
based computer networks. According to Novell, a person plan-
ning to pursue the CNA should have a strong knowledge of
networking fundamentals before trying to earn the certification.
Students prepare for the CNA by taking courses on the
Netware 6.5 track. In addition, Novell recommends that
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 11
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician12
candidates take CompTIA's Networking+ examination before-
hand, based on the belief that it would better prepare people
to take the CNA exam.
The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) validates
the ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot
medium-size enterprise level router and switched networks
using Cisco products (hubs, switches, routers, and operating
systems). The exam includes design implementation and veri-
fication of connections to remote sites, basic mitigation of
security threats and fundamentals of wireless networking
and voice. The CCNA exam is in two parts that may be taken
separately or by a single composite exam.
Apple certification programs are designed to create a high level
of technical proficiency among Macintosh service technicians,
help desk support, technical support, system administrators,
and professional users. The Apple Certified Macintosh
Technician focuses primarily on hardware, specifically the
repair and diagnostics of all Macintosh desktops, portables,
and servers. The Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP)
verifies an understanding of Mac OS X core functionality
and an ability to configure key services, perform basic trou-
bleshooting, and assist end users with essential Mac OS X
capabilities. Apple also offers training and certification for
instruction and troubleshooting of its digital media products.
Practical Exercise 1
A+ Certification
Now that you’ve learned about the benefits of obtaining
certification as a PC technician, log onto the Internet and
go to CompTIA’s Web site at http://www.comptia.org.
Browse the Web site to learn more about the A+ Certification
program. What additional information does the Web site
contain? Check your answer with that on page 47.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 13
Other Certifications
Next, search the Web for other certification information by
using the key words PC certification. Learn about the other
types of certifications available and how to obtain them.
Make note of any certifications that may apply to your cur-
rent job or that may be useful in obtaining employment.
Keep this information in case you should later decide that
one or more of these certifications could benefit your career.
In addition to the different types of certifications available,
what other information did you find from this search? Check
your answers with those on page 47.
Real-Life Situation 1
It’s 5:00 p.m.; you’re at a customer’s site working on replacing a
disk drive. You and the customer agree that you can come in at
10:00 the next morning to finish up.
The next morning you find that an 8:00 a.m. appointment may take
longer than expected, and you could be late for your 10:00 a.m.
commitment. What should you do?
Check your answers with those on page 47.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician14
Self-Check 1
At the end of each section of Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician, you’ll be
asked to pause and check your understanding of what you have just read by completing
a “Self-Check” exercise. Answering these questions will help you review what you’ve
studied so far. Please complete Self-Check 1 now.
1. Why is professionalism so important to your career?
____________________________________________________________
2. How should you dress as a computer technician?
____________________________________________________________
3. If you’re having trouble finding the cause of a problem, but tell the customer that you haveeverything under control and the problem will be fixed in a few minutes, you’re likely to lose your _______ with the customer.
4. What are some ways that you can demonstrate respect for your customer?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
5. As a PC technician, why is certification important to your success?
____________________________________________________________
Check your answers with those on page 48.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 15
WORKING WITH CUSTOMERSNow that you understand the importance of professionalism
and how to conduct yourself in a professional manner,
we’ll move on with a discussion of how to work with your
customers.
The first requirement for a successful working relationship
is to have good communication with your customers.
Communication is a two-way street. You must be able to
relay information to others as well as be able to receive
and understand information.
After you’ve learned the proper methods for communication,
we’ll put that knowledge to work in learning how to make
service calls. Here you’ll find that the service call involves
more than simply making repairs. A service call also includes
gathering information about the problem, scheduling the
service call, and reporting the results of the repair action to
the customer—all requiring good communication.
CommunicationThere are several methods of communication. You can
communicate by face-to-face encounters, via the telephone,
and through written notes and messages. Each method of
communication requires care to ensure that the message is
properly received and interpreted.
No matter what method of communication you happen to be
using at the time, there are four things to keep in mind:
• Patience
• Tact
• Courtesy
• Empathy
Patience is an important trait to develop to help you communi-
cate and deal effectively with other people. By having patience,
you allow others to work or converse at their own speed or
in their own style, and you won’t get irritated or annoyed
when things don’t go your way.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician16
Tact involves the use of discrimination by doing and saying
the right things when working and speaking with others. The
use of tact requires you to be perceptive of the feelings of
others and to take care not to cause the other person to take
offense or be hurt by your comments or actions.
Courtesy is simply putting the needs of others ahead of your
own. It involves cooperation, helping, sharing information,
and treating everyone in a polite and professional manner.
Empathy requires you to recognize and understand another
person’s feelings. Don’t be afraid to show concern for your
customer’s situation. However, if you’re not really concerned
about your customer’s situation, don’t try to fake it or you
may sound insincere and damage your relationship with your
customer.
Effective Listening
As we previously stated, communication is a two-way street.
Being able to listen and correctly interpret what you’ve heard
is every bit as important as giving out information.
In face-to-face conversations, there’s one very significant
aid to interpretation that’s missing from phone and written
communications, and that’s observation. By listening to the
tone of voice and observing the facial expressions and body
language of the speaker, you can more easily interpret the
message. That’s especially good to remember when using the
phone or writing a note because the simplest communication
can be misinterpreted or give the wrong impression.
An important part of listening is to start with an open mind.
Clear all other thoughts, and focus on the person speaking.
Don’t try to work or do some other activity while you’re
listening. Also, try to refrain from formulating your response
to the speaker. If you’re busy trying to think about what
you’re going to say, you’re not giving the person your undi-
vided attention. Look at the speaker and make eye contact.
