Qualities You Should Look For In A Computer Technician

If your computer is broken or not running the way you think it should, you may be wondering what your next step is. The first step is hiring a reliable computer guy to help get you out of that jam or make your computer do as you wish. But what exactly should you look for in a computer repair technician?

The qualities you want in a computer tech are the following: reliability, knowledge, skill, and truthfulness.

1) Reliability

You want a computer repair tech that will call you back. I have heard countless horror stories from clients that said the technician that came to fix their computer never called them back. There are many unreliable computer techs that take on more than they can chew and become evasive when you try to find out how your repair is going. Some repairs, such as virus and malware removal, can take a long time because the computer tech must scan your system repeatedly to remove the problem, but the computer technician should give you an honest answer and an honest time frame for when you can expect the computer to be clean. If they have ordered parts for your computer (which they often do because the stores are so overpriced), they should keep you up to date on the estimated shipping arrival date of your parts.

2) Knowledge

Your computer tech needs to keep his knowledge of new technologies up-to-date. This doesn’t mean that your computer guy has to be bleeding edge, because often being so far ahead of the technology curve doesn’t help a normal person out and parts are more expensive the newer they are (this is why you often see folks recommend waiting for version 2 of a product release – cheaper, faster, and more features). But your technician should be aware of new viruses or malware, as well as general trends that can benefit you, such as regular backups and any technology that makes your day to day life or job easier.

3) Skill

Your computer support technician should have the skills it takes to fix the problem. This may seem obvious, but many young, inexperienced technicians will take on repair jobs way beyond their skill set, leaving you without a working computer or laptop for weeks. Ask your technician what their background is. A good technician will have many years experience fixing computers. If you wanted someone that only had a small amount of experience, you would have probably asked someone in your family or circle of friends to take a look at the problem. An experienced technician with the proper skills can save you money in the long run by informing you of more inexpensive options or work arounds then spending hours of labor attempting to fix an un-fixable or un-solvable problem.

4) Truthfulness

A truthful computer technician is one that doesn’t lead his or her client down a path of never-ending labor charges. You want a tech that is frank with you about the amount of time it is going to take to fix the problem. Why spend $240.00 in labor when you can replace the broken part with a new version for $40.00 and have it installed and working for $80.00 for a total cost of $120.00? Many greedy technicians are all too willing to fleece their clients to pad their invoices and labor charges. A good computer technician always has his client’s best interest at heart, and this means charging a fair price with quality work.