Did I piss off a client?

[Galion]

A customer came into the store to request a clean up and change of thermal paste for both cpu and gpu. So I did what he requested for taking apart his build and do a proper clean up, he asked me "hey do you think I should upgrade now or wait for Ryzen's new chips? 

I told him "that's up to you sir I can't decide on what you may need for gaming."

He paid his $40 and walked away looking pissed. 

His system :

Corsair C70 (green) 

Gigabyte G1Sniper 5

Intel i7 4790k - 4.8ghrtz (1.3)

Corsair Dominator Platinum ddr3 2133mhz cl9 16gb 

Samsung 840 Evo 500gb ssd

Samsung 850 Evo 500gb ssd

Seagate Barracuda 2tb hdd

Gigabyte G1 gaming gtx 980ti 6gb 

Corsair RM750I 750w 80+gold modular 

 

One of the prettiest system I've seen but most disgusting system as well, 

Items found :

fur, feather, dust bunny, dead spider in thermal paste on cpu, dead lizard on top of hdd, roach poop and rat poop. 

I swear he got his $40 worth today. 

 

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, Galion said:

I swear he got his $40 worth today. 

I would have phrased the answer differently, but some times there's just no pleasing folks.

Don't lose sleep over it

[Wolly9102]

Why should he be pissed about something you cannot answer for him?

 

 

btw That poor pc  

[Galion]

Just now, Wolly9102 said:

Why should he be pissed about something you cannot answer for him?

 

 

btw That poor pc  

No, the poor spider.... I'm guessing he died in there since day one. It was at least a 5 year old build. Jesus christ. 

[Monkey Butler]

9 minutes ago, Galion said:

No, the poor spider.... I'm guessing he died in there since day one. It was at least a 5 year old build. Jesus christ. 

Sod the spider poor bloody Lizard

[NineEyeRon]

Probably should have suggested to discuss at another time. Deal with one thing at once and do that one thing well.

[Lathlaer]

You were not rude but you were unhelpful. Maybe that's why he was pissed. 

 

Imagine going to a Tourist Information Center and asking about the best things you can see in the city and receiving answer "Sorry sir, I can't say what you will enjoy the most"

 

Probably some discussion about the topic would've mitigated the reaction.

[RejZoR]

TechpowerUp guys had a thread for all the nasty disgusting crap IT guys had a chance to witness. Maybe we need the same here lol. It would be amusing to see this system hehe

[Pixel5]

if that pissed him off then its just because he knows an upgrade is not needed but he wants others to confirm him its good so he can justify it for himself.

[Sauron]

59 minutes ago, Galion said:

fur, feather, dust bunny, dead spider in thermal paste on cpu, dead lizard on top of hdd, roach poop and rat poop. 

 

I swear he got his $40 worth today.

Sounds like a good customer to lose...

1 hour ago, Galion said:

"hey do you think I should upgrade now or wait for Ryzen's new chips? 

I told him "that's up to you sir I can't decide on what you may need for gaming."

There's an easier answer to that: we don't freaking know what AMD is going to launch or when, so the question is plain stupid.

 

But you can't really say that to a customer, so you should have sold him an upgrade. People who ask that kind of question want to upgrade because they like new things, but they can't really justify it because their current performance is fine; they're looking for someone to bear the weight of the decision for them. Just sell them a new system - they'll be happy to upgrade and won't really know if they "should have waited" even when the new ryzen chips launch, you'll have made a profit, everyone wins.

[TetraSky]

"While the final decision is up to you, I'd say it might be worth waiting to see sort of performance the new Ryzen chips will offer before upgrading".

 

Something like that may have been better. But then again, if they got mad just because you can't tell them what to do... they need to review their entire life.

[Teddy07]

Well you certainly are no salesman

[k.m.p]

A better answer would have been to ask if you are currently happy with your system or not? with a 4790k oc, there is little performance if any to be gained on current gen amd cpu's.

 

But that doesn't mean that your answer was wrong, ultimately it is his choice to see what he needs and wants, not for you to decide. If he got pissed, that's his problem not yours.

