I want a new computer for Christmas! Ok, maybe not. The fact is: I am Hell on computers. Two years with me and they collapse, stuck in a neverending cycle of Lock & Load. My sister says I don't protect my computers from dust & other malevolent particles, so a month ago, I started covering my current machine with a pretty ruffled pillow case. Alas, my computer continues to cough & sputter, and after taking over 6 hours to shut down, I finally had to call an AT&T technician to check its kidneys. He will come on December 24, Christmas Eve, between 8 and 9AM, and I will have to pay him the princely sum of $179, whether he can fix it or not. The $179 charge will automatically be added to our monthly AT&T bill, so no filthy lucre changes hands, but now, I'm wondering how much I should tip the technician. Any suggestions?
Meanwhile ... HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!
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$179? Good grief. It wouldn't have occurred to me to tip the technician. I just had the Time Warner Cable technician in here yesterday to fix our internet access, and I didn't tip, so obviously I'm not the one to ask!! (What did you end up tipping, if you don't mind my asking?)
ReplyDeleteI did not tip. He didn't really fix anything although he did confirm my suspicion that it was a hard drive issue and not a virus. Unfortunately, he said my hard drive was shot and had to be replaced by HP itself, so I'm just getting a new computer now. I must say the technician was very helpful with all sorts of suggestions though. I still kind of wish I had tipped him but my sister said $179 was quite enough for about an hour's work. heh.
ReplyDeleteIt's good you have your sister's guidance on all this. I agree with her. If he had charged a smaller fee, then it would seem appropriate to tip for his trouble, but sounds like you did the right thing. Tips are so dang confusing. Where's the life manual on this stuff :-)
ReplyDelete$179 is AT&T's payment policy for a technician's house visit. So the techie did not figure out the charge himself. The AT&T fee is always $179 even if the problem is not resolved. Not sure if thats fair but I would probably trust an AT&T techie over some strange computer repair company I find on the internuts. They might steal my bowl of Lindt chocolate balls. Eeeek!
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