http://www.schiffkey.com/schiffkeynews.htm
February 3, 2007
Headlines:
1) Questions about my new price structure.
2) "How often should I back up my data?"
3) Vista (Microsoft's newest Operating System)
4) Buying Software online - or renewing Norton etc.
5) "Just Cancel My Account"
Read about service hassles: Magazine Review PC World.
6) "My internet is down - What do I do?" (Do not Panic!)
7) Advertise - on the net - for free
Subtitle: How to hire a local expert
8) More web sites worth watching
=======================================================
DETAILS of above headlines
--------------------------
1) Questions about my new price structure
The good news: My hourly rate has NOT changed!
It is still $60 per hour within area. $70 outside of the area.
The decision to keep the rates so low is based on customer loyalty,
repeat business, and great referrals.
My competition has increased their rates because of advertising,
franchising fees and geeky t-shirts, specialty cars and flyers.
With my services, you just pay for results!
Bad news: Free phone support is severely limited, or stopped.
Because my customer base has grown so rapidly, I can no longer adequately offer free
"five minute quick questions".
- Call and immediately book the next available session
ie: 30 minutes to one hour session.
- Alternatively, EMAIL questions to jerrold@schiffkey.com
- which, regrettably, may take a little longer to answer.
Suggestion: Bundle your questions together, and book a MAINTENANCE appointment. Same idea as a dental checkup, a car tune up or pool / lawn service. The advantage of having me show up once every 3 or 4 months, is that you can get all your questions answered, while I update your computer, and keep it running smoothly. And, some problems can be detected BEFORE your computer crashes!
--------------------------
2) "How often should I back up my data?"
Answer: Depends on how easy it is to recreate the data.
Let's say you are tracking your finances by entering all your receipts.
If you back up monthly, then you have to recover from your monthly backup,
and re-enter everything from that time forward. That could be a lot of work. In the case of emails and pictures, the loss may not be recoverable.
Suggestion:
(a) Have TWO disk drives instead of one. Back up your data daily to that second hard drive.
(b) Buy an external hard drive. Easier to use on another computer, or to remove in case of emergency.
(c) Back up / burn to disk (CD's) - Keep off site, such as a bank vault.
(d) Internet Storage - This source is listed as a choice.
However, I personally would never recommend leaving confidential information "easily" accessible
to the net, regardless of safe guards such as encryption.
--------------------------
3) Vista (Microsoft's newest Operating System)
Any new computer purchased as of February will have VISTA as its operating system. This replaces Windows XP. As well, Microsoft is offering Office XP 2007, which replaces Office XP 2003 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher) But do you need to upgrade? Can your "old" computer RUN Vista?
Answer: In the vast majority of cases, older computers will not be able to handle Vista. Even if your computer meets the minimum requirements, without a really good VIDEO CARD, you will not see any real advantage upgrading - because you will not be able to use AERO. I've been having fun reading all the articles on VISTA. My favourite is "Ten reasons NOT to upgrade". Keep in mind that most businesses waited YEARS before migrating up from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. One reason is the number of bugs. Another is compatibility (will my program RUN on the newest operating system?)The consensus out there is WAIT AND SEE. So, unless you are buying
a new computer - upgrading to VISTA is not a priority.
--------------------------
4) Buying Software online - or renewing Norton etc.
Here is a suggestion that should be obvious but is easily forgotten!
Immediately after downloading software that you have purchased, BURN THE SOFTWARE TO A DISK. And don't forget: PRINT OUT YOUR RECEIPT.
Here is an example: You've just purchased Norton 2007.
So, you download it, and immediately install it. But WHAT IF Norton (among other such programs) DOES NOT INSTALL CLEANLY? It may even RUIN your computer - facing a total reinstall of your operating system.
Instead follow these steps
a) Download the software to a folder that's easy to find
c:\My Documents\My Received Files
b) Print out email or web page confirmation
Make sure you note the order number, phone number(s),
and re-installation instructions
c) Burn the download to a CD. Mark the cd, and put it aside.
d) Optionally: Consider backing up ALL of your documents,
financials and emails.
e) NOW, try to install the software.
If all goes well, consider the extra time learning exercise.
But if things go poorly (Let's say you tried to install
Norton Symantec, but forgot you had OTHER Symantec software)
you have half a chance at recovering most of your computer!
--------------------------
5) "Just Cancel My Account"
Read about service hassles: Magazine Review PC World.
By now, everyone has heard of the guy who taped his call to AOL.
In the 30+ minute call, he tried to cancel his AOL account and met
a very persistent account rep (since fired, so the story goes).
