Here are some more computer repair Wednesday scaries. However, I am not sure who was the most scared. You be the judge!
The stories are taken from Geek # 2’s personal experience from working in a reputable computer repairs Sydney shop in Darlinghurst, when he was only a green Geek.
- Laptop was brought in for service by an elderly lady. The computer wallpaper was explicit pictures. She did not bat and eyelid, only said something about her grandson’s strange choice of lady friends.
- The woman who spilled coffee on her keyboard brought it in and asked for help. Geek #2 wanted to help so, he told her to unplug it, wash it down carefully and let it dry thoroughly before reconnecting to the computer. Geek # 2 was trying to save the client from the expense of buying a new keyboard. The lady stormed back in to the shop a few hours later with a MELTED keyboard. As it turned out, she washed it alright, but used a hairdryer to dry it …but she just laid the hairdryer on the keyboard and walked away. It was a puddle of plastic mess. The lady made such a scene that it was cheaper for the shop to give her a free keyboard. Geek # 2 tells me the shop owner was close to calling the cops.
- A woman called to say that she ran her computer through a dishwasher and turned it back on while still wet. Geek #2 was the lucky guy who got to verify this by attending the scene. Yup, she actually did that. And yes, it was a MESS.
- A computer came that weighed more than usual… The owner complained that it would not start up. Upon opening the machine a massive pile of sawdust came out. Apparently, he owner had the machine in his workshop and neglected to clean it out. It had been pulling in dust for who knows how long and was clogged. Every heat sink and fan had been covered with it. Amazingly, after thorough cleaning it booted right up.
- Any computer that came in from a smokers’ home was not a pretty sight. Who would have guessed, but smoking damages your computers as well as your lungs.
- And the last but not the least for today! This entire family came into the shop with a broken computer and an old service slip that said they had received service from the shop six months prior. Now, Geek# 2 assures me that EVERY checked out system had been thoroughly tested by him, work was documented and then re-checked by the Head Technician to made sure the green computer repairs geek was on track. So, when this PC left that shop it worked and was in perfect condition. The family came in with the choicest words from the street vocab and accused the shop of breaking their computer. The Head Computer repairs guy decided this was the job for him and offered to quickly look at the machine. The owners hauled this computer out of the box and plopped it down…well it was supposed to be a computer, but it looked like a twisted empire state building. The case had been twisted like it took a hefty fall. It also looked like someone had taken a screwdriver and attempted to pry the computer case open by force. Nothing lined up and sharp metal was sticking out everywhere. The power supply had no screws holding it in. Upon working the case open to see what other wonders this computer held it was discovered that it has no HDD, RAM, or CPU and every cable was unplugged. Up until that point the HeadComputer Repairs guy was giving the family the benefit of the doubt, but there was no way this computer ever left the shop like that six month before. Shenanigans like this caused that shop to implement a policy of photographing each and every single PC that was checked in and out to prevent future accusations. Mobile Geeks are looking at implementing the same policy as well.
I hope you enjoyed these as much as I have.
MobileGeekette