Eye contact shows your interest and helps to keep your mind
from wandering. Also remember to listen to the tone of voice,
and observe facial expressions and body language.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 17
Paraphrasing
An effective way to ensure that you understand what the
speaker has said is to paraphrase, or repeat the person’s
message using different words to express the same idea. If
you do this correctly, both you and the speaker can be sure
that you understand the message. You can also use para-
phrasing when responding to phone messages or written
messages. When you paraphrase, be sure to use your own
words. If you merely reiterate the words used by the other
person, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you understood the
message.
Phone Communications
A relatively common type of employment for PC technicians
is that of a support specialist. Support specialists may work
in a help-desk environment where computer users in a large
company phone in for help with PC-related problems. The
help desk and its employees may be a part of the company
or may be an outside vendor that’s been contracted to assist
company employees. Help desks are often involved with
operational types of problems.
Another common type of support specialist may work for a
computer manufacturer. In this situation, the specialist takes
calls from customers that need help with their computer
equipment purchased or leased from the manufacturer.
Usually, the problems encountered here are more hardware
oriented, such as setup difficulties or component failures. In
either case, the support specialist must resolve the problem
by communicating with the customer over the phone (Figure 4).
Although you may not be considering this type of work, read
this information concerning phone communications. A PC
technician can also apply most of the following information
when gathering data from the customer prior to making a
service call.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician18
At the beginning of any service or support call, you should
clearly identify yourself and your organization or company.
Next, obtain the name, company (if applicable), and phone
number of the caller or customer. If you’re working in a
technical assistance situation, you’ll probably have a script
of how to answer, what to say, and a place for you to enter
customer information. If you’re running your own repair
business, you may want to consider doing the same thing.
The next step in the conversation is to let the customer
explain the problem. If you empathize with customers, it will
help to open up the conversation by letting them know you’re
on their side. Just be very careful not to sound insincere.
Throughout the conversation, you need to build the customer’s
confidence in your ability. You should always be calm and never
let an excited customer or urgent situation rattle you. Ask clear
and concise questions you need to gather the information to
resolve the problem.
As you’re talking to the customer, learn to judge the customer’s
knowledge level and adjust your conversation accordingly. Be
sure to ask questions and give directions using language that
the customer will understand. Stay away from computer jargon
with a customer who has a lower level of computer knowledge.
Also, make sure to give the customer every opportunity to ask
questions. Customer questions are especially important if they
FIGURE 4—To solve customer problems, asupport specialist needs to be able to communicateclearly and effectivelyover the phone.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 19
involve correctly understanding one of your directives or inter-
preting one of your questions. Any miscommunication here
can easily lead you down the wrong path.
Occasionally, a customer is going to be angry. It’s at these
times that your professionalism is truly tested. Listen closely
to the customer’s complaint. Once you understand the
problem, put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Chances are
you’ll discover that you would be just as upset under similar
circumstances. If this is the case, you should be able to
sincerely empathize with the customer and show genuine
concern over the problem. If the problem is related to your
company’s product or possibly a service mistake you made,
don’t be defensive. Remember your professionalism. Admit
the error and reassure the customer that the problem will
be corrected.
Oral Communications and Presentations
Whether you’re speaking to one individual or to a group,
there are certain oral communication skills you’ll need to
get your message across effectively. When you speak clearly,
the person you’re talking to or your audience can easily
listen and follow what you’re saying. If people are distracted
by your speech patterns, they’ll likely miss a part of the
message you’re trying to get across.
To speak clearly you need to be aware of your articulation
and rate of speaking as well as your volume, pitch, and
tone. Articulation means to enunciate or pronounce your
words carefully and distinctly. Slurring your words makes
it difficult for people to understand and can easily lead to
misinterpretation.
The rate at which you speak is also important to your being
understood. Speaking too fast or too slow can undermine
your attempt to impart information to others. By speaking
too fast, you’re likely to enunciate poorly and make it difficult
to be understood. On the other hand, speaking too slowly
will allow your listener’s mind to wander. Try to sound
“natural” in your speech, not too fast or too slow, and your
listeners will be more attentive to what you say.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician20
Finally, in addition to articulation and speed, you need to
consider volume, pitch, and tone. Volume needs to be
adjusted to the situation. For instance, in a conversation
between you and another person in an office environment,
your voice should be loud enough to be clearly heard by the
person you’re talking to, but not a distraction to others in
the area. Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of your voice
and tone communicates feeling, such as anger or excitement.
Using tone in your voice helps people understand what you’re
trying to communicate, as opposed to a monotone voice that
will tend to put your listeners to sleep.
If your job puts you in the position of having to make presen-
tations or regularly speak to groups of people, you may want
to consider improving your public-speaking abilities (Figure 5).
One consideration is to take speech, communication, or acting
classes. Other methods to tune up your speaking ability is to
listen attentively to those who speak well in public, such as
favorite radio or television announcers, and pattern yourself
after them. You might also listen to recordings of popular
books. Tape recordings of books are narrated by excellent
speakers.
FIGURE 5—Before youaddress a group of people,you may want to brush upon your public-speakingskills.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 21
As a last piece of advice, acquire the dictionary habit. In con-
versations and in reading, you’ll come across unfamiliar
words. Don’t let new words pass you by. Use the dictionary to
learn their spelling, pronunciation, and meaning.
Service CallsService calls may be made for a variety of reasons, including
making repairs, installing upgrades, and performing preven-
tive maintenance. The following information on making a
service call is applicable whether you’re a PC repair shop
technician going to a residence or business, or if you’re
employed within a business and are called to work on an
employee’s computer.
