In the world of computer repair, dealing with the clientele is often far more difficult than any technical issue.
One technician discovered that no matter how well you fix the problem, some clients just want a reason to complain.
So when the customers asked them to return the computer back to “how it was”, the technician’s bold response left them stunned.
Read on for the full story!
I once spent quite a long time fixing a computer for a new client after the PC had crashed (the old hard drive failed completely).
Fortunately, the customer had a basic file backup from perhaps a year or two ago, so we got most of the files back.
The client didn’t exactly make it easy for the technician.
However, I had very little info to go on.
I didn’t know the original version of Windows, had no idea what apps they used, or what email client they used.
I was met by repeated, “I don’t know” and “It didn’t look like that before.”
But regardless of all this, they remained professional.
I continued to be patient, calm, and understanding — bringing up images on the internet to see if any start menus or apps looked familiar.
In the end, I installed the latest and greatest of everything. I got it looking really good, easy to use, and with all their apps on the start menu.
The customer wasn’t nearly savvy enough to appreciate this, though.
They started getting pretty moody when we had spent half an hour trying to recover the forgotten email password.
Apparently, the security question wasn’t something they’d have ever known. The partial recovery phone number wasn’t theirs, until — yes — it was their landline.
Then they found the password in their book, even though they insisted, “That’s not the one I use for my email.” Except it was.
Yet again, the technician made the best of it.
Finally, I’d invested enough time in this, asked all the questions, and squeezed out a few answers. The computer was all good.
However, I got several calls over the next couple of days, asking where some obscure apps had gone.
Still, the customer found more reason to complain.
Why did I remove them? Why hadn’t I installed the (dodgy) cleanup utility they paid for? Why had I deleted the email contacts? (They meant autofill, which obviously was empty.) Where were the browser passwords?
I went back and got a lecture on how it was just not good enough. They had been invoiced “good money” for the computer to be fixed, and frankly, it wasn’t fixed.
They just wanted it back the way it was.
Looking back, there were several red flags they should have picked up on about this particular customer.
To be honest, I’d really undercharged for my time anyway — maybe 2 hours instead of the actual 5-6 hours I’d invested. No matter how hard I tried, it was never going to be a job they were completely happy with.
Being younger and less experienced, I’d missed some potential red flags.
The customer was slightly outside my usual area (they should’ve been able to find several technicians closer to them). The first phone call had been out of hours. They had been a bit difficult and uncooperative from the start.
They should have known how ungrateful they could be, even with good work.
They had almost expected the job to not be good enough, and during the small talk, they’d already complained about their plumber and how many times they’d had to find a new cleaner because they’d been “let down” several times. They hadn’t yet paid the invoice.
Then they made their final demand.
“Get it back the way it was.”
The client popped out of the room for a couple of minutes, and I was so fed up by this point.
So the specialist did just this!
I took the side off the case, removed the new drive, and reconnected the broken one (still in the case).
I picked up my toolbag and met the client in the hallway.
“All sorted. It’s back exactly as it was before. And don’t worry, I’ll cancel the invoice, so there’s nothing to pay.”
Then they got the heck out of there!
I made a dash for it. I have no idea what happened next. I ignored a few missed calls and then blocked the number.
I thought about how I’d reply to any kind of email or online review, but I heard no more.
I like to think they got someone far less patient, more expensive, and who delivered a worse result.
They left the computer just as broken and beat up as they found it — that’s what the customer wanted, right?
Let’s see what Reddit had to say.
No one likes to be a scapegoat.
This redditor had a clever way of always staying two steps ahead of his clientele.
There’s nothing better than shutting down a complaining customer with cold, hard logic.
Some customers just really need things dumbed down for them.
It seems like these difficult clients had lost sight of why they called the specialist in the first place!
Turns out you just can’t fix a bad attitude!
If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.
