No, I Will Not Fix Your Computer!
Nov 14th, 2006 by Jayce
What is it with people who are unwilling to make any change in their normal routine, or in their surroundings, no matter the reason? I’m a techie, heck, I’m a geeks geek, so I know that I am usually on the bleeding edge of the latest tools, toys, and tricks. Often times I try to spread the word about what I think is best.
In the same context, people quickly associate me as “the computer guy”, so neighbors, friends and family will always ask me to help in fixing any of their computer problems. For a long time, as is my nature, I would go out of my way to help people, doing work that often took hours, on tools and tasks that in my nature I found near repugnant. Along with fixing, I will often attempt to fix the process that caused the problem in the first place. While certain suggestions may be impractical at the moment, they are noted as something to think about for the future. But especially in the case of viruses, bad software, and other preventable problems, I will always suggest and promote sane choices that would prevent the recurrence of the given problem.
Now, I ask, how often are the suggestions followed? Almost never. In the case of viruses and spyware, most people are absolutely unwilling to give up simple behavior that would keep their systems clean. I often get a request for the same service after a short amount of time.
Look, if you understand that I know a lot about computers, why don’t you follow my advice instead of just expecting me to do hours of free labor fixing a system I wouldn’t allow in my own house? And then you do the exact same thing over, and over again?
Oh, and please use FireFox, Thunderbird, and look at switching to a Mac or Linux :)
Geek’s geek…if ever there was an applicable characterization, there it is :) I have so much to say about tech support peeves, I’ll save them for a rant of my own :) I will echo the sentiments, though, in saying please, please try to learn how to not cause the same problem again that I just fixed. There are few things more annoying when it comes to being an appointed-by-association tech support guy.
Jayce,
My computer acts really slow when I start it in the morning. I need it to go faster. Can you stop by my office and take a look at it? And why do I keep getting all of these pop-ups every time I close a window? Can you fix that?
I sure do appreciate you.
-Dank