Its not like you said anything wrong or disrespectful.

[Monkey Butler]

personally i would of asked what he played the most and work from that. 

[jones177]

Your opinion is part of your service. Not giving opinions is not completing the service.

Your opinion can also lead to more business if you can read your customer right.

 

I do understand where you are coming from though.

I had problems with customers that thought I did not do a good job because I did not take enough time. So instead of saying "this will only take a couple of minutes" I should have said  "this will take a couple of days".  For getting things done quick for a company I was the hero. For getting things done quick for some individuals I was cheating them somehow.

 

I gave up on the public and just did work for companies. I slept better after that decision.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Automobili3XF]

1 hour ago, Galion said:

fur, feather, dust bunny, dead spider in thermal paste on cpu, dead lizard on top of hdd, roach poop and rat poop. 

I swear he got his $40 worth today. 

 

Sorry for the tangent but here, this is the reason i don't do system cleanups anymore.

In addition to that i've also found live roaches, roach oothecas, a decomposing rat, cigar ash and smoked cigarettes.

[Juniiii]

How the fuck does a spider get on the thermal paste, and why was a lizard in there???

 

[ThePD]

I had cleaned a PC way back in the early 2000's that was full of fried caterpillars. I'm talking like 20+ caterpillars than ended up dying on the heatsink. Client PC's can be unbelievable sometimes.

[Radium_Angel]

3 hours ago, RejZoR said:

TechpowerUp guys had a thread for all the nasty disgusting crap IT guys had a chance to witness. Maybe we need the same here lol. It would be amusing to see this system hehe

Eons ago, I worked for a firm that had real-genuine-honest-to-god IBM workstations (in beige boxes no less) 

We needed to move it and I could tell it was quite dusty and in need of a good cleaning. Trouble was, it used (at the time) very specialized hex/torx bolts to keep it closed so that only real-genuine-honest-to-god IBM techs could open it. Plus they were painted to show if they were ever opened. They hadn't been touched since the system was built at the factory.

 

My co-worked was ex-air force, and he had the tools. So one day he brings in said tools, plus an air compressor.

We take the IBM out to the parking lot and open up the case.

Inside it's slammed full of dust. So much so, you couldn't see any of the components (think of fog covering a bridge, by way of example)

 

"Stand back" he says, and hits the computer with the air compressor.

Once the dust was gone and we could see again we found a giant dried pretzel stick inside the case.

 

The only way it could have gotten there, was from the factory...

[dizmo]

Honestly I can see why the customer was frustrated. I'm assuming you work at a store that sells hardware, so he assumes you know what works for what requirements; meaning that yes, you should know what he needs for gaming. You didn't even delve further into the topic, simply said "I don't know", ended the conversation and dismissed the chance of any further questions.

 

Do you know what AMD has coming in the future? Of course not, no one does. However, you can suggest he waits to see what comes out, discuss potential rumors, or compare the differences of the current Ryzen products to the system he has now. You did none of this. You didn't even ask what he'd be interested in upgrading to currently, or if he notices slow downs or performance issues. You also should have realized that if he's paying money to have simple things done to his system, he probably isn't the most up-to-date on hardware and what will work best for him. Which is where you're supposed to come in and provide that service; that is your job.

 

Honestly, I don't think you did you job to the fullest in the least. You did the bare necessity, and that's it. If I was looking for professional advice (which is why he went to the store, and talked to you) and that's the kind of service I got, I'd never return to your shop again. Customer lost.

 

7 hours ago, Wolly9102 said:

Why should he be pissed about something you cannot answer for him?

btw That poor pc  

How couldn't he answer? He didn't even ask what games he plays, if he notices slowdowns, etc etc.

Pretty poor service imo.

6 hours ago, RejZoR said:

TechpowerUp guys had a thread for all the nasty disgusting crap IT guys had a chance to witness. Maybe we need the same here lol. It would be amusing to see this system hehe

I'm pretty sure such a thread already exists.

6 hours ago, Pixel5 said:

if that pissed him off then its just because he knows an upgrade is not needed but he wants others to confirm him its good so he can justify it for himself.