Collecting Information
Before making a service call, it’s imperative that you collect a
complete and accurate description of the problem. By doing
so, you’ll reduce the amount of time it takes to diagnose the
problem and you’ll likely have the necessary parts with you
to make the repair.
One way to ensure that you can efficiently collect a description
of the problem is to use a Troubleshooting Report Form similar
to the one shown in Figure 6. In addition to helping you
prepare for the service call, the form provides a permanent
record for your client file. Depending on the nature of your
job, you may want to modify the questions on the form.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician22
Troubleshooting Report Form
Client name _____________________________________________________________________
Date of problem ______________________ Time of problem _________________________
Brief description of environment (weather, number of users on system, other activities
taking place at the time, etc.) ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Person who experienced problem _________________________________________________
Person who reported problem ____________________________________________________
Type of report (in-person, telephone, fax, electronic mail) _________________________
Description of the problem _______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
How frequently does the problem occur? __________________________________________
Hardware configuration __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Which hardware seems to be involved in the problem? ____________________________
Software configuration ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Which software seems to be involved in the problem? _____________________________
Were any hardware, software, or user changes made on the system? ______________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Was the routine of use changed in any way before the problem occurred? _________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Conditions under which the problem occurred ____________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Can the problem be duplicated readily? ___________________________________________
Technician’s comments ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Action taken _____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
FIGURE 6—Troubleshooting Report Form
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 23
Making an Appointment
One of the most difficult parts of making service calls is
scheduling appointments—especially when business is good.
First of all, the appointment time should normally be made
as soon as possible at the customer’s convenience. If you’re
currently busy, fitting the call into your own schedule can be
difficult.
One of the first things you need before scheduling an appoint-
ment is a good idea of the problem so that you can allot the
appropriate amount of time. Time can be estimated using
the information from your Troubleshooting Report Form.
You also need to add travel time and take into consideration
that you could run into difficulties in either the diagnosis or
repair procedure.
If you’re on the road a lot, you may find it wise to invest in a
cellular phone so you can call ahead to your next customer
or call back to the shop to get information, expedite part
ordering, or juggle your schedule. Another problem that can
hinder your schedule is if you need to obtain a part and
must return to complete the repair at another time. As your
career grows, you’ll gain the ability to schedule your work-
load so that you can adequately do your job and not have
excessive downtime.
Doing Preliminary Research
Unless you’re certain as to the cause of a problem, you might
want to do some research before going on a service call. Using
the problem description and information gathered during your
phone conversation with the client, begin to formulate a plan
of attack. By having a plan before you actually begin the
service call, you can save time and demonstrate to your
client that you know what you’re doing.
There are several sources that you can use to develop a
diagnostic strategy. First, if the service call is from an existing
customer, you may refer back to previous Troubleshooting
Report Forms or perhaps find a description of their particular
system layout and components in your client file. Studying
this material may suggest a solution to you.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician24
Another diagnostic source is to refer to your own library of
user’s manuals, reference material, and diagnostic aids. You
might even consider using one of your own test computers to
help you duplicate and diagnose the problem. Once you’ve
established a diagnostic plan and possibly determined the
failing component, be sure to take everything you need with
you on the call, including the replacement part. Additionally,
if you do expect to replace a part, be sure to open the pack-
age, make sure that everything is there, and review the
installation instructions before you leave.
Making Repairs
Upon arriving at the client’s site, always check in with the
client before beginning work. To do a good job, make yourself
as comfortable as possible.
Before you begin, organize your work area. First, place a soft
cloth over the customer’s desk or table to prevent damage
from tools and equipment. Next, spread out your tools, open
up any parts boxes, and move the equipment you’re working
on into an accessible position. Setting up in this way makes
you more efficient and minimizes the chance for damage or
accidents.
Remember to be courteous and friendly, but don’t engage
in frivolous conversation. Make yourself as unobtrusive as
possible, and keep your work area clean and uncluttered
while you’re working. Don’t place any tools or equipment
in aisles or places where they can cause an accident. Be
sure to always ask before using any customer resources
such as borrowing the customer’s phone, asking a worker
for assistance, or using a printer. When your work is com-
plete, clean up the area so that it looks like you were never
there. Once you determine the cause of the problem, explain
the situation to the customer. Give as much detail as the
customer wants and explain what you must do to repair the
problem. If there are repair options, present them clearly to
the customer. Explain the advantages and disadvantages as
well as the costs associated with each option.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 25
When your work is complete, clean up the area so that it
looks as good as or better than the way you found it. Stay
long enough to allow the customer to test the repaired device
or system to ensure that it works properly and that you
haven’t inadvertently caused another problem. Review the
service call with the customer and summarize any instruc-
tions or explanations you gave during the service call. Then,
before you leave, make sure the customer understands every-
thing you’ve discussed and doesn’t have any questions.
In-Shop Service
You should always attempt to do as much work as possible
at the client’s site. With the modular construction of today’s
computers, there’s no reason to put the customer’s computer
at risk by moving it to your shop. Also, when you work at
your shop, the customer is inconvenienced twice, once to
remove the computer and get it to the shop, then again to
retrieve it and reinstall it. What happens if the customer
picks up the repaired computer and installs it only to find
that it doesn’t work? Whose fault is it? Was is improperly
repaired? Did something happen to it after it left the shop?
Did the customer reinstall it incorrectly? Working at the cus-
tomer site has many advantages and can eliminate a lot of
problems. However, many PC repair businesses do just fine
with the clients themselves being responsible for delivering
and picking up their own computers from the shop.
