Would you bother?

[stugster]

You've got PC World, and all your other Computer Shops in and around your area.

If you have a computer problem, you either call someone to come to your house to have a look at it (sometimes paying through your nose), or you unplug the machine and lug it down to PC World (or other).

My question is this....

What would you be inclined to do, if that "pc world" store was in a Retail Mall. With ample parking, and shops, cinema, and other tourist attractions.

What if the Computer Repair Support shop charged a fair, flat fee to fix your computer... AND had it back to you within a few hours. Giving you the opportunity to "DROP IT OFF", "GO TO THE SHOPS/CINEMA", and then, once finished, "PICK UP THE COMPUTER"... and dander off home.

Would this be more beneficial to you than a big PC World dedicated retail shop, or a "techy" coming to your home?

There would be no need to book the computer in previous to your arrival, you simply pop it in, then pick it up. Job done. Average fix-fee would be in the region of £45 inc. VAT.


Please comment!

 

[computerfaq]

That a really good idea. It's something I've always planned to do as soon as it becomes feasible for me to do so.

 

[stugster]

Is it though? Would people bother to unplug their computer, stick it in the car, and lug it all the way to a shop?

The angle I'm getting at is perhaps people who do a lot of shopping/enjoy Malls (Gill, Hayles, you all know who you are!)... they'd drop off the computer, then go do their thing, and then come back and get the computer FIXED.... Killing two birds with the one stone (no, not Gill and Hayles!)!

 

[computerfaq]

I've spoken to almost all of my customers and a few of them said that they'd like to do it, as they'd know it was being done in a shop rather than having a "cowboy" come out and charge the earth to do it.

 

[Gillie]

Poor Stu, I don't actually like shopping hence I would use this service. Let me explain. I am one of those that cannot stand dithering so to me shopping be it for food or other items, is hell. I get all my things together, ie banking, post office (yes Mr Gibson I am going tomorrow!), food shopping, petrol etc and then head off dropping in/off at the various places, so yes I would use your service, as I could start and end at you, unless of course I had cocked it up so very much it took longer!

At present when I have issues, I call someone in, but yes its having to organise to be around to let them in etc. Its more convenient your way!

 

[mumper]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Ok, you have to get your PC to the shop, but if you can get the fault repaired, pick it up within a few hours and be back working the same day it can't be bad - especially when you receive your work via the Internet and rely on the absolute minimum of down-time. I'd certainly go for it.

 

[Hayles]

You've got me all wrong

When my computer crashed a few months ago.... I unplugged it, took it to a local computer repair shop (with parking right outside), came home and got on with lots of work , then when back later that day to collect it.

So, sounds like an idea to me

H

 

The problem I see is that you have to be able to cover those who want on-site visits, plus those who want to 'drop' their PC off. I tend to have about 25% off my repairs actually 'dropped off' at my premises, but I operate a 'appointment only' system, so they call first to ensure someone is here. Will this involve another member of staff for you?

As for PCW and all those other horrible places - their service is crap and the people who know this will happily go elsewhere - those that haven't experienced it firsthand will still lug their PC to them.

 

[confused]

I Still think people would prefer onsite rather than having to unpug it all, lug it downstairs (maybe) into the car, into town then back again. Then, depending on what needed to be done to fix the pc, they may still have some stting up to do - i.e. printers, scanners, tintnernet and such.
Also can you guarantee it will be fixed by the time they have finished shopping? I wouldnt. What if its an older pc say, or some proprietry part thats gone? it may still mean then that they have to leave the pc with you.
I suppose it would work in some cases, but I think you would need to be careful to explain what it was you were offering.

 

[cjd]

I very nearly set up a PC repair business but in the end didn't for various reasons; none of which were because the business model didn't work.

This is how I'd do it.

I'd find a medium sized unit in a low cost industrial estate near to a largish town/city. I'd deck it out with 6 or so stations capable of running at least 5 simultaneous repair jobs each (the majority of time spent on a repair is waiting for software to install and update). I'd hire 6 or so geeks on shifts, one of which would be a driver.

I'd pick up and deliver PCs from home/offices every morning and I'd offer a replacement while we're fixing it.

I'd charge £75 for pick up fix and return plus any hardware required.

I would expect about 20% of revenue to come from replacement PCs.

I also offer remote diagnostics and fix plus insurance.

After 3 years, I'd franchise the operation across the UK and build a brand.

After 7 years I'd run operations from Monaco.

Let me know how you get on

 

[brownie]

Is it though? Would people bother to unplug their computer, stick it in the car, and lug it all the way to a shop?

I would have thought not, however how wrong can I be as I once hung around in PC World on a Saturday and watched loads of people bring their PC's in for repairs and upgrades.

There must be a market for a carry in service however the guaranteed fix in a set timescale sounds risky.

 

[stugster]

There must be a market for a carry in service however the guaranteed fix in a set timescale sounds risky.

You're right. I'd have to make pretty sure all customers were aware that their machine might not be fixed to the estimated time-scale. I suppose a work-around would be to drop it off at the customer's address if the machine wasn't fixed at all. I'm sure they'd be happy to pay the £5 or whatever, rather than having to come back again the next day.

