Charging Customers a No Fix fee and why answering calls is a bad idea. 

Customer is so kind, he gave you board with free flux 😂

You are 100% fair and right about the diagnostic fee and trying to sort the things that are repairable from time wasters!

The problem you are describing at 1:15 is one I had bigtime in 2012, and solved in 2013. I asked troy to add a feature to repairshopr that puts the status a ticket is in, in the caller ID, after setting up repairshopr as a source for freepbx. When a customer calls, on the caller ID, before their name, the status shows up. I can literally start telling them a big-picture image of what is going on without looking at the ticket. I can't tell them super exact details if they start to complain or ask for more info, but I can give 90% of the people who call in enough information without looking up the ticket that they let me go back to work! The more I am able to give within the first 5 seconds of the call, the less they ask. People become more specific with their questions when there is a lack of trust, and when I sound like I actually _remember who they are_ from the second they call, they feel like they are in good hands, and leave me alone so I can get back to work. If I say "hi amanda, it looks like paul is working on your board, we should have an answer for you in 2 days", that... usually ends the call. The whole "what component do you think it is, how long, why this, why that" happens when there's a 20 second or 1 minute delay to look up their ticket. The best part is that, a link pops up in repairshopr to take me to the ticket of whomever is currently calling. It's absolutely beautiful. I do not have to ask them for their ticket number, as long as they call from the number they put into their ticket, I have it all. I also know when I should be picking up the phone because that will be a difficult call for the receptionist. At the same time, I know when I should avoid picking up because that customer is some lunatic. I would suggest reconsidering. When business peaks, it makes sense to stop it from coming in so you can focus on what is there. However, when business goes back to normal, if you had stopped accepting phone calls or put artificial barriers to doing business in place, it might result in having less business than you did before at the end of the hump. People that can't call in, etc, might be less likely to recommend to others later, less likely to leave 5 star reviews, or less likely to show up at all. So once you finally get through the current peak in business, there may be much less left on the other end. The number of close-to-1-star-reviews I've been able to solve just by being able to give a quick reassurance over the phone is endless. Obviously this is easier said than done, hiring in this business can be a PITA. When business slows down I will literally pay people full time salaries to play chess and basketball just so they are here when things pick up again, because getting people of this caliber is very difficult, and I realize my competition is just waiting for a chance to poach them the second I misstep. Best of luck.

At first i didn't want to charge a diagnostic fee because i thought "maybe It's relatively easy but it's me and my lack of knowledge the problem" or "it would be unfair to charge the customer for a no fix". But when i started to trust myself and gained more knowledge i realized that i have to appreciate my time and effort to get a device fixed and that's something many customers don't do. Thanks you for making me see that i'm on the right track here.

People who never worked with tech, cars or anything like that don't understand that diagnostics is often just as difficult, sometimes even more difficult than the job itself. Replacing parts requires skill. But figuring out what part to replace requires knowledge, experience and time. Knowing what to replace instead of throwing parts at the thing and hope for the best is what differentiates the professionals from the people getting their feet wet. I don't think you have to justify your business model to anyone. It is completely fair to charge a diagnostics fee as long as you are honest about it beforehand and let the customer decide if this service fits them. I think this is completely fair. I would rather pay a diagnostics fee for someone who actually diagnoses the problem, than pay someone over and over again who is guessing and charging for unnecesarry part-swaps every other week until we arrive to the solution by the numbers.

We charge $40 diagnostic fee for any computers that customer's bring. The customers can change their mind and cancel the service, but half of the work is already been done and we don;t work for free :)

Phone calls are the worst! In fact customer service in general is the worst, lol.

I used to come here for the tech support and knowledge, now I come here for the comedy. Good work!

Agree with you completely. Even if it's not fixable it takes time to diagnose. Time is money - you are running a business not a charity.

I've been working as a software engineer for 12 years. We have the same kind of problems. People don't understand that it takes time and effort to analyse an observation/bug/issue. And yes, I have to read lots of bad problem descriptions, too. Most people think, you can read their mind ("connectors"). I feel you.