One job that makes sense to do in the shop is the assembly
of a custom computer. The best way to handle this is to have
the individual components sent to the shop and assemble the
computer in the shop. All tools and test equipment should be
readily available in the shop, allowing you to do a more effec-
tive job. The computer can then be tested before being moved
to the client’s site and installed.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician26
Practical Exercise 2
Have your “customer” pretend to have a problem with his
or her computer. Begin by having your friend simulate a call
to you requesting service. Using what you learned in your
reading assignment, answer the service call and gather the
initial information about the problem. In your conversation,
remember to keep in mind the use of patience, tact, courtesy,
and empathy.
Try this exercise several times for different situations. For
example, rather than calling for PC repair service, simulate
a help-desk situation. To have some fun, you might also try
simulating a circumstance where the customer is angry
because a computer broke down at a very inopportune time.
Practice your approach to each situation, and then allow
your friend to evaluate how well you handled each problem.
Technical Note
In this exercise, you’ll need a friend to play the role of a customer.
Real-Life Situation 2
A customer calls and describes a problem that you anticipate could
take a significant amount of time to diagnose. From previous service
calls, you know that this customer is very impatient and likes to look
over your shoulder. If it appears that you’re making slow progress or
don’t know what you’re doing, he becomes very annoyed and often
interrupts your work with questions and comments.
What can you do in an attempt to help you reduce your trou-
bleshooting time and your frustration level on this service call?
Check your answers with those on page 48.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 27
Self-Check 2
1. Repeating what a person has just said by using different words to verify that you correctly understand the message is called _______.
2. List some of the things you need to pay attention to when making an oral presentation.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
3. True or False? If you honestly don’t care about the customers’ predicaments, you shouldpretend to empathize with them.
4. What things do you need to consider when scheduling appointments?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5. What should you do after finishing your PC repair?
__________________________________________________________
Check your answers with those on page 49.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician28
RUNNING A BUSINESSSo far we’ve discussed how to be a professional and how
to work with your customers. Now we’ll focus on what
you need to do to organize and control your business.
We’ll start by examining some common business requirements
that pertain to you as a computer technician. Next, we’ll give
you some suggestions for providing that “little extra” that can
make the difference in the customer seeking your services or
that of one of your competitors. Then, we’ll tell you how to
effectively manage and control your parts and supplies. With
proper parts management, you’ll find that you can reduce
your costs and stay more competitive. In the last topic, we’ll
discuss billing practices. Here you’ll learn how to determine
what to charge your customer for your services.
General Business RequirementsThe following business requirements apply to everyone in
the PC repair profession. This includes all PC technicians
and support specialists working for manufacturers, busi-
nesses, or in help-desk situations. Each of these topics is
important for performing your job in a professional manner.
Keeping Customer Records
Good recordkeeping is essential to effectively manage a PC
repair business. By generating and maintaining an up-to-
date customer list and work history file you have several
advantages. If your customer data is on your computer, you
can use it to your advantage when a customer calls in with
a new problem. You can save time by asking if the customer
he’s still located at the address you have on file. You can
also check that he or she still has the same computer and
equipment. Having this information in your customer data-
base can save the customer some frustration and save you
time in gathering the information necessary to initiate the
service call.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 29
Support specialists must also gather information about the
customer or caller. However, the specialist’s employer usually
dictates the required customer information. When the cus-
tomer calls in, the support specialist asks questions and fills
in the information on a computer screen. This information is
usually necessary to determine that the caller is authorized
to use the support services of the business or help-desk
facility. If the customer has placed previous calls, the sup-
port specialist usually has to ask only one or two questions,
such as the caller’s phone number, to bring up the caller’s
account information. The support specialist then has access
to a complete history of the caller’s previous problems and
how the problems were resolved.
Using Technical Information
In your job of repairing or supporting personal computers
and equipment, you need to have access to a wide range of
technical information. For the repair technician, there are
two main sources of information. The first source is the
technical documentation for the particular hardware or soft-
ware product. If you support a particular manufacturer’s
product, the manufacturer should make the appropriate
technical documentation available to you. The second infor-
mation source for the repair technician is the Internet.
Manufacturers and many other sources provide several types
of information, including technical information, frequently
asked questions, known problems, and troubleshooting flow-
charts. You can even find places where you can ask for help
on a particular problem.
The support specialist resolves different types of problems
from the PC technician and therefore uses different informa-
tion tools. One type of information source is online help.
Online help is a technical database with a search engine that
allows the support specialist to find information in several
ways, such as by topics, words, and error messages. In some
cases, the specialist can make annotations to the database
so that other specialists using the online help facility can
benefit from the updated information.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician30
Another tool usually available to the support specialist is the
expert system. An expert system is a software program that
employs logic and databases of technical information to solve
problems. The system operates by asking questions concerning
the problem. Based on the answers to the questions, the
system asks other questions until it arrives at a solution
or set of possible solutions. Some expert systems accept
feedback from the user. This feedback is used to modify
the logic and information databases, which continually
improves the system’s problem-solving capabilities.
Staying Current with New Technology
Personal computer technology is continually changing, and
it’s your responsibility to keep up to date with the latest
advancements. If you work for a larger company, take advan-
tage of all on the job training and educational opportunities
offered by your employer. If you’re self-employed or in a
position where continuing education isn’t offered, you need
to have the personal commitment to educate yourself.
There are many sources available to keep abreast of new
technology. One of these sources is printed material such
as books and magazines. There are several good PC repair
textbooks on the market, but if you purchase one, be sure
that it’s current. Likewise, there are many good PC maga-
zines that contain articles with detailed explanations of
new technological advances (Figure 7).