The shop itself is in the perfect location. The size isn't the biggest however, it literally would only have space for the repair desk and a front desk to take customer details. This lack of space is reflected in the price of course, £10k rent per annum.

 

An initial 'Diagnosis' can be done whilst they shop - but I wouldn't promise anything more. Some small problems can take a while to actually sort - PC's are temperamental little brutes.

We tend to say that we will contact them within 24 hours, to give them a diagniosis of the problem and a price to fix (if necessary). Then we tell them at that stage how long it will be abd arrange for collection/delivery back out.

Nothing annoys a customer more than being told 'it'll take 10 minutes' to then be told 'I need a specific part which will take 3 days'. Communication is the key.

 

[stugster]

Very true. I know myself just how long a ten minute job can end up taking. I suppose the "1 Hour Diagnosis", and then the option to collect next-day, or pay a fiver for it to be delivered back to your house is a good option.

In fact, thinking about comparing that to PC World, paying a fiver for the machine back would be a god-send (imo).

 

[Page]

Some will choose pcworld - some will choose you - some will want it at home.

I think if you are happy to sort the staffing issues out then the shop front is a core that you can expand out from with an at home side to the business.

Have a web site and leaflets which explain to people the different options and the pros and cons.
E.g cheaper to take in because xyz - but some will still go for the at home option beacause of abc.

A lot of people will wait a week if it saves them money. Others will pay more for a premium service. I think people like to know where they stand and they can then decide what is right for them.

Be straight and open with them and they will trust you. Which when it comes to car and PC repairs etc is often what it is about.

The unit sounds a bit small to me - but maybe I think bigger and longer term. You need space to store all those machines coming in for repair.

Work out how many machine you can be turning around at a time. So how many in store at any one time.

I think cjd has it spot on. The only problem is the staffing and the staffing and the staffing. Hence PCworld and how techies see them.

 

[stugster]

Yeh, I agree with cjd too. I need to be able to have multiple computers on and being fixed at the same time to make the business profitable. That's the benefit of bringing the computer in to store, rather than a tech coming out to the house. In-store, one tech can be fixing up to 10 PC's at a time, whereas at home, it's ONE computer for the duration of the time it takes to fix it.

The only real problems I can foresee with that are:

1) staffing
2) initial capital to get it going
3) LOCATION... finding a good place for this kind of service in Edinburgh will be quite tricky I think.

 

[stugster]

Edinburgh is a b*tch. Parking regulations all over the town make it very difficult to find premises that have facilities for my customers.

I basically either have the option of looking further out of town (which means the buildings get bigger due to more space available and thus more expensive).

Or, what I'm looking into just now, is pay for the parking for our customers.

At the moment, it's a pay-and-display system the council use, and it's about £1.20 an hour (ish). If I advertised the business with the feature of "We pay for your parking too!" be a real appeal, or do you think the extra hassle of finding a place to park, then putting money in the meter, would just be too much?

 

[Page]

Don't get involved - it is all petty time and admin.

Focus on the business and they will come to you and ignore the charges.

Now if you knocked off your charges - one hours of parking and said nothing but the invoice said - they might love you for that. People are funny that way.

That said I still would not bother.

Sounds as if it might be a very good option for you. Good Luck.

My advice write a business plan!
Some titles but add loads more - The Intention - (Really personal objectives should come first etc) - Who and why do you think people will be your customers - How you are going to market yourself (do you need to) - the sums - cash flow and profit - what if it is going badly - what if it is going well.
No-one wants to - but it would save a lot of people time and money and stress.
But hey they don't want to waste time on that - that is the dull bit.
They have a dream to be getting on with.
A dream that becomes a nightmare due to having no plan done before hand. Just ideas (often conflicting if they stopped to think) floating around their heads.

 

[ken_uk]

I personally would not bother, as I would just fix it myself, and I would not let any of the local computer shops (PC world or the little ones) anywhere near my pc.

But for people that need those services, as long as you keep doing a good job, word of mouth should spread like wildfire as long as the prices are reasonable.

Be careful with your staff though, make sure you trust anyone with access to the computers fully, you dont want someone taking private info or pics and misusing them. I would recheck security if you are going to be having lots of customer pc's on the premises - to make sure they cant get 'lost' or stolen. Perhaps even good close up cctv to cover your back, so a customer cant say you did something you shouldn't have (swapped boards, broke something that was already broke etc).

 

[stugster]

Ken, thank you for commenting! Especially about security. I sometimes wonder if there is a God, as no sooner had you posted that, than I found an ideal location.

The premises is cheap as chips, in the North of Edinburgh. It has a few car parking spaces available, but more importantly, it's secure as they come, with metal shutters and burglar alarm system. On top of this, a CCTV system - as you suggest - would almost certainly need to be installed.

£7k a year for 1,414sq feet. How can I resist!?

 

[Gavin Harris]

£7k a year for 1,414sq feet. How can I resist!?

Make sure you do your sums.

Don't forget to add on costs for business rates, electricity, waste disposal, insurance etc etc - it does all add up.

But sounds good!