Watching your videos always makes me feel good. It's good to know I'm not alone in being a tech that is given completely ridiculous units for repair attempts. Diagnostic fees are an absolute must in this field.

When I was a getting my Electronics Degree back in the late 80's, I did start fixing VCRs and TVs at my house. It did not pass too long to find out that did not work for me because I ended with a pile of broken devices and no money. After spent 3 hours diagnostics a device, searching in catalogs for parts because was no internet back then for easy searching, then put together a price quote and contacted the client,.... after the clients did find out the parts costs half of buying a new equipment, they does not want to pay for the fix and left me with the broken device. Their mentality was that for me was a good deal keeping a free device as a payment for all my time. In only 1 month I ended with a bunch of junk and very disappointed. Was like working to be paid with trash. I gave away all that junk to a local shop and that was my end for that kind of business.

You're absolutely logically right and I admire what you do!

Agree with you every step of the way. I actually sent you a video card to see if you could rectify a fault on it which sadly you could not. I was fully aware of your repair attempt fee and happily paid and I also asked that you keep the card to use for donor parts. I hope that it was able to provide you with some. Keep up the good videos.

Funny, I encourage my customers old and new to contact me via email. Phone calls take up a lot of time, especially if a customer likes to talk. Most of my average phone calls take about 10 minutes. And I get about 20 calls a day. If you do the math, that's a lot of time wasted on calls. With email, I can keep track of the things I talked with the customer, but also it takes me 1-3 minutes to reply to an email and move on to the next It's not about not wanting to talk to customers, it's about having to reach all your customers. Glad to see I'm not the only one doing this.

Glad you made a video about this. Not a long of Repair shops with YT channels take the time to explain this. I do the same in my repair shop, I charge a diagnostic fee if the device is not repairable.

Had to ask him about an issue. He could not sell parts- understood with the supply chain issues. He still answered and was extremely professional. I appreciated the help. Nice guy.

This is why I subscribe. You always tell it exactly how it is. Best kind of videos on your channel 👍

I've seen in multiple of your videos and to me it's unbelievable how costumers fill the information needed for the repairs.

Sent on one of my devices to your shop and gladly paid the no-fix fee, because the knowledge and skill to know if it could be fixed was worth it. And I knew, if Northridge Fix said it was not fixable, it was not fixable. Period. That was well worth it to me.

Hi Alex, you are absolutely correct in your attitudes. I face the same issues here and often find myself considering taking these steps. I like to have customer negotiations and conditions written down and I really hate having to answer the phone, which will usually ring in the middle of some delicate microsoldering. As for charging for attempted repair or diagnosis, unfortunately the local business culture doesn't allow me to do the same.

I'm grateful for your advice on how to operate a business properly.

I was waiting on you to say it finally exactly the reason i don't do live phone calls with my repair business either and it was that with phone calls nothing is in writing or recorded and is sometimes hard to say the right things to customer when you're frustrated or busy or any other reason and also the customer can not say they didn't agree to the terms or price etc..

I used your ticketing system on your website. it worked well, and the repair was done well. my son's Nintendo Switch is still operating well.

Thank you for posting this. I have always been worried about how to handle this even though am not a professional like you, but I do some repairs. I will keep this I mind.

You are totally right alex. You are not a callcenter for problems or anything like that. Everyone who saw your videos and follow your channel, are able to see that you have a lot of work to get done. So keep your head up, you do a great great job. Greets from austria

I laughed hard when the microscope went over the connector area and Alex put his hands on his head 🤣🤣🤣 I’m sure people just send these in for the response. Ain’t no fixing that without hours upon hours of work if even possible!

Spot on mate!!! I walked away from laptop repair 20 years ago because it got to hard to get parts and deal with all the stupid.

Business is business, your doing great things and you don't have time or any obligation to give out any more information than you already do, as much as we would like, time is money! Great work keep it up 👍 much appreciated any information you provide

$35 diagnostic fee is cheap! my shop locally here in the Bay Area is $150 repair attempt fee no matter the complexity of device..flat rate ..$150! you are too nice!!!

Excellent. Good to get it out.

