iPod stuck on apple icon - not a technical related query

euser1984

I'm just wondering how much one would be expected to pay to get this resolved.

i.e what would the going rate be?

The reason I'm asking is because I fixed one of these for someone. I'm not sure what to charge? 20 euro?

For the record I fix laptops etc. for a living.

Thanks.

endacl

Time it took, times your price per hour = cost.

Aeternum

Depends what you did to fix it.. I've fixed this issue by a hard reset several times which takes about ten seconds. charging twenty euro for that is a bit steep.

euser1984

Took a lot longer than that.

Anyways, I'm going down the road of value based pricing rather than on time.

I think it's more fair considering that a technician is always learning.

guil

What did you actually do to fix it? Maybe the fairest way is to do this one as a freebie given the fact you earned some experience from it.

seamusk84

Aeternum wrote: »

Depends what you did to fix it.. I've fixed this issue by a hard reset several times which takes about ten seconds. charging twenty euro for that is a bit steep.

This.

You have to make several attempts for it to work but it does eventually. Have this issue on my iPhone 5 frequently.
Wouldn't bother paying to fix it as it will just continue to happen.

euser1984

First of all you haven't really solved the issue if it keeps happening! I did not do a hard reset to resolve it.

Second, you can't give freebies as 1) people want to square up with you & 2) There is more work involved than just sitting down in front of the computer 3) If you charge too little then people won't think you#re serious. 4) How do you think the second person will feel having to pay for it; especially given that it's very much a word of mouth area.

Just to reinstate the fact that "a technician is always learning" how to solve new issues.

Some items you buy have incredible markups - many might say they're getting ripped off but that's how value works. 20 euro is value for getting your iPod up and running again when out of warranty. 40 euro not so much.....If just one person out of 10 complains about price then it's right. If nobody complains then it's too low.

What I'm asking here is what would people expect to pay for such a job? Thanks.

shanec1928

euser1984 wrote: »

First of all you haven't really solved the issue if it keeps happening! I did not do a hard reset to resolve it.

Second, you can't give freebies as 1) people want to square up with you & 2) There is more work involved than just sitting down in front of the computer 3) If you charge too little then people won't think you#re serious. 4) How do you think the second person will feel having to pay for it; especially given that it's very much a word of mouth area.

Just to reinstate the fact that "a technician is always learning" how to solve new issues.

Some items you buy have incredible markups - many might say they're getting ripped off but that's how value works. 20 euro is value for getting your iPod up and running again when out of warranty. 40 euro not so much.....If just one person out of 10 complains about price then it's right. If nobody complains then it's too low.

What I'm asking here is what would people expect to pay for such a job? Thanks.

That's a how long is a piece of string type question..

guil

Why won't you tell us how you fixed it and what other work did you have to do that wasn't at a computer?

euser1984

I'd prefer if this thread was locked as people seem to be lacking basic business and understanding of how money works.

Regarding what's involved - meeting the person, getting them to explain what's wrong. Sitting down at computer, backing up. Meet them again - explain - answer questions....

my experience and expertise built up over years should I run into any problems...

That's why the cost is based on perception of value. Also, with this model it gives me the advantage to have set prices so the customers can know what to expect pricewise. Sometimes it takes much longer in time and sometimes shorter. You just have to hope it balances over time or you increase your costs. Of course you must stay competitive also. If you can't stay competitive then your out of business.

How can you charge 180 for a service if you run into stupid issues like hardware causing problems with drivers. How is the customer supposed to understand that? How do they know your not ripping them off?

jakdublin

I'm pretty sure I could fix this problem myself but if I couldn't and I had to get somebody who wasn't a pal to do it I'd be happy enough to pay €20, regardless of how long it took. You're paying for expertise that you don't have. €20 sounds just right to me. Any more and it sounds steep as it's not a really complicated job, any less and you'd be charging 'mates rates'.

jamesd

€20