Not true at all. It could have been a genuine question. Just because he has high end hardware doesn't mean he knows anything about said hardware. Everyone can make money, and have hobbies. Not everyone dives into ever aspect of them.

[Giganthrax]

I did find a dead bug in my own computer once while I was cleaning it. At the time, my case was close to the window, so I guess the bug flew in. 

 

As for the lizard and the decomposing rat? I call bullshit. Even if it's a small animal, a rotting body is going to stink. A lot. There's no way someone would've just ignored that unless they were literally insane and/or had absolutely no sense of smell. 

[CodeNova]

2 minutes ago, Giganthrax said:

I did find a dead bug in my own computer once while I was cleaning it. At the time, my case was close to the window, so I guess the bug flew in. 

 

As for the lizard and the decomposing rat? I call bullshit. Even if it's a small animal, a rotting body is going to stink. A lot. There's no way someone would've just ignored that unless they were literally insane and/or had absolutely no sense of smell. 

Or they got a real good deal on pine car freshener. It adds a bit of color to the room too.

 

"It's a good thing"

--Martha Stewart

[dalekphalm]

10 hours ago, dizmo said:

Honestly I can see why the customer was frustrated. I'm assuming you work at a store that sells hardware, so he assumes you know what works for what requirements; meaning that yes, you should know what he needs for gaming. You didn't even delve further into the topic, simply said "I don't know", ended the conversation and dismissed the chance of any further questions.

 

Do you know what AMD has coming in the future? Of course not, no one does. However, you can suggest he waits to see what comes out, discuss potential rumors, or compare the differences of the current Ryzen products to the system he has now. You did none of this. You didn't even ask what he'd be interested in upgrading to currently, or if he notices slow downs or performance issues. You also should have realized that if he's paying money to have simple things done to his system, he probably isn't the most up-to-date on hardware and what will work best for him. Which is where you're supposed to come in and provide that service; that is your job.

 

Honestly, I don't think you did you job to the fullest in the least. You did the bare necessity, and that's it. If I was looking for professional advice (which is why he went to the store, and talked to you) and that's the kind of service I got, I'd never return to your shop again. Customer lost.

 

How couldn't he answer? He didn't even ask what games he plays, if he notices slowdowns, etc etc.

Pretty poor service imo.

I'm pretty sure such a thread already exists.

Not true at all. It could have been a genuine question. Just because he has high end hardware doesn't mean he knows anything about said hardware. Everyone can make money, and have hobbies. Not everyone dives into ever aspect of them.

100% agree

 

@Galion I'm not sure why you don't understand what happened, and why he might have looked a little ticked off? As @dizmo points out, part of the reason you work at a PC Repair/Retail shop, is because you know about the technology. Your opinion - or rather, your ability to assess the needs of an individual, and work off of their questions - is one of the reasons you're worth employing.

 

Anyone can go to Walmart and buy an OEM piece of crap computer. But they decided to go to your store for service.

 

At the very least, you should have asked probing questions, and not just shut him down like that. What was he thinking of upgrading? What games does he play now? Does he happen to remember what FPS he was getting? What would he like to improve?

 

On top of that, he's using a CPU that's 3 years old now - even if the system is still kickass, maybe he might have benefited from an upgrade right now? Ryzen 2000 series, or perhaps Intel 9000 series? Sure, you can't say for certain what the Ryzen 3000 series will perform like (though as a retail sales person that specializes in PC's, you should be able to make an educated guess based off of current known info and rumours), but it's not like his system is a current gen system, so maybe he doesn't even need to wait?

 

Besides, if he can afford it, and wants to spend the money on an upgrade? Let him.

[PlayStation 2]

Two components to this. I believe that your client was looking for a more definitive answer than simply "I dunno", but that being said, I believe you phrased it well and the client was just getting pissed because he probably wanted "yes" or "no" rather than to think about the decision.

[zassou]

ignore him and move on with it. i used to work at a computer chop shop and i wont doing consulting stuff unless they are buying.