Excellent video Alex. So true, what's wrong with people? Unbelievable. Thanks for saying this "out loud", needs to be said.

Thanks for youre video. Really like this kind of videos where you talking about why you doing and background. Have took odd my tphone long time ago becuse so many just want to talk and waisting my time. Also drounging in work and having fun working with what I like. You doing the right thing with repair atemt fee. I call it troubleshooting fee. Big love from Sweden

Can't remember how it goes but common sense is a punishment for dealing with those who do not have it....

As a SMT repair tech for Nortel Networks, I have your six on everything you said. I really enjoy watching your videos as they bring back memories from 1999 to 2001 when I used to replace 280Pin fine pitch by hand with a knife blade type soldering tip and a hot air station. BTW we only used HAKKO soldering stations and MC Chemicals products back then. I still think they are the best stations still today. Thx for sharing.

good vid , makes sense time and knowledge costs regardless. i do a lot of consulting on special effects and i get asked why do i charge . your paying for skill experience and years of me learning and working in the industry . knowledge and the fact you can do this is valuable . i remember a vid you posted about having something repaired when you were young and the charge . and what the repair guy told you . its very true , if you dont have knowledge dont expect someone to fix it for free.

Lovely episode and honest real talk! Love it!

The no phone call policy make sense. I have an iPad at his shop, just need to wait until it’s repaired.

Good for you... Your time is not free!!! After watching your video's I have learned a thing or two but that does not give me the right to send in equipment that I attempted to repair for you to fix my goof up! Keep Up the good work!

This is so true! I've worked at a computer(repair) shop where later on we started doing tablet and iphone repairs and the stuff I had to put up with over there..... Indeed people attempting to do stuff themselve and all that. Normally we would charge a diagnostics fee of €25 euros but I think the shop owner later on was afraid of losing customers and a whole bunch of times he changed his own "rule" to a no cure no pay which I thought was total B.S. This is a really informative video showing exactly why you are a 100% right about the diagnostics fee.

You made it simple for beginners venturing into this field not to get fleeced by moral compulsions. 100% fair business practices.

100% true about diagnostic fee. I charge 500,- CZK (around $20) for each device to diagnose. It is common price here in CZ.

You're right about deciding to not take any more live calls. I can totally relate how difficult it is to balance taking phone calls and actively trying to fix or do the critical work needed to help customers

Hey firstly I just want to say big ups! Great video to watch for technicians. My question is what do you do if the device gets damaged during the repair attempt?

Yamshahaar 😂😂😂😂 I always think I have seen it all then u show me this. I totally understand the diagnostic fee. I don't charge one in my store because the area doesn't have really in depth diagnostic areas. Hamdillah for everything, always will get better. Greetings from Michigan 🙏🏽🔥

💯% agreed. One thing that I hate back when I'm not the boss yet is that when the boss said no repair attempt fees we followed, and so we wasted time, effort and resources just to diagnose and attempt repairs, at the same time losing other customers waiting in line 🤦🤷.

repair attempt/diagnostic fees make sense with good faith repairs and competent techs, but it is terrible practice for shops that just suck or take on work that is out of their abilities yet still make money off it. they can literally charge people all day everyday for being total shit at their jobs and not ever actually fixing anything. now with that said a clause that states "if it is determine a previous repair was attempted a fee will be charged" makes a lot more sense. If someone already fucked it up previously they should be on the hook for wasting your time but if you take on a job and you're the one who fucks it up then the customer shouldn't be at fault for that.

I have to say, your customers can not only learn how to fix things, but they can learn about how to perform customer service and how to run a business. Great channel.

True, since I've been working with a repair attempt fee; all those "cheap" customers stopped coming. This gave me plenty time to work on some serious stuff! P.s. what ticketing system do you guys use?

I have to say u absolutely right. Frack those creepy customers. 👍🏻

I ordered a birthday cake from a major chain the other day. The cake came to around $20. At the end of ordering I was given a total which included a bagging fee, retail fee, below $30 fee, delivery fee, sales tax, and another fee for just using the website. This guy says it like it is without any bs fees that you didn't expect. This guy should run for president.