Other places to learn more about the latest technology
include the Internet and trade shows. On the Internet you
can search for articles, product reviews, and manufacturer’s
Web sites containing information on PC-related products
and features. At trade shows you can see demonstrations of
the latest products, listen to manufacturer representatives
describe their latest advancements, and speak face to face
with organizations and other technicians concerned with
PC technology. Probably the most popular trade show is
COMDEX. For more information you can go to
http://www.comdex.com.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 31
Still more resources for learning include
seminars, workshops, and business
acquaintances. Always keep your eyes open
for seminars and workshops that contain
information useful to you and are held
near enough that you could easily attend.
Also, don’t be afraid to talk shop with
business acquaintances, whether they’re
your fellow workers, other people in the
PC repair field, or your customers. There’s
hardly any conversation that goes by with-
out you learning something from it.
As you can see, there are many resources
for you to continue your education and
stay current with the latest developments in
PC hardware and software. Remember, it’s up
to you to have the initiative to take advantage
of them.
Protecting Software Copyrights
In your job as a PC technician, you may be required to
install, upgrade, and customize software. Therefore, it’s
important that you understand the legal issues concerned
with distribution and use of software products.
When users purchase a software program, they’ve actually
purchased only a license to use the program—they don’t
actually own the program. Having only a license to use the
program, the user is prohibited from making copies of the
program except for one personal copy for backup. The actual
owner of the program is the developer or others, such as
a company that the developer has transferred ownership
to. The owner possesses a copyright that legally allows
the software to be copied to sell to users. Anyone making
unauthorized copies of original software is in violation of
the Federal Copyright Act of 1976 and guilty of copyright
infringement (commonly called software piracy).
FIGURE 7—PC magazines are excellentsources for up-to-date information in thefield.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician32
In addition to the single licensed user, software can usually be
licensed to a specified number of users or to a particular site
for business use. These licenses are designed to accommodate
the need for many employees in a business environment
to use a program or perhaps to be able to distribute software
from network servers to PCs as needed. The license agreement
specifies the terms for the software use and distribution.
On occasion, vendors of computer systems have been known
to preload unlicensed software on their computer hard drives.
This practice is called hard-disk loading.
Some of the warning signs that software is pirated are that
• No end-user license is included
• No mail-in product registration card is included
• No documentation or original disks are included
• Documentation is photocopied, or disks have handwritten
labels
To help combat piracy, software manufacturers often make
the original program disks copy-resistant. Another method
used to reduce piracy is to put a holographic image on the
software package, which makes unauthorized copies without
the image easily identifiable.
Your responsibility as a PC technician or support specialist is
to ensure that you use software legally. As a PC technician,
you should purchase only legitimate software and use it only
as allowed by the software license. As a support specialist or
technician working for a company, you’re responsible to use
the software provided to you in accordance with the license
agreement. Never become a party to making illegal copies
of software or be involved in unauthorized use of software
programs.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 33
Providing Special ServicesAs a PC technician, you’ll normally be installing your clients’
computers, upgrading them, and troubleshooting problems.
However, to maintain your customer’s loyalty to you and
your business, it’s often a good idea to provide extra services.
Some of these services will be free of charge for the customer,
but you’ll make up for it in customer satisfaction and thus
have repeat customers.
Service Contracts
Some of your larger clients with businesses involving many
PCs or networks may be interested in entering into a contract
arrangement whereby you’ll be required to be at the client’s
site for a certain period of time each week or month. During
this time, you’ll perform routine maintenance, install upgrades,
troubleshoot, and make repairs as necessary. Because the
contract offers you guaranteed work over a long period of
time, you should normally offer the client a discount from
your regular service rates.
Service Documentation
As you install, upgrade, and service your client’s equipment,
it benefits both you and your client to have an organized
library of hardware and software manuals. It benefits you
because you’ll be able to quickly locate the specific information
you need to work on the client’s equipment. It benefits your
client because your work will be completed faster and at less
cost.
Organizing the client’s documentation involves your collecting
all of the PC and peripheral equipment manuals and related
support information such as ReadMe files. The client then
needs to provide an easily accessible place where you can
arrange this documentation in an orderly fashion so that
you’re able to find it quickly when you need it.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician34
Warranties and Service Contracts
When organizing your client’s documentation, you should
also check up on warranties and service contracts. The original
warranty and service contract documents should be stored
in a secure location at your client’s site. Having this infor-
mation available can save your client a lot of grief in the
event of a hardware or software catastrophe. As an addi-
tional service to your client, you could offer to make copies
of these documents and store them separately at your shop
or in another secure area.
Identification Numbers
Hardware and software identification or serial numbers
are needed for warranty claims, upgrades, and financial
statements. On hardware, serial numbers are usually
inconveniently located in hard-to-reach places. As you
install equipment or make upgrades, be sure to jot down
the identification numbers for your client. As a special
service, you may also maintain your own list of your client’s
identification numbers using a word processor, database, or
spreadsheet. In the list, you should also include a descrip-
tion of the item, the version number, the purchase or install
date, as well as any other relevant information.
Upgrades, Fixes, and Recalls
Manufacturers of PC hardware and software occasionally
discover problems requiring the user to install an upgrade or
apply a fix to resolve the problem. On rare occasions, equip-
ment may be recalled.
In some instances, you may be aware of upgrades or fixes
that apply to your client’s hardware or software by reading
trade publications or browsing though an online service.
