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Archive for the ‘Tech Club General’ Category
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Many years ago when a computer crashed, started running slowly, caught a virus, or lost data, the only recourse you had was to unplug your computer and “take it down to the shop” for repair. Sure, on-site computer repair has been around for some time, but in those days it was extremely expensive for someone come out to your home or business to look over your computer systems. The level of experience necessary for a computer repair technician to perform on-site support is high, and as a result that advanced level of support was only available to companies with large budgets. Each on-site technical worker must be an expert to survive the cutting-edge rigors of working with multiple hardware and software configurations each day. High hourly rates for computer experts allowed physically established computer repair stores to thrive for many years. They could hire one expert, and then employ a large group of less experienced staff for cheap who would work with the expert to learn how to fix the computers that came into the store.
Unfortunately, low prices did not always equate to convenience. The disadvantages to you are high when your only option is to drop a broken computer off somewhere down the road. Forced to crawl around under a desk unplugging cables, hoping that you can remember the correct sequence of cables to plug back in you finally get your computer back is no fun. If you make it past that step without being electrocuted, the next task is to haul the dusty computer and maybe monitor or other accessories out into the heat, rain, wind, or whatever weather we were having that day. Finally, the worst part, handing over all of your sensitive information to the stranger at the counter of the computer repair shop. Do you know the owner or person working at the counter? Great, but do you also know the other people working in the back room? Do they really even care about you or your data? Is your information safe? Just what ARE they doing back there with your stuff after you leave? Will they fix this problem only for you to discover more computer issues once you hook everything back up?
Things have changed considerably over the past five years, all for the better. These days, it’s more affordable for you to have your computer systems serviced on-site in your home or business. The hourly rate for experienced computer repair technicians has come down considerably, changing the playing field between on-site and in-store support companies. What used to be the biggest advantage for the brick and mortar computer store, physical presence, has actually turned into it’s greatest liability. The large operating costs of leasing a physical storefront have made it impossible for old style computer repair firms to compete. As a result of increased operating costs, lease, electricity and other limiting factors, physical computer repair shops are forced to charge more for computer repair services just to cover unnecessary overhead. Efficient on-site computer repair firms avoid these overheads, operating remotely, covering larger areas, and are able to pass the savings on directly to you, the customer. As a result of lower prices, more and more people are realizing the immense advantages to on-site repair, which go far beyond the ability to save money.
A client of ours recently left us a testimonial that sums up the experience quite nicely, “I liked your service, because right away I felt like my PC technician was a friend. He explained everything to me and answered all of my questions.” That is the level of customer service that a physical computer repair shop cannot match. Beyond simply fixing the problem, a technician in your home or business is a real person that is available to answer questions, explain to you what is wrong, and work with you – not just to fix one problem, but several problems all on the same visit. When your original problem is fixed, you’ll probably have time to fix three or four more problems that you otherwise wouldn’t have thought about had your computer been in a back room somewhere else. When you encounter a preventable problem, such as a computer virus, a live person there to assist you can not only help you remove it, they can offer expert training and advice on ways to protect yourself in the future. 95% of computer issues most people have can be fixed right there, on-site. In the rare instance that a more time-consuming repair is necessary, the technician already has everything taken apart for you and can take the necessary parts to a central repair facility for you, bringing back the repaired parts once complete. All the while, freeing up your time and allowing you to work on other things. More importantly, your ability to interact face to face with your computer repair technician gives you the advantage of knowing exactly WHO is working on your computer and whether or not you should trust them with your important pictures, business accounting information, emails and passwords.
Everyone likes to save money, and given the opportunity, 9 out of 10 will go with the less expensive option. It’s nice that the tables have turned to favor the customer, making it possible for everyone to experience better computer repair service without extra work or hassles, and at prices those large computer stores just can’t beat.
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Tags: accessories, accounting, advanced, advice, affordable, Arizona, broken computer, budgets, business, cables, client, companies, compuer systems, computer, computer experts, computer issues, computer repair, computer repair firms, computer repair service, computer repair technician, computer shop, computer systems, computer virus, crashed, craw, customer, Customer Service, cutting-edge, data, electrocuted, email, expensive, experience, experienced, expert, face to face, fix, fix computers, fixed, hardware, home, hourly, hourly rate, in-store, information, interact, IT support, less expensive, low prices, lower prices, monitor, my pc techs, on site computer repair, on-site, on-site support, operating costs, owner, parts, passwords, PC technician, person, phoenix, pictures, plug, problems, questions, rates, remotely, repair, running, save money, serviced, slowly, software, staff, stranger, support, technical, technicians, testimonial, training, trust, unplug, unplugging cables, virus, weather, worker Posted in Tech Club General | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
We are looking for a unique candidate possessing exceptional computer repair skills. Your technical knowledge must blend nicely with a friendly personality and a desire to help make technology easy for others. If this is you, consider joining our team. We only hire the best, so the pay is the best.
Here’s what we expect:
MUST have 5+ years hands-on PC troubleshooting, hardware and software.
Good people skills required.
Macintosh A+.
We hire experts. If you’re not a qualified computer repair technician please do not apply. You will be tested for tech skills and required to pass a thorough background check as part of the interview process. This is an on-site support role, so you will be traveling throughout the Phoenix metro area.
