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I was having an interesting conversation with a fellow laptop repairer the other day about the benefits of updating or spending time doing a computer repair on an older Pc.

Interestingly this technician’s viewpoint was totally opposed to my own as he would happily recommend a client to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a new PC rather than spending hundreds of dollars repairing an older computer.

Now taken in isolation I also would consider this very good advice as well, as throwing money at old hardware can be a lost cause. But that said there are wide number of variables that should be considered before recommending this course of action.

On the money front whilst the cost of new hardware has come down a lot of modern systems are massively overkill for their users, and there is also the consideration of the amount of time somebody has spent loading all the software and updating drivers etc.

Sure we can take away the pain of the update by doing the data transfer for them but aren’t we already thinking along the wrong lines already. As a professional should we be taking the consultative approach here?

A majority of clients that I come across have simply never considered the need for ongoing laptop maintenance and some of them have had such slow systems that even when they are less than a year old they are considering getting rid of them.

This is not only bad for their pockets but is also dumping rubbish into the environment far sooner than is really necessary.

So is it really good advice to advise a client to renew as opposed to repair, well in my opinion first of all you need to ask how old the laptop is and what it is being used for. This will help you give the client best advice.

Secondly is their really something wrong with the Pc or does the client just need a little help and understanding how to keep it running smoothly.

And thirdly, is there enough computer memory in the Pc to make it run efficiently. Chances are if it has been bought on a budget then the answer is almost certainly a big NO.

In a majority of cases a little laptop maintenance goes a long way and if the client is interested you can show them a few tips and tricks to keep it running nice and smoothly themselves in the future.

And also a computer memory upgrade goes a long way as well and is not expensive. If it’s an older computer but is still meeting the clients needs then you can always use used computer parts instead to save the customer some money.

Ok, as business people this will not make us rich…..or will it? I would much more prefer to help a client and have a happy client who feels confident to refer friends and relatives on an on going basis than just “grow a job” beyond where it needs to be, which if the press is to be believed happens far too often than it really should.