The Small Business for Small Business
Quality, value for money, over 25 years of experience and the British accent.
Calling in the big box store technicians should always be a last resort. The
bad reputation that the likes of Geek Squad and similar outfits have gained does
not seem to stop people sampling their services. Once bitten twice
shy may be the order of the day after the experience - but they have your money
and you probably lost your data.
It's time to bring back the
No Fix No Fee way of working.
Selling yourself as an expert in a field should mean that you don't charge unless
you can prove that expertise. Leaving a customer's computer in a
similar or worse state than when you arrived is a sign that you need to look for
a new career.
The fact that a recent client of mine was quoted
$300 (
yes
- three hundred dollars) just to look at a hard drive that needed data
recovery is evidence enough to me that you are paying for inexperience and guesswork.
My ethic is simple.
No fix, no fee (offsite only).
I also do not charge call out fees within 5 miles of the 77586 zip code, charge
no evaluation fees, and we have no hidden charges. And most important
- fixed hourly rates.
Who am I ? - The BrITish Guy
My name is Richard Clafton. I am the BrITish guy. Some of my Amateur Radio friends
call me the 'Limey'
Originally from Leeds in the North of England, I have had an interest and been involved
in computers since I was 12 years old. Since leaving school at the age of 16 I have
been working full time in the IT industry. I can say without a shadow of a
doubt that I know computers. They certainly don't scare or intimidate
me.
My career in IT began at the age of 16 as a Computer Technician for the Systems
Centre, a Leeds University based IT Training organization dedicated to introducing
personal computing to small and medium size businesses in the West Yorkshire area.
At 18 I progressed to Programmer writing multilingual hazardous chemical labelling
software and MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) database systems for a Leeds based
industrial labelling company called Hibiscus Plc.
Age 22 I decided to make the move into hardware repair and engineering. This
slight change in direction took me to a Sheffield based IT Service Company called
CST Lynxserv. By 25 I was a Senior Engineer and Lead for a team of 10 engineers.
In 1996 the streets of London called my name at 28 and I had become an IT Manager
for a Specialist IT Services company based in Ascot with day to day dealing with
corporations such as London Weekend Television, Mothercare, and Ladbrokes.
At 30 I decided to make the leap and become a freelance IT contractor. Over
the following years my clients included Disney, Thames Water, Mars ISI, British
American Tobacco, Hewlett Packard and GMAC Residential Finance. I experienced
the Y2K bug and the panic that ensued first-hand, and came through the other side.
Those were wonderful and exciting times.
And finally the biggest change in my life so far. In 2006 I married my wonderful
wife Robbi and we relocated to the US and I took a position as Systems Engineer
for Stewart Title. My current position is SureClose Senior Systems Engineer and
Team Lead with that same company.