PC World (Feb 07) reports an informal survey of trying to just cancel various accounts
- most signed up online. Its a great read. But CUSTOMER SERVICE has now declined past the absurd.
Here is a suggestion next time you need to call customer service:
a) Look up this web site:
http://gethuman.com/us/
This may get you to a human being faster than using all the prompts!
b) Grab a coffee and newspaper, start Yoga deep breathing exercises.
The first 15 minutes+ will be "press 1 for ... press 3 for..."
c) Your name, address, account number...
Yes, the next 15+ minutes will be answering questions, thus
proving you have an account and the right to ask your question.
STOP HERE:
Before you actually ask your question - get the account rep
on your side. Ask the rep where he/she is, what's the weather like,
and are they having a fun day? Crack a joke. If you can hear them
relax over the phone - you may actually twist the call in your favour!
d) Now, its your turn to try and get help.
Be as knowledgeable as possible. State your problem. Better yet,
suggest how you'd like your problem resolved. Be prepared to
compromise. Remember, the account rep is just following a script.
And may not have much leeway. On the other hand, if you've done
your homework right, you can "upsell" the resolution.
Example from one of my customers:
"I had lost my telephone services. When calling the company, I asked:
Could I have prevented this by purchasing 'line guard.' The rep said he
could add it onto my bill, and THEN report the outage. Thus saving the extra charge when sending a repairman to my house."
--------------------------
6) "My internet is down - What do I do?"
Which is it? Email or the net? Its not the same thing.
Before you pick up the phone to your internet provider
(see above, how to prepare for a long wait)...
Try this
a) Open up your browser: Internet Explorer, Firefox or AOL
See if ANY page shows up. If not, try ANOTHER web site
that you have not gone to today.
Reason: Some browsers, when a web page is unavailable,
will give you the last one it found. Which might LOOK LIKE
the internet is up - when it isn't.
b) Open up your email (assuming Outlook, Outlook Express or other).
If Outlook asks for your password, then the EMAIL SERVER is down.
Remember: The server is on a computer on the internet.
You may still be able to surf web pages on the net,
even though the email server is offline.
c) Reboot your computer (turn it off, turn it back on).
Reason: Other than being a great stalling device, this resets
the internet connection and clears memory.
If you are still not on, its time to take more drastic action:
d) If you are using cable (Time Warner) - see if the TV is working.
If not, then most likely, your internet is dead too.
The same may be true with your telephone (BellSouth, Sprint, DSL).
e) Release the internet:
click on START | RUN | command | then type in "ipconfig /release"
without the quotes, in the black box. | then type in
"ipconfig /renew" in the black box. exit out of the screen,
and try your internet browser again.
f) Unplug the modem - wait. (if you have a Router, unplug it too).
Plug the modem back in - wait. (ditto on the router).
Reboot the computer. See if you are back on line.
The above routine will take care of 80% of all bad internet connections.
And time wise, its a heck of a lot faster then trying to reach your
internet provider!
--------------------------
7) Advertise - on the net - for free
Subtitle: How to hire a local expert
You can advertise on my web site for free - just send me your information.
That’s just the first step
a) Got a web site?
Discount web hosting is available on the net.
For $160, I'll set up a web site, complete with your own email
and one free web page - renewable yearly.
Imagine: info@yourname.com (if available, naturally!)
b) Link to other web sites.
The more your name is out there, the easier your customers will find you.
Just google (www.google.com) Apopka Virus (or Longwood virus ... etc)
See if my name appears!
C) Write, blog, post, review, upload, link.
These are all ACTIVITIES that you can engage in, on a daily or weekly basis
to get your name onto the internet.
d) Search Engine Optimization
Rules to get your web page noticed
e) Search Engine Submission
Adding your web site to search engines (manually).
Everything takes time. But getting noticed on the internet will bring in business!
--------------------------
8) More web sites worth watching
Is your wireless router open to "drive by" snooping?
schiffkeyvideo.htm (2nd of the two videos)
I've been busy developing and updating a web site for a favourite client.
He has written a tribute to the valiant Air Police of 1960's:
http://www.3973cds.com/
Find out who is calling you: (popupkiller not included)
http://www.whitepages.com/9900/reverse_phone
Untested, but fun: Replace buying expensive software with equivalent software
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2006/12/01/30-essential-pieces-of-free-and-open-software-for-windows/
Notes from the Universe -- Another customer suggested this site.
She likes the daily personalized messages. May I suggest that you sign up with a (new / different) free Yahoo or Hotmail account first.
http://www.tut.com/mmm.shtml
This site seems promising - needs more activity!
http://www.mywekiva.com/