Brother i love your channel and attitude. I bet i can tell you the main thiught that goes through your head all the time everday when youre working. Keep up the great videos. I actually have a maybe a couple parts i need to send. Im going to get the packet a fill it out and get a estimate.

You are very smart and honest person. Very upfront

Nicely explained. That's the way to do it. Keep up the good work.

Also a huge problem in the automotive industry where everyone is a "mechanic" Except the public has been so conditioned to believe that it's easy, and feel entitled to a free diagnosis even when the diagnosis is conducted and correct. Now imagine if we charged customers a no fix fee or repair attempt fee . They'd have a heart attack

Your a very fair and reasonable person mate keep up the good work

Luckily there are people like you who are able to fix broken hardware.

nice ideas and clear communication to customers to aware of before sending for repair. Nice job dude.

Alex, please make more videos like this when you are a bit irritated. One of the reasons I think people like you is you are very real. However when you are a little irritated you are even realer and it is very entertaining along with being informative as usual. This will likely get you more views. Keep it up and love your content!

Fair enough. Question though: did you charge repair attempt fee at first when you opened your business? Or this came later when you became more well known?

I agree 100% with a No Fix Fee. As a former Cell Phone Technician, we used to do $49 Charge upfront ( if fix is a go ahead, this comes off the final bill ). If not, we keep the inspection fee. Keep up the amazing work, love your channel. Every customer is pissed off before they even walk in that their device isn't working, but as you say, you know the fee, you know the best and worst scenario. it is what it is.

💯 Correct this is outrageous what customers expect when items are in very bad condition It is unrepairable I hope this will be the last of those customers thanks for your videos .

Agreed with all the given reasons especially on the elimination purposes. Thanks for sharing.

I completely agree with your logic. I always thought Rossman was out of his mind having a no-fix no-fee business model. But I figure he's more selective in what he accepts. I've read reviews on his store about how he refuses to even work on some machines because he knows he likely can't fix them.

Love your Videos, thanks for bring all this. I work on Automobile and for Diagnostic i charge a initial $$.00 just to plug my Diagnostic device. Smart customer said OK when a bad customer said NO and i OK with that.

We charge 25 for a diagnostic fee and then once the repair is complete we waive it off the bill

You are soo right about this. Time is the most expensive thing. You know the story maybe, at the manucfaturing site one of the huge machines stopped working. They called service then a man came in and diagnosed the machine and grabbed a hammer and hit to somewhere on the machine, machine started to work again. He charged 1k then customer said this is too much, you just grabbed a hammer and hit to the machine is all. Man said i charged 100 for the hit and 900 for knowing where to hit. Knowledge is everything. Charging no fix fee is pretty fair..

You are good and kind, that's why you have lots of customers.

I employed the same thing in our appliance repair business - no calls, just text and email. I'm tired of misunderstandings/interpretations/overpromising - all we care about is paper trails and CYA for both the client and our business.

That customer is just trying to get under your skin.. Because your are one of the best out there bro keep up the good work 👍

You are right about diagnostic fee.I do the same thing.Have a nice day!

No fix fee is ridiculous unless it’s a reputable repair shop. One repair shop in my country got busted after found out they’re not actually diagnosing broken devices but instead charging them without doing anything. They got caught after multiple attempts on “diagnosing” the same devices. I still don’t support no fix fee. I went to a repair shop to get my devices fix. I’ll make sure the repair shop knows and confident that they can repair it, if they do state that they’re confident then I won’t be paying no fix fee if they can’t fix.

We Spent a lot of time for disassembly, clean main board, to diagnose a faulty, to search with schematics when are available , it's a lot of time and then we repair. Greetings from Italy ✌️

Really well explained! Good for you!

There's a saying, "help me help you". You are absolutely right to make this video, calling out the idiots that are out there as well as charging a fee for your time, time that is really valuable considering you're a professional. Sad to see that people don't want to honor someone else's time. I pray that your business is free of said idiots, ya'akhi! + Have a like! :)

Sometimes I spend more time trying to bring one of these death boards back to life than fixing ten other computers. In reality I should charge ten times the price, but I only charge a small diagnostic fee and they ask "why should I pay you any money you didn't fix my computer>" I loved seeing that disaster board you showed! I'm sure thousands of repair techs laughed their asses off seeing that! Best wishes!

