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Customer Service Advice

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by gmichaels

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I run a mobile PC repair business. I recently had a housecall with a customer who's PC appeared to have a bad power supply. I put in a new PS and everything worked just fine. However, as soon as I put the cover back on the case and powered up, the new power supply got that ugly burnt electrical smell and the PC was dead again. My conclusion was that there was a short in the case. I oferred to rebuild the system in a new case but could not guarantee there would not be other issues. The customer wanted to think about that before committing. My real question here is: Is it appropriate to charge the customer for the new power supply that got burnt out as part of that service call, or should I just write it off and take the loss?

10 replies

by balbir

Your fault is probably caused by a faulty motherboard. Look at the coils near where the ATX power connector goes to the motherboard. If they are badly discoloured by heat the motherboard is probably faulty. Alsi the capacitors near the coils will be bulginy at the top. The tops should be flat. The capacitors have a "star" stamped on the top to weaken the case. When they get really hot the "star" opens up like a flower to let out steam.
As for charging the customer, try explaining to the customer the PSU has blown due to another fault on the PC that caused the original PSU to blow in the first place. May be the customer can pay just for the PSU and not your time.Most people charge a call out fee( I do)
Balbir

by oz_media

Another issue MAY be that the case is grounding out the motherboard. Make sure that there is proper clearance between the bottom of the board and the case.

as for the part, I'd personally eat the cost if the customer wasn't happy. OR perhaps offer to provide charge him just your cost of the part (assuming you have marked it up) or give him a half hour of service free, don't charge him for the next visit to replace it or something similar what's time right?

As an old employers motto says, "in the end...it all comes down to service."

by jdmercha

In my opinion, if you didn't fix the problem then you shouldn't charge for it.

So what you need to do is charge a minimum fee for the house call. Then charge another fee for fixing the problem. Then you waive the house call fee in favor of the repair fee.

by douglasb

I agree, you should not charge for the part, I don't. I figure what I might save by having the "unhappy" customer pay for the part I will lose down the road when this same customer does not recommend me or worse, tells people to stay away (only their version of the story will be repeated, of course).

by poettone

I wouldn't think a short in the case would cause a ps to fry, as the case is/should be grounded from the components of the board etc.. Its unlikely that the motherboard all of a sudden burst a busway and shorted somewhere..

I am in agreement that it sounds like bad capacitors on the mobo itself which can be checked with a good Ohm meter to determine the continuity on the circuits..

As for the customer and the power supply I agree as well that it does come down to service, but your time isn't free. A service call fee and a loss on the part would be acceptable to most customers. If there is resistance then its an intuition decision...

good luck

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