Many times, however, you need to depend on receiving this
information from your client. Manufacturers often send
upgrade or fix notices directly to the registered owners of
their products (your client). It’s important that your client
saves these notices for you to evaluate and implement as
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 35
necessary. This not only provides work for you, but if you
schedule your work in conjunction with your client’s busi-
ness needs, your client won’t be inconvenienced.
Shipping Cartons
If you ever have to move a component or return it to the
manufacturer, nothing works as well or provides as much
protection as the original shipping carton and packing
materials. Therefore, you should attempt to save these
items whenever possible.
For the sake of convenience, the ideal place to store cartons
and packing materials is at the client’s site. If the client can’t
store the materials, you should consider storing them at your
shop if you have the room, or at another location. You don’t
need to store the shipping materials for each and every com-
ponent. Usually, many large customers will have the same
types of systems, so that you need to store only one or two
cartons for each system type.
Wherever the shipping materials are stored, be sure that the
area is dry and protected from mice or other rodents that will
chew and nest in the boxes. Check all cartons before storage
or disposed to ensure that you’ve removed all parts and doc-
umentation so that only the packing materials remain.
Maintaining Communication
Maintaining regular communication with your clients will
bring you more work as well as leave your clients with the
impression that you care about them and their businesses.
There are several ways for you to stay in touch with your
clients.
First, you should always follow up a service call with either a
phone call or visit to ensure that everything is working prop-
erly and that the client is satisfied. If a minor follow-up call
is required, you should provide the service free of charge to
demonstrate your commitment to quality work.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician36
Another way to stay in touch is to simply call your clients
regularly to see how things are going. If you happen to come
across an article or other information of particular interest
to your clients, let them know. Tell your clients about new
products and hardware or software developments that you
think might benefit productivity or profitability. Perhaps you
could set up a meeting to provide additional information and
discuss plans for implementation (Figure 8).
Parts and SuppliesAs a PC technician, you’ll often need to obtain the correct parts
as quickly as possible. Although it would be nice to maintain a
large, comprehensive inventory similar to a computer store’s,
it’s not practical. Major chain stores obtain significant dis-
counts by buying parts and equipment in volume. In your
case, you can expect to receive a much smaller discount.
The major drawback of maintaining an inventory is cost.
Not only do you have the initial cost of the parts, but the
parts will continue to cost you money while they sit on the
shelf. For example, if your parts inventory was purchased
on credit, you’re paying interest each month on the value
of those parts. Even if you paid cash for your parts, the
money you spent isn’t earning interest and is tied up until
you install the parts and can charge for them.
FIGURE 8—Keeping yourclients abreast of new developments and/or products can only helpyour business (andtheirs).
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 37
In addition to the initial cost of the inventory and the money
lost while parts sit on the shelf, you have the cost and effort
involved with managing the inventory. Also, you’ll find that
it’s almost impossible to anticipate the parts you’ll need for
repairs. This means that you could be stuck with some parts
sitting on your stock shelf for a very long time. Therefore, as
a rule, you shouldn’t attempt to maintain a parts inventory.
Using a Swap Shelf
In lieu of maintaining an inventory, you should consider
maintaining a swap shelf that contains a collection of
replacement parts. The purpose of the swap shelf is to have
parts immediately available for diagnostic swapping or for
emergency use until a new, permanent replacement can be
found. Although you can’t maintain everything you’ll ever
need on your swap shelf, you should have the basic PC parts
and components, such as
• IDE hard drive
• Floppy drive
• IDE floppy/hard disk controller
• Video adapter card
• Keyboard and mouse
• Power supply
• Miscellaneous cables (internal, external, and power
cords)
• Video monitor
Understand that this is merely a general list of parts that
you might want to start with. As time passes, you’ll eventually
obtain more parts for your swap shelf, including various
types of each part.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician38
Obtaining Parts and Supplies
As you build your business, you’ll need to find suppliers
that can provide quality tools and parts quickly and at a
reasonable price. Obtaining quality parts and having them
arrive on time is extremely important to your customer and
to your survival as a repair technician (Figure 9). If new
parts continually fail or aren’t installed on time, your client
will blame you and not the supplier.
One of your first objectives in building
your business is to establish a list
of suppliers that you can trust. Try
to keep your suppliers to a minimum,
and don’t shop solely on price.
Although you may pay a little more,
stay with the supplier that delivers
when promised, provides the better-
quality part, and stands behind the
part. By working with only a few
trusted suppliers, you’ll be doing
more business with each, rather than
spreading your business around to
several unknowns. As suppliers get
to know you, you may be able to get
a better deal or you may find the sup-
plier willing to expend extra effort to
help you out of a jam.
Depending on your location, you may
be able to obtain parts directly from a
local supplier. However, you need to
beware of having to pay retail price for
parts. Usually, a portion of your profit is made by buying
parts at a discount and charging your client retail price.
Buying at a retail outlet may diminish your profit, but then
again, you shouldn’t rule it out if you need a part immediately
to satisfy your customer.
FIGURE 9—The timely sending and receiving ofquality parts is crucial to your business.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 39
One way to locate discount suppliers is through computer
magazines. An especially good source is a monthly publica-
tion called the Computer Shopper. Another way to locate
suppliers, which is probably the most efficient and produc-
tive, is to use the Internet. The Internet is the home for a
vast number of computer-parts companies and warehouses.
On the Internet, you’ll continually find special deals on every
part imaginable. You’ll also be able to stay current with the
newest and currently popular products.
Billing PracticesSo far you’ve learned the fundamentals of how to work with
others and how to run your business. To complete your
training, we’ll close with a short discussion concerning the
financial aspects of working as a repair technician. Although
this information focuses primarily on the self-employed com-
puter technician, reading this information may give you ideas
or insights you can apply to other aspects of your business.
