Re: Wireless receiver - computer problem?

["Robertm" <Respond@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Bob La Londe" <usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:geKdnZ2dnZ2-pmL8nZ2dnQHfkt6dnZ2dRVn-zp2dnZ0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "Robertm" <Respond@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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>
>> If my alarm business had such a tenuous hold on the marketplace that
>> giving a little advice threatened to put me out of business,
>
> I think that you have it a little skewed, but then this is
> alt.skewed.alarms   anyway.  LOL.  Most of us here have come up from
> nothing.  I am at the point where I can live fairly comfortably, but when
> I started I made sales calls off of a motorcycle because I couldn't afford
> to put gas in my car.  I hired my first installer not because I thought he
> was any good, but because he had a truck.
>
> Given that background.  Some started out with more and some with less.
> You have to understand that time is money.  In Robert's case time spent
> often pays back in sales to DIY clients.  Since he only sells equipment it
> makes sense for him.  For me in my early days the last thing I could
> afford was to waste a lot of time explaining to somebody how to do
> something for themselves.  Now I occassionally drop in and answer a few
> questions because I have the time to do so, and I pay particular attention
> to questions from other pros when I drop in because those are the guys who
> helped me when I needed.it.  DIYs have no impact on me at all these days.
> If I retire from contracting I may start back up an on-line store similar
> to others.  I did it once as an experiment and was doing a couple thousand
> a month in sales when I shut it down.  (As an aside:  A simple page with a
> list of products and prices with a phone number to call and place orders
> will generate some sales.)  My intention was to automate it more fully so
> I would have to little more than keep the books upto date, but the tech
> support issues were more demanding and time consuming than I was
> interested in doing.
>
> Do I work on my own cars.  I have.  When I couldn't afford to have others
> do it, or when I needed to fix a proffessional mechanics work.  Do I have
> a housekeeper and a nanny and a guy to maintain my yard.  Well actually
> yes I do, but thats not the point.  Most of us worked very hard, studied
> manuals and read books to get to where we are now.  We have had lots of
> people who couldn't understand that ask for free help when we really
> needed to make a sale so we could pay our bills. Our type of knowledge and
> expertise is just as valuable as an MD is to a doctor or an MBA is to a
> corporate business manager That type of investment deserves to be rewarded
> and the knowledge and expertised paid for.
>
> Now don't go getting on your high horse.  I do occassionaly help people
> out. When I choose to.  Nobody DESERVES free proffessional help.  They can
> ask for it, and if the pro says no, go away, or sure I'll help then that
> is their right.  The person asking should be more thankful than they often
> are and certainly shouldn't act like they deserve it.  When a pro helps
> you out with something they aren't just doing something for you they are
> taking time away from their own interests, profits, and families to help
> you.  They are taking money out of their own pocket even if they would
> never get the sales from you anyway.  They could be spending time talking
> to somebody who will spend moeny with them.  They could be fishing.  They
> could be spending time with their family.
>
> All that being said, I don't know many professionals who don't do a lot of
> a free stuff for other people.  Every doctor I know does things to help
> out poorer families in their practice.  My wife told me stories about
> getting paid by poor farm families in butchered meat rabbits in the first
> few years she was in practice.  I helped (advise more than anything) the
> local independent physicians association roll over profits from their
> non-profit organization to create a scholarship fund for local kids
> interested in going into medical fields.  Not just docotors, but nurses
> and technicians as well. Every business manager or owner who works with
> Rotary or Elks or JayCees or whatever to help with their charitable works
> is taking their professional talents, knowledge, and skills to the table.
> They are doing what they do for free, but because they choose to.  Not
> because somebody told them they have to.
>
> So a DIY who demands or appears to demand the assistance of professionals
> should understand that some people will probably help them, but they do so
> by choice.  There are a lot of other places they could spend their time
> either on themselves or on their communities.  They are taking time out of
> their own life and money out of their own pocket to do so.
>
> There is a class of DIYer though that I feel does deserve some help from
> us professionals.  The guy who paid fair price for an installation and got
> screwed.  Screwed is a relative term of course.  The guy who got a free
> system and wants to take it over himself did not get screwed.  He is
> trying to steal from the installing company.  I am thinking more the guy
> who actually paid for equipment and labor to have a system installed, and
> has problems the original installer can't or won't fix.
>
> I get calls from time to time from people who want to save money by buying
> their own components.  Sure, but I'll charge by the hour and not guarantee
> anything.  It will probably cost them more in the long run.  I also get
> calls from people who want me to sell them a switch or a sensor.  Ok, but
> its just a sensor.  It doesn't entitle them to have me come out and
> troubleshoot their installation for them.  I deserve to be paid for my
> time just like anybody else.  3 dollars profit on a motion sensor doesn't
> pay for the gas in my truck to drive across town.  Do you want to DIY.
> Ok. that's fine.  As somebody interested in DIY you would probably never
> be willing to pay for my services anyway.  If you ask me for help with a
> problem I'll probably even take a few minutes of my time to answer your
> question.  If you then proceed to ask me a million questions and demand
> detailed explanations of what wire to put where you are imposing.  If you
> need that much help you probably shouldn't be doing a DIY installation.
> At the very least you should probably contact somebody more directly who
> caters to DIYs.  That of course is the flip side of helping anybody.
> Often they then latch onto you and act like you owe them something.  I'm
> not saying its wrong.  Its just human nature.  Like stopping in a parking
> lot to jump start a dead battery for somebody.  When you find out the car
> still won't start becuase its majorly screwed up and barely made it that
> far in the first place you will find its difficult to walk away and hte
> person you tried to help isn't thankful but is a little bit upset because
> you didn't stay to help more.
>
> The nice part of usenet is you can ask a question and I can answer it,
> make a wise ass remark, or ignore it as I choose.
>
> --
> Bob La Londe
>
> Win a Tackle Pack
> Jig Fishing - Tips and Techniques Contest
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>
What you say makes a lot of sense. Too bad you don't live in my area, I'd
have hired you to do the work. The problem is, I'm am electrical engineer
and I know what good and bad work looks like so maybe that's why I wouldn't
be happy with the sloppy work they do around here. You really live in Yuma?
That place is the pits. There's more scenery on the moon. Six years living
in AZ and working across the border. I couldn't take that any longer. From
my perspective AZ was nothing but cactus, sand, rattlesnakes, scorpions and
black widows. Don't you get lonesome to see trees and grass? Or do those
sand dunes up on I-8 satisfy the need to see scenery?

Bob