Never really given it much thought before but being that PC guy, fixing computers here and there, don't half get some weird gifts for the expertise! I mean there's the usual middle of the road beer that's nice but just recently got a bag full of bacon. Not the first thing that would spring to my mind to offer as a thank-you but I'll enjoy it all the same! Any weird gifts exchanged hands for PC services rendered?
you got a bag of bacon ?? DEAL OF THE WEEK!!!!!! i once got £40 knocked off a B'N'B bill for helping them fix their computer. It was an easy fix, just as it was for use by the public it had the usual amount of stupid adware and and such. ended up being a simple re-install of windows and installing them some anti virus software
I built a computer for a college lecturer and the wife got a pot plant and chocolates wouldn't mind but couldn't even smoke the pot plant
Wierdest? In no Particular order [not all for the same job] A Duck An entire palette worth of cans of Britvic Orange Juice A Venison Haunch 1 Kg of biltong made from springbok And a bizarre 3 way trade involving a engine cylinder head and several bottles of rum...
And someone I thought was a friend would occasionally bring a computer round for repair saying it was the kids which I later found out he was charging his mates for repairing their rigs and getting me to repair them for free
It's the people who don't offer anything that gets my goat. Built several pc's for people recently and not a dicky bird, I don't expect to be paid but a 4 pack of cider (Tesco's own £2.15) wouldn't go a miss. I even upgraded a couple of bits out of my spares. Then when my wife needed some help with something from the same people and she got nothing. Lesson learnt I don't really expect much but it costs me electricity to work on them as well. It's the thought that's counts
At what point did the numbers not add up? Number of kids Vs. Number of computers! Don't mind throwing in some surplus fans and spares from my stock for someone I like but with the acquaintance category I charge a reasonable rate for parts and leave gratuity open ended. Handy for ditching some old parts I don't use actually and leagues better then they were using anyway. The main feature scrubbing up an old build is to ditch the tiny fan that's inevitably installed up front and put a nice fat 120mm extraction fan on the rear of the case. Voila, air circulation/peace and quiet is restored.
He has 5 kids, It was at a party one night and some stranger tells me how good at fixing his rig he was that made me think B**T**D
A friend of mine who works as a cook at some restaurant went to work to make me a special burrito with chicken, steak and pulled pork. I fixed his pc in 15 minutes, it was literally just updating a driver (gpu fan wasn't spinning up, causing pc to overheat). It was probably the best burrito I ever had. As of late, when I fix things, I tell people ahead of time what I think it is, and what I would charge to fix it. No point leaving it open ended and being disappointed in the end. Edit: Helped my cousin at the spa she works at, and they gave me some free services. 1st and last time I'll ever do that.
A few jars of salsa for checking out some backup issues for family friends (sad to say they lost quite a bit of data). It was actually quite good.
Beer and chocolate is usually the norm, I refuse to accept money for fixing stuff for family and friends. unless its going to take more than a few hours or I'm short on time and do it instead of something else. My best one was a box of 20 beers couple bags of cookies and a couple boxes of mini brownies and flapjacks I ended up quite jolly with one hell of a sugar rush
My [good] friends know better than to ask me to do it for free [whether or not I accept the payment is another matter], Family I usually charge more than my normal rate, they're the ones most likely to take the piss...
I've gotten beer quite a bit, or gift cards. A guy at my dad's work actually gave me a 24 of Carlsberg just for removing a virus, it literally took 30-40 minutes to scan and clean.
I helped a gaming friend spec and build his pc and even wrote him a guide on how to put it together, setup his ssd and install windows etc. He works for a super market distributor in NI and to my surprise a consumer box of 20 x200g galaxy chocolate bars turned up on my doorstep , that's one of the best items I've ever received.
4Kg of chocolate? I'm glad I packed in the computer repair stuff... by the sounds of this thread, I would be seriously obese by now.