What to Charge?
What to charge your customers is a matter you need to work
out on your own. At the beginning of your career, it might be
a good idea to keep your prices low until you’ve established a
customer base and gained a reputation for providing prompt,
high-quality service. Naturally, what you charge must cover
your costs and provide you with a reasonable profit. In deter-
mining what to charge, you need to consider several factors,
including
• Your cost to provide the service
• Your profit expectations
• Your competition
• The customer’s ability to pay
• The value of your service to the customer
• The relationship between you and your customer
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician40
Your Costs
When calculating your costs involved with providing service,
be sure to include all of your expenses, such as
• The cost of your training (including this program)
• Your initial shop setup, including workbenches, book-
cases, filing cabinets, etc.
• Your tools and test equipment
• Maintaining your shop, including rent, taxes, utilities,
etc.
• Continuing or in-service training (magazines, catalogs,
training videos, conferences)
• Your time
• Travel expenses
• Parts
Your costs may be divided into two categories—indirect costs
and direct costs. The first five items in the previous list of
costs may be considered indirect costs. These costs are
recovered over a long period of time. You may decide to
recover the cost of your initial training, shop setup, and
tools over a period of years so that your customers aren’t
charged an exorbitant amount. Indirect costs are recurring
costs, such as rent, taxes, utilities, and magazine subscrip-
tions, that need to be spread to your customers over the
period of time in which they occur.
The last three items in the preceding list are direct costs.
Direct costs are those which are associated with each
service call. These costs are charged to the individual
customer for whom they were incurred. When charging
for parts, you may want to mark up the price of the part,
providing you obtained the part at a discount. The total
price that you charge customers for a part should never
be more than the retail price they would have paid for it
elsewhere (Figure 10).
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 41
The Customer’s Ability to Pay
For your PC repair business to succeed, you must price your
services within a range that your customers can afford. Large
businesses as well as smaller, successful businesses can usu-
ally pay more for your services because their expenses are a
smaller portion of their revenue. However, this doesn’t mean
that you should charge larger, more profitable businesses more
than you charge your other clients. You should treat all of your
clients fairly, no matter what their size or profitability. Your
rates should be the same for everyone.
What we mean by evaluating the customer’s ability to pay
as a part of determining what to charge is that you need to
access your overall service area. For example, if you live in
a rural area and your clients are generally small business
owners, farmers, and local government offices, you’re less
likely to succeed if your rates are high. On the other hand,
if you live in a large city, your clients will likely be able to
pay higher rates. This all balances out because if you’re
located in a rural area, your expenses are likely to be lower.
In a larger city, your expenses will be higher, requiring you
to charge more for your services.
FIGURE 10—Stay mindful of not overcharging your clients. They shouldn’t have to pay you more than the retail price for a part.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician42
Competition
Competition is a part of free enterprise. If your business is
located in an area with several other PC repair services avail-
able, customers are going to compare prices (Figure 11).
Obviously, clients aren’t going to pay you significantly more
for the same service they can get for less from another repair
technician. Therefore, what you need to set you apart from
your competition is availability, quality of service, and your
relationship with the customer. Your price can be slightly
higher if your abilities and service justify it. If your price is
significantly higher than your competition, you may need to
reevaluate your pricing structure, such as distributing some
of your indirect costs over a longer period of time.
Competition also has its advantages.
First, you can get help in establishing
your rates by checking on what your
competitors are charging. Also, as your
competitors advertise, it indirectly helps
you by drawing attention to the general
PC repair business that you’re a part of.
And finally, on some occasions you and
one or more of your competitors may
even lend one another a hand.
How to Charge
There are various ways to charge for
your services, but the most common
are hourly rate, flat fee, and the service
contract. The most popular way to
charge is the hourly rate. Using the
hourly rate, you charge for your time and the cost of parts.
For example, suppose you take an hour to replace a part
that costs $150. If your hourly rate were $25, then your
total bill would be $175. Don’t forget that if you obtained
the part at a discount, you may decide to also charge a
small premium on the cost of the part.
FIGURE 11—A prospective client may easily com-pare your prices to those of your competitors.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 43
A flat fee is usually used in large service organizations with
many employees. The flat fee guarantees the customer a set
price depending on the particular repair service. For exam-
ple, a particular fee may be set to replace a hard drive. The
customer is then charged the fixed fee plus the cost of the
part no matter how long the repair took to complete. Using
the flat fee method of charging customers is very risky for the
self-employed technician because unforeseen circumstances
can significantly increase the service cost.
A service contract is a formal agreement made with a business
or client to fix any problem that may occur on a computer
system. Usually, service contracts are offered by system
manufacturers or larger service organizations. These con-
tracts are advantageous to clients because they can pay a
predetermined fixed cost to cover all of their service needs.
As with the flat fee, the self-employed technician might better
stay away from service contracts unless absolutely certain of
the condition and reliability of the equipment being serviced.
The cost of having to install an expensive part, such as a
system board, can eat up a large part of your profits under a
service contract. However, the self-employed technician might
consider a service contract like we described earlier in our
discussion on special services, where a certain amount of
time is scheduled at the client’s site each week or month
to do preventive maintenance and perform service. Under
this arrangement, the technician would discount the normal
hourly service fees for having guaranteed work, and the cost
of any parts would be the responsibility of the client.
Record Keeping
In the same manner that we previously discussed for keeping
technical records, it’s also important that you keep accurate
financial records. These records are needed for you to control
the profitability of your business and to handle your taxes.
One of the most important aspects of running your business
is to maintain accurate records of your income and expenses.