You are correct sir in your reasoning here. As you mentioned in a previous video, the customers are PAYING YOU for YOUR EXPERTISE and EQUIPMENT. They are foolish to think that they can send in garbage and think "if he can fix it great, if not then I no pay money. uhh BIG BRAINED". No, that is a waste of time and you are correct to charge them. If not, then its like you said that you would receive too much from people are just ignorant. There are plenty of people who dont appreciate tech and abuse it.

You're the man. I've never clicked the subscribe button so hard than when you when you started describing Hiroshima.

I used to do client support work on the side. Having a repair attempt fee and requiring written communication would have saved me so much hassle.

Totally correct; running a business not a charity. Well said.

I like the term "Attempt to Repair Fee". I charge an upfront, non-refundable, $30 minimum to inspect a device, if they bring it in opened to board level.

You are totally right of what you do. I have the same problem being a repair man but in Egypt it literally imposible to charge a repair attemp fee. If I did like you, there wouldn't be any customers. customers always tell what did you change or what was the problem with my device? If I told him it was a problem with a trace that I did jumper, he wouldn't be happy with the price I charge him as he doesn't what a trace is. I have to tell him as example if his device had a problem being charged, the problem is in the charging circuit without explaining in details in order not to lie. finally I'm a big fan of you and your work but don't complain for customers untill you deal with egyptian customers.

Why charge a no fix fee? This was not clear to me until management accounting . Simply, I base my business expenses on how many units I produce. For a repair shop, if I open any new repair job, that creates a charge for my time spent, the labor , needed to know whether that item can be fixed or not. Will see if I am correct. Thanks for uploading the video

Thanks!

You have the patience of a Saint my friend, people can be unbelievable!

Imagine sending something and on the description the customer just writes “doesn’t work” 😂

Bro I get these same kinds of things in JIRA tickets and every time I just estimate them at a week. If they're not going to spend any effort in writing adescription, I'm going to expend zero effort in fixing their problem. If I was the owner of my workplace I'd just close them immediately and tell them to give me a real ticket. You've got far more patience than I do.

not sure if i'm supposed to be laughing, but this guy's awesome, i love this

Totally agree with approach.

And as a side note I feel your pain and frustration, keep strong and thanks again 💪

Right on the money ! cheers.

I am also stuck like you brother.. Thanks brother 🙏🏻🌸🌸

WOW so true, im going to implement a Diagnostic fee as well, cheers

Speaking of fixing stuff i asked you for a simple fix. I have this wall climbing car. I checked the Lithium cell in it and it's a 702030 Lithium polymer cell...bad news is it looks inflated. Even a friend says i should get it replaced ASAP. I contacted Batteries+Bulbs. Want $20-$50 for the removal of the lithium cell. Contacted you and one of your reps says you do not repair such devices. Thing is it is so simple to remove the cell and replace it. Just unstick the cell from the double sided sticky tape and put a new one...but Lithium Cells make me nervous..

Sounds like you need to expand your team of well trained technicians with the amount of clientele you are getting

When I used to do in home service on TV's and Appliances, some people would complain about a diagnostic fee. I had to change the name to "Trip Fee" .

We got 1 star review from customer when we tried to explain to him that is the waste of time looking at his laptop. He wrote in his review "they only fix laptops they can charge", duuh.

Perfectly understandable and the pricing seems very reasonable too.

100% agree hope the people understand your point of view

Hows it goin! I noticed you're in CA and have heard you say a few times that you're not a free repair school, so I figured I'd ask if you actually do any schooling or "break down" lessons to go over the basics of these kinds of repairs. I would love to see firsthand the breakdown of what to test in order with the ability to ask a question or two. Just a thought, but if I see a link for a remote lesson or questionnaire for people starting in computer repairs, I'd pay for that. Thanks for all the insight and business tips. Always appreciated.