I can top that -- I had a a PII tower with Windows 98 on it shortly before Christmas -- had to retrieve a Christmas card list from a Microsoft Works database and a load of recipes. Had to physically pull the HDD as not one single one of my live distros (Windows or Linux) would boot on the machine and it didn't seem to like generic drivers for flash drives. Had to send the list to a friend in Glasgow that deals with proprietary database formats a lot to retrieve the names from the db as I don't have a copy of Works around -- received a paltry £20 for my trouble (could have charged more I suppose, but I don't like charging pensioners too much) People really don't have a clue how much effort goes into this stuff.
Pah, pensioners have had more than enough time to save up the money to pay for services, plus they'll be dead soon so they don't need the money that badly.
Agreed. Without sounding malicious though, they can be really troublesome over this kind of thing, and in my opinion, it would be good to show them what work goes in and thus, you need to charge more. Ethics don't come in to putting food on the table.
I think one of the main problems with computer work is that the process and end result aren't as tangible as some other kinds of work -- for example if a builder puts down a patio you can watch him put it up and can plainly see and touch the end product. When I first started working with home users I had clients refuse to pay me as I've "only pressed a few buttons" -- granted, but a lot of time and effort went into learning which buttons to press. Nowadays I clearly state my terms before I touch a machine so it's clear we're on the same page.