Business supply and stationery stores have various ledgers
and checking systems available to help you maintain your
financial records. There are also a number of different
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician44
computer software programs available. When choosing
a software program, be sure to check that the program meets
your business needs, is easy to use, and offers any special
features you require. Still another method of keeping financial
records is through the use of a spreadsheet. An advantage
of the spreadsheet is that it’s flexible, and if you learn how
to use it, you can keep track of income and expenses as well
as your taxes.
Taxes
If you’re self-employed, you’ll find your tax situation very differ-
ent than when you worked for someone else. When you were an
employee, your taxes and Social Security were “automatically”
withheld from your paycheck. Now that you’re self-employed,
you’re the “automatic” part in that you’re responsible to ensure
that proper amounts are withheld to cover your tax liabilities.
It’s up to you to set aside the proper amount each week or
month to pay your estimated taxes each quarter. These pay-
ments must be submitted with the proper forms. In addition
to taxes, you must also pay a self-employment tax, which
goes into the Social Security fund.
If you’re not comfortable with doing your own taxes, you may
want to hire a bookkeeper or accountant. However, hiring
someone else is an added expense to that you’ll need to
recover in your fee for service. As an alternative, you might
want to invest in one of the tax books published each year
and an income tax software package. Whatever method you
choose to handle your taxes, it’s of the utmost importance
to do it correctly.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician 45
Practical Exercise 3
New Technologies
Choose a few PC-related products or features that have recently
been developed or released. Using the resources described in
your study unit for staying current with new technology, learn
all you can about these products and features. Start a folder
for each item and insert the information you’ve gathered
into the folders. Consider making new technology folders
throughout your career as a way to retain information on
the latest technological developments.
Software Licensing
Read the software license agreements for a few of the software
programs installed on your PC. Is it legal to have the software
installed on your PC at work and simultaneously on your PC
at home? Check your answer with that on page 47.
Real-Life Situation 3
A client, who owns a small retail store with eight employees, calls late in
the day. Today is the day she needs to do payroll so that the employees
will have their paychecks on time the next morning before the start of
the holiday weekend. Unfortunately, her payroll data is kept on a Zip
disk and the Zip drive is inoperable. She desperately needs to have the
computer fixed today so that she can do the payroll. You can get a new
drive overnight from your discount supplier but that will be too late. What
should you do to remedy your client’s situation so that the payroll can be
completed on time?
Check your answers with those on page 48.
Preparing for Your Career as a PC Technician46
Self-Check 3
1. Where can you see demonstrations of the latest technological advances?
_________________________________________________________
2. List some of the things to look for when buying software to ensure it’s licensed.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. What two important documents for a new computer should be stored in a secure location?
_________________________________________________________
4. If you must return a computer to the manufacturer for service, what’s the best method ofpackaging?
_________________________________________________________
5. Describe the purpose of a swap shelf.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
6. What is the maximum amount you should charge a customer for a replacement part?
_________________________________________________________
Check your answers with those on page 49.
47
Practical Exercise 1
A+ Certification
The CompTIA web site (http://www.comptia.org) has
complete information on all of its activities including the
A+ exam. You’ll find detailed descriptions of the compo-
nents of the Essentials and the Practical Applications
exams. Under the Certifications and Exams tab, you can
link to the A+ exam page which explains how to prepare
for the test, how to purchase vouchers and courseware,
and how to register to take the exams.
Other Certifications
In addition to the various types of PC certifications
available, you should have also found
• Availability of formal training classes
• Test preparation Web sites
• Online training
• Training videos and CD-ROMS
• Publications and textbooks
Practical Exercise 3
Software Licensing
Most software licenses allow you to have the software
installed on more than one PC, as long as a single user
uses both installations.
Real-Life Situation 1
As soon as you’re aware that you might be late, call the
customer to explain the situation. Chances are that the
customer will understand and have no problem with a
slight change in time.
Answers
Answers
Self-Check Answers48
Real-Life Situation 2
One way to reduce your diagnostic time and leave the
customer with a good impression of your technical abil-
ity is to research the problem before making the service
call. By using the resources at your own site you can
develop a sound diagnostic strategy without being under
pressure.
Real-Life Situation 3
You should take a Zip drive from your swap shelf and
temporarily install it in the client’s computer, or perhaps
you have an external USB attached drive you can use.
When you return from the service call and are sure that
the Zip drive was the problem, you can order a new
drive from your supplier. When the new drive arrives,
you can make arrangements with your client to install it
at a convenient time the following week.
Self-Check 1
1. Professionalism strengthens your relationship with your
clients.
2. You should dress neatly, comfortably, and functionally.
3. credibility
4. You can demonstrate respect through your actions and
the way you communicate with your customer. You can
also take an honest interest in your customer’s busi-
ness, schedules, and productivity.
5. Certification gives your customers confidence in your
technical abilities and shows your commitment to your
profession.
Examination
Examination
Self-Check Answers 49
Self-Check 2
1. paraphrasing
2. Articulation, rate of speaking, volume, pitch, and tone
3. False
4. The type of problem, travel time, and the possibility of
running into unforeseen diagnostic or repair problems
5. Clean the area, wait for the customer to test the
repaired device, review the service call with the
customer, and answer any questions.
Self-Check 3
1. Trade shows
2. Seal of authenticity, end-user license, original disks
and documentation, registration card
3. Warranty and service contract
4. Use the original shipping cartons and packaging
materials.
5. A swap shelf contains parts that can be used for diag-
nostic swapping or in an emergency until a new part
can be installed.
6. You should never charge a customer more than the
retail price for a part.