Still interested? Please send a detailed resume in Word or PDF format to jobs@mypctechs.com.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Principals only. Recruiters, please don’t contact.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
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Tags: Arizona, Arizonajobs, background check, computer repair, hands-on, hardware, help, hire, interview, job, jobs, knowledge, macintosh, on-site, pay, PC, people, phoenix, skills, software, tech skills, tech support, technical, technician, traveling, troubleshooting Posted in Tech Club General | No Comments »
Monday, August 16th, 2010
Picture yourself standing in a supermarket aisle in front of the canned vegetables. You are making a new recipe tonight and it calls for one can of peas. You have never purchased a can of peas before and don’t have a preferred company or brand of peas in mind, so here you are with thirty different cans of peas in front of you to choose from. Each can has a unique label and manufacturer and most of them are exactly the same price. Which can do you pick up?
Next you walk over to the fruit aisle. You want to make an apple pie for dessert and look through all of the red apples in stock. It appears that some of the apples are old – they are withered and stale looking. The fresh apples are bright, crisp and fresh looking. Which ones do you choose for your pie?
Research has shown time and time again that looks sell. When people are presented with a choice between similar products that are similarly priced and offer similar features, they will almost always select the one with the brighter, more colorful packaging. A colorful, shiny label will always outsell a dull, bland one. A shiny, bright apple will sell faster than old fruit.
Studies are also very clear in identifying the unmatched power of the internet for business marketing. Search engines give your business power to place advertisements for your products and services directly in front of your target customers the moment they are searching for you. Google and Bing are supermarkets for business, and your products can be grouped with others in a similar category, just like cans of peas. Now, imagine a client searching the internet for your product or service, but really they are standing in the supermarket in front of cans of peas. What happens when YOUR can of peas (website) is placed on the shelf in front of them, right next to all of the cans of peas provided by your competitors?
Trying to design a do-it-yourself free website for your company, or going with the cheapest possible web design offering from the kid down the street working from his moms garage, is like one of those pea manufacturers handing a child a crayon and saying “Go ahead, design a label for our peas.” There are certain things that a professional marketing company will know about label design that a child will not. Important details will be missing from the final design such as branding, calls to action (buy these peas now!), ingredient labels, and all of the other secrets that are so important to help a consumer make the decision to purchase.
When a business website is designed by an amateur, cheaply without concern for quality, or by a web design firm that does understand online marketing, guess who buys the peas? No one. You could have the best peas in the entire world. They could be juicier, tastier and softer than all of your competitors peas. None of that will ever matter. Your potential customers will never get far enough along with your product to pick up your can of peas, read the label, or take it home to find out what’s inside. Considering the importance of online marketing to today’s business success, you could miss out on thousands of dollars in new sales. At the extreme, based on what your competitors are doing online, your business could fail due to an inability to compete in your industry.
“Build it and they will come” is absolutely incorrect when it comes to a new website for your business. Business web design and online marketing firms such as my PC Techs give your new website the upper hand. New websites designed by my PC Techs are built using cutting-edge technologies and incorporate the latest in coding and marketing techniques. With a my PC Techs website, you are getting much more than a new website. You get a proven marketing vehicle for your products and services.
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Tags: advertisements, amateur, apples, bing, branding, brighter, build it and they will come, business, business marketing, business web design, business website, call to action, category, cheap, cheap website, choice, colorful, company, compete, competitiors, consumer, customers, cutting-edge, design, free website, fruit, Google, industry, internet, internet marketing, label, labels, marketing, my pc techs, new website, Online Marketing, packaging, peas, products, professional, purchase, quality, research, sales, search engines, searching, secrets, services, shelf, success, supermarkets, target, technologies, thousands, vegetables, web design, web design firm, Website, website design Posted in Tech Club General | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 13th, 2010
A recent TechRepublic poll confirms what we have known all along, Dell produces the highest quality laptops available.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/acer-makes-the-shoddiest-laptops-say-it-professionals/37747
HP follows close second in the poll which was recently presented to a group of IT professionals. My findings follow closely with the results of the poll, we always recommend Dell first and HP second for new laptop purchases. Dell provides a slightly higher quality of hardware than HP, but in my opinion HP provides a slightly higher quality of support. You can’t go wrong with either.
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Friday, August 13th, 2010
For those of you that just can’t Tweet enough, Twitter has followed Facebook’s lead and has created a new Tweet Button for the internet. Similar to the way many news articles now offer a button to “Recommend” a page, Twitter’s Tweet Button will allow website users to Tweet and share content.
The following websites have already integrated the new Tweet Button. Expect to see many, many more soon.
AddThis
Arizona Republic/azcentral.com
Ask.com
CBS Interactive
CNN.com
Cracked.com
Detroit Free Press
eHow.com
Eventbrite
Gawker Media
HuffingtonPost.com
Hulu
LIVESTRONG.com
Redfin
SFGate.com
ShareThis
Sky News
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Des Moines Register
The Indianapolis Star
The Onion
The Tennessean
Threadless
TIME.com
TV Guide
USA TODAY
WordPress.com
WUSA 9
Yardbarker
YouTube
Take a look at this mashable video for a demonstration of how it works:
http://mashable.com/2010/08/12/tweet-button-official/
Now to start working on my own version of a WordPress interface for this. 🙂
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Tags: arizona republic, cnn, facebook, recommend, tweet, tweet button, twitter, websites, YouTube Posted in Tech Club General | No Comments »
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