Hi
I can hear what you’re saying but the question is actually one of knowing your own limitations. At least one of the “engineers” featured acted and sounded like a salesman rather than a technician. The others just seemed to be people who ‘know enough to build their own PC’ but have not had any formal training or gained any industry accreditation.
I have a PC Repair business based in the South of England delivering a solid service to the local community. I employ engineers with accreditation ranging from MCSE, CCNA, HP ACP, all the way down to A+ and for a home visits it’s the A+ engineer that is sent because of the cost (I have to make a profit). However all my engineers know that I’ll terminate their employment (with extreme prejudice) if they lie or try to cheat a customer, I’d rather they called and said “I don’t know” that way they can learn and I can earn (reputation as well as profit).
Big firms like “The Tech Guys” or “The Geek Squad” kill the profit margin and local firms don’t have the qualifications or experience to compete effectively. So I’m left in a low margin market saturated with inexperienced, untrained engineers. I have to generate enough income to pay for training my engineers, run cars and vans, run an office and workshop and the administration staff; what’s more I have to satisfy the bank, accountant and tax office by making a profit.
My opinion is that the industry needs independent regulation like the NIC for electricians or CORGI for Gas and until that day dawns there will always be unscrupulous operators out there who are using the industry as a license to print money.
