One of my very least favorite phrases to hear my clients say over the phone is “I just bought a ….. and have some questions” or “… I need your help”. 

Please, before you put down your hard-earned money on a new piece of technology, call me!  I’ve had a client overpay by $500 for a new laptop, I’ve had clients buy printers that I know will easily end up costing triple in service calls.

Folks, I do my very best to keep up on the latest technologies and the latest prices.  Why?  TO SAVE YOU MONEY!  Part of my diabolical plan is to save you soooo much money that paying me later when you actually DO need help will seem like a total bargain.  When you go to a “big-box” store, not only are their sales people trying to sell you stuff, their SERVICE people are trying to sell you also.  Not only will they sell you a subscription for anti-virus software, they will then charge you to install it.  Will they tell you that you can download Microsoft Security Essentials for free and save $100?  No!  Will they tell you that the item you’re buying today was on sale for $150 less last week and probably will be on sale again within a month?  No!  Will they tell you that the model you’re looking at has more power than you need for your purposes, and that the identical model with a lower power processor is perfect for you and will save you $150?  No!  Will they tell you that the brand you’ve been using for years and want to purchase again is now totally owned by a different company and the quality isn’t anywhere near as good as in your old equipment?  NO!!!

So what will they tell you?  How smart you are for the research you’ve done.  Why the one you’ve chosen is an “excellent choice”.   Ok, I understand – you don’t like asking for directions.  You don’t use a GPS.  You don’t use coupons even when you can.  If someone says try blue, you’ll go for red.  I get it.

Surely you MUST be an expert in whatever field you are in.  I’m also sure your opinion is of value to whomever asks for it.  You just need to admit that you’re NOT an expert in technology (if you were, then why are you reading my blog – because this isn’t for you.) 

So what does it cost you to call me BEFORE you buy?  NOTHING!  I really want to SAVE you money.  If I don’t know off the top of my head who has the best deal on a given item, I’ll find out.  I’ll also make sure that what you WANT to buy matches what you NEED.  Perhaps you should spend more but in most cases I’ll tell you that you can and should spend less.  Why would I do this for free – well, so you’ll call me when you have a genuine problem.  If you call me after the fact and tell me you spent too much on a product, there isn’t much I can do to help you at this point.  Anyone who knows me at all or watches my show KNOWS what computer and printer brand to avoid, and also which ISP I recommend you avoid. 

So… before you buy ANTHING – CALL me, the Tek-Chic and once I know what you NEED, I’ll advise you on what to get, where to get it